Dragons' Den for biotech
The Netherlands is renowned for its leading biotech research, yet it produces an underwhelming number of practical applications. Biotech Booster was designed to shake this up through targeted investment in promising ideas and getting entrepreneurs involved at an early stage. The programme was set up with funding from the National Growth Fund and has been operational since May 2024. Biotech Booster is helmed by biotechnologist Nettie Buitelaar. “We have industry and academia meet at an earlier stage.”
Text: Jurjen Slump • Photos: Biotech Booster, TU Delft • November 5, 2024
What was the reason for establishing Biotech Booster?
“The Netherlands is at the forefront of biotech from a scientific point of view. Although a large number of publications and registered patents are produced here, fewer new products and services emerge from these novel insights than you might expect. No one really knows why, but a lack of entrepreneurial ambition among academics may play a role. It also often involves a combination of factors such as funding or the lack of good role models.”
How are you going to change that?
"Biotech Booster is a unique coalition of knowledge institutions and industry. In 2022, we were allocated €246 million from the National Growth Fund to accelerate the transformation of biotechnology knowledge into relevant innovations. We have worked hard to get the organisation up and running since then and expect to admit the first 50 projects to our programme this year."
How does Biotech Booster work?
“Consisting of three phases, the programme aims to offer both financial support and expertise. We have around 40 business developers traversing the country to scout and mentor promising ideas at research universities, universities of applied sciences and beyond. The goal is for these projects to deliver a proof of principle so that the most promising ideas can be developed into a proof of concept in the next phase. The remaining teams get support and guidance to help commercialise their invention in the scale-out phase. In the first phase, projects can apply for up to €200,000 in funding, with proof of concept projects getting up to €1.9 million."
What themes are you interested in?
We have five thematic clusters: Industrial Biotechnology & Production, Agrifood Biotechnology, ATMPs [advanced therapy medicinal products] and Biopharmaceuticals, Diagnostics and Services, and Vaccines and Small Molecules. TU Delft mainly excels in the first cluster, which is one of the reasons why the manager of the industrial biotech cluster, Cornelis Mijnders, is also based in Delft. The entire innovation ecosystem in Delft - including Planet.bio, Biotech Campus Delft and DSM - has also been linked to Biotech Booster."
What makes Biotech Booster unique?
“We bring in biotech entrepreneurs at a very early stage and have compiled a pool of 130 top-performing business owners who are involved in projects from the get-go. Proof of concept project proposals also consist of a pitch to our entrepreneurial panel, followed by an extensive round of questions. The independent opinion of our entrepreneurs is decisive, which is our way of ensuring that projects meet market needs and wishes. We also involve experts at an early stage who assist us with issues such as the compliance of new drugs with various laws, regulations and requirements, which researchers often know little about.”
So you’re more than just an investor?
“Our programme marks the first time that all the different parts of the Dutch biotech sector have joined forces. And that is just fantastic! While industry and academia were never entirely separate worlds, Biotech Booster brings the two together at a very early stage. The programme is intended to be and remain a learning system but we must also stimulate entrepreneurship in academia. If you ask me, every researcher has a duty to consider whether their findings can make an impact outside academia."
But has there been a return on investment?
“Absolutely. We lose our money when a project fails. But if a team advances to the proof of concept phase and decides to bring in other investors, we’ll want to recoup some of our investment because we gave them the push that enabled them to take that step. The same applies to projects leading to an exit. Over time, Biotech Booster will need to be funded with the programme’s own proceeds, which we can then use to support subsequent projects. This would enable us to continue under our own steam when the grant from the Growth Fund ends after 2031."
What biotech breakthroughs do you expect in the coming years? What radical innovations will we see?
“It’s too early to tell, but there are a few clear trends. A lot is happening around ATMPs, drugs for cell therapy, gene therapy and tissue engineering. Many steps can also be taken in the field of production processes involving fermentation to produce more efficiently with less waste. Circularity is an important issue in all areas."
The National Growth Fund has been discontinued and the new government has announced plans to cut higher education spending. How does this affect innovation?
“You have to realise that cutting back on scientific research will lead to the gradual depletion of the valorisation pipeline, resulting in fewer new products and less new knowledge. Our future prosperity will inevitably be affected, which was exactly why the National Growth Fund was set up in the first place - so it could contribute to the country’s long-term earning capacity. Hacking at the roots affects the entire tree.”