Start me up! 2024
The 6th edition of this annual event, held in Toulouse on January 31 and February 1, attracted numerous researchers, investors and industrialists, as well as over 50 entrepreneurs. Participants from 12 countries took advantage of the event’s new format, in particular the Biotech Tour, which enabled them to visit the leading biotech centers in Toulouse. Another new feature was the start-up pitches during the round tables.
Biomia, winner of the “Fast track it!” competition
Biomia, winner of “Fast track it!” competition
Biomia, a Danish synthetic biology company, has won the “Fast Track it!” award for growth-stage start-ups under 8 years of age, for its project to develop natural therapeutic products inspired by plants. These products are designed to meet unmet medical needs in pain, addiction and mental health. Biomia relies on proprietary bioprocesses (a process that uses whole living cells or their components) based on modified microbes and fermentation to obtain molecules of interest. It offers a new, scalable model for the search of natural products for clinical use, usually obtained via costly chemical processes that are difficult to scale up. This start-up has been awarded the equivalent of €50,000 worth of services on TWB technology platforms. It will also benefit from communication opportunities offered by Bioeconomy For Change & Agri Sud-Ouest Innovation.
“We are fortunate to win this award, which will already enable us in the short term to strengthen the links between Biomia and TWB, so that we can initiate collaborative projects aimed at further perfecting our platforms for manufacturing new fermentation pathways for the drugs of the future,” comments Michael Krogh Jensen, CEO of Biomia.
inLux Biotech wins the “Go for it!” competition
inLux Biotech, winner of “Go for it!”
Aimed at entrepreneurs at the idea and creation stage, the “Go for It!” competition was won by the French start-up inLux Biotech for its innovative agricultural project looking at finding alternatives to the use of pesticides. This start-up will benefit from three days of mentoring provided by TWB and its ecosystem of industrialists and investors, as well as network development opportunities via the competition’s partners, namely Agri Sud-Ouest Innovation, ShakeUpFactory and Bioeconomy For Change.
“Winning this award is particularly significant for us, as it confirms the validation of our technology by the scientific community. This recognition represents an opportunity to build solid relationships with various players in the AgriTech field, and has already enabled us to gain visibility within this ecosystem,” comments Mathilde Cecchi, co-founder and CEO of inLux Biotech.
InSpek wins over the Start me up! audience
InSpek, winner of the audience award
InSpek won the honorary People’s Choice Award for its project on the generation of biological and chemical monitoring systems using integrated photonics (technology enabling the generation, control and detection of photons, which are particles of light).
“We are honored and very happy to receive the People’s Choice Award! It is a recognition of the value we create and encourages us to continue in this direction. Taking part in the event enabled us to get in touch with some interesting and important players in the sector. We’ve had some excellent discussions and follow-up calls, and we’re already working on possible collaborations,” comments Ivan-Lazar Bundalo, CTO of InSpek.
Round tables on chemicals, AgriTech and Deep Tech
Three sessions provided an opportunity to discuss the challenges facing biotech and its impact on fields other than healthcare. One of these sessions, dedicated to chemistry, polymers and materials, highlighted Carbios‘ breakthrough innovation in making PET, the world’s second most consumed plastic, biodegradable. Another example was Electric Skin‘s innovation in a new material that generates electricity from ambient humidity. Another thematic session focused on Deep Tech and productivity-enhancing technologies, and addressed the role of artificial intelligence in biotech.
