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Ambitious Czech biotechnology inventions were presented to major domestic and foreign investors at the international BioSpot Conference held on March 1, 2018, in Prague, Czech Republic.

As projects and technologies in life sciences are on the rise in the Czech Republic, the number of patent applications is increasing and new opportunities attract national and international private investors. This led to the creation of a platform called BioSpot in 2016, whose purpose is to assess the potential of Central Europe's most outstanding biotech inventions to be developed and marketed, as well as to bring the projects and private investors together. The most advanced and promising projects are introduced to investors from all over the world at the annual conference in Prague.

Growing attendance and positive response to the BioSpot conference from representatives of major global investors point to the fact that Czech science has much to offer. “I found the technologies that have been presented today very thought-provoking. I particularly enjoyed some of the sessions on oncology and thinking about diagnostics of the future,” says Dr. David Andrews, Director of Pre-clinical Scientific Alliances, IMED Oncology, AstraZeneca, UK.

James Hoberg, Head of Licensing and External Innovation at MilliporeSigma, USA, comments: “I came to the Czech Republic to develop relationships with researchers here, to scout new technologies and with the hopes of commercializing the inventions that come from conferences like this.“

This year's conference saw as many as 19 ambitious inventions and technologies presented in oral and poster sessions. Among them were e.g. use of nanoparticles for cancer treatment, use of neurosteroids for treatment of neuropathic pain, analysis of exhaled breath for diagnosis of lung cancer, or a rapid detection of antibiotic resistance. According to the main organizers Marián Hajdúch (Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Palacký University Olomouc) and Martin Fusek (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, IOCB Prague), the quality and potential of the presented projects is getting better every year and is evidence that BioSpot represents a key event of this sort in Central Europe with a lot to offer.

Seeking new opportunities to connect promising research applications with the commercial sphere is of interest to i&i Prague, one of the main partners of the Conference. “i&i Prague is a business incubator formed not long ago where we want to gather interesting research projects, develop them, and aid in putting them on the market, ideally also locate a suitable investor. It's one of the reasons a conference such as BioSpot is important for us,” explains i&i Prague's CEO Jaromír Zahrádka.

“The Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Industry supports practical applications of innovative pharmaceutical technology which assist in the treatment of serious illnesses. We want for new drugs and procedures to be put into practical use via the easiest possible means. That's why we want to support technology transfer from academia to the commercial sphere – e.g. by promoting IMI2, the project of public partnership designed to provide funds and know-how to research institutions, as well as small and medium enterprises,“ says Jakub Dvořáček, executive director at AIFP.

The fourth annual BioSpot Conference will be held on March 6, 2019, at the Center for Contemporary Art DOX in Prague.

About BioSpot
This international platform and conference (www.biospot.eu) was formed in 2016 in the Czech Republic. Its purpose is to assess the potential of the most interesting inventions and technologies in life sciences to be developed and marketed and to facilitate their connection with private investors across the globe. The platform's partners include the MedChemBio cluster, the Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Palacký University Olomouc (www.imtm.cz), and the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences – IOCB Prague (www.iocb.cz), a research institute well known for its globally effective commercialization of scientific research.