BLUE BIO VALUE IDEATION

The Blue Bio Value Ideation seeks to boost novel sustainable projects in the blue biotech sector.

Portugal has a thriving network of dedicated marine bio-based researchers developing innovative projects. However, the startup community in this sector is limited.

The programme aims to bridge the gap between academia and the market by providing the participants with the tools, network and seed-funding needed to transform R&D projects into new sustainable business solutions.

It connects R&D projects with Business Mentors to unlock its potential to be part of the blue economy. After the programme, the teams are better equipped to tackle the challenges of technology transfer and have the capacity to transform blue biotechnology research into viable market solutions.

Two ideations took place in November. The programme started in the North, on November 18 with an online session, and on November 19 and 20 the participants were at Porto Business School. Lisbon welcomed the participants with an online session on November 25, and on November 26 and 27 they were at Nova School of Business and Economics.

Blue Bio Value Ideation 2022 is promoted by Oceano Azul Foundation and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in partnership with BLUEBIO Alliance, and implemented by BGI – Building Global Innovators.

The R&D innovators had the opportunity to pitch their project to an expert jury panel, and the winning team of each ideation was awarded a seed-funding prize to be used at BLUEBIO Alliance’s Blue Demo Network, a set of services to ignite the creation of new startup, and improve or test the technologies.

A total of 22 teams were created by bringing together researchers and entrepreneurs. Over 70 participants joined from all over Portugal, but also from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, and projects developed in almost 20 R&D institutions were involved

In Porto, the MiADrugTox project stood out as winner, from Politécnico da Guarda. The project aims to apply microalgae biomass as an alternative strategy to inhibit the absorption of drugs associated to intoxication.

CELLAQUA4ALL was the winning project at NOVA School of Business and Economics developed by the Laboratório Colaborativo em Aquacultura Sustentável e Inteligente (S2AQUAcoLAB) and the Center for Marine Sciences of Algarve (CCMAR). The project aims at improving the provision of appropriate fish cell lines, delivering a serum-free medium for the mass production of cells in bioreactors.