Advanced Therapies Congress 2026
London, United Kingdom · EventEurope's largest cell and gene therapy event. Price: about GBP 2000; startups often access subsidized exhibition pods. Strong for biotech founders and manufacturing partners.
Founders, investors, and support organizations active in Biotech.
Europe's largest cell and gene therapy event. Price: about GBP 2000; startups often access subsidized exhibition pods. Strong for biotech founders and manufacturing partners.
ANJE initiative in southern Portugal providing a 4-month acceleration program with mentoring and business modeling for biotech, agrotech, and ICT startups. Scope: Regional (Alentejo).
Azafaros is a clinical-stage biotech company developing oral therapies for rare genetic metabolic disorders, including lysosomal diseases. Its lead development strategy focuses on compounds designed to cross the blood-brain barrier and address severe neurological progression in underserved pediatric conditions.
Life sciences partnering conference built around 1:1 meetings. Price: about EUR 2800+. Best for biotech startups seeking licensing or funding deals.
BioInnovation Institute is a life science incubator backed by the Novo Nordisk Foundation that helps researchers and founders turn biotech and health innovations into venture ready companies. Based in Copenhagen, BII provides lab space, grant funding, expert business support, and access to investors for projects in therapeutics, diagnostics, and industrial biotech. It runs programs for both idea stage research and early startups, de risking science heavy ventures before they seek larger capital. BII is a central node in the Danish life science startup pipeline.
Bioptimus is the self-proclaimed "Mistral of Biology," spun out in early 2024 by a team of alumni from Google DeepMind and Owkin, including CEO Jean-Philippe Vert. The company is building what it calls the first universal foundation model for biology. Where large language models were trained on text to learn human language, Bioptimus trains on biological data—DNA sequences, protein structures, cellular imagery, and clinical phenotypes—to infer the underlying rules of life. The ambition is not just better predictions but a unified biological reasoning layer that can simulate outcomes before expensive lab work happens. By 2026, Bioptimus has moved from a research thesis to early commercial traction. After a $41M Series A in 2025, the company released its first commercial model that can predict how a specific molecule will interact with a human cell with unusually high accuracy. This enables in-silico screening that reduces wet-lab costs and improves hit rates for drug discovery. French pharma leaders such as Sanofi have begun using these models to prioritize compounds and compress early-stage discovery timelines. The product value is immediate: fewer failed experiments, faster candidate selection, and deeper mechanistic insight. Bioptimus' roadmap focuses on "multi-scale biology," connecting the micro level (genomics and proteomics) to the macro level (patient outcomes and clinical data). Rather than being limited to protein folding, the models aim to bridge across data modalities so a genetic mutation can be linked to disease pathways, tissue behavior, and potential therapeutic interventions. This requires data breadth and regulatory trust, and Bioptimus is building a defensive moat through European data sovereignty. It leverages partnerships with European research hospitals and biobanks to access high-quality patient data that is difficult for US competitors to acquire under GDPR constraints. That compliance burden becomes a competitive advantage: safer access, better provenance, and stronger alignment with European health data governance. The company remains deeply embedded in the Paris ecosystem. It was incubated inside Owkin before spinning out, maintains a presence around Station F, and benefits from the cross-pollination between French AI and biotech communities. Its investor base reflects that positioning: Sofinnova Partners, Bpifrance, Cathay Innovation, Xavier Niel, and Frst provide a blend of life-science expertise, sovereign capital, and deep-tech conviction. In 2026, Bioptimus is the clearest European bet that foundation models can unlock biology at scale—and a contender to become the default AI layer for drug discovery in Europe.
Generative protein design platform helping scientists engineer new vaccines, therapeutics, and materials.
Global congress for clinical microbiology and infectious diseases. Price: about EUR 600-900. Ideal for diagnostics and medtech startups with clinical data.
Life sciences VC founded 2006 investing in biotech and medtech from early to growth stages.
Founded 2008. Specialist VC investing in biotech, pharma, and medical devices with a transatlantic presence.
Organizer of the mRNA-Based Therapeutics Summit Europe series.
Operator-led Polish deep-tech VC fund with a target size of EUR 20M (about PLN 80M), investing at pre-seed and seed. Founded by Maciej Zawadzinski, Maciej Frankowicz, and Konrad Trzyna, the fund focuses on robotics, photonics, cybersecurity, biotech, space tech, and hardware-enabled software. Typical initial checks are up to PLN 3M with follow-on capacity up to PLN 8M for top portfolio companies.
Opened 2007. Provides office space, mentorship, and links to Limerick's industry network for medtech, biotech, and digital media startups; supported 50+ firms. Notable alumni include Stokes Bio. Scope: Regional (Mid-West Ireland).
Hemab is a clinical-stage biotech company developing prophylactic therapies for severe bleeding and thrombotic disorders. Founded by biotech operators with Novo Nordisk roots, the company engineers antibody-based treatments aimed at preventing episodes before they occur in underserved rare-disease populations.
Information day on funding opportunities for health-related projects under the Horizon Europe framework programme, specifically for Cluster 1 (Health). Provides guidance for applicants and consortia.
Global personal care ingredients trade fair. Price: free with pre-registration or about EUR 100 on-site. Ideal for biotech and sustainable cosmetics startups.
Founded 2008. Active early-stage investor across ICT, biotech, and fintech with multiple fund vehicles.
One-day life sciences convention with biotech keynotes, startup pitches, and investor panels.
Biotech skincare startup developing bio-identical melanin from stem-cell-based processes to improve UV protection and skin health. The company focuses on long-duration photoprotection and alternatives to conventional sunscreen formulations.
Mewery is a food-tech and biotech startup cultivating pork meat using microalgae-based processes. The hybrid approach reduces the cost and complexity of lab-grown meat by combining cell cultivation with plant inputs. This positions the company to deliver cultured meat products faster and at lower price points than traditional cellular agriculture methods. By 2026, Mewery is a notable Central European pioneer in sustainable protein.
MicroHarvest produces microbial protein using agricultural side streams and a rapid fermentation process designed to deliver sustainable protein ingredients in around 24 hours. The company reported over USD 10.2M in venture funding from investors such as Astanor, Happiness Capital, Simon Capital, and FoodLabs, and received a EUR 5.5M German government grant in February 2026 for an industrial-scale Leuna plant expected to produce about 15,000 tonnes of protein annually.
MultiplexDX focuses on precision cancer diagnostics, developing visualized diagnostic tests aimed at reducing misdiagnosis in oncology. Its work is particularly focused on breast cancer and improving clinical decision confidence. By 2026, the company is a high-impact biotech research player in the Slovak ecosystem with expanding clinical collaborations.
Neoplants is one of Europe's most consumer-friendly deep-tech startups, known for engineering "plants with a purpose." Its flagship product, Neo P1, is a golden pothos that has been genetically modified to actively metabolize volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde and benzene—pollutants common in homes due to paint, furniture, and cleaning products. Rather than simply filtering air passively, the plant converts toxins into harmless sugars and amino acids, turning living organisms into functional indoor air purifiers. The company began commercial sales in the United States, where GMO consumer regulations are more permissive, but 2026 marks a strategic pivot back to Europe. Neoplants is positioning itself to launch in the UK and select EU markets as the New Genomic Techniques (NGT) framework evolves. This regulatory shift is crucial: it could unlock a path for consumer biotech products to be sold in Europe at scale. Neoplants is actively engaging with regulators and policymakers to ensure its products meet safety and transparency standards, framing its technology as a climate and public-health benefit rather than a controversial GMO niche. Neoplants is also a serious biotech company under the consumer-friendly brand. It operates a 12,000-square-foot R&D facility in Saint-Ouen, Paris, with capabilities closer to a pharma lab than a greenhouse. The 2026 R&D pipeline includes plants engineered to capture CO2 at orders-of-magnitude higher rates than typical trees, targeting corporate offices and commercial spaces where sustainability investments must be visible and measurable. That positions Neoplants for a dual-market strategy: consumer air purification today, B2B climate infrastructure tomorrow. The company's ecosystem roots are strong. The founders, Lionel Mora and Patrick Torbey, met at Entrepreneur First in Paris, and Neoplants was an early resident at Station F. It also benefited from the Wilco healthcare and biotech accelerator. Its investors reflect the blend of deep-tech and consumer focus: True Ventures led the seed, Heartcore Capital and Collaborative Fund support the consumer angle, and angels such as Niklas Zennstrom and Xavier Niel provide strategic visibility. In 2026, Neoplants represents a "solarpunk" vision of European tech—advanced biology that is both functional and approachable, turning climate and health solutions into products people can live with.
Novo Holdings is the investment arm of the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the largest life science investor in Denmark. It backs biotech, medtech, and health innovation across seed, venture, and growth stages while also managing the foundation's long term ownership in Novo Nordisk and Novozymes. The firm provides patient capital, deep scientific expertise, and global networks for founders building therapies, diagnostics, and industrial biotech solutions. Novo Holdings is a cornerstone of the Danish life science ecosystem.
Biotech company using AI and genomics to develop RNA therapies targeting chronic liver disease.
Founded 2015. Healthcare and medtech specialist investing across Europe in devices, diagnostics, digital health, and biotech.
Biotech drug-discovery company developing PKL-021, a small-molecule MMP inhibitor program for acute neuroprotection after stroke and traumatic brain injury, with additional applications in field-ready snakebite treatment.
Business Angel of the Year 2021 and former PwC partner, Piotr combines corporate finance expertise with deep-technology investing. He focuses on high-potential international projects, especially biotech and complex fintech products. His portfolio includes early-stage investments in biotechnology initiatives and specialized fintech tooling.
A venture fund + angel network based in Szczecin, Pomerangels invests alongside business angels and syndicates in post-revenue companies. With a network of 100+ angels, they co-invest up to €4M in innovative SMEs across ICT, autonomous tech, biotech, etc. Notable focus: companies that already have strong angel syndicates; Pomerangels adds capital on top of angel rounds to scale these ventures.
Founded 2002. Life sciences VC investing in biotech, medtech, and diagnostics across Europe.
Launched 2010 by Wageningen University. Leading agri-foodtech accelerator with EUR 25K non-dilutive funding, a 12-week program, and corporate/research connections; supported 100+ startups like Meatable. Scope: International.
Innovation hub and accelerator supported by Microsoft, nurturing deep-tech startups in biotech, nanotech, and digital sectors. Provides acceleration, access to University of Minho labs, and corporate partners; backed 120+ companies. Scope: Regional (Northern Portugal).
Symbion is one of Denmark's oldest science parks and incubators, founded to support research driven startups in tech and life science. It provides office space, labs, business services, and community programs for hundreds of early stage companies, and it hosts accelerators and investor events on site. Symbion is located in Copenhagen's innovation district and acts as a bridge between universities, corporates, and founders. Many Danish startups begin their journey inside the Symbion campus.
Polish VC focused on deep tech and science-based companies, including industrial technology, advanced materials, and biotech. The fund follows a long-horizon approach for R&D-heavy ventures moving from lab to market.
Founded 2009. University-affiliated incubator supporting ICT and biotech startups with a 4-month validation program, follow-on acceleration, labs access, and investor network. Supported 200+ startups including SnappCar. Scope: Regional (Utrecht).
Flagship antibody-drug conjugate summit for biopharma leaders, investors, and biotech startups.