Amsterdam-based Biotech Booster receives €196.4 million to help Dutch innovations reach the market

Biotech Booster, a Dutch valorisation programme that accelerates biotechnological innovations from idea to an investable proposal, was awarded €196.4 million from the National Growth Fund.

With this award, the previously conditional funding is final and the continuity of the programme is guaranteed until 2032. Partners include Oncode Accelerator, RegMed XB, NXTGEN Hightech, Hollandbio, DSM Firmenich and J&J.

Nettie Buitelaar, CEO of Biotech Booster said (translated): “We are very proud and happy with the award of this second tranche. This is not only a recognition of the hard work of all those involved and partners from the Dutch Biotech sector, but also an important signal that the government endorses the strategic value of biotechnology for the Netherlands. This impulse allows us to strengthen the international position of our sector.

“Investments like this are essential to bring innovations to society faster, create new business and develop solutions to major health, food supply and sustainability challenges. We look forward to further developing the programme in the coming years and supporting many more researchers and entrepreneurs in marketing their innovations.”

Founded in 2022, Biotech Booster is a national programme funded by the Dutch National Growth Fund that supports the commercialisation of biotechnological findings in the Netherlands.

Biotech Booster offers financial support, mentoring and networking opportunities to guide scientists and entrepreneurs from the idea phase to an investable or commercial proposal. The goal is to ensure that the benefits of biotechnology have a greater and faster impact on society.

In addition, Biotech Booster facilitates close collaborations between public and private partners in the biotechnology sector and has established five thematic clusters according to biotechnological focus areas:

• White: Industrial Biotechnology & Production (TC 1)
• Green: AgroFood Biotechnology (TC 2)
• Red: Human Health, Diagnostics, Therapies (TC 3, 4 & 5).

The second tranche is part of the total subsidy of €246 million that was reserved by the National Growth Fund in 2022. The award follows a positive evaluation of the first phase in which Biotech Booster successfully showed how the BioTech programme helps researchers and entrepreneurs to bring biotechnological innovations to market faster through financial resources, mentoring and network.

From the development of new medicines, to water purification by mushroom fungi to more sustainable agriculture through biodegradable seed coatings: the programme aims to support a wide range of BioTech innovations in their development to the market.

The plan for the Biotech Booster programme was submitted in 2021 by a coalition of umbrella organisations of Dutch knowledge institutions, Hollandbio, DSM Firmenich and J&J, and arose from the need to structurally improve the valorisation of biotechnological knowledge in the Netherlands.

In an international context, the Biotech Booster programme highlights that the Netherlands leads in biotechnology publications and patents. However, the translation and commercialisation of these innovations into market-ready applications is relatively lagging behind.

Minister Bruins, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science: “Better care, a healthier living environment or smart innovations for a better climate. We’ve seen before that Biotech Booster really works. Biotechnological inventions can really improve everyday life. Moreover, this type of research strengthens our science and economy. The knife cuts on two sides. I therefore think it’s really good that we can go through with this money from the Growth Fund.”

With the now final funding, Biotech Booster can further intensify its activities. The programme supports BioTech researchers and entrepreneurs in forming a business plan and bridging the so-called ‘valley of death’, the journey from promising discovery to application. This is done through mentoring, financial resources and a national ecosystem in which knowledge institutions, companies and industry partners work together.

Industry and academy are brought together at an early stage to ensure that scientific knowledge is translated into social application as quickly as possible.

So far, a total of 71 projects have been admitted to the programme, 54 of which are in the first round in 2024, and 17 in the second round this year. Biotech Booster is currently preparing the new round of 2026, in which a new batch of entrepreneurial researchers can join the programme.

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