BIC - Biomarkers Commercialisation

Biomarkers, an ever growing set of indicators of the changes happening within tissues, cells or fluids which allows to predict illnesses, provide highly accurate diagnostics or adapt treatments to each individual patient to provide better and personalised medicine. The discovery of biomarkers is becoming increasingly important in research and industry, expected to increase economic growth and to open up new possibilities for diagnostics and treatment. Despite the strong potential of biomarkers for new markets, there is a general lack of experience on how to bring biomarkers through the innovation process and into clinical practice. The challenges for market uptake are significant, as the development and commercialisation of biomarkers is time consuming, difficult and expensive.

The Interreg Baltic Sea Region project BIC – Biomarker Commercialisation will tackle these challenges by setting up a tool and platform to accompany the biomarker development pathway at every stage, and bring the industry, including pharmaceutical and diagnostic enterprises, SMEs and investors, to participate as early as possible in the development process. 

Under the lead of the Danish Ideklinikken/Aalborg University Hospital, the project brings together nine partners from the Baltic Sea Region, including Biopeople/University of Copenhagen (Denmark), Tartu Biotechnology Park OÜ (Estonia), the University of Turku (Finland), Turku Science Park Ltd (Finland), ScanBalt (Denmark), BioCon Valley® GmbH (Germany), Vilnius University (Lithuania) and Wroclaw Technology Park (Poland). 

BIC will design and develop:

• a biomarker development tool for researchers
• a screening and selection guide for TTOs
• a framework for technology translation into clinical setting
• new business model templates
• a biomarker platform with access to the tools and
• technology presentations for match making.

By enabling better and more efficient commercialisation of biomarkers, BIC will contribute in improving realisation and competitiveness of biomarkers within the Baltic Sea Region and on the long term will benefit hospitals and patients to provide affordable and personalised healthcare.

BIC is a EUSBSR flagship project that runs from October 2017 until September 2020 with a total budget of EUR 2,55 million. BIC receives EUR 1,96 million of co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme.

Further information:

• BIC website
• Contact persons at the University of Turku
  Pauli Ollikka, pauli.ollikka[at]utu.fi, tel. +358 50 467 6614