KI Innovations - the company that helps researchers at Karolinska Institutet commercialise their discoveries - is to receive SEK 29 million from Vinnova (the Swedish governmental agency for innovation systems) for 2025 to 2029. "It's proof of the quality of our business and the startups that we work with," says Johan Weigelt, CEO of KI Innovations and KI Holding AB.
KI Innovations operates an incubator designed to support KI researchers in their efforts to transform research-based ideas into life-science enterprises and products.
"We're not primarily here to turn researchers into entrepreneurs but to help them put their research to practical use," says Weigelt.
KI Innovations is owned by Karolinska Institutet Holding AB, which is also the parent company of KI Science Park. Together, these three companies form Karolinska Institutet's "innovation system", the overriding objective of which is to turn research into treatments and methods for the benefit of patients and the community.
KI Innovations evaluates over a hundred business ideas every year.
Supporting the entire commercial journey
A dozen or so new companies are started, some of which have the chance to get help along the entire process chain from concept to market via the incubator.
"We train them in 'everything' they need to know about running a startup in the life-science sector," says Weigelt. "We support them along the entire journey, from customised advice to patent issues, market analysis and legal matters."
KI Innovations recently received extended financing for 2025 to 2029 from Vinnova's excellence programme, a national initiative to support outstanding innovation environments. KI Innovations was amongst the three top applicants and received the highest possible allocation of SEK 29.3 million.
"It's proof of the quality of our business and shows that we have strong companies in our incubator portfolio," says Weigelt. "This, in turn, is thanks to the great research ideas at KI and to our ability to help researchers set up companies in the proper way."
Just this year, two former incubator companies, AnaCardio and Gesynta, have received over half a billion kronor from investors.
Endometriosis drug in clinical phase
Both these companies are currently running clinical-phase projects, AnaCardio with a drug for heart failure and Gesynta with a drug for endometriosis.
According to Lars Lund , professor of medicine at Karolinska Institutet and founder of AnaCardio, the incubator has been of invaluable help to the company.
"I'm a dyed-in-the-wool academic researcher and hadn't the foggiest idea how to commercialise things and eventually patent them," he admits. "Through KI Innovations I obtained the assistance of two people, with whom I worked very closely for a long time. They helped me with patient-related matters and to draw up a business plan and find investors. The support was early, skilled, efficient and incredibly valuable."
Another arm of the innovation system is KI Science Park, which creates meeting spaces and arranges bridge-building events for academy, business, healthcare and investors.
"When you want to develop an idea or set up a company, you need to forge links and draw inspiration and knowledge from others," says Weigelt. "There are over 80 life-science companies on the Solna campus, more than twice as many if you also count the rest of Hagastaden. It's a fantastic innovation environment."
Text: Karin Tideström
