BioInnovation Institute and Science Launch New Annual Innovation Award

The winner will be announced in Science, receive USD 25,000 and invited into BII's entrepreneurial ecosystem

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Aug. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BioInnovation Institute ("BII"), an international commercial foundation with a non-profit objective incubating and accelerating world-class life science research, today announces the launch of a new annual innovation award in partnership with one of the world's top academic journals, Science.

The "BII & Science Prize for Innovation" seeks to recognize bold researchers who are asking fundamental questions at the intersection of the life sciences and entrepreneurship. The prize will be awarded to scientists who can show that they have reached across field boundaries with an enthusiasm that combines outstanding basic science with an eye toward application in the marketplace. 

Jens Nielsen, Chief Executive Officer at BII, commented: "In today's society, entrepreneurial scientists hold the key to unlocking new life-changing solutions. I am very proud of initiating this new prize for innovation in collaboration with Science magazine, one of the world's leading scientific journals. The new BII & Science Prize for Innovation recognizes, encourages, and celebrates the work of entrepreneurial scientists by providing support in the early stages of their careers. Through the prize, we aim to bring more ideas to life and research to market for the benefit of people and society."

Bill Moran, Publisher, Science family of journals, added: "It is important for our partners to share the same values and align with our mission to encourage more scientists to translate their research.  The BioInnovation Institute Foundation (BII) is an organization that is passionate about nurturing early career researchers and providing them with the tools and knowledge to move their discoveries to the next stage. BII provides expert guidance that allows scientists to become innovators in research.  This is the reason why we are proud of our prize collaboration with BII."

The award is presented for outstanding research performed by the applicant as described in a 1,000-word essay. Award winners will receive a cash prize (USD 25,000 for the winner; USD 10,000 for the two runners-up) at a grand award show celebration in Copenhagen, Denmark, and their essay submissions will be published in Science. Winners will also be invited into BII's entrepreneurial ecosystem. The selected Grand Prize winner and runner(s)-up will have an opportunity to be paired with the business development team for evaluation of their eligibility for any of the BII programs. If eligible, they will receive assistance for submission of a proposal to BII. All processes, rules, and policies related to such programs and all obligations related to selection and granting thereof are the sole responsibility of BII.

The deadline for submissions is 1 November 2021.  More details, including eligibility and application procedures, can be found at www.bii.dk/scienceprize.

Successful applicants will have made significant advances in producing results that were protected as intellectual property and licensed to a commercial entity—for example, proprietary drugs and biologics, diagnostics, therapeutic interventions, health care information technology, or new solutions for biobased production of fuels, chemicals, and foods. Submissions are welcome from those who take risks to address relevant and exciting questions with creative approaches, even if the outcome may be considered a negative result. Announcement of the Award Winners will take place in April 2022.

Read more on www.bii.dk/scienceprize

About the BioInnovation Institute Foundation

The BioInnovation Institute foundation (BII) is an international commercial foundation with a nonprofit objective supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. BII operates an incubator to accelerate world-class life science innovation that drives the development of new solutions by early life science start-ups for the benefit of people and society.

BII, located in Copenhagen, Denmark, offers start-ups and early-stage projects within health tech, therapeutics, and bioindustrials state-of-the-art labs, vibrant office facilities, business development, start-up business incubation, access to high-level mentoring and international networks, plus unique funding opportunities of up to 1.3 million euro per start-up and 2.4 million euro per project.

Since the inauguration of BII in November 2018, BII has awarded 35 million euros to 68 high-growth start-up companies. Read more on www.bioinnovationinstitute.com

About Science / AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science)

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journals, Science, Science Translational Medicine, Science Signaling, Science Advances, Science Immunology, and Science Robotics. AAAS was founded in 1848, and includes some 254 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science, founded by Thomas Edison, has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of more than 400,000.

The non-profit AAAS—www.aaas.org—is open to all and fulfils its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, and more. Science's daily online news is always free to the public, as are editorials, any paper with broad public health significance, and all research articles 12 months after publication. Science further participates in various efforts to provide free access for scientists in the world's poorest countries.