“With the Amsterdam knowledge institutions and the largest academic hospital in the Netherlands, Amsterdam is home to the top of Dutch health research. From the moment ROM InWest was founded two years ago, there was a great opportunity to join forces and put the entrepreneurship and innovation capacity for LSH on the map in the region and beyond. With the signing of the agreement today, the official starting signal has now been given,” says Arjen Brussaard of Amsterdam UMC.
Converting knowledge
Bringing knowledge to the market faster and more effectively is essential to keep healthcare accessible and affordable, the initiators believe. Janet Nieboer, CEO of ROM InWest: “Healthcare is at a standstill due to high costs and staff shortages. At the same time, there is a lot of knowledge to combat or prevent diseases. We need entrepreneurs to convert this knowledge into innovative treatments or products that can be used on a large scale. Already, 25% of the companies that contact us are LSH startups and we expect this to only increase.”
Today, the collaboration partners are therefore calling on public and private investors to invest more in start-up LSH companies from the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area.
So far, investments in these types of startups have lagged behind compared to other regions. The initiators cite the lack of “patient” capital as a major cause. Due to the required certification and the complexity of the sector, developing and introducing innovations requires long-term capital. A new fund can help bring the business up to standard, as can more public-private partnerships. So-called accelerator programs that help entrepreneurs scale up their innovation can further strengthen this.
About the collaboration with Amsterdam knowledge institutions
Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the joint knowledge transfer office Innovation Exchange Amsterdam (IXA) are joining forces with ROM InWest. By sharing information, developing joint initiatives and with “Venture building” programs, they strengthen the relevant ecosystem of knowledge and innovation development, entrepreneurship and financing. The aim of the collaboration is to gain more economic and social value from knowledge and innovations in the field of sustainability, digitalization & AI and Life Science Health.
