Ferring and BioInnovation Institute enter new strategic collaboration to accelerate innovation in women’s health

• The new strategic collaboration will include supporting BioInnovation Institute (BII) to source and potentially fund early-stage start-ups and projects, specifically within the field of reproductive medicine
• This collaboration helps to fill a gap, given that only 1% of healthcare research funding is invested in female-specific conditions beyond oncology¹

SAINT-PREX, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ferring Pharmaceuticals and BioInnovation announce a new strategic collaboration to accelerate innovation in women’s health.

BioInnovation Institute Foundation (BII) and Ferring Pharmaceuticals A/S (Ferring) have expanded their collaboration with the objective to accelerate world-class life science innovation within women’s health. New activities will include supporting BII to source, and potentially fund and incubate early-stage start-ups and projects within the field of reproductive medicine.

“The new strategic collaboration, highlights Ferring’s continued commitment to invest in early-stage innovation in this area, and we look forward to strengthening our collaboration with BII to accelerate new solutions for patients,” says Armin Metzger, Executive Vice President and Chief Science Officer at Ferring.

The strategic collaboration builds on Ferring’s engagement with BII’s Women’s Health Initiative through Ferring’s membership on the BII Women’s Health Innovation Panel. Women’s health is underserved as only 1% of global healthcare research funding is invested in female-specific conditions beyond oncology.¹ The collaboration aims to bridge the gap by supporting early-stage innovation and will leverage BII’s proven expertise in translational science incubation, together with Ferring’s expertise in early-stage development and reproductive medicine.

“Combining BII’s already proven incubation expertise with the industrial expertise and deep insights that Ferring has within women’s health forms a very strong basis for supporting and accelerating our mission of getting more solutions on the market that address the high unmet needs of 50% of the world’s population. We are pleased to collaborate even closer with Ferring to make it happen,” says Trine Bartholdy, Chief Innovation Officer at the BioInnovation Institute.

About Ferring Pharmaceuticals:

Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven, specialty biopharmaceutical group committed to helping people around the world build families and live better lives. Headquartered in Saint-Prex, Switzerland, Ferring is a leader in reproductive medicine and maternal health, and in specialty areas within gastroenterology and urology. Ferring has been developing treatments for mothers and babies for over 50 years and has a portfolio covering treatments from conception to birth. Founded in 1950, privately-owned Ferring employs over 7,000 people worldwide. The company has operating subsidiaries in more than 50 countries and markets its products in over 100 countries.

Learn more at www.ferring.com, or connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The BioInnovation Institute Foundation:

At BioInnovation Institute (BII), we accelerate world-class life science start-up innovation for the benefit of people and society. As a non-profit institute, BII operates the company creation programs, Bio Studio, Venture Lab and Venture House, to support life science start-ups with knowledge, network, infrastructure and funding of up to EUR 3 million per project and EUR 1,8 million per start-up. With our expertise, network, funding, and infrastructure, we empower start-ups to succeed and believe in the transformative power of life science innovation. Read more on www.bioinnovationinstitute.com.

¹ McKinsey & Company. Unlocking opportunities in women’s healthcare. 2022. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare/our-insights/unlocking-opportunities-in-womens-healthcare [Last accessed April 2023]