Successful Investment Day at Radboudumc Knowledge valorization as fourth core task in UMCs

On September 28th, Radboudumc, Briskr, and Oost NL organized an Investment Day for the first time. Around 80 scientists, investors, and entrepreneurs visited the renewed Experience Center to strengthen ties, discuss new cooperation opportunities, and think about ways to keep healthcare as effective as possible through investments in innovations. Key topics on the agenda included artificial intelligence (AI) and personalized care.

Attendees were presented with a diverse programme. Bram van Ginneken, professor of functional image analysis at Radboudumc, explained how he, with Delft Imaging, first enabled AI-driven tuberculosis detection on a large scale. In 2014, he and Eva van Rikxoort founded software company Thirona, which performs automated analysis on radiological images - 'Turning data into evidence'. Michel Briejer, managing partner at Thuja Capital, provided insight into how investors see entrepreneurship in healthcare. Other speakers included Andy Lürling (founding partner Lumolabs), Alexander Nicastia (Business Development), Peter Bram 't Hoen (professor of bioinformatics Radboudumc), Mark Janssen (Board of Directors Radboudumc), and Chimwemwe de Gaay Fortman (manager Capital Oost NL).

Successful gathering

All speakers emphasized the importance of collaboration in healthcare innovation. For that reason plenty of room was left in the schedule for introductions and one-on-one conversations. Afterwards, there were many positive reactions and it looks like the Investment Day will become an annual event.

Looking back on the event, Jan Smit, dean and vice-chairman of the Radboudumc Board of Directors, says: "Scientists and entrepreneurs need each other to really make an impact. With Investment Day we have taken an important step in bringing both worlds closer together. I think it is important and great to put a lot of energy into this, together."

Successful entrepreneurship

Investment Day initiator Martijn Kriens, programme manager at Briskr, sees the event as a good first step into bringing investors, scientists, and knowledge-intensive startups together. "It is precisely this connecting in an early phase of development that better enables the knowledge institutions to achieve success and thus make an impact on healthcare. We're looking into more ways to strengthen the network permanently, besides the annual Investment Day."

Chimwemwe de Gaay Fortman: “As Oost NL we aim to build bridges between science and the private sector. This Investment Day is a great example. The momentum is strong. By utilizing each other's strengths we help researchers and entrepreneurs take their innovations a step further towards the market."