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Innovation & venture building

A mission of innovation & venture building

MERLN strives for a leading position in the field of regenerative engineering by combining creative research with training of a generation of interdisciplinary scientists. MERLN’s activities operate at the interface of biology and engineering and aim at maximizing outreach at the level of public involvement, development and commercialization of research as well as venture building. MERLN’s vision is based on sharing of knowledge, enabling commercialization infrastructure and venture building ambition.

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Applied innovation & collaboration

Scientists at MERLN have an extensive network of collaborators within research institutions in and outside the Netherlands. We also have partnerships with a number of biomedical companies, including our own spin-offs. A collaborative highlight is that MERLN is the founding partner of RegMed XB, an institute with an investment of EUR 250 million, which translates groundbreaking regenerative medicine technologies into commercial products and companies.

Commercialization & venture building

Commercialization of research concerns the creation of value ("valorisation") based on the scientific knowledge we develop through its translation into competitive products and start-up companies. MERLN aims to provide an environment in which fundamental research results can be effectively translated into clinical applications and manufacturing. To do this effectively, we actively strive to connect to the business community, especially key opinion leaders in our research fields and related firms. We also foster a culture of public-private, international, and interdisciplinary collaboration in which translational and entrepreneurial performance have comparative prestige and career opportunities.

Coordination

To coordinate MERLN’s valorisation mission, MERLN relies on Marianne van der Steen, Professor of Entrepreneurship in Healthcare and the Chief Business Development Officer of the MERLN Institute. Marianne was the Founding Director of RegMed XB and today is its Director of New Business Development. Her research focus is on biomedical entrepreneurship, specifically on the scaling-up of ventures.