Bayer brought startups to the boat as early as 2013 – when many other pharmaceutical companies did not think so. Meanwhile, 150 founding teams have gone through the Accelerator Grants4Apps. According to Bayer, this resulted in 29 cooperations – a success rate of 20 percent.
The Group is reorganizing the program: the molecular biologist Zsuzsanna Varga will lead the program in the future and set other accents. “The digital health industry has matured over the past six years,” she says. Developing an app that records the heartbeat is no longer enough today. Nevertheless, Bayer will continue to search for startups.
The business models of the young companies are increasingly moving into the focus of attention for the group burdened by the glyphosate crisis. Founders need to know the answer to the question of who should pay for their application. Defining that was a big challenge for founders in the past. In the meantime, they have already started cooperations with health insurance funds or companies, Bayer says. Progress is also being made in the area of public health regulation. Startups would consider that much more today than a few years ago.
Precision medicine and digital therapies
Data also plays an increasingly important role for the founding teams: Mathematical methods allow more precise forecasts. Digital therapies are increasingly replacing or supplementing molecular medications. Artificial intelligence improves diagnostics and speeds up drug research.
The new G4A boss has identified three focus areas: women’s health, cardiovascular therapies and digital therapies. “We want to look at the patient holistically and not only when it comes to diseases”.
Long-term partnerships sought
This new approach also requires that the previous three startup programs, the Accelerator, Dealmaker and Generator, be bundled in one offer: G4A Partnerships. “The difference with previous programs is that we want to focus on projects at an early stage and seek longer-term partnerships,” says Varga. That goes beyond the traditional three-month deadline.
Bayer’s “Business Challenges” will be the starting point, for which startups pitch their solutions. After the selection process, there will be further financing in addition to a start-up financing of 50,000 to 100,000 euros, if startups reach milestones.
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Code should replace drugs
The topic of digital therapies is “super exciting” for Varga, even though the term has become a buzzword. Varga sees big business especially in the areas of mental health and pain therapy. “It is exciting for a pharmaceutical company to look more in the direction of how to complement drug therapies. Maybe there are also areas here that completely change business areas”.
She also expects profound changes in the field of Artificial Intelligence. “I see the greatest potential of artificial intelligence in early research in the development of new drugs,” says Varga. Because it takes ten years for a successful drug to hit the market. “Cell simulation, organ and patient simulation can shorten this time and identify more efficient drugs.”
AI startup simulates cancer cells
A successful example is the Startup Turbine.AI, which completed the Accelerator 2016. The team from Hungary simulates cancer cells. “It tests therapies and can also predict what resistance the cancer cells can develop to a drug,” says Varga. “The technology has the potential to shorten our research time.”
Bayer relies on long-term projects. “It’s not about doing anything with startups,” says Zsuzsanna Varga, differentiating her approach from earlier concepts. In April, the first challenges will be announced.
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