Fondazione Cariplo and Novartis support young talents in the field of life sciences

Last September 30, in Rome, Italy, in the presence of  Italy’s Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin, Novartis Italia and Fondazione Cariplo presented their joint initiative supporting young talents wishing to form a startup in the field of life sciences and thus play an active role in the country’s economic growth. Spanning two years, the initiative, called BioUpper, features a structured program to help young startuppers  prepare, formalize and pitch their business ideas in the field of life sciences. At the end of the program, the most promising projects will be rewarded with funding made available to them.

Eligible areas to apply for the program are: medicine, biotechnologies for medical applications, regenerative medicine, personalized medicine, nutraceuticals, medical software applications, e-health services, diagnostic tools and medical devices. This joint initiative is aimed at boosting a field of research that, when aligned with the needs of the Italian production system, can drive economic growth and job creation. Data shows that in Italy today life science bio-economy is a segment made up of over 200 enterprises generating revenues in excess of €7,400 million (up 4.3% on 2013) and investing €1,413 million (up 4.2%) in R&D. Investing in young talents is a priority of both partners in the initiative: a leading healthcare company and a major philanthropic entity, who have joined their forces and will contribute their respective expertise.