About us//

An incubator one of a kind

We are a certified incubator fully dedicated to very early stage innovative startups, an accelerator, and a company builder in Life Sciences, who helps exceptional people to exploit the results of their scientific research, working alongside all the subjects of the innovation chain to create sustainable, pragmatic, and long-lasting business paths with an international scope.

Our peculiarity is the ability to think out of the box. We aim to create a broad international innovation ecosystem in Life Sciences, with Bio4Dreams standing as a reference point and beacon for entrepreneurial ideas.

We go well beyond the traditional definition of startups’ incubator: we follow the entire development path of a single project, starting from its very early stages. Furthermore, we do not limit ourselves to an ordinary interaction with the main innovation players, but we work to integrate them into a wider ecosystem.

This is what outlines the two souls of our approach: bottom-up innovation e top-down innovation.

Da inizio 2018, ricercatori e scienziati possono sviluppare e valorizzare la propria idea imprenditoriale in un contesto scientifico e gestionale di altissimo livello, dove dialogano la ricerca, l’industria e il mercato.
La nostra Business Nursery™ offre agli startupper programmi di supporto personalizzati e competenze distintive nelle Scienze della Vita oltre a un team coeso, multidisciplinare e orientato al risultato, dedicato a dare solidità ai primi passi delle nascenti startup.

Bottom-up innovation

We work on business projects and startups since their very initial phases, getting our hands dirty on topics like the definition of their founding elements. This is how we exploit the startups and their assets, bringing them value, stability, and a clear path toward the market. This concept translates operatively into tailor-made incubation programs shaped on each startups’ needs, which can also include direct investments shareholdings. This is how we want to contribute to the revolution in the world of Life Sciences.

Top-down innovation

We work close hands with local innovation ecosystems, contributing to enhance their excellences by integrating them into a wider national and international network. The pillars of this network are the numerous and diverse relationships, synergies, and partnerships with local players and institutions, whereby we develop and promote innovation hubs active on the territory but with an international scope. In this way we offer not just a favourable environment for startups’ growth, but we also make innovation a vehicle for enriching the territory, from an entrepreneurial, productive, cultural, and employment point of view.

Our journey

Bio4Dreams was born from the shared experience of a group of professionals and companies that, over time, have built distinctive paths in healthcare and Life Sciences innovation. The expertise of Elisabetta Borello and Pietro Conti, through IMS, the Institute of Healthcare Management, and Sanipedia, of Daniele Cusi in academia, and of Laura Iris Ferro in the biotech industry come together in a unique model for supporting innovation and technology transfer, a synthesis of scientific vision, industrial capability, and entrepreneurial drive.

The roots: from IMS to healthcare innovation

It all began in 2000 with the founding of IMS, Institute of Healthcare Management. Established by Elisabetta Borello and Pietro Conti, the company was created to support hospitals, universities, and research centers in adopting innovative organizational models, ranging from diagnostic imaging to pharmaceutical logistics. IMS coordinated complex projects at both national and European level, consolidating an institutional network across Italy. In 2007, after selling its strategic consulting division to Ernst & Young, the company specialized in Grant Office services and clinical trials, core activities of the group to this day.

Sanipedia: the bridge between science and business

In 2007, Elisabetta and Pietro founded Sanipedia to enhance scientific results and turn them into businesses. The entry of Daniele Cusi, a professor, geneticist, and molecular biologist, marked a decisive step in strengthening the connection between business and academia. Sanipedia then launched a network of academic spin-offs in the Life Sciences, offering solutions for technology transfer. In parallel, Kos Genetic was created, becoming a reference point in the genomics of complex traits, and the team connected with Neuro-Zone, an organization that supports preclinical research through advanced cellular platforms.

Bio4Dreams: industrializing innovation

The turning point came through meeting Laura Iris Ferro. A physician and biotech entrepreneur, Laura led Gentium to NASDAQ and later to its acquisition by Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Drawing on her experience and vision, Laura inspired the creation of Bio4Dreams in 2018, blending her approach with those of Pietro, Elisabetta, and Daniele. The incubator’s goal is clear: to industrialize the innovation process, guiding startups from idea to market through an integrated approach that brings together consulting, research, finance, and industry.

A growing ecosystem alongside startups

In just a few years, Bio4Dreams has built a solid track record across projects assessed, startups incubated, and national and international presence. In 2022, it strengthened its role with a strategic base at MIND, the Milano Innovation District, one of Europe’s leading innovation hubs. With over 25 years of managerial and scientific experience, and a fluid, multidisciplinary model that integrates bottom-up and top-down approaches, Bio4Dreams is now a growing ecosystem that promotes entrepreneurship, generating tangible value for people’s health and quality of life.