About the BioPhoT project

The project will set up a long-term interdisciplinary research and innovation platform that will carry out research and innovation projects until 2032:

in the smart specialisation strategy area of biomedicine, medical technology and pharmaceuticals (improving access to therapies to increase survival and work capacity by developing technologies for the production of drugs, their transporters and vaccines, drug reprofiling, new drug discovery and development research, identifying new biomarkers and developing precision medicine solutions);

in the Smart Specialisation Strategy area of photonics and smart materials, technologies and engineering systems (development of optics, photonics, microelectronics, microfluidics devices, smart materials, data and communication technologies, sensors and engineering systems, robotics and future IoT solutions)

The Platform is a consortium, coordinated by the Latvian Organic Synthesis Institute (LOSI) and co-ordinated by the Electronics and Computer Science Institute (ECSI), the Scientific Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment (BIOR), the Solid State Physics Institute (CFI), the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre (LBMC), the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry (LVKCKI), Riga Stradins University (RSU), Riga Technical University (RTU) and the University of Latvia (LU).

Platform objectives

  • Developing academic research and applied science competences to develop innovative and commercialisable products and technologies.
  • By 2032, create 35 new technologies of at least TRL 3-4, of which at least 23 must meet TRL 5-6. At least 4 technologies must have reached the commercialisation phase.
  • The Platform makes innovation education and technology transfer training an important challenge, fostering dialogue between researchers, the commercial sector and policy makers.
    This approach will bridge the gap between science and the commercial sector, improving the ability of inventions to overcome the so-called "valley of death" in their development path.
  • The strategic impact of the platform lies in its aim to identify ideas with low TRL but good commercialisation potential and, through project implementation, to raise it, thus preparing competitive applications for Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) commercialisation grant competitions.

Achievable results

Achievable result30.11.2025.30.11.2026.30.11.2032.
Patent applications (WIPO, EPO)005
Reporting on policy recommendations and the impact of policies014
Submission of a project application to an international or national call for research and development projects0515
Successful completion of the Master's national (final) examination0210
Doctoral thesis defended in the prescribed manner0015
Other results:   
Platform projects funded4065195
incl. TRL level increased by 1 unit040120
Technology at TRL level 3 or 40035
including technologies at TRL level 5 or 60023

Research and innovation projects

PIP - a research and innovation project corresponding to the smart specialisation strategy area "Biomedicine, medical technologies and pharmaceuticals" and/or "Photonics and smart materials, technologies and engineering systems". A PIP is applied for and/or approved and implemented under the BioPhoT platform.

PIP Objective:

Contribute to the BioPhoT platform deliverables - at least 35 technologies developed by 2032, including prototypes at Technology Readiness Levels 3 to 4, including at least 23 technologies at Technology Readiness Levels 5 to 6.

PIP tasks:

  • research and innovation activities aimed at increasing the technological maturity of existing developments;
  • develop commercialisation plans for research developments and actively seek commercialisation partners;
  • create intellectual property, including know-how, and take action to strengthen it

Horizontal actions in the CIP:

  • Improving scientists' technology transfer skills and knowledge;
  • building cross-sectoral networks;
  • Promoting intersectoral mobility.

Documents

Project Terms of Reference with Annexes
Mentor application form
Agenda of the Platform Steering Group

Partners

Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis (LIOS) is the coordinator of the BioPhoT platform. Within the framework of the project, LIOS will provide research and innovation expertise as well as research infrastructure in the fields of medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, biophysical chemistry and process chemistry. 

 

LIOS has extensive experience in collaborative research with the pharmaceutical industry, which accounted for €4.2 million in 2023 (almost 30% of LIOS' total revenues). The innovation capacity of LIOS is facilitated by the LIOS Innovation Centre. The Institute is a partner in several international research consortia dedicated to innovation, which also involve industry "European Accelerator of Tuberculosis Regime" (ERA4TB), "Towards a more sustainable European pharmaceutical production of APIs" (TransPharm), EstLat Alliance in Drug Development (PharmaBoost). LIOS is the coordinator of the project "Natural Products Research at Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis as a Driver for Excellence in Innovation" (Natalion) and coordinates the national research platform BioMedPharm.  

https://www.osi.lv/

Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia (CFI) will provide research and innovation expertise in materials science, microfluidics and coatings technologies as part of the BioPhoT platform. Presearch and innovation projects (The PIP will have access to the research infrastructure of an ISO Class 6-7 national nanomanufacturing centre equipped for micro- and nanofabrication, including organic electronics, photonics and microfluidics. 

 

CFI is a national leader in advanced technology and materials research. CFI has extensive experience working with both globally recognised companies and national industry leaders including GroGlass, Sidrabe, CeramOptec and LightGuide. CFI coordinated the TEAMING project CAMART2. Within this framework, the Institute established the industry collaboration platform "Materize". 

https://cfi.lv

Riga Technical University (RTU) The innovation capacity of the BioPhoT platform will be supported by the RTU Science and Innovation Centre, which serves as a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. 

 

RTU is a modern, internationally recognised research university that educates students and conducts high-level scientific and technological research. RTU's network includes several well-known industry partners - FokkerNextGen, AirBaltic, Mikrotīkls and LMT. RTU leads the national Microchip Initiative, which is designed to promote the development of microchip technologies. The University is a partner of the EIT Climate-KIC, EIT Digital, EIT RawMaterials, EIT Food and EIT UrbanMobility communities. RTU coordinates the TEAMING project "Baltic Biomaterials Centre of Excellence" (BBCE), in which the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis and Riga Stradiņš University are national partners. 

https://rtu.lv

University of Latvia (LU) BioPhoT platform Research will be carried out in the fields of optical technologies and medical physics, nano and quantum technologies, innovative materials, biomedicine, pharmaceuticals, regenerative medicine and biobanking. The project will make use of the research infrastructure of the Nature House and the Science House, as well as the resources of the Knowledge and Technology Transfer Centre. 

 

LU is the leading and largest comprehensive university in Latvia. Alongside its academic activities, LU actively collaborates with industry on research projects, which in 2023 amounted to EUR 2.3 million. LU is a partner in several international research consortia dedicated to innovation, including industry partners such as "Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures 4 Europe" (CCI4EU) and "Developing the Action Plan to Foster Baltic Region Innovation Ecosystem in Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology" (BIOCONNECT).  

https://lu.lv

Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre (LBMC) BioPhoT platform provide research resources for personalised medicine, including cancer treatment and vaccine development. The LMCC will offer its own service centres: the Genome Centre, the Bioinformatics Service Centre, the Cell Biology and Microscopy Service Centre, the Laboratory Animal Service Centre and the Recombinant Biotechnology Service Centre. 

 

LBMC is a leading research institute in translational medicine and applied biotechnology. The LBMC's collaborative research is mainly related to vaccine development (Saiba Animal Health GmbH) and organ-on-a-chip technology (Cellbox Labs). Industrial partnership projects implemented by the LBMC include "Challenging African Swine Fever outbreaks with innovative VLP-based vaccines" (ASF-INNOVAC) and "Developing a first-in-class vascularized Gut-Brain-Axis-on-chip platform for accelerating research and drug discovery" (GBA-CONNECT). LBMC oversees the National Biobank and is a partner in several European initiatives - 1+ Million Genomes (1+MG), BBMRI-ERIC (national node) and INSTRUCT. 

https://biomed.lu.lv/

Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry (LVKCCI) The BioPhoT platform will promote research on wood structure, strength and degradation mechanisms, biorefining approaches, the development of technologies to fully exploit wood components, and biomass recycling. A pilot plant will be available for the project.

 

LVKCI is a leading research institute in the development of knowledge-based, environmentally friendly and low-waste technologies to produce competitive materials and products from plant biomass for economic, social and environmental benefit. LVKCI is a member of several Partner in research consortia involving collaboration with industry - Biobased Industry Consortium (BIC), International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO) and European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence (EPNOE). The Institute coordinates the projects "Furfural for Future", "Superbinder" and "Sustainable Polyols" aimed at commercialisation of technologies developed by LVKCI. The innovative company "BetulinLab" implements technologies developed at the LVCCI. Between 2021 and 2024, the LVCCI has carried out around 200 scientific projects. The Institute has a state-of-the-art pilot plant hangar, which allows the development of technologies up to TRL 4-6, thus facilitating the commercialisation of innovations. The Institute has inventory and intangible assets worth EUR 7.7 million (according to the balance sheet), of which around EUR 6 million have been invested in the development of scientific infrastructure - laboratories and pilot plants.

https://kki.lv

Institute of Electronics and Computer Science (IECS) BioPhoT platform will contribute to the extremely accurate timing of events (extremely precise event timing), remote sensing in space data processing, robotics, signal processing, embedded intelligence and smart sensors. Adequate research infrastructure will be available for the implementation of the project. 

 

EDI is a research institute focusing on intelligent embedded cooperative systems (SECS), with applications in smart mobility, future healthcare, Industry 4.0, smart cities and space technologies. EDI is the European umbrella association for "INSIDE Industry Association" (INSIDE) and member of the Association for European Nanoelectronics Activities (AENEAS). EDI coordinates the project "Go IT!" and participates in several Chips JU projects - "AIMS5.0", "PowerizeD" and "ShapeFuture". 

 

https://edi.lv

Riga Stradiņš University (RSU) BioPhoT will contribute to biomedical and public health research. The project is coordinated by the RSU Department of Science, while the RSU Innovation Centre will support the project's technology transfer and communication activities.

 

RSU is the leading medical university in Latvia specialising in medical and public health research. RSU is the national coordinator of the European Research Infrastructure Consortium EATRIS and the EIT Health Centre in Latvia. RSU is also a shareholder in the university incubator UniLab and a partner in the Children's Clinical University Hospital Healthcare Development Centre. One of the most important projects in the development of the innovation ecosystem is HIVE - "HEI Innovation for Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship EIT HIVE".

 

Every year, RSU submits dozens of projects to both EU Horizon Europe and national competitions, actively contributing to the international and national research and innovation landscape.

 

https://rsu.lv

Scientific Institute for Food Safety, Animal Health and the Environment (BIOR) BioPhoT platform will carry out research in analytical chemistry, food chemistry and molecular biology. 

 

BIOR is a research institute with extensive experience in food and environmental safety, fish management and animal health. BIOR is a partner in several ES4Health projects, including "Delivering a Unified Research Alliance of Biomedical and Public Health Laboratories against Epidemics" (DURABLE), "European Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare-Associated Infections" (EU-JAMRAI 2) and "EU-Wastewater Integrated Surveillance for Public Health" (EU-WISH). 

https://bior.lv

Platform Management Group

The highest decision-making body of the BioPhoT Research Platform, composed of senior officials from all partners, ensuring rapid decision-making.
Dace Karkle
Chair of the BioPhoT Platform Steering Group
Director, Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis
Andris Anspoks
Director, Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia
Gundars Bērziņš
Rector of LU
Tālis Juhna
Rector of RTU
Karina Orlova
Director, Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry
Kaspars Ozols
Deputy Director, Institute of Electronics and Computer Science
Aigars Petersons
Rector of RSU
Olga Valcina
Director of the Scientific Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and the Environment "BIOR"
Nils Rostock
Director, Latvian Centre for Biomedical Research and Studies

Platform Project Management Group

A group of independent experts for the selection and internal evaluation of the platform's project applications. Established in accordance with the Cabinet of Ministers' Regulation No 560 of 4 September 2018 "Procedures for the Implementation of National Research Programme Projects".
Dr Wolfgang Fecke
Chair of the Steering Group
Dr. Gediminas Račiukaitis
Member of the Steering Group
Māra Skrastiņa
Member of the Steering Group

Team

Professionals driving innovation in biomedicine and photonics
Osvalds Pugovičs
Project Manager osvalds@osi.lv
Alise Ose
Project Administrator alise.ose@osi.lv
Andris Baumanis
Head of the Innovation Project Selection, Implementation, Monitoring and Sustainability Working Group andris@unilab.lv
Anna Stikane
Head of the Working Party on Intellectual Property Protection and Technology Transfer
Head of the Technology Transfer and Training Activities Working Group
anna.stikane@osi.lv
Uldis Vegners
Head of the Ethics and Conflicts of Interest Working Group uldis.vegners@rsu.lv
Renate Franke
Head of Communications renate.franke@lu.lv
Amanda Boka
Public Relations Officer amanda.boka@lu.lv

Frequently asked questions

The indirect cost rate for the RIP is 25% of all costs excluding outsourcing

The applicant is a scientific institution. The use of indirect costs shall be governed by the procedures approved by the institution

This is not regulated under BioPhoT. The exception is the purchase of fixed assets (equipment), where only depreciation costs during the project implementation period can be attributed to the PIP

Any extension is treated as a new application. No formal restrictions

A cooperation agreement is concluded between the lead partner (the PIP applicant) and the cooperation partner, similar to FLPP projects. Implementing partners maintain working relationships with their institutions

The application form (Annex 1) must be submitted by 8 May. It is not necessary to send the presentation file

Veterinary medicine as an agricultural support sector is part of the bioeconomy

There is no minimum involvement and a single contractor may be involved in several projects, provided that the total workload does not exceed the legal

Yes, scientists from these institutions can submit PIP proposals. If the application is successful, a Letter of Accession will be concluded with the relevant scientific institution

Are you a scientist?
Apply for the project!

The programme offers funding of up to €200 000 per project to turn scientific innovation into practical solutions.

BioPhoT partners