BGU | PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2025

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PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2025

Prof. Razi Vago

BGN Over the past year, BGN, Ben-Gurion University’s technology transfer company, faced significant challenges in promoting industry-funded research at BGU as many researchers, students, and staff were called to active reserve duty. Under these circumstances, we prioritized ensuring the continuity of ongoing research projects, while expanding our search for new industry partners. Despite these challenges, BGN launched 50 new research projects with industry partners. BGN also continued supporting framework agreements with large multinational corporations, maintaining collaborations with major partners such as Deutsche Telekom, Fujitsu, Toshiba, and Lenovo while establishing important new agreements with Meta, Microsoft, and Google, which we hope will form the foundation for long-term partnerships with these companies. Two BGN startups completed their successful acquisitions in 2024: • Cartiheal , which is developing a biocompatible coral-based implant for knee cartilage repair based on Prof. Razi Vago's research, was acquired by Smith and Nephew for USD 330 million. • DiA Imaging Analysis , based on Prof. Hugo Guterman's research in AI-powered heart ultrasound imaging technology for mobile devices, was acquired by Philips Healthcare Imaging for close to USD 100 million. The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev (NIBN) is now fully integrated with BGN, and continues to lead groundbreaking projects in biopharma and biotechnology. A unique antigen array technology developed by Prof. Tomer Hertz with NIBN funding secured a USD 1.3 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and validate a novel, safe approach for measuring immune responses to polioviruses. The challenging economic environment of 2024 made raising initial capital particularly difficult for early-stage startups. In response, the Israel Innovation Authority launched an initiative to establish and partially fund eight new angel investor clubs focused on deep tech startups. BGN partnered with several applicant groups, four of which were selected to receive funding. These angel clubs now provide valuable opportunities to present BGU technologies to wider audiences and are expected to become important vehicles for funding deep tech innovations in coming years.

Prof. Hugo Guterman

104 NEW PATENT APPLICATIONS FILED

50 RESEARCH AGREEMENTS WITH INDUSTRY

OVER START-UPS ESTABLISHED BASED ON BGU TECHNOLOGIES 150