The projects have worked on a broad range of solutions, including a new treatment for Parkinson’s disease, a new cancer drug, an artificial bile duct on a chip, ?a computational platform for antibody-target design, and a platform for animal vaccines.?
Through SPARK Norway, which has its roots in Stanford SPARK, the projects have received guidance to further develop their research-based ideas so they benefit both patients and society. As part of the programme, each project was assigned a mentor, a project coordinator, professional advisory support and funding.
– The foundation of your innovation projects is that they are built on excellent research, and it is clear that during your time in SPARK Norway you have developed a much more entrepreneurial mindset. This is the core of the SPARK Norway programme, said Morten Egeberg, director of SPARK Norway, in his address to the completed projects.
Jens Petter Berg, UiO’s Vice-Rector for Life Science and Health Research, also praised the project leaders and the scientific and innovative work they have carried out.
– You should be proud — but do not rest on your laurels. Keep working, and continue to set high goals and ambitions. The combination of academically excellent science and an innovation mindset is exactly what the University of Oslo wants to stimulate among researchers across our faculties, he said, continuing:
– UiO aims to remain a socially engaged university that puts knowledge into use. We will strengthen ties with Oslo Science City, collaborate with clusters and private companies, and invest in shared infrastructure and competencies such as UiO Growth House and Inven2. In many ways SPARK Norway sits at the center of this ecosystem, connecting academic talent to mentors, industry expertise and funding pathways required to achieve impact with new solutions.
He also expressed special thanks to the mentors who have helped develop projects and candidates, and to Agnete Fredriksen for establishing the Vaccibody Innovation Award.
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Winner of Vaccibody Innovation Award 2025
At the graduation event, the project leaders pitched their business ideas to a jury consisting of Agnete Fredriksen from Nykode (co-founder of Vaccibody, now Nykode), Michael Ensig, CEO of Nykode, Senior Investment Associate Markus Dietrich from Hadean Ventures, and Jens Petter Berg from UiO. There were five strong candidates, but Nicola Pietro Montaldo came out on top.
The Vaccibody Innovation Award was established in 2020 when Agnete Fredriksen won the Research Council of Norway’s Innovation Prize. Fredriksen donated the NOK 500,000 prize money to SPARK Norway, and for the past five years the NOK 100,000 award has gone to the most innovative SPARK Norway project among the graduated projects. The fund has now been depleted, and this was the last time the prize will be awarded unless SPARK Norway finds a new way to finance it.
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The graduated projects
- Novel targets for attenuating disease progression in Parkinson’s disease
Project Leader Nicola Pietro Montaldo
? - Epi-transcriptomic Anti-Cancer Drug Development
Project Leader Adam Filipczyk
? - DUCT chip – An artificial bile duct on a chip recapitulating immune functions
Project Leader Henry Hoyle
? - Experimental-computational platform for antibody-target design
Project Leader Puneet Rawat
? - Novel vaccine platform for animal health
Project Leader Hanne Winther-Larsen