Straight talk with...Alexander von Gabain

Abstract

Although many of the world's best known drugmakers hail from Europe, historically the continent's academic institutions haven't been as adept as their US counterparts at spinning off companies. So, in 2008, the European Commission founded the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) to bring technology and ideas developed at universities to market. The EIT was modeled after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge-but it doesn't bring its students and researchers to a common location. Instead, EIT-funded projects are based within virtual Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) spread across the continent. So far, the institute has established three subject-specific KICs focused on climate change, sustainable energy and information technology, with a total of 75 collaborating universities, companies and other investors. On 15 September, microbiologist Alexander von Gabain will take over from physicist and founding chairman Martin Schuurmans as head of the EIT. A professor at the Max Perutz Laboratories in Vienna and a cofounder of the Austrian biotech Intercell, von Gabain brings with him a new focus on advancing biomedical innovations at the institute. Hannah Waters spoke with him about how he plans to move the EIT into the biomedical arena.