Press Coverage
MediaPharma, an INVENT start-up success story
INNOVA’s French seed capital company, INVENT, has been contributing to the success of Media Pharma, one of INVENT’s most promising start-ups. After being the subject of a TV coverage il Sole 24 Ore, the principal business newspaper in Italy has dedicated an article on MediaPharma’s activities and success story.
Although Media Pharma is a young spin-off created in April 2009, it already has acquired extensive scientific and national research attention in the biopharmaceutical field specializing in developing innovative therapies for cancer treatment. The company focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of monoclonal antibodies for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases with unmet medical need and collaborates with reputed research institutions such as the Max Planck Institute in Martinsried (Germany) and the University of Pittsburgh (USA).
Read the article in the official webpage of the newspaper.
Best practices and opportunities for cooperation in the agro-food industry: the experience of Puglia, May 2010
On 13 and 14 May 2010, the Apulian partners of the European project RAF REGIONS hosted a delegation from the Bulgarian region with the aim to share and transfer best practices and organizational models to support innovation, research and technology transfer in the field of agro-food business.
The Bulgarian delegation was composed of the Governor of the District of Pazardzhik, researchers from the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Plovdiv and the Research Institute of Food Canning (Canning Research Institute), the representative of an industry of dairy products and responsible for international relations of the Municipality of Dimitrovgrad.
Read more on the article published on the online Fresh Plaza magazine (in italian), a dedicated website for the italian agro-food industry.
Nanotechnologies from the laboratory to the industry
The polytechnic institute of Torino has recently created Latenar, a laboratory for miniaturized electro-biochementry. Dr.Lorenzo dall'Acqua, a new Innova regional Partner for the Piemont Region, illustrates how Latemar gathers and coordinates organisations committed to develop micro and nano systems for biological applications and fosters the integration of research results into the industrial world in his article published in the Technology Review magazine, italian edition, 6/2009.
MBS' innovative diagnostic devise, a revolution for food safety
Quality testing and microbiological control issues are essential to secure high quality and safe foods.
MBS, a start-up company from INNOVA’s seed-capital company INVENT has been con
ducting extensive research on innovative diagnostic devises for food, air and water safety and has produced an analytical kit utilizing disposable, ready-to-use reaction vials for fast microbiological analyses of food and water samples.
The MBS findings and analysis method are an important breakthrough for the selective survey and the counting of microorganisms in food.
Read the paper “Il metodo di analisi Micro Biological Survey (MBS) per la rilevazione selettiva e la conta di microorganism negli alimenti”, in the scientific Review Biologi Italiani, April 2009 (in italian)
Lazio Region in front line at the Shangai World Expo
Among the 265 italian projects of technology innovation selected for the Shangai World Expo 2010, 40 are from the Lazio Region. 
Among the 40 projects of the Lazio Region, the flexible ecological multipurpose advanced generator, integrated in the car of the future has been selected to participate in the Italian pavilion “Italy of Inventors”, imagined as a container of the excellence of our country. The innovation has been developed by LABOR Srl, the applied research and engineering laboratory of the INNOVA Group.
Read more in the article (in Italian) "Lazio in prima fila a Shangai", published in Il Sole 24 Ore, 28 April 2010, editorial from Mila Fiodalisi.
Organic Spintronics an INNOVA spin-off Success Story
Organic Sprintronics, a spin-off developped by the italian national research council (CNR)and supported by the INNOVA Group has been ranked among the 45 best spin-offs from the CNR.
Organic Spintronics, created in 2003 from the invention of Prof. Carlo Taliani, one of the major experts in spintronics, has encountered an extraordinary success on the market. The company has developped innovative products in the field of coating films essentially destinated to cover photovoltaic pannels and is continuing its exponential growth. In 2009, the company was moreover awarded with an important contribution from the Innovation Fund from Tuscany.
Read more on the Il Sole 24 Ore, "Quando spin-off conquista il mercato" and "Organic Spintronics centra il business dei film sottili", articles written by Flavia Landolfi, 19-24 April 2010.
10 years of collaboration with the Italian Research Center in fostering concrete business ideas
Italy has a long tradition of high level research and a strong culture of creating new business ideas. This is further demonstrated by the launch of over 100 spin-offs and business ideas in the past 10 years that have florished thanks to the committment of the Italian National Research Centre, the CNR, the largest public research entity in Itlay.
The INNOVA Group has a long standing collaboration with the CNR, and has in particular supported the national research council in the development of 4 spin-offs in the fields of medical diagnosis, biotechnologies & nanotechnologies: Organic Sprintronics, LITECH, DAIMAR and SCRIBA.
For more information on the CNR activity read the article "Nuove imprese dalla ricerca" published on the 24 march 2010 in "Il Sole 24 Ore".
SMEs from Friuli Venezia Giulia region join together to produce and commercialize innovative led-based lighting systems
Seven companies located in the Italian region of Friulia Venezia Giulia joined together to design, produce and commercialize innovative led based lighting systems: the companies cover the whole value chain (from the conceptualization to the production and the selling) thanks to complementary competencies and resources. This new business and organizational model was also proposed by CAMPUS, consulting company controlled by INNOVA, at the end of a study commissioned by Agemont (the local agency for the Economic Development of the Mountain Region) and Area Science Park (the main Italian technological and scientific park): in fact, CAMPUS highlighted that the only way for local SMEs operating in the optics & plastic sector to sustain the global competition was the aggregation of several companies with different skills and capabilities along the value chain and the tight cooperation with specialized local research centers.
Read more on the extract from il Messagero Veneto (in italian)
ImMediaTe Project, a support service for improving companies' digital media biz
INNOVA has joined forces with key European film-TV clusters and digital media players to launch the ImMediate initiative, a support service for improving companies' digital media business. Within this project, companies will be coached and trained on how to develop a digital biz and investors will be courted and tutored on digital biz financing.
Research in Italy, Land of Hidden Gems report released, New York, February, 2, 2010
Research in Italy Land of Hidden Gems, a report prepared by the Italian Trade Commission in
The Italian Trade Commission (Email: vpetricciuolo@italtrade.com) can be contacted for any questions about the report or if you wish to get in touch with a representative from any of the entities mentioned in it.
An expanded Second Edition of this report, to be released in March, will contain even further information, such as tax and legal issues faced by VCs in
TrendChart Country report 2009 released for Italy
As the national correspondent in TrendChart, INNOVA SpA has finalized the annual INNO-Policy TrendChart-Policy Trends and Appraisal Report for
Please visit the TrendChart website for more detailed information:
http://www.proinno-europe.eu/index.cfm fuseaction=page.display&topicID=263&parentID=52.
Training and assistance program to tunisian SMEs in the ICT field
The ICT sector in Tunisia is rapidly evolving and has created a hub of high level competences. Technological and commercial cooperation opportunities with Tunisia is ever growing. The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, in collaboration with Innova, has organised a seminar on December 15th 2009 on the topic and a new programme to assist and accompany innovative tunisian companies in their development and search for italian partners was launhed. The tunisien daily "Le renouveau" dedicated an article "Un programme italien d'assistance aux PME tunisiennes dans le secteur des TIC"on the event in the December 16th, 2009 issue .
Examination of dedicated relationships between automotive suppliers and carmakers: Evidence on the flagship/5 Partners Model
Bart KAMP, Innovation Policy expert and senior project Manager at INNOVA EUROPE is author of the Chapter on "Examination of dedicated relationships between automotive suppliers and carmakers: Evidence on the flagship/5 Partners Model" recently published in "Outsourcing Teamwork and Business Management", Editor: Karl E. Carettas.
INNOVA’s tailor-made methodology developed in the publication “Benchmarking: The search for Innovation Relay Centers’ effective marketing practices” has been referenced in the article “The five I's to innovate” by Gabriela Couto, Director of Marketplaza
Published in the Spanish INCAE Business Review “Innovación”, Volumen 1/Número 9/Septiembre-Dicembre 2009
INNOVA, Seven spin-offs managed through successful partnerships with Italian Universities
Published in the Italian Newspaper “Il Sole 24 Ore Roma”, Article “Sette spin-off gestiti con atenei”, July 15, 2009
INNOVA acquires 10% of the Spanish company Ingeniería e Innovación based in La Rioja creating new market opportunities
Published in the Spanish Newspaper “La Rioja”, July 05, 2009
INNOVA projects among EC SUCCESS STORIES
In the March 2009 edition of the European Commission’s magazine Research FOCUS entitled “A competitive Europe: Research regionally, develop globally”, three of INNOVA’s projects have been selected as Success Stories of the Regions of Knowledge and Food Cluster initiatives:
- NovaRegio Project: Innovative network for coordinated actions on RTD policies at regional level;
- StarNet-Regio Project: STARing a transnational network of regional research-driven marine clusters;
- RAF-Regions Project: Bringing research benefits to agrofood SMEs in Pazardzhik, Central Macedonia and Puglia.
“Organisational Innovation: The missing link to improve business competitiveness” article published in the “Innovation Briefing” of the APEC SME Innovation Center
The present article has been written by Aleardo Furlani, CEO of INNOVA SpA and Rebeca Lucas, Senior Policy Analyst of INNOVA SpA ,Rome, Italy for publication in the “Innovation Briefing” of APEC SME Innovation Centre in December 2008:
In today's new economy characterised by continuous economic, technological and social change, the key word to survive is competitiveness, and competitiveness can no longer be achieved by technological innovation alone. The purpose of the present article is to identify the new trends and emerging facts which show how important non-technological innovation is. Non-technological innovation is a pervasive concept that includes any change to the business approach to the market, the way companies satisfy the market needs as well as the organisational changes dealing with the continuous transformation of the context where companies operate...
The full article can be read in the following link.
TrendChart- Italy Report for 2008
As the national correspondent in TrendChart, INNOVA SpA has finalized the annual INNO-Policy TrendChart-Policy Trends and Appraisal Report for Italy for 2008. This report tracks innovation policy developments on a regional and national level, highlighting and analysing the most recent objectives, trends and governance system in Italy. The concordance with the Lisbon National reform Program are also appraised. Please visit the TrendChart website for more detailed information:
http://www.proinno-europe.eu/index.cfm fuseaction=page.display&topicID=263&parentID=52.
BEinGRID presents grid Solutions for Business
Business Experiments in GRID presenting a series of cutting edge solutions, designed around the end user to solve real business challenges through the application of grid technologies in Barcelona, June 3, 2008 on Industry Days. BEINGRID Press Release, June 2008.
The MAP-IT project is largely contributing to attract major ICT players in the Mediterranean countries
The presence of large scale projects financed by international organizations, such as the World Bank and the EU through the Map-it project is attracting in the Mediterranean areas major international ICT players and is also contributing at the same time to the growth of the local economic context of ICT companies that are building a common identity through the creation in each country of dedicated associations which are in turn backed by a federal supra-national organization, the “Union of Arabic ICT Association”.
Read more in the article "Sponda Sud informatica", Le Idee, Nòva, 01-05-2008
INNOVA's CEO among Italy's most innovative entrepreneurs
According to an expert pannel from the Corriere della Sera - Corriere Economia, Aleardo FURLANI, INNOVA's CEO, has been quoted among the 109 most innovative entrepreneurs in Italy. Italian entrepreneurs are at the forefront of the European innovative drive and demonstrate a strong propensity towards internationalisation.
Read more on the following links to the article published in the Corriere della Sear on March 12, 2007- Comments from Marco Vitale : Core article + Comments
Small and Medium Sized Entreprises get the lion's share of the EU funds for the Seventh Framework Programme
The budget for the Seventh Framework Programme is over 50 billion Euro, much higher than the previous programme. The administrative procedures have been simplified (electronic proposal submission and company registration online) and the number of participationg countries enlarged. Ten thematic areas that will be financed and 30 technology platforms have been defined by the EU. A large scope of new opportunuities to finance projetcs.
The Italian companies should however not participate in the programme with the sole aim of recieving funds explains Aleardo Furlani, CEO of INNOVA SpA. Companies shoud be driven by the desire to develop a good idea and to create collaborations with other companies and universities as well as construct competences to monitor calls and maintain relationships with other private and public companies.
Read the article "Ecco i fondi per le pmi" on Il Sole 24 Ore, 15 February 2007 (in Italian)
INNOVA, the first company in the Tiburtino Technology Park
A positive assessment of the
INNOVA was proudly one of the first companies to settle in the park and has ever since greatly profited from an increased visibility and synergies with other inserted companies creating a favourable environment for new collaborations. "Il futuro passa dalla Capitale", Damiana Verucci, Economia Regionale (Tempo & Denaro), 12 January, 2007.
Community funds: Small and medium Sized Industies assault the 4th Framework Programme
Italy does not rank at the top of the countries carrying out research. Many reasons are possible: lack of culture and lack of sufficient and efficient financial and fiscal tools to support investments, incapacity for companies to work in collaboration with each other and with universities.
However, Italy presents also some very positive examples. Italy is at the forefront of the International Network of SMEs (INSME), the international network of SMES that aims at promoting technology transfer from University to Industry. Another example is the 5th and 6th FP that was launced by the EU to sustain research. Aleardo Furlani, CEO of INNOVA spA, notes that italian companies have been able to pick up some interesting opportunities. The number of projects coordinated by italian partners reached 332 on a total of 891 with a participation of 30% of SMEs. In FP6, Italian companies are on the front line.
Read the article published in Il Sole 24 Ore on 01 march 2005 (in Italian)
Business Management? Project the future
INNOVA S.p.A., created in 1993, provides efficient technical and industrial solutions to companies. Aleardo Furlani, INNOVA's CEO explains that the success of the company relies on a large majority on skilled employees graduated in economy and engineering with a strong and sound passion for technology. However, it is essential for them to be proficient in english and to have strong networking skills. Aleardo Furlani adds "Set up one own's business can be very gratifying but also involves a lot of hard work and no one can just improvise himself as manager!".
Read the entire article published in Lavorare on 2 August 2004 (in Italian)
Italy on the frontiers of Spintronics
Spin electronics or spintronics is one of the most promissing of research. Spintronics enables to produce electronic devices that result more efficient, smaller and more economical in terms of consumption.
In order to construct the first products based on spintronics, the first step is to resolve the problems related to the development of nano-production. This is how the company Organic Spintronics was born as a spin-off of the italian Research Center (CNR). The company is detained at 66% by its chairman, Carlo Taliani, researcher at the CNR, at 24% by the CNR itself and the remaining 10% by INNOVA S.p.A.
The Italian daily Sole 24 Ore has dedicated an article on the subjet on the January 31st, 2004 issue entitled "In Italia si lavora sulla frontiera della "spintronica"".
Smart Dust: New opportunities for venture capital
From the USA: a new system of microscopic sensors that transmit information on the environment where they are dispersed. Research on the "Smart dust" are also financed by the Pentagon. Aleardo Furlani, CEO of INNOVA exlplains how this innovation can constitute a new opportunity for Venture capital in The Independant Review n° 4 Novembre/Dicembre 2003.
Consultancy companies prepare for future changes in the access to EU and national funds
Finding one's way through the complex procedures to access national and European funds is often not an easy task for small and medium sized companies. Efficient technical and administrative guidance is therefore becoming an essential tool for success. INNOVA S.p.A.is providing such services managing around 30% of all Italian Craft projects, explains its CEO Aleardo Furlani in The Sole 24 Ore "Il consulente si prepara al salto oltrefrontiera", 4 September 2003.
