Despite ranking among the world’s top scientific producers, Italy has struggled to turn research into startups. Now, stronger tech transfer offices, private capital and returning scientists are pushing the country toward a more mature innovation economy.
Italy is finally beginning to convert its highly regarded scientific advantages into real companies.
After years of world‑class research output, superb clinical excellence and a growing venture capital (VC) base, there is optimism for Italian startups becoming increasingly global players, said several Italian VCs that spoke to BioSpace.
Tech transfer offices (TTOs) have improved. Italians are moving back from abroad, nurturing the talent ecosystem. Although cultural resistance to commercialization remains strong among scientists, consistency in funding sources such as incubators and VC backing bodes well for the future of Italian innovation.
Italian research and clinical firepower
Italy has long had high-standing research. According to the Nature Index, which tracks high‑quality scientific publications across 178 top journals, Italy ranks tenth globally and fourth in Europe for overall research output.
In terms of hubs, the Lombardy region, with Milan as its capital, has historically driven innovation as the financial center of the country, said Fabrizio Calisti, medical director at the Rome-based Angelini Ventures. Milan also has a strong science research base, he said, but excellent universities exist across the country.
In Italy, many startups come out of university research, added Lorenzo Pradella, board director at Milan-headquartered Zcube. To that benefit, TTOs have become more efficient, said Calisti and Diana Saraceni, founder and managing partner at Milan-based Panakès Partners.
As discussed in previous Insights articles and Denatured podcasts on the European financing system, expedient TTOs are crucial for company creation, attracting foreign capital, retaining value inside a country and scaling companies without losing a national identity.
Unfortunately, both Saraceni and Calisti agreed that the mindset of startup creation out of science research is still not very popular. “Researchers tend to keep researching for the sake of it,” Saraceni said, adding that scientists often feel it’s unethical to make money.
Investment encouragement
Despite the researcher mindset, Saraceni expressed optimism about increased investment volumes coming into Italian and European companies each year. The trend builds on a strong foundation started by the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), Italy’s national promotional institution and public development bank, about 10-15 years ago, she explained. CDP supported creation of incubators as well as backed several VCs, underscoring a financial and science ecosystem that attracts international capital as well.
Although CDP catalyzed the ecosystem, capital today is overwhelmingly private, Saraceni said. Italy now has about a half-dozen local VCs active in biotech, she said, with several VCs having a corporate VC arm. The VC ecosystem is growing and connected better with other European players, Calisti added.
On the national level, Italy’s multibillion National Recovery and Resilience Plan, funded through the E.U., also has offered a fraction of the funds to boost biotech, medtech and TTO investment, Calisti said.
Italy’s ecosystem is also aided by “brain repatriation:” more natives are returning home, bringing talent and company expertise they gained outside the country, Calisti and Saraceni said. Tax incentives have also drawn non-Italians in the sciences to move, Saraceni added.
A key challenge for Italian companies will be to scale while maintaining the Italian footprint, Calisti said. Relocation to bigger hubs can be normal, but it’s important for the Italian ecosystem to retain value, he added. Manufacturing also has a strong based in Italy, Calisti said, which could hold an important element to keep some Italian roots.
Still, Italian companies should consider thinking themselves as European-first, Saraceni said.
The cultural resistance to commercialization won’t disappear overnight, but investors argue the momentum is real: more founders, more capital and more global connectivity. With manufacturing strength and a growing European orientation, Italy may be on the edge of transforming its scientific reputation into a consistent pipeline of globally competitive biotech companies.
