CoLab AccelBio held its annual Connecting Day on May 29th, 2026, at the Pavilhão de Portugal in Lisbon, bringing together researchers, innovators, policymakers, and partners from academia and industry for a day dedicated to translational research and collaboration in the life sciences.

The programme opened with an overview of CoLab AccelBio's growth, capacities, and assets by AccelBio's Management Team (Bárbara Gomes - CEO, Ricardo Viais - COO, Sílvia Almeida - CSO), followed by a keynote presentation on Translational Research by Bruno Dombrecht, Head of VIB Discovery Sciences. The day also featured two round table discussions: one exploring the challenges and opportunities of translational research in academia, and another examining the future of organoids in drug discovery.

Speakers included Bruno Dombrecht (VIB Discovery Sciences), Raúl Saraiva (3xP), João Leandro and Vânia Cardoso (CoLAB AccelBio); Aline Fernandes (OrganoStemTech), Raquel Cunha (CoLab TRIALS), Cláudia Miranda and Mariana Branco (CoLAB AccelBio).

The event also welcomed three members of CoLAB AccelBio's International Advisory Board — Ivo Lorenz, Katie Ellias, and Molly Harper — who travelled from the United States to Lisbon to share their perspective and guidance with the community.

The quality of the conversations throughout the day underscored the importance of building strong partnerships between academia and industry to drive meaningful progress in the life sciences. Beyond the discussions themselves, Connecting Day continues to serve as a space for partnering among academic, non-academic, and industry players. CoLab AccelBio's goal for the event is not only to foster genuine dialogue, but also to reinforce existing partnerships and establish new ones that help grow the Portuguese biotech ecosystem.

CoLab AccelBio would like to thank all speakers, its International Advisory Board members, the whole AccelBio team, and everyone who attended and helped make the day memorable. The organization looks forward to continuing these collaborations in the years ahead.

CoLAB AccelBio joined BIO-RED partners in Paris for an in-person meeting hosted by Medicen Paris Region (12–13 January). 

Over two days, partners advanced discussions around: 

• A strategic interregional roadmap and ecosystem-building initiatives in red biotech 

• Staff exchanges, thematic labs, and policy roundtables 

• The launch of a Biotech and Pharma Accelerator Programme to strengthen business cases and foster investment in emerging biotech solutions across regions 

We thank Medicen Paris Region for hosting and all partners for the productive exchanges supporting sustainable and impactful biotech innovation across Europe. 

AccelBio was represented at BIO-Europe in Vienna by Ricardo Viais and Bárbara Gomes. 

Following a productive event, Portugal’s life sciences presence continues to grow—through broader participation, stronger pipelines, improved infrastructure, and an increasingly collaborative approach to delivery. We also highlight the excellent Portugal booth delivered by AICEP Portugal Global at this autumn edition. 

We are honoured that BIO-Europe Spring 2026 will be hosted in Lisbon, with AccelBio, Biocant Park and P-BIO serving as the Host Committee. We look forward to welcoming partners, showcasing capabilities, and accelerating impactful collaborations. 

The IMPACT EU consortium gathered in Milan on 9–10 October 2025 for its 2nd Year Meeting, hosted by Consorzio Italbiotec. 

Partners shared results, reviewed progress, and aligned on upcoming activities focused on arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM). Bárbara Gomes presented AccelBio and our role in supporting biomedical innovation, while Mariana de Araújo Branco showcased how the organoids under development will contribute to identifying new therapeutic targets and therapies for ACM. 

We are proud to be part of this journey toward more precise and effective therapies for cardiovascular disease. 

AccelBio is proud to share the approval of two projects under the FCT Exploratory Projects call: 

1. Deciphering MicroRNA Mechanisms of Action via High-Dimensional Multiparametric Cell Painting Assay
   A cutting-edge Cell Painting approach to map miRNA mechanisms by matching phenotypic signatures to profiles generated with FDA-approved compounds. 

1. Exploiting Novel Host-Directed Antimicrobials for Combating Infections by Staphylococcus aureus
   A newly established approach to identify host-directed candidates that may be used alone or in combination with classical antibiotics. 

These projects reinforce our commitment to enabling high-impact translational science and expanding innovative pipelines. 

Under COMPETE P2030, AccelBio has secured approval for Bio-Transfer: Biomedical Knowledge Commercialization Program, a joint initiative led by i3S, AccelBio, and CoLAB Trials. 

Bio-Transfer aims to strengthen biomedical technology transfer and commercialisation through an integrated national framework and five interconnected actions, including: 

• A progress-tracking directory for innovation ready to transition to bioindustry (Bioinnovation Golden Basket) 

• A learning and sharing cycle of talks (BioInnovators Podcast) 

• A CRM system connecting target companies and expert connectors (Licensing Operating System) 

• Maturation and industry-readiness activities (Bioinnovation Step-Ups) 

• A partnership-promotion tour linking startups and industry (Bio Meetings Route) 

The programme will also track the progress of supported startups and consolidate learnings into a community-facing white paper.