TargED Biopharmaceuticals is a powerful example of how academic research can successfully make the leap from the university lab to the real world. Want to know how it started? Read on!

For Marc van Moorsel the journey began during his PhD at UMC Utrecht in 2017. Although his focus was scientific research, an entrepreneurship course introduced him to a completely different perspective: what if this research could become more than a publication? Together with mentors, investors, and innovation experts, he started exploring how academic discoveries could be translated into solutions that create real societal impact.

What started as a simple pitch deck quickly evolved into something much bigger. With support from Utrecht Holdings, Marc and the team connected with entrepreneurs, biotech specialists, and investors who helped sharpen both the scientific vision and the business case. Those early conversations gradually transformed an academic project into a company with a clear mission, proving that building a startup often starts with simply sharing an idea and being open to collaboration.

In 2020, that vision became reality when TargED officially launched as a spin-off company and secured its first investment round. Marc combined life as a PhD researcher with the challenges of entrepreneurship, navigating a world far beyond academia — from fundraising and hiring to strategy and business development. The experience demonstrated that researchers do not need to leave their science behind to become entrepreneurs; instead, they can use entrepreneurship to amplify the impact of their work.

Today, TargED has grown into one of the Netherlands’ leading biotech scale-ups, raising more than €60 million in funding to date and building an international team focused on bringing its innovation to patients. Marc van Moorsel’s journey shows that academic research does not have to stop at discovery alone. With the right support, network, and willingness to take the leap, researchers can turn their ideas into companies that create lasting impact far beyond the university walls.