Our co-founder Michal Zahradníček was a guest on the latest episode of The Forbes Show, a podcast by Forbes Czech Republic. He spoke about his path into biotechnology, regenerative medicine, artificial organs, and also about investments that did not work out.

Fifteen years ago, Michal left a successful career in IT to focus on biotechnology and regenerative medicine. As he explains in the interview, the decision was shaped by a lesson from his MBA studies: that innovation is the only legitimate claim to profit. What began largely as philanthropic support for primary research has gradually grown into a meaningful investment portfolio, with Primecell having invested around CZK 2 billion and the venture capital fund roughly CZK 500 million.

Since its launch 18 months ago, LIFE bioCEEd has reviewed around 500 research projects, given the green light to ten, and invested in seven of them. Along the way, our focus has naturally expanded from Central and Eastern Europe to Western Europe, and we are now preparing a major investment project with one of Europe's leading universities.

The fund brings together Gernot Mittendorfer, former head of Erste Group and Česká spořitelna, Martin Albert with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, and Miroslav Havlíček, owner of Medin. Michal has also connected investors from Penta, family foundation managers, and private investors with various biotechnology projects.

The interview also covers Primecell's work across regenerative medicine, from tissue banking to cell and gene interventions, its long-term collaboration with universities and the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the Brno Science Club, through which Michal, together with Dušan Palcr and Libor Hledík, supports researchers with bold ideas outside the mainstream. Beyond biotechnology, he supports projects such as the Czech Paralympic Committee and the Bohemian Heritage Fund, and Primecell has helped fund treatment for patients with butterfly skin disease.

The episode also covers:

· Which investment did not work out

· Michal's view on the longevity trend and what to watch out for

· Which of the licences delivered the highest return

· Whether artificial organs could one day save human lives

Read the full article on Forbes: https://forbes.cz/the-forbes-show-zahradnicek/

Watch the full interview on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axWhiM6GIQo