Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences

What Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences does

The Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IBP) is a public research institution (v. v. i.) founded in 1955 and headquartered in Brno, Czech Republic, under the Czech Academy of Sciences. It conducts basic research in biophysics, biology, and chemistry with a primary focus on nucleic acid structure and function, epigenetics, biomolecular sensors, and computational modeling of biomolecular systems. The institute employs more than 50 scientists and educates over 70 pre-graduate and post-graduate students annually, publishing approximately 100 peer-reviewed papers per year that are cited by roughly 3,000 scientists globally. Research infrastructure spans confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, CD spectroscopy, calorimetry, fluorescence microscopy, single-cell analyses, CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, molecular dynamics simulations, and ab initio quantum chemical methods. Two scientific incubator laboratories (NAPI Lab for nucleic acid-protein interactions; REGS Lab for DNA replication and genome stability) anchor targeted research programs, and the institute maintains an open-source bioinformatics suite (DNA Analyser with G4-Hunter, Z-DNA Hunter, Palindrome Analyser, and CpX Hunter) at bioinformatics.ibp.cz.

IBP operates exclusively on a non-commercial, grant-funded revenue model. Funding streams include institutional support from the Czech Academy of Sciences, national grants, European Structural and Investment Funds (OP VVV, OP JAK, OP TAK, OP PIK), EU grants (Marie Curie, COST), Norwegian funds, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Wellcome Trust. The institute serves an academic research community (scientists, PhD students, postdocs) as its primary segment, with secondary applied applications in medical research (cancer diagnostics and therapeutics, cardiovascular medicine) and agriculture (crop development under the AV21 Strategy). Key collaboration partners include CEITEC (Central European Institute of Technology), Masaryk University Brno, Palacký University Olomouc, Mendel University, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno (FNUSA ICRC), Faculty Hospital Brno, and Contipro a.s. Distribution of research outputs occurs through peer-reviewed publications, conference participation, educational lectures (approximately 60 semester lectures annually), and open-access bioinformatics tools rather than commercial sales channels.

Name

Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences

Legal name

Institute of Biophysics of the CAS, v. v. i.

Website

https://ibp.cz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1955

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences is a public research institute in Brno, Czech Republic, founded in 1955, conducting basic biophysics and nucleic acid research with ~50 scientists, ~70 students, and ~100 peer-reviewed publications annually, funded by government and EU grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biophysics Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHAGAI

Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based)

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Medical & Health Sciences Universities

SECONDARYHLAAAIAC

Protein Engineering & Directed Evolution Platforms (enzyme/therapeutic protein optimization)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Biotechnology & Biologics/Biologic Drug Discovery Platforms (screening, antibody engineering, synthetic biology)

SECONDARYHLAFAMAE

Molecular Diagnostics & Genomics Laboratories

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Healthcare Providers & Systems/Clinical Laboratories

Keywords

• Biophysics research
• Nucleic acid analysis
• Epigenetic studies
• Bioinformatics tools
• Genome stability research

Headquarters

HQ city

Brno

HQ country

Czechia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Research Grants: Funding from national grant projects including Norwegian funds, EU grants (Marie Curie, COST projects), Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Welcome Trust
2. Institutional Support: Internal institutional support from the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic for supporting scientific research and creating conditions for groundbreaking discoveries
3. European Structural and Investment Funds: Funding from OP VVV, OP JAK, OP TAK, and OP PIK programs for research projects

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Institute of Biophysics conducts fundamental research in biophysics, biology, and chemistry with a focus on the structure, function, and chemical biology of nucleic acids, together with education of doctoral students and public outreach. It additionally develops and provides free bioinformatics web tools for sequence analysis and operates scientific incubator core laboratories (NAPI Lab and REGS Lab) that support external research projects.

Product overview

The Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences is a fundamental research institution rather than a commercial product company. Its primary offerings consist of bioinformatics web-based servers for DNA/RNA sequence analysis (DNA Analyser platform including G4-Hunter, Palindrome Analyser, Z-DNA Hunter, and CpX Hunter tools), and two scientific incubator laboratories (NAPI Lab and REGS Lab) that conduct research on nucleic acid-protein interactions and DNA replication respectively. These tools and laboratories serve the scientific research community rather than commercial markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DNA Analyser Free web-based bioinformatics tool for nucleic acid sequence analyses, provided by the Institute of Biophysics for academic and research users.
• G4-Hunter Web-based bioinformatics tool for analysis of G-quadruplexes in nucleic acid sequences, provided by the Institute of Biophysics for academic and research users.
• Palindrome Analyser Web-based bioinformatics tool for identification and analysis of palindromes in nucleic acid sequences, provided by the Institute of Biophysics for academic and research users.
• Z-DNA Hunter Web-based bioinformatics tool for prediction and analysis of Z-DNA-forming sequences in nucleic acids, provided by the Institute of Biophysics for academic and research users.
• CpX Hunter Web-based bioinformatics tool for analysis of CpX patterns in nucleic acid sequences, provided by the Institute of Biophysics for academic and research users.
• NAPI Lab (Nanobiotechnology and Advanced Imaging) Scientific incubator laboratory providing specialized instrumentation and methods, including nanobiotechnology and advanced imaging, accessible to external researchers in collaboration with the institute.
• REGS Lab (Research of Epigenetic Genome Stability) Scientific incubator laboratory supporting research on epigenetic genome stability methods and analytical workflows, accessible to external researchers in collaboration with the institute.
• Basic Research in Nucleic Acid Biophysics Fundamental research program studying the structure, function, and chemical biology of nucleic acids, conducted by the institute for academic and scientific advancement.
• Doctoral (PhD) Education in Biophysics Doctoral training program in biophysics and related fields provided by the institute in cooperation with partner universities for graduate students.
• Scientific Publications in Biophysics Peer-reviewed scientific publications produced by the institute to disseminate biophysics research findings to the scientific community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 100 original publications annually in peer-reviewed journals
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• CEITEC (Central European Institute of Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch infrastructure sharing and collaboration. IBP participates in CEITEC project with equipment costs of about 0.8 million Euro installed at the Institute.
• St. Anne's University Hospital Brno (FNUSA ICRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research collaboration on biomedical research including cancer studies and cardiovascular medicine. Contract for joint research signed in 2023.
• Masaryk University in BrnocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal cooperation agreement signed; IBP scientists contribute to teaching at Masaryk University; training in radiation protection taught at the university; students supervised at the institute
• Palacký University in OlomoucmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational collaboration and student training agreements between BFÚ and the university
• Mendel UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation agreement for educational and research collaboration
• Faculty Hospital BrnomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides primary patient samples for research in cooperation with IBP scientists
• Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (AV ČR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent institution providing institutional support and funding for research activities
• Contipro a.s.majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOP TAK project for research and development of medical devices for treatment and prevention of pathological conditions related to tooth extraction

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Max Planck Institute for Biophysics: Frankfurt-based Max Planck Institute performing structural and molecular biophysics research. Directly comparable in scientific scope (molecular-level biophysics, nucleic acid/protein structure) and as a publicly funded European research institute, though larger in scale and budget.
• European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL): Intergovernmental research organization in molecular life sciences with sites across Europe. Comparable as a publicly funded European molecular biology research institute performing structural biology, genomics, and computational life science research.
• Institut Pasteur: Paris-based foundation dedicated to biomedical research including molecular biology, structural biology, and genomics. Comparable as a long-established publicly funded European biomedical research institution with similar publication and citation impact profile.
• MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB): Cambridge-based UK research institute renowned for structural biology, molecular biology, and Nobel-prize-level discoveries. Comparable in research scope (structural biophysics, nucleic acid biology) and as a publicly funded molecular biology research institute.
• Weizmann Institute of Science - Department of Biomolecular Sciences: Israeli multidisciplinary research institution with strong structural biology, molecular biophysics, and bioinformatics groups. Comparable as a publicly funded research institution performing nucleic acid structure, computational modeling, and molecular biophysics research.

Direct peers

• Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences: Sister institute under the Czech Academy of Sciences conducting research in molecular genetics, developmental biology, and immunology. Most directly comparable as a CAS-affiliated life sciences institute with similar funding model and headcount range.
• Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP): Vienna-based molecular biology research institute (Boehringer Ingelheim/Genentech-funded). Comparable in size and scope as a Central European molecular biology institute focused on genome stability, gene regulation, and structural biology — overlapping strongly with IBP's REGS Lab and DNA-protein interaction work.
• Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Mainz: German research institute focused on gene regulation, epigenetics, and quantitative biology. Comparable in size (~200 staff) and research scope (epigenetics, DNA biology, genome stability) to IBP's REGS Lab and epigenetic program.
• CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology: Brno-based life sciences and advanced materials research centre with which IBP shares infrastructure. Directly comparable as a co-located Czech/Central European life sciences research infrastructure focused on molecular biology, biophysics, and biomedical research.

Regional players

• Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research: German Helmholtz Association research centre focused on infection biology and molecular medicine. Comparable as a publicly funded European life sciences institute with grant-based funding model and significant nucleic acid / molecular biology research programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BFUavcr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institute-of-biophysics-of-the-czech-academy-of-sciences

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences