DLA Piper has advised the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) on the establishment of the AITHYRA Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Biomedicine in Vienna. The new institute aims to achieve groundbreaking advances in biomedicine through the development of AI-powered research approaches, ultimately contributing to the promotion of human health.

The ÖAW is expanding its focus on life sciences and will utilize a EUR150 million grant from the non-profit Mainzer Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation (BIS), the largest private research funding grant awarded in Austria, in the establishment of the Institute for AI in Biomedicine.

The AITHYRA Institute is the first of its kind in Austria and Europe, where researchers from the fields of AI and biomedical science collaborate from the outset, combining their respective capabilities. The goal is to deepen the understanding of biomedical interrelations, enhance disease comprehension, enable faster and more reliable diagnoses, and support the development of therapies for currently incurable diseases. Michael Bronstein, a professor at the University of Oxford and an internationally renowned expert in AI, has been appointed as the director of the institute. The AITHYRA Institute will be located in a new building to be constructed on the Vienna BioCenter Campus (VBC), underscoring Austria’s attractiveness and competitiveness as a research hub.

A team from DLA Piper’s Vienna office worked on this matter and was led by Dr. Maria Doralt, partner in the Corporate practice. She was supported by partners MMag. Sabine Fehringer (IPT) and Dr. Dimitar Hristov (Tax).

Dr. Maria Doralt, said: “Advising on such a pioneering project was very rewarding and we look forward to supporting the ÖAW as they look to conduct visionary research utilising AI and biomedicine to help improve global health.”