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Bar-Ilan University (BIU) and Sheba Medical Center are partnering to establish a cutting-edge biomedical research institute in Israel’s emerging Health Tech Valley in Ramat Gan. With a combined investment of NIS 400 million (approximately USD 120 million), the institute will house 20 advanced laboratories dedicated to breakthrough research in cancer, 3D organ printing, artificial intelligence for medical data analysis, medical robotics, and genetic engineering.
The goal is to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and clinical application – turning lab results into life-saving therapies, diagnostic tools, and medical technologies in just a few years rather than decades.
“If research stays in the lab, it remains theoretical,” said Prof. Cyrille Cohen, Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences at Bar-Ilan University and head of the Immunotherapy Lab. “This institute creates the platform to translate science into real-world healing.”
The institute will operate under a joint steering committee and adopt a working model inspired by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States. This ecosystem approach – bringing together researchers, clinicians, startups, and industry – has proven globally to accelerate the path from discovery to treatment.
“The initiative reflects our national responsibility to strengthen Israeli biotech and medical innovation,” said Prof. Arie Zaban, President of Bar-Ilan University, who led the agreement together with Prof. Yitshak Kreiss, Director General of Sheba. “Our collaboration with Sheba will dramatically speed up the transition from lab discovery to clinical application.”
“We’re turning the vision of a health system as a national growth engine into reality – with Bar-Ilan as a key partner in our biotech valley,” said Prof. Kreiss.
The institute will be built in Health Tech Valley, a new hub for health, technology, and innovation in Ramat Gan – adjacent to Sheba Medical Center and just 949 meters from Bar-Ilan University. It will serve as a national growth engine for the life sciences sector and will be developed in collaboration with Migdal Insurance and Financial Holdings.
“This is a strategic project that will attract global and Israeli research institutions, positioning Israel as a global leader in biomedical innovation,” said Tal Hauptman, Head of Real Estate at Migdal.
The new institute will focus on frontier technologies, including: cancer research and advanced medical devices; 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs; AI and computational biology; sensor technologies and personalized medicine; and medical robotics and genetic engineering.
“As medicine becomes more interdisciplinary, success comes from collaboration – academia, hospitals, pharma, and tech working in clusters. That’s what we’re building here,” said Dr. Dror Harats, Head of Research at Sheba Medical Center.
The collaboration between Bar-Ilan and Sheba builds on years of joint projects that have already led to life-saving startups and treatments.
“This is a strategic move that will place Israel at the forefront of global biomedical science. We’re combining scientific knowledge, clinical expertise, and industrial partnerships to build an international center of excellence,” said Zohar Yinon, CEO and Senior Vice President of Bar-Ilan.
“After two difficult years for Israel’s research community, this institute is a powerful investment in our future. We’re showing the world that Israeli excellence in science and medicine continues – despite any challenge,” said Prof. Harats.
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