About

LABENA GROUP

Established in 1993, Labena Group is a family-owned business headquartered in Slovenia with offices in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro. The company started as sales and service support of highly specialised laboratory, manufacturing and process equipment utilized in the pharmaceutical and food industry, as well as industry of materials, research institutes and academia. To date Labena Group has developed into a fast growing and agile organisation with following major business pillars:

Division for Distribution, Servicing, and Application Support for Laboratory Equipment
Contract Research and Development Organization for (Bio)Pharma and Biotech Industries
Consulting and Design of Laboratory and Commercial Interiors, including Furniture Design, Production, and Installation
Corporate Ventures Accelerator, named Labena Ventures

Labena embarked on a path of significant growth and diversification in 2016 with the acquisition of a Contract Research Organization (CRO) laboratory, certified for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and accredited by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). At the time of acquisition, the CRO employed 12 people and comprised an Analytical Laboratory focused on developing protocols for drug manufacturing and analytical testing of active pharmaceutical ingredients and generic medicines, ensuring their conformity with European and U.S. Pharmacopeia standards. Today, the CRO employs over 55 people, including more than 20 PhD holders.

In 2017, the company expanded the CRO with the establishment of a Molecular Biology Laboratory, followed by a Protein Biochemistry Laboratory in 2019, focused on downstream process development for biopharmaceuticals (such as monoclonal antibodies). The CRO’s operations continue to grow, with the addition of Bioinformatics and Microbiology services. This expansion has helped propel Labena’s growth from selling and servicing equipment to engaging in research and development projects with medium and large (bio)pharmaceutical companies globally.

Today, Labena Group employs over 120 people and continues to expand its research and development services, including the opening of eDNAlabs, an environmental DNA laboratory, and BIA Genetics, a clinical diagnostic laboratory in Zagreb, Croatia.

In 2017, Labena launched the Grant Challenge project, heavily investing in fostering collaboration with institutions, universities, companies, and start-ups in the life sciences sector. The project awards research grants and provides resources, facilities, and equipment to research and development ideas with strong commercial potential. Building on this initiative, in February 2023, Labena launched the Labena Ventures Programme, an accelerator aimed at globally scaling disruptive innovations in biotech, healthtech, and pharmatech, with origins in Central and Eastern Europe.

At Labena Group our mission is to transform innovations and ideas into discoveries working together towards smarter, healthier, and more sustainable future.

Labena. Driving Innovation & Enabling Discoveries.

EMPLOYEES

DOCTOR OF SCIENCE

SERVICE ENGINEERS

SALES ADVISORS

Management team

Irena Lemut Čeh

Irena Lemut Čeh, the founder and owner of Labena Group, established the company in 1993 in Ljubljana and continues to lead it successfully today. She has strategically developed the business by introducing new technologies, products, and services, expanding into new markets—including Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Serbia—and acquiring and developing research laboratories within the Group. Irena has received an award from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia for her outstanding contributions to the economy. Focused on continuous improvement in the Group’s operations and resource management, she is dedicated to her vision of creating a strong international team of experts united by a common goal: transforming ideas into discoveries.

Borut Čeh

Borut Čeh is the co-founder and CEO of Labena. As he leads the development of Labena Group across Central and Eastern Europe, Borut focuses on strategy, innovation, and business expansion. He holds a Master’s degree in electrical engineering from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana and has over 15 years of experience in business development, sales, process management, and leadership. Borut has received several prestigious awards for economic growth and company development, including recognition from GZS, Euromanager for SE Europe, Gazela, and the Managers’ Association.

Boštjan Čeh

Boštjan Čeh, Labena’s Business Development Manager, holds a Master’s degree in Pharmacy and has completed an MBA program at the London Business School, one of Europe’s top business schools. He is an experienced business leader with over 13 years of experience in leading pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Novo Nordisk, and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals. In his most recent role at Otsuka, he managed a European team of more than 15 colleagues and was responsible for the successful launch of a drug that achieved annual revenue of €350 million at its peak.

Boštjan joined Labena in 2022 and is also a co-founder of Labena Ventures, a corporate business accelerator where he provides advisory services for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries from both commercial and strategic perspectives.

LABENA GROUP

Management team

Irena Lemut Čeh

Borut Čeh

Boštjan Čeh

LABENA PARTNERS

equipment

LABORATORY SERVICES

FURNITURE

SUPPORT