Nucleate Philly’s Post

I'm thrilled to share that I am returning to Nucleate's Global Virtual Activator team as a Co-Director of Operations! The Global Virtual Activator is the global branch of Nucleate's Activator program—our flagship accelerator empowering academic trainees to transform their groundbreaking research into successful life science ventures. While the in-person Activator runs across 20+ locations, the Global Virtual Activator connects participants worldwide to biotech mentors, investors, and experts through structured workshops and networking. Over five years, Activator has helped 409+ teams create 101+ companies, raising $370M post-program—all without equity or upfront costs. 🏢💰 If you have an idea (i.e., you’re an inventor), we encourage you to apply as an inventor for either: 💊 Bio Track – for innovators in therapeutics, diagnostics, or discovery platforms. 🌿 Eco Track – focused on food & agriculture, chemicals & energy, or consumer products. 💡Don’t have an idea yet? Apply as a scientific, business, or clinical contributor to team up with inventors through our matching process. 📅 Application Deadline: Oct 15th, 2024 🔗 Application: apply.nucleate.org 🌐 Learn more: nucleate.org/activator Entering its third year, the Global Virtual Activator has already supported 20 teams across 15 countries and 4 continents. This effort underscores Nucleate’s steadfast commitment to empowering entrepreneurs at global scale—particularly in regions not commonly thought of as “biotech hubs”—to break ground in human and planetary health. If you have any questions, please contact us at global@nucleate.org. We look forward to receiving your application! Daniel Lin Regan Ellis Julia Nanyi Zhao, PhD Justus Florian Gräf Suyen Espinoza Miranda, PhD Vivian Chiu Madison L. Alexander Anisimov Clara Brouaux Eva Smorodina Kevin Antonio Cahya Elena Del Pup Martin Holub Samuel Feldmann Richard Dela Rosa Cesare Marino Samantha Fabregat Nicolai Jung Andreas Dumortier Guo Zhen (Vincent) Lim Alessandro Pezzola Gustavo Ezequiel Carrizo, MSc Andrea Larangeira

🚨 Calling all Life Sciences professionals! 🚨 As someone with a strong background in #MolecularBiology and #Biotechnology, I've often wondered: What exciting career paths exist in Life Sciences outside of academia? 🧬🔍 Whether you're in #Industry, #Startups, #ScienceCommunication, #Consulting, or something totally unique, I'd love to hear about your journey and insights! 🌍 💡 What inspired your transition? What advice would you give to others exploring non-academic options? Let's create a space for brainstorming, sharing opportunities, and inspiring others to think outside the lab! #LifeSciencesCareers #ScienceBeyondAcademia #STEMCareers #Biotech #CareerGrowth #ScienceIndustry #Networking

Join us to learn about how Nucleate's Global Virtual Activator can help launch your life sciences venture and break into bio-entrepreneurship! Hear from Marielle Péré and Alessia Cambria, Co-Founders of CellEMax, about their participation last year helped them launch their therapeutics company. 🔹 RSVP to our info session on 10/7: https://lu.ma/qfualwpq The Global Virtual Activator is the global branch of Nucleate's Activator program—our flagship accelerator empowering academic trainees to transform their groundbreaking research into successful life science ventures. While in-person Activator programs run across 20+ locations, the Global Virtual Activator connects participants worldwide to biotech mentors, investors, and experts through structured workshops and networking. Over five years, Activator has helped 409+ teams create 101+ companies, raising $370M post-program—all without equity or upfront costs. Entering its third year, the Global Virtual Activator has already supported 20 teams across 15 countries and 4 continents. Have an idea you want to spin out or commercialize? 💊 Bio Track – for innovators in therapeutics, diagnostics, or discovery platforms. 🌿 Eco Track – focused on food & agriculture, chemicals & energy, or consumer products. Don’t have an idea yet? Apply as a scientific, business, or clinical contributor to team up with inventors through our matching process. 📅 Application Deadline: Oct 15th, 2024 🔗 Application: apply.nucleate.org 🌐 Learn more: nucleate.org/activator If you have any questions, please contact us at global@nucleate.org. We look forward to receiving your application!

Life sciences venture capital is pouring into Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Salt Lake City. PharmaVoice reports on the research coming out of these emerging biotech hotspots: https://lnkd.in/gPQ47vJ2 #lifesciences #biotech #venturecapital

Meet Christine Martin, our Head of Ventures! Q. What did you do before Cambridge Enterprise? A. I was originally a chemist and my postdoc was here in Cambridge in the Biochemistry department. My journey in research commercialisation began with a spin-out from the University itself. In 1999 I was the first postdoc at Biotica Technology Limited, a spin-out working on novel therapeutics for several indications. Fast forward to September 2011, I joined Cambridge Enterprise in the Tech Transfer team, developing a drug discovery portfolio. Highlights include working with academic founders of Storm, Carrick and Z Factor. Since 2017 I’ve had various roles within Seed Funds/Ventures initially focusing on Life Sciences investing in Phoremost, Pretzel, Qkine, Apcintex and SDS. The exits are always exciting, so Gyroscope and Centessa are definite highlights. For the past few years as head of the team I have been leading in securing additional funding from the University and developing a strategy to deliver an expanded remit and grow our activity. Q. Favourite industry to work with? A. It’s impossible to choose! With a life sciences background, supporting spin-outs addressing unmet medical need, speed up diagnosis or improve patient care is incredibly important to me. I also enjoy exploring the breadth of ideas that arise from University research; from awe-inspiring space innovations, to quantum technologies that will accelerate the journey to a quantum-enabled future, to the rapidly expanding field of sustainability with technologies that can contribute to addressing UN sustainability goals and have global impact. Q. One innovation that still blows your mind and why? A. CRISPR is a groundbreaking innovation that has revolutionised the field of genetics with potential implications for medicine such as treating genetic disorders and understanding complex diseases, agriculture, and even in the development of new biofuels. The swift recognition of CRISPR-Cas9 pioneers Dr Jennifer Doudna and Dr Emmanuelle Charpentier with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020 is a testament to the immediate and significant impact of their contribution to advancing science. I was privileged to attend a lecture delivered by Dr Doudna in 2017. Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are so wide-ranging - it’s hard to imagine any part of life that won’t be impacted by applications of these new technologies including the development of new medicines, personalised treatment plans, predictive diagnostics, finance, transportation, and creative industries. Q. What makes you lean forward and take note in a pitch? A. It starts with the problem statement and an innovative solution. But starting a company also needs genuine passion, boundless ambition and a strategic roadmap brought to life by a stellar team that really makes us take notice! More from Christine on Cambridge Enterprise Ventures: https://bit.ly/3RTA8qg #Ventures #CambridgeInnovation #Entrepreneurship

Many great scientific ideas don't get commercialized.... Not for lack of trying or lack of commercial potential but often times because of where they originate. A lot of academic institutions, where a good share of new therapeutic ideas or strategies start, are not truly equipped to help commercialize these potential drugs. Not to the fault of the institutions as drug discovery is a very complicated, risky and resource intensive endeavor. I also believe it to be more nuanced then other common startup sectors. Other institutions have good ecosystems for supporting the launch of new ideas while others simply attract VC given their name or status. What about all those universities that don't get looked at by VCs or founders with experience? Often those same ones don't have a robust ecosystem for launching new ideas and companies. How do we create incentives to get more ideas out of those institutions? Going back to yesterday's post, can we combine them with ideas from institutions with strong ecosystems or funding to create more value while also elevating that otherwise overlooked science? I am fortunate to be in one of the best biotech / drug discovery ecosystems in the world in Boston but not everyone is. #Biotech #Biopharma #DrugDiscovery #VentureCapital #Boston #Startup

Incheon Free Economic Zone and SparkLabs to launch 'Bio Open Lab' in Songdo International Business District - Attracting KRW 500 billion in private investment: MOU signed for 'F3-3 Block' project development in Songdo International Business District - Supporting startups in the biotechnology sector with global accelerator ‘SparkLabs’ at the core - Open lab space offering bio data, shared laboratories, and youth housing for incoming companies https://lnkd.in/g3yFuh8C

More exciting news for biotech companies. The industry is thriving with even more positive developments from #ArchVenturePartners. Concludes on an inspiring statement highlighting their current mindset: "We're very much in the 'taking lots of risk' mode, because the science is the coolest it's ever been." 🧪 #Biotech #Science #Innovation

Visionaries, scientists, and researchers convene at the Life Sciences Innovation Hub (#LSIH) in #Calgary, thanks to an $8.5 million commitment from the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (#OCIF) in 2019. The goal: foster a burgeoning life sciences sector by providing a collaborative space for students, researchers, startups, and entrepreneurs. The LSIH attracts startups worldwide, tackling complex problems and drawing researchers, industry experts, talent, and investors to Calgary. 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: • 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Before OCIF support, Calgary's life sciences ecosystem lacked the infrastructure to commercialize innovative research. • 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: LSIH has supported nearly 400 companies, generating over $270 million in revenue, raising $87 million in capital, and creating over 550 jobs. • 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Companies across Canada and globally, including OzoneBio and Exergy, have thrived at the hub. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀: • 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴: LSIH provides lab spaces, networking opportunities, expert advice, and business events to help startups grow. • 𝗢𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: Housed in a 112,000-sq.ft space with over 90% occupancy, the hub continues to attract high-potential startups. 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵: • 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀: Future growth depends on attracting and retaining talent and larger companies, training researchers, and integrating skills from other sectors like oil and gas. • 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: The hub aims to attract established pharmaceutical or medical device companies, creating a critical mass for Calgary's thriving life sciences sector. #LifeSciences #Innovation #AlbertaTech #Startups #Research #EconomicGrowth #Biotech #Healthcare #TechInnovation

Growth of Biotech Clusters Over Several Decades: A Belgium Analysis in Nature Biotechnology Conclusions: Regional pioneering efforts have a significant and lasting impact. The analysis shows that early investments in emerging fields like biotech have effects that span over three decades. Both the quantity and quality of scientific research are crucial, even in the more mature stages of the industry. The study highlights the importance of networks with partners located outside the region or cluster. These findings offer encouragement for regions not densely populated by large, established multinational firms. Interesting Tables: Top Biotech Patenting Countries (1978–2015) Top Biotech Patenting Regions by Time Period Top Biotech Patenting Applicants (1978–2015) Multivariate Analysis Relating Regional Technological Performance with Texture Variables (Top Regions, 2000–2015) https://lnkd.in/gfvxiKeK The other four criteria for ranging U.S. biopharma clusters are:  NIH funding—Figures for NIH funding were taken from the publicly available NIH RePORT database for the current federal fiscal year through July 1, plus all of fiscal year 2023 (October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2023).  Venture capital funding—Figures for all of 2023 and the first half of 2024 as compiled by regional life sciences groups and PitchBook, which joins with the National Venture Capital Association to publish the quarterly Venture Monitor reports.  Laboratory space—The total-size-of-market figure, in millions of square feet, as furnished by regional life sciences groups. In each regions that did not compile such information, the figure cited is the highest by any of several commercial real estate companies, including CBRE Group, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, and Newmark.  Number of jobs—The preferred sources for job figures were regional life sciences groups. Alternative sources included commercial real estate firms.