Since rebranding Innovation Services to Innovation and Entrepreneurship in early 2023, the team has focused on creating a well-defined portfolio to support CLS’s startup community. We established partnerships, developed an inventory of online resources, fostered connections, and created meaningful opportunities throughout the state.
There is great momentum coming out of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and I am proud of our impact and how CLS supports our start up community.
To recap our 2023 successes:
FAST California Enrichment: In 2023 we doubled the size of the Spring and Fall cohort to serve a total of 24 startups across California with transformational and disruptive innovative approaches.
Positioning for Capital: Through expert-led webinars and on-demand resources, we offered preparation of a funding round including investor-ready proforma, valuation, term sheet negotiation, cap tables, due diligence, market access, as well as pitch and roadshow readiness, and CXO prep sessions for JPM 2024.
Access to Capital: CLS collaborated with leading partnering conference producers (BIO Investor Forum, BIO Convention, RESI, AdvaMed Medtech Conference, Invest in Cures/Rare Disease Foundation as well as with non-dilutive funding sources, like NCATS, to offer distinct benefits to member startups to aid them in their fundraising journeys and help them connect with investors, channel partners, and corporate business development & licensing collaborators.
Founders Channel: CLS continues to develop peer-to-peer resources for CEOs, including a bi-monthly newsletter In December, we announced a formal collaboration with Procopio to sponsor their CEO roundtable series, a monthly forum for up to 20 CEOs in Irvine, Palo Alto, and San Diego, to help them navigate their business.
CLS’s biannual Innovation Showcase: Our sold-out December event drew more than 350 attendees and included an investor one-on-one partnering element, pitches from our Fall FAST cohort and select programming. Nice to see many of the recent FAST Alumni participating!
Supporting diverse founders: We were actively involved in organizing two Women Executive Round tables, one in San Diego in Spring in collaboration with Women-in-Bio SoCal and one in San Francisco supported by DLA Piper. We also launched a diversity playbook focused on accelerating and incubating diverse life sciences entrepreneurs.
CLS’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship team will continue to cultivate access to capital initiatives and partnerships. If you have recommendations or updates, please contact me at any time. Our desire is to be responsive to the needs of our members and create value at all stages of their organizational lifecycle.
Kind regards,
Stacey Bowlin Senior Vice President, Industry Engagement & Marketing
CLS’s Innovation Showcase and investor partnering forum took place December 12 at SmartLabs Oyster Point. With more than 350 attendees, we successfully spotlighted transformative early-stage innovation and fostered vital connections for our Fall FAST cohort, various incubators, academic entrepreneurs, investors and corporates. Please access the Fall 2023 Innovation Showcase digital program, complete with the contact details of the presenting companies. You may also view photos from the CLS Innovation Showcase here.
A huge thank you to our sponsors, our FAST advisors and to all FAST cohort participants, who are the lifeblood of this program.
FAST California Fall 2024: Call for Applications
Are you a life science entrepreneur who is ready to build and hone your business model, product development plan and commercialization strategy? Are you gearing up for pre-seed, seed or Series A funding? Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. To learn more and apply, click here.
Our team worked hard to bring added benefits to our startup community during JPM Week 2023. In addition to our creating opportunities at RESI and Bullpen, we hosted our annual (and sold-out) JPM reception, welcoming more than 500 industry leaders. A special thank you to our JPM reception sponsors, Business Location Switzerland, FISH, RSM, Bullpen, CGI, Connor Group, Corval, EY, LSN, Moss Adams, and Parexel.
We hope that these activities were additive to the many other meetings and events you participated in throughout the week, and that you made new connections and caught up with familiar faces.
PMWC is the largest annual conference dedicated to precision medicine, bringing together recognized leaders, top global researchers and medical professionals, and innovators across healthcare and biotechnology sectors to showcase practical content that helps close the knowledge gap between different sectors, thereby catalyzing cross-functional fertilization & collaboration to accelerate the development and spread of precision medicine.
Join leading investors, startups & emerging companies, tech companies, payers, providers, and veteran advisors for two days of lively panels, interactive breakouts, and networking.
As lead sponsor, we invite you join foundation leaders, advocates and entrepreneurs as they share their perspectives on venture philanthropy for accelerating the commercialization of new therapies and cures for patients.
CLS is offering a $25 discount on Invest in Cures registration using code: INVESTBIO24
MD&M West has developed into one of the leading medical device trade shows in the US. With over 1,600 exhibiting MedTech suppliers, and dozens of education sessions led by medical experts, MD&M West features products and insights across medical specialties such as medical devices, digital health, hospital equipment and supplies, cardiovascular solutions, pharmaceuticals, and much more.
In this enlightening session with globally recognized executive coach and thought leader Maya Hu-Chan, you will learn the secrets behind pitches that succeed, discover the key qualities investors want to see in a startup before they invest and leave ready to apply the secrets of successful pitches.
The “all-federal panel will provide the audience with a guided tour NIA and SBIR programs, how their program is positioned to partner with stakeholders, in-kind resources, funding opportunities and application tips and suggestions.
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) provides close to $150M annually in non-dilutive seed funding, through SBIR/STTR grants, to small businesses developing technologies to address the wide range of focus areas within their mission including Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias, as well as enhancing and extending the health and care of older adults. The application deadline is January 18.
As cohost of the Invest in Cures conference, we invite you to apply to meet with organizations including Brain Tumor Investment Fund, Chiesi, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Duchenne Ventures, Multiple Myeloma Fund, Retinal Degeneration Fund, and Pathway to Cures to discuss partnering opportunities. Apply to pitch by January 23 here.
The 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) offers a total of $50,000 to $200,000 in prize awards to organizations seeking to foster a national innovation support ecosystem to advance small business research and development (R&D) from ideas to the commercial market. The Stage One application portal opened on January 8 for a five-week window. SBA expects to award up to $3,000,000 in cash prizes for Stage One and intends to announce winners for Stage One by April 2024.
Stage Two of the Competition offers an additional $50,000 to $150,000 in cash prizes to eligible Stage One winners to provide direct assistance to entrepreneurs, small businesses, and startups that are looking to commercialize their innovation, from R&D to the commercial market. SBA intends to announce winners for Stage Two by September 2024. A Federal agency partner may also elect to provide a Bonus Prize to one or more Stage One contestants focused on a priority area of the agency partner’s choice. Bonus Prize winners are awarded from the pool of Stage One contestants.
We’re proud to sponsor Procopio’s Life Sciences CEO Connection Program, designed to foster meaningful connections and support needed to address the unique challenges of leadership in the life science sector. Held monthly in Irvine, Palo Alto and San Diego, the program covers a diverse array of topics, including capital raising, IP and licensing, talent management, growth strategies, conflict resolution, and more. Learn more and apply.
Positioning For Capital - On-Demand Library Did you know CLS has an On-Demand series of webinars specifically for Founders navigating the investment journey? First-time founders can learn how to prep a roadshow, fine tune their elevator pitch and hear best practices to close the deal on a Seed or Series A round with venture capital funds and/or angel investors. CLS has partnered with industry leaders who can offer practical tips and guidance to set up a successful funding round and strategy.
The US market access landscape is complex, proving safety and efficacy is no longer a guarantee of commercial success. CLS’s three-part series, presented by Hogan Lovells, provides the basics of government and commercial payer rules, offer hypotheticals that bring those rules to life, and help prepare you for the market’s evolving focus on value-delivery. View the archived sessions:
The Founders Channel was created to foster a peer-to-peer community of life sciences founders curated opportunities to support you in your fundraising quest. Here are a few ways to get connected:
If you are an industry expert with domain expertise to help start-ups and would like to join our advisor community, apply here.
FAST alumni are invited to join our exclusive LinkedIn group to meet like-minded founders who are in different stages of their start-up journey. Connect with Shikha Sharma for an invite.
Become a CLS member. CLS members can benefit from discounts at industry leading conferences, attend networking and educational events, and save on key business products and services, including lab and scientific equipment, HR, and other business solutions including insurance, waste removal, shipping, moving and storage.
California Life Sciences, 685 Gateway Blvd., Suite 100, South San Francisco, California, 94080
