Fort Collins, CO, Jan. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Innosphere’s Life Sciences Incubator celebrates graduating its first cohort of companies. Operating under a U.S. Economic Development Administration Build to Scale Grant, this impact-oriented program aims to catapult participating organizations’ concepts into market-ready solutions.
Participants were selected from diverse and transformative fields, including medical device technologies, health technologies, BioPharma, and digital health. The majority of selected companies focus on solutions that align with the national priorities set in the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. The first cohort had 73% DEIA-relevant leadership, and 40% of the technologies benefit disadvantaged communities.
“The success of our first life sciences cohort has exceeded our expectations in every way. These remarkable founders—clinicians, researchers, and innovators—came into the program with groundbreaking solutions to solve critical healthcare challenges.” said Kevin Noble, Life Sciences Program Director for Innosphere. “Over the course of the program, we’ve seen transformative growth: businesses gained clarity, leaders built confidence, and connections were forged across the nation that will continue to propel these companies forward. This cohort represents the future of life sciences innovation, and we couldn’t be prouder to have supported them on their journey toward successful commercialization and impact.”
Thirty-four life science companies participated in the program’s first year, which is designed to guide early-stage companies from the ideation and validation stages through formation and seed funding. Each participating company, in addition to a core curriculum, received tailored guidance from a client director and connections to an extensive network of experts as well as potential partners and investors.
By the end of the program, participating companies had created 62 new jobs, filed 55 provisional/utility/design patents, and raised $18.2 million dollars in non-dilutive and dilutive funding. Cohort members also established 55 new partnerships.
“I cannot say enough good things about our journey in the Innosphere Life Sciences Cohort and the value that it brought to our company,” said Jessica Queen, CEO of Omedus. “As a first-time entrepreneur, the skills I have learned and the knowledge this program provided has made our company 1,000x better positioned to succeed.”
Cohort members recently celebrated their success at a graduation ceremony in Fort Collins, where members echoed Queen’s opinion. “Innosphere believed in us,” said CEO Chris Moore of Jura Health during graduation presentations. “They gave us way better tools to answer questions we were struggling with. They gave us better glasses to see these obstacles that we didn’t know were coming. They listened to us, they gave us some real tough love, and then they celebrated the wins with us.”
The Innosphere Life Science Incubator is now accepting applications and actively recruiting for its next cohort of companies. Don’t miss this opportunity—apply today! Visit https://innosphereventures.org/lifesciences-program/ to learn more and submit your application
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