New call for Life Science projects to speed up the development of Life Science companies by providing financing, support and access to expertise

Uppsala BIO, a part of STUNS (The Foundation for Collaboration between the Universities in Uppsala, Business, and the Public Sector), opens a new call, BIO-X Accelerate, to speed up the development of Life Science companies with financing ranging from 3 MSEK up to 7 MSEK. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) from East Middle Sweden (Östra Mellansverige) are invited to submit proposals.

Global challenges, such as an aging population and the increase in lifestyle related diseases place new demands on our capacity to translate discoveries into commercially viable health solutions for improved public and veterinary health.

This call acknowledges the need for new innovative products, processes, and services for improved public and veterinary health. This includes areas such as pharma, medtech, diagnostics, eHealth, etc. The end solution can be a solution for any stage in the healthcare and/or veterinary care process, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment or a care regime. Other enabling biotech tools, intended for research purposes, are also included.

Many Life Science companies today have quite good access to capital in early stage development. However, as their path to commercialization continues, the capital requirement increases exponentially. “At this stage, investors might find the individual projects to be in a too high of a risk stage to invest in. We aim to bridge the R&D funding gap that is apparent in many Life Science companies in the ÖMS region. We hope BIO-X Accelerate is here to stay since this is a key step when a company is in the “valley of death” in the path to commercialization”, explains Dajana Ilic Susak, BIO-X Accelerate Project Manager.

Projects selected for support from BIO-X Accelerate are offered continued ownership, access to project support and network of individuals with extensive clinical, business development, industry and investment expertise, as well as funding in the range of 3 MSEK up to 7 MSEK, with a co-funding of approximately 50%. The funding comes from the Swedish Agency for National Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket).

Being a part of the BIO-Accelerate program increases the chances of succeeding, through access to competence and expanded network. After completion of the BIO-X Accelerate program, the goal is to provide leverage so companies can raise funds in excess of SEK 20 million.

“BIO-X Accelerate is a new opportunity for Life Science projects, targeting a gap in the current financing scheme. We have focused on clinical validations, a known bottleneck for many growing life science companies” adds Kristin Hellman, BIO-X Accelerate Coach. Bridging the gap in the financial scheme provides some financial stability, in order for the companies to focus on validation activities and to build value in their projects. “We are really happy to test this new financing opportunity together with the Swedish Agency for National Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket)” continues Hellman.

Uppsala BIO, STUNS invites Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) from East Middle Sweden (Östra Mellansverige) including Uppsala, Västmanlands, Sörmlands, Östergötlands och Örebro to take part of the accelerator program and financing opportunity that runs 2020-2022.

BIO-X Accelerate is a further development of the nationwide BIO-X^® program, a trademark of Uppsala BIO, STUNS. The new BIO-X Accelerate program is in close collaboration with Tillväxtverket, Region Uppsala, and Uppsala Innovation Centre as partner, with the goal to accelerate the development of innovative life-science companies in the region.

“Since its inception, the BIO-X program has granted several Life Science projects its full support, that is, both process support and funding. This successful combination has contributed to the strong development of companies and the commercialization of innovative products” says Erik Olaisson, BIO-X Accelerate Coach.

The call is open through January 10th, 2020. All information about the call is available here.

For further information: Dajana Ilic Susak, dajana.ilic@uppsalabio.com, tel +46 (0)70 230 91 50, Kristin Hellman, kristin.hellman@uppsalabio.com, tel +46 (0)70 256 58 83 or Erik Olaisson, erik.olaisson@uppsalabio.com, tel +46 (0)70 366 11 40.