(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) March 26, 2012 — Life science startups face more complex and daunting hurdles than new enterprises in non-regulated industries do. To help aspiring and early-stage life science entrepreneurs address these challenges, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation will hold a Kauffman Life Science Ventures Summit June 22-23, 2012.
The Foundation has announced a call for applications for the inaugural Summit, scheduled at the Mission Bay Conference Center at the University of California-San Francisco.
“We surveyed early-stage and seasoned life science entrepreneurs to find out what they considered critical needs for starting their companies, and we built an agenda around their feedback,” said Dominique Pahud, director, advancing innovation at the Kauffman Foundation. “We will answer the critical questions that founders must address to start and grow viable life science companies. Every minute of this event will focus on helping founders create a path to successfully bring their innovations to market.”
Industry experts and successful entrepreneurs will provide practical guidance on commercializing innovations in each of four sectors: medical device, therapeutics, diagnostics, and digital health. Speakers and panelists representing each industry sector will share lessons, advice and insights. Speakers include Steve Blank, serial entrepreneur and author; Stephen Spielberg, deputy commissioner for medical products and tobacco at the Food & Drug Administration; Paul Yock, founder, Stanford Biodesign; Karl Handelsman, managing director, CMEA Capital; Kim Popovits, CEO, Genomic Health; and more.
During the two-day Summit, participants will:
- Learn how to persuasively articulate their ideas and iterate on different business models.
- Learn team formation and co-founder lessons that most first-time founders miss.
- Identify and understand the alternative fundraising channels.
- Navigate the regulatory maze of intellectual property protections, FDA approvals, clinical development paths and reimbursement dynamics.
- Network with like-minded founders, industry experts, angel and venture capital investors, and successful entrepreneurs.
Up to 200 life science entrepreneurs across the four industry sectors will be selected to attend. Applicants will be accepted based on two factors: (1) how much they will benefit from the experience based on where they are in their early-stage entrepreneurial journey, and (2) the commercial viability of their plan.
The application is located at http://sites.kauffman.org/lifescienceapp/. The deadline is April 9, 2012. Selected applicants will be advised by April 13, and registration will open April 14. The registration fee is $100 before May 4, 2012, and $125 after that date.
The Kauffman Life Science Ventures Summit is sponsored by the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (qb3), Stanford BioDesign, Rock Health and MIT’s H@cking Medicine.
