13 life science startups have been accepted into Discovery Park’s new business support programme and competition, Discovery Spark.
The eight-week Discovery Spark programme will equip the early-stage companies with the necessary skills to catalyse their business growth plans and gives them the chance to win a business support package worth over £100,000.
Participants were chosen by a judging panel that scored the startups, which span across the biotech, digital tech, engineering biology, synthetic biology and medical technology sectors, based on their product or service, opportunity and market, team management, programme fit and investment potential.
Taking part in the programme will be 3D Synthesis, Awen, Bing Bong Biologics, BioMavericks, BugBiome, CardioCrown, DLOC Biosystems, Dravya Discovery, KASNMR, Matrix Bio, Rapidx Bio, The Future Care, and XR-Musica.
As part of the programme, Discovery Park will host in-person training sessions, covering topics such as building an excellent team, understanding and conveying business metrics, and branding.
The startups will also be able to take advantage of opportunities for networking, mentoring, learning from shared experiences and perfecting their investor pitch.
The programme will culminate with an investor pitching event sponsored by Discovery Park as part of the GIANT Health conference on 5 December 2023.
The startup with the best pitch at the conference will win a business support package worth over £100,000. The package includes one free year of lab space at Discovery Park and £50,000 investment from Discovery Park Ventures, as well as comprehensive business support and mentoring.
Renos Savva, Discovery Park’s head of innovation, who is leading the programme, said: “We were overwhelmed by the number of applications for Discovery Spark. The startups selected show phenomenal potential and we’re excited to accelerate their growth.
“Being investor-ready is essential for start-ups and Discovery Spark ensures participants will have the best team, brand image and business know-how by the end of the programme.”
Mayer Schreiber, CEO at Discovery Park, added: “Not only will participants receive business training fine-tuned to life-science startups, but also access to Discovery Park’s cutting-edge facilities, where they will have the opportunity to network, ideate and collaborate.
“Discovery Park is committed to supporting the next generation of life science leaders, and our Discovery Spark programme embodies that.”
