Events

The Center for Innovative NeuroTech Advancement (CINTA) & NeuroTech Harbor (NTH) announce the Cycle 4 Award Competition supported by the NIH Blueprint MedTech Program. This program is seeking collaborative projects aimed at developing emerging technologies into commercially viable, clinically focused solutions for disorders of the nervous system.

CINTA and NTH are calling for proposals leading to commercialization of groundbreaking preventative, therapeutic, and/or diagnostic medical devices. At a minimum, projects should have already clearly demonstrated proof-of-concept. The technologies proposed must have a pathway to a prototype ready for first-in-human testing within 4 years and have a viable pathway to commercial development.

Applications must focus on an intended use involving the nervous system or addressing consequences of such a disease or injury in an area of interest of the Participating Institutes/Centers.

Two kinds of awards may be issued for applications submitted to this solicitation:

• Optimizer awards will rarely exceed $500,000 in direct costs per year for a period of up to 4 years. In addition to monetary support, awardees will receive mentoring and resources and support services necessary for translation will be available.
• Seedling awards provide support for six months, a $25,000 stipend, and $25,000 to hire subject matter experts. Mentors will work with awardees throughout the project to help resolve specifically identified gap on the path to commercialization.

Applicants must submit pre-proposals through the Blueprint MedTech: Incubator Hubs Program online application system no later than 11:59 pm ET on February 29, 2024. Pre-proposals are submitted through a simple online application form equivalent to approximately three pages.

Eligible applicants will be invited to submit full proposals through the same online application system. The full proposal form is equivalent to approximately ten pages and will undergo review by CINTA and NTH.

To learn more about the award and apply, visit their website here. Weekly informational webinars and office hours by appointment are available in February 2024. 

You're invited to join this anchor program for attracting attention to Weill Cornell Medicine's life science innovations. The full-day program features an interview with Bruce C. Ratner, WCM Board of Fellows member, an opportunity to celebrate innovation and entrepreneurship at WCM, and engagement with like-minded founders, investors and industry representatives. Read the full agenda and register here. 

CSL is a leading global biotech company that develops and delivers innovative biotherapies to help people living with life-threatening medical conditions live full lives. 

CSL’s Research Acceleration Initiative aims to fast-track discovery of innovative biotherapies through partnerships between CSL and global research organizations. Successful applicants will receive funding of up to $400,000 over 2 years. Check out the attached PDF for focus areas.

Interested researchers are invited to:

• Attend information webinars to learn more about the initiative: Webinars will be held on:

Wednesday, 1/17/24 4pm ET
Monday, 2/5/24 12pm ET

• Contact Deanna Scarcella at des4016@med.cornell.edu to obtain webinar links and online application submission instructions
• Send Deanna Scarcella (des4016@med.cornell.edu) a NON-CONFIDENTIAL (make sure to EXCLUDE any unpublished data or information) abstract by Tues, Feb 20, 2024 which will be reviewed by the Center for Technology Licensing (CTL).  Please note: CTL will upload it to the CSL online portal by Tues, Feb 27.

Calling pre-seed and seed innovators and entrepreneurs in Oncology, Cell & Gene Therapy, Cardiovascular, Immunology, Radiology, and Digital Health!

Do you have disruptive science but struggle to bring it to life in the entrepreneurial world? Bayer's passion is to enable and support standout healthcare innovation.

Take your innovation to new heights and join Bayer's Expert Mondays 2024, a series of knowledge exchange sessions to supercharge your startup’s growth.

Each one-hour Bayer's Expert Monday includes a live Q&A with respective Bayer Experts. You can stay for a Meet & Greet with Bayer Scouts and Scientific Finders. Please reserve 30 additional minutes in your schedule for the Meet & Greet after the Bayer Expert session.

These sessions are not intended for service providers, consultants, IT providers, etc. They are designed for drug developers and healthcare researchers seeking collaboration with big pharma and out-licensing opportunities later in their journey. Session recordings are NOT distributed afterward. Live attendance is necessary to get the most out of the expert sessions and network with the Bayer Pharma team.

The Feb. 26 event features Dr. Bernhard Glombitza, VP, Head of Clinical OPS EMEA & APAC. Reserve your spot here. 

Are you an entrepreneur ready to take your product idea to the next level? Rev: Ithaca Startup Works invites you to take a deep dive into prototyping this summer!

Over 10 weeks, Rev’s Prototyping Hardware Accelerator guides product teams to determine if their ideas are commercially desirable, technologically feasible, and economically viable. Upon completion of the program, participants are positioned to recruit team members, bring on partners, initiate work with contract manufacturers and pitch to investors. Teams will receive a stipend of up to $2,000 to advance their prototype.

The program offers a MedTech Track in partnership with Cornell Biomedical Engineering and Weill Cornell. The MedTech track provides access to specialized prototyping equipment, regulatory resources and research and medical professionals in the field.  

The accelerator is held in person at Rev: Ithaca Startup Works in Ithaca, New York beginning in late May 2024. The program is free and open to the public. Applications are now open. Early admission deadline February 16, 2024. Applications close March 25, 2024. Learn more and apply here. Questions about the program can be directed to rev@revithaca.com.   

University researchers benefit from various technology licensing resources to protect their innovations, but startups face the challenge of safeguarding intellectual property (IP) developed outside of the university, through internal research and development. Join this free workshop to find out how to finance R&D, including through tokenizing the resultant IP assets, and how startup executives should manage the IP generated within their companies.

Greg Ray, an entrepreneur in residence for the Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA), will facilitate a panel with experts Brian Magierski, a serial software entrepreneur and the founder of 21 Impact Labs, and Katie E. Hyma, an IP lawyer specializing in biotechnology at Fish & Richardson.

Register here. Questions? Contact crea@cornell.edu. 

Over 10 weeks, Rev’s Prototyping Hardware Accelerator guides product teams to determine if their ideas are commercially desirable, technologically feasible, and economically viable. Upon completion of the program, participants are positioned to recruit team members, bring on partners, initiate work with contract manufacturers, and pitch to investors. Teams will receive a stipend of up to $2,000 to advance their prototype. 

Applications are now being accepted for all tracks of the Summer 2024 Prototyping Hardware Accelerator! The accelerator is held in person at Rev: Ithaca Startup Works in Ithaca, New York beginning in late May 2024. Early admission deadline February 16, 2024. Applications close March 25, 2024. To learn more, join one of the virtual info sessions by registering here. 

Starting companies out of universities is a complex endeavor, but startups can get a head start when done in conjunction with a company formation investor. In this webinar, we’ll hear from three company formation investors in the life sciences:

• Deborah Palestrant, Partner, 5AM Ventures and Executive Chair, 4:59 Initiative
• Jay Lichter, Managing Partner, Avalon BioVentures
• Vikram Chaudhery, Co-Founder, President & COO of General Inception

Each investor will describe their fund thesis, what they look for in opportunities arising from academic institutions, and the process of their company formation efforts. We’ll then move on to a series of questions on topics such as talent, sourcing possible investments, working with academics and academic institutions, growing the startup, and successes and failures. Register here. 

Please note that although the webinar is scheduled for one hour, our webinars often run overtime due to the volume of questions we receive; therefore we suggest holding up to an hour and a half on your calendars. We look forward to having you join us for this informational discussion!

Daiichi-Sankyo (DS), a well-known Japanese pharma, has initiated a  new innovation program related to ideas which may pave the way to drug discovery and development. DS is now soliciting and accepting brief, non-confidential pre-proposals for review. Successful proposals will be considered for a research collaboration with funding up to $230,000 (including overhead/indirect costs) and spanning between 1 - 3 years in duration that align with their priority scopes of interest (please see attached PDF above).   

If you are interested in exploring this opportunity, please send Deanna Scarcella (des4016@med.cornell.edu) a NON-CONFIDENTIAL one-page overview of the proposed research collaboration using the suggested format below.

Suggested format for one-page non-confidential overview:  

• Project title
• Introduction/Background
• Strategy/Method/Target/Modality
• Significance/Novelty/Uniqueness
• Publication
• One figure (optional) 

There is a rolling submission, so please send the pre-proposal by Thursday, February 1, 2024 for review by the CTL team who would be glad to assist you with the preparation of a competitive, successful pre-proposal and ensure the Daiichi-Sankyo due date of March 1, 2024 is met.

Ignite Connect is an opportunity to explore and engage with researchers and founders around their technologies and ventures emerging from Cornell University. This dynamic virtual experience aims to create connections and serves as a catalyst, bridging innovative technologies with resources and opportunities for meaningful impact. Join us for inspiring talks, interactive pitch sessions, and virtual one-on-one networking opportunities. Register here.