1. DRIVEN Acceleration Fund ($50,000/award hard cap): for early stage companies participating in the DRIVEN Partnership Program to accomplish strategic goals, undertake key value-driving experiments, or otherwise increase their risk-adjusted expectation of quality-adjusted life year (QALY) creation. This fund augments the already-established DRIVEN Partnership Program (see details in “About” section below).
2. DRIVEN Ignition Fund ($25,000/award hard cap): for innovations or discoveries that need additional experimentation before company formation or out-licensing is warranted. Ignition Fund awardees will not participate in the DRIVEN Partnership Program as the Ignition Fund is specifically for the advancement of pre-company formation discoveries. This fund expands DRIVEN’s ability to engage with its smaller partners, and with earlier-stage academic innovation.
Dr. Jake Reder, CEO and Principal Investigator of the DRIVEN Hub commented, “We are thrilled to have this additional financial support and the operational flexibility to directly fund the best medical innovation in our region. In our first year of operation, DRIVEN has made significant positive impact. Now, with these new seed programs, we expect that impact to accelerate rapidly. We are very grateful to NIH and NIGMS for enabling this important initiative.”
The DRIVEN Accelerator Hub is funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UT2GM130176. The content of this press release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
About DRIVEN Accelerator Hub
The DRIVEN Accelerator Hub is an NIH-funded consortium led by Celdara Medical and Simbex and includes partnerships with the leading research institutions in the Northeast region (Brown, Dartmouth, Maine Medical Center, MDI Biological Laboratory, University of DE, University of NH, University of RI, University of VT). The mission of the DRIVEN Accelerator Hub is to create quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and save lives by 1) Increasing the number of quality medical startups 2) Decreasing their time to market and 3) Increasing their probability of success. DRIVEN provides tailored consulting to select entrepreneurs through the DRIVEN Partnership Program which culminates in a presentation to the DRIVEN External Advisory Committee, comprised of leading investors and in-licensing professionals. At the conclusion of the program, participants are invited to apply for DRIVEN funding. For more information regarding the partnership program, email info@drivenacceleratorhub.com. In addition to the Partnership Program, DRIVEN has developed an online resource database that serves biomedical entrepreneurs by providing curated, easy-to-access educational resources: http://bioentrepreneurresources.com/
About Celdara Medical, LLC
Celdara Medical gives hope and health to patients by transforming academic innovations into medicines with the potential to cure the world’s most challenging diseases. Celdara Medical is a recognized leader with a rich stable of discoveries, developed in concert with premiere research institutions in the US, EU, and beyond. We secure lasting partnerships with inventors and their institutions, and provide the developmental, financial, and business acumen to bridge the gaps between discovery and clinical impact. With robust funding options, operations in greater Boston, NYC, and Washington, DC, growing affiliates in Seattle and Indianapolis, a wealth of opportunities in our pipeline, and partnerships with industry leaders worldwide, Celdara Medical navigates the path from science to medicine, accelerating innovation to improve human health.
About Simbex
Simbex is an experienced medical device and consumer health product design and development partner that excels in transforming the most complex ideas into game-changing commercial solutions. Our powerful combination of design and engineering know-how, data analytics and commercialization experience seamlessly integrate with our clients’ expertise to deliver innovative products while lowering development and market implementation risks. Simbex operates a federally funded technology commercialization center that helps medical device and consumer health innovators de-risk their product development and commercialization efforts. http://www.simbex.com/
Adapted from a press release by Celdara Medical.