NCBiotech Launches Support for BIONEER Venture Challenge Finalists
What started as a regional effort to support local biotechnology startups in southeast North Carolina is now championing entrepreneurs in all five of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s regions outside the Triangle.
NCBiotech has launched the NC BIONEER Venture Challenge, a life-sciences-based, innovation-focused venture challenge, to support life sciences startup commercialization, innovators, entrepreneurs, and companies across North Carolina.
NCBiotech recently named 14 regional finalists. Over the next two months, those entrepreneurs will receive mentoring support and other assistance in preparation for regional pitch challenges. Each winner from these five events will then make their pitches at the statewide Venture Pitch Showcase at the Triad BioNight in Greensboro in June.
“NC BIONEER is a unique opportunity for early biotech entrepreneurs to refine their pitch presentation and pressure test the assumptions of their business model,” said Brett Lanier, president of Wilmington startup Isosceles Pharmaceuticals, the 2020 NC BIONEER top award recipient. “The strongest benefit for Isosceles was the mentorship program and networking resources, including pharmaceutical specialists who were later critical to the company’s success in the challenge and beyond.”
Regional winners will receive intense mentoring assistance and networking opportunities, assistance from the Biotech Center’s Life Science Intelligence team, monetary awards totaling $40,000 in each region, incubator tenancy and/or support partnerships with local incubators and accelerators, and they’ll also enjoy regional promotion.
Finalists are:
Eastern Region
- Amalgent Therapeutics LLC
- BioEphX, LLC
- a BioNaTec. LLC
Greater Charlotte Region
- Green Solutions Group, LLC
- Prohuman Technologies
Piedmont Triad Region
- Kepley Biosystems Inc.
- Plakous Therapeutics LLC
- TheraBionic Inc.
Southeastern Region
- MacroFormulation
- OpiAID
- Renaissance Fiber
Western Region
- GreenLife Tech
- Olfax Medica
- Tyrus LLC
NC BIONEER partners provide ecosystem support to finalists
NCBiotech is partnering with organizations across the state to support finalists as they prepare for the regional and statewide pitches. These partners include:
- Agile City
- East Carolina University
- Flywheel Coworking
- Hatch
- Hatchworks
- Launch Greensboro
- NC IDEA
- Pitt County Economic Development
- UNC Wilmington
- UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Venture Asheville