Take your first steps toward entrepreneurship with the Building a Biotech Venture program. Regenerative or precision medicine-focused trainee teams at the University of Toronto and its affiliated hospitals learn from industry experts to develop their venture concepts, create a pitch deck and business canvas, and set milestones for building their company.
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About Building a Biotech Venture
This program aims to support the next generation of researchers as they take their first steps toward building their technology into a product or venture.
Through this program, teams will:
- Learn how to think about their research in terms of a product or business;
- Build a business canvas and develop their product or venture concept;
- Receive guidance from industry experts on intellectual property, clinical translation, and early-stage stage investment, and preclinical experimental de-risking.
- Create a pitch deck and receive coaching on telling their venture story; and
- Receive regular mentoring from industry experts and entrepreneurs throughout the process.
The program will culminate in a pitch competition for selected teams where the top team will receive up to $25,000 in research funding to advance their venture.
The BBTV program is being led this year by the PRiME Next-Generation Precision Medicine in close partnership with Medicine by Design, the Health Innovation Hub (H2i), and Talk Boutique.
For questions about the program, email prime.initiative@utoronto.ca.
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Testimonials
“Building a Biotech Venture was an incredible opportunity to showcase our technology, which really prompted us to take our venture to the next stage and we formed the company shortly after the program.”
“Building a Biotech Venture provided us with invaluable resources, mentorship, and opportunities. We gained a deep understanding of the biotech landscape and how to navigate it.”
Building a Biotech Venture Program Schedule
Program information session and networking
November 21, 3:30pm – 5:00pm
Donnelly Centre, Red Room (160 College Street, Toronto)
Application to the program
Download the application form
Application deadline: January 10, 2025, by 11:59pm.
Email completed application form to prime.initiative@utoronto.ca
The Building a Biotech Venture Program occurs in two phases:
- Venture Development – 10 teams will develop their ventures with guidance and training through mentorship and workshop programming.
- Pitch Competition – Teams will receive pitch coaching, and compete in a pitch competition to a panel of industry experts. Teams accepted into the Venture Development phase of the program are eligible to participate in the Pitch Competition phase but will need to submit a separate application by March 18, 2025.
Venture Development
January – March
The 10 teams accepted into this program will develop their venture concepts, create a pitch deck and business canvas, and set milestones for building their company. All teams admitted into the program will be matched with a mentor, who will provide ongoing guidance over the course of the program. Teams will also receive additional dedicated mentorship opportunities from H2i Director, Paul Santerre.
The program will include the following workshops run by industry experts to help teams in scaling their ventures and prepare them for the pitch competition:
- Workshop 1: Mentor Intros and Building a Business Canvas (February 13, 2-4:30pm)
- Workshop 2: Intellectual Property (February 20, 3-5:00pm)
- Workshop 3: Preclinical Experimental De-risking (February 27, 3-4:30pm)
- Workshop 4: Clinical Translation and Regulatory Affairs (March 6, 3-4:30pm)
- Workshop 5: Early-Stage Investment (March 13, 3-4:30pm)
- Workshop 6: Pitching and Presentation Skills (March 20, 3-4:30pm)
Pitch Competition
May 8, 2025
Six teams will be selected to pitch their venture concepts to a panel of industry experts. The first-place team will receive $25,000 in research funding to advance their product concept. The research funding must be spent in a lab at U of T or its affiliated hospitals, with funding held by team member’s principal investigator.
Ahead of the pitch, venture finalists will have access to group coaching and one-on-one pitch coaching through Talk Boutique to refine their presentations.
Teams accepted into the Venture Development phase of the program are eligible to participate in the Pitch Competition phase but will need to submit a separate application by March 18, 2025.
If you have any immediate questions regarding this program, please contact prime.initiative@utoronto.ca.