| GSAS
Harvard Biotech Club Business Plan Competition |
The GSAS Harvard Biotechnology
Club Announces:
the 7th Annual
Biotechnology Business Plan Competition
The GSAS Harvard Biotechnology Club announces the seventh annual Biotechnology
Business Plan Competition with sponsorship from Merck Research Laboratories
(MRL)-Boston, Cummings Properties.
The GSAS Harvard Biotechnology Business Plan Competition is unique in
that it focuses exclusively on biotechnology start-ups. The 2006 Biotechnology
Business Plan competition is open to entrepreneurs, students and professionals
worldwide, and does not require Harvard University affiliation. The competition
offers a $5,000 cash award for the first prize with an additional prize
of a one-year lease for 1000 sq ft of lab/office space ($25,000 value),
generously donated by Cummings Properties, that will be granted to the
highest placing entry who can utilize the space. The competition presents
the opportunity for early stage biotechnology companies to have their
business plans reviewed by seasoned venture capitalists and other biotechnology
experts in the Boston area.
| Requirements for Participation and Judging Criteria |
1. To enter, a team must submit in Adobe Acrobat™ format (1) their
individual contact information, (2) a one paragraph summary of the company,
(3) a two-page executive summary and (4) a business plan. These documents
must be e-mailed to startup@thebiotechclub.org
no later than Monday, May 15, 2006.
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2. Submissions that are associated with an existing early-stage company must NOT have garnered more than $1 million in seed funding.
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3. The judges will select three business plans as the finalists
based on the following criteria: Judging Criteria
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4. Representative(s) from these three
plans will be invited to give a 10 minute presentation of their plan
to a panel of judges, after which time the final winner will be announced.
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Leading up to the competition, the GSAS Harvard Biotechnology Club is hosting
a series of panel discussions. These panels are designed to address just
a few of the many issues faced by entrepreneurs trying to start a company.
All seminars and panels are open to the public.
| |
| Wednesday, March 22nd, 4:00 - 6:00pm |
| Getting Your Biotech Start-Up Seed Funded |
| Speaker: Steve Wardell: Principle, Apeiron Partners LLC |
Harvard Medical School, New Research Building, HIM Lecture Room 1
Boston, MA |
| The life science industry has changed dramatically
over the past 5 years, and the biotech venture capital industry even
more so, leading to the creation of the “Capital Gap” in the funding
of life science start-ups. What sort of start-ups are venture funds
willing to fund today and what stage do they have to be at in order
to attract funding? Which venture funds are still willing to invest
in early-stage start-ups? Steve Wardell, a Principal at Apeiron Partners
LLC, a boutique life science investment bank with a $100m venture
fund, will address these questions and explain what his fund is currently
investing in. |
| |
| Thursday, April 25th, 4:00 - 6:00pm |
| Alternative Funding and Business Law Panels |
Harvard Medical School New Research Building, Rotunda
Boston, MA |
Alternative Funding Panel: The alternative funding
panel focuses on less publicized sources of funding options for entrepreneurs.
With venture capitalists preferring to invest in later stage start-up
and requiring a larger percentage of ownership entreprenuers are looking
elsewhere for the funds they require to get their companies off the
ground. Panelists will discuss funding options available to entrepreneurs
apart from venture capitalists, including SIBR grants, loans and angel
investing. The format will be informal and we encourage audience members
to bring questions.
Business Law Panel: New companies often start up on nothing more than
the merit of a good idea. Entrepreneurs don't give much thought to
how to deal with professional vendors such as bankers, attorneys,
accountants and so on. With a little thought and effort, entrepreneurs
can ensure to get the most from your vendor/customer/employee by building
good relationship with your attorney. Your attorney's primary goal
is to protect your interests. Attorneys take that job seriously, and
their training gives them a different perspective than that of many
entrepreneurs. In this event, entrepreneurs, scientists, and attorneys
will share their perspectives on topics including: Corporation and
liability, Corporate Structure, Incorporation, Disclaimers and Founders
stock. |
| |
Business Law Panelists |
Alternative Funding Panelists |
| |
Gabor Garai, J.D.
Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP |
Janice Bourque
Senior Vice President and Group Head-Life Sciences, Comerica Bank |
| |
Lin J. Hymel, Ph.D., JD
Associate, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP |
R. Dana Ono, Ph.D.
Managing Director, Life Sciences, VIMAC Ventures LLC |
| |
Roque El-Hayek, MD, JD
Associate, Wolf, Greenfield & Sachs PC |
Phil Weilerstein
Executive Director, National Collegiate Inventors & Investors Alliance (NCIIA) |
| |
|
John J. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Director - Life Sciences, Stage1 Strategies |
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| Monday, May 1st, 4:00 - 6:00pm |
| Venture Capital and Intellectual Property Panels |
Harvard Medical School, New Research Building, Rotunda
Boston, MA |
The venture capital panel discussion will feature
VCs from the Boston area with a focus on the life science industry.
Topics covered will include the current state of investment in the
biosciences, recommendations on writing and marketing a strong business
plan and criteria used by VCs to assess a new business idea. Panelists
will field questions from the audience, with a focus on issues pertinent
to scientists aspiring to launch business ventures in the life sciences
The IP panel will feature experienced attorneys and technology transfer
specialists discussing how to navigate the licensing and patent hurdles
involved in bringing a technology to the marketplace. The format will
be highly interactive, with audience participation encouraged.
|
| |
Intellectual Property
Panelists |
Venture Capital Panelists |
| |
Thomas Saunders, J.D.
Patent Law Attorney, Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels |
Jeffrey Moore
Associate, Research Corporation Technologies |
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O. Prem Das, Ph.D.
Office of Technology Licensing & Industry Sponsored Research, HMS |
Amir Nashat
Principle, Polaris Ventures |
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Andrea Schievella, Ph.D.
Technology Transfer Officer/Business Development & Licensing, MIT |
Zach Jonasson
Senior Principle, Seaflower Ventures |
| |
Jeffrey L. Quillen, J.D.
Patent Law Attorney, Foley Hoag LLC |
|
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| Monday, May 15th, 5:00pm |
| Business Plan Competition Submission Deadline |
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| Friday, June 2nd, 5:00-7:00pm |
| Finalist Presentations and Awards Ceremony |
Harvard Medical School, New Research Building, Rotunda
Boston, MA |
The organizers and judges respect the sensitive nature of the business
plans and, as such, the Biotech Club will limit distribution of full business
plans to participating judges only. The Biotech Club encourages teams
to submit detailed plans, which will be reviewed and judged by senior
venture capitalists and biotechnology industry experts affiliated with
the competition. After the submission deadline, the Biotech Club will
post on its Web site the one-paragraph summary of each competing company
along with the company's contact information. The GSAS Harvard Biotechnology
Business Plan Competition is unique in that it focuses exclusively on
biotechnology start-ups. In 2006, with the continued generous sponsorships
of Merck Research Laboratories and Cummings Properties, the Biotech Club hopes
to achieve the tremendous success of previous competitions. The 2005 winners
of the GSAS Harvard Biotechnology Club Business Plan Competition were
Claros Diagnostics and Vascular Precision. Summaries of previously
submitted plans may be viewed on the Biotech Club's Past
Competitions' Web site.
For additional information about the Biotechnology Business Plan Competition,
the Biotech Club, or becoming a sponsor, please contact Patrick Loerch,
patrick@thebiotechclub.org
About Merck Research Laboratories
Merck & Co., Inc. is a global research-driven pharmaceutical company
dedicated to putting patients first. Established in 1891, Merck discovers,
develops, manufactures and markets vaccines and medicines in more than
20 therapeutic categories. The company devotes extensive efforts to increase
access to medicines through far-reaching programs that not only donate
Merck medicines but help deliver them to the people who need them. Merck
also publishes unbiased health information as a not-for-profit service.
For more information, visit www.merck.com.
The latest addition to the Merck network of advanced research facilities,
Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) Boston, launched in August 2004. The
MRL Boston research center is dedicated to the discovery of therapeutics
for Oncology and Alzheimer's disease - therapeutic areas that will improve
worldwide human health. For more information, visit www.mrk-brc.com.
About Cummings Properties
Cummings Properties operates more than 8 million square feet of
first-class office, lab and general commercial space in 10 metropolitan Boston
communities. More than 100 life-science firms occupy more than 1.4
million square feet of space in its buildings. Cummings Properties features a
wide array of lab spaces ranging from incubator labs to cleanrooms and animal
facilities. It has the in-house ability and expertise to design, build
and finance all types of buildouts. A leader in Boston commercial real
estate for more than 35 years, with an experienced team of professionals,
Cummings Properties provides quality building management including leasing, space planning,
design, construction and maintenance.
For more information, visit http://www.cummings.com/avaspace.html
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| Resources |
The Resources
section also has descriptions/links for law firms, angels groups,
VC firms, TLOs, etc. Everything an entrepreneur might find useful.
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