Weill Cornell Medicine has received a four-year, $1.5 million grant from New York’s Empire State Development to increase resources available through BioVenture eLab, the institution’s hub for biomedical entrepreneurship. The grant is among the first the state has awarded through its New York Global Entrepreneurs Program, which was established last year to attract innovative life sciences entrepreneurs to launch or expand their businesses in New York.
BioVenture eLab aims to generate entrepreneurship and commercialization opportunities from within the academic medical institution’s community with the state funding. It will also enable BioVenture eLab to recruit international founders in-house to help kindle enterprise expertise among Weill Cornell Medicine faculty and trainees.
“The grant allows us to combine resources from New York state as well as resources from Weill Cornell and the greater Cornell ecosystems to bring inventions that can impact patients to market,” said BioVenture eLab Director Loren Busby.
BioVenture eLab is not new to nurturing entrepreneurs. As an essential component of Weill Cornell Medicine Enterprise Innovation, its long-standing entrepreneurial programs transform scientific and clinical research originated from the institution into viable commercial launches.
“We’re thrilled to be among the awardees of this inaugural grant. Enterprise Innovation’s mission closely aligns with New York state’s vision to bolster an innovation culture and economy,” said Dr. Lisa Placanica, senior managing director of the Center for Technology Licensing at Weill Cornell Medicine. “The expertise international talents can offer to our institution and the New York biomedical innovation ecosystem as a whole will further support our mission to translate the best of biomedical innovation into products and services as well as accelerate New York as a growing biotech hub.”
"As New York builds on its position as a leading global hub for life sciences and technological innovation, attracting the world's most visionary founders is essential," said Ben Verschueren, executive director of Empire State Development's Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR). "Through the New York Global Entrepreneurs Program, we are providing international innovators with the state-of-the-art resources and collaborative environment they need to succeed and make a lasting impact on the life sciences ecosystem in New York and around the world."
Through the grant, BioVenture eLab could bring on board up to seven global entrepreneurs—about one to two each year—who have ventures within various life sciences sectors such as therapeutics, medical devices, digital health or care delivery and are working on a cross-section of modalities and technologies.
An advisory committee with international expertise will work with BioVenture eLab to select the entrepreneurs based on the robustness of existing scientific data that underpins their ventures; their go-to-market strategy; whether their venture addresses an unmet medical need; and even how their idea works within a reimbursement perspective. But critically, Busby and the team want to know how these international entrepreneurs can best leverage existing Weill Cornell and New York state resources, such as licensing Weill Cornell technologies from its portfolio or utilizing manufacturing resources available at the state level.
Selected global entrepreneurs will apply for H-1B visas, allowing them to spend at least two years as part-time employees of BioVenture eLab. They will engage in BioVenture eLab’s educational programs and community events as part of their part-time role. For their businesses, they will be required to reach prescribed milestones and matched with Weill Cornell and potentially external advisors on research and commercialization plans for their ideas. Busby hopes to have the program’s first cohort in place by early to mid-2027.
“The point is to develop a greater life sciences ecosystem in the state by enriching the environment with experienced, international leaders with attractive businesses or product ideas that will economically contribute over the long-term.” she said.
Busby stated that exposing faculty and trainees to global entrepreneurs helps them gain a valuable viewpoint on the current global regulatory and healthcare landscape. For those looking to build companies that might stretch internationally, that perspective is very important, she said.
“This will definitely enhance our insights and shared resources for how healthcare works around the world,” she said. “That’s what I'm hoping these global entrepreneurs will bring through lectures and peer-to-peer mentoring to the researchers and clinicians with whom we work.”
