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This is a new funding opportunity available to CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ therapeutics projects. This program offers up to $50,000 in rapidly accessible funding to help advance early-stage therapeutic projects with strong commercial potential. 

Program Highlights

• Funding Amount: Up to $50,000 per project
• Goal: Accelerate the development of new drug candidates by supporting projects to gather crucial go/no-go data and/or generate new intellectual property (IP).
• Commercial Path: Ideal for projects that have a clear route to commercialization but are currently on hold due to lack of funding

Eligibility Requirements

1. Disclosed Innovation: Your innovation must be disclosed to Venture Partners. Submit new invention disclosures here.
2. Long-Term FDA Goal: Must aim to develop an FDA-approved drug; supplements are ineligible. Drug discovery platforms and FDA-approved diagnostics will be considered.
3. Clear Milestones: Proposals should detail critical milestones that provide go/no-go data or result in new intellectual property.
4. Customer Discovery: Strong preference for teams that have completed customer discovery interviews validating the proposed development path. Get started with customer discovery here.
5. Detailed Budgets: Proposals should have comprehensive budgets and clearly outlined deliverables from internal teams or third-party contractors. 
6. Funding Gap: Commercial progression is currently stalled due to funding constraints.

Key Dates

• Application Opens: Monday, Jan. 13, 2025
• Application Deadline: Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, 11:59 p.m. MT

Intellectual Property Terms

As a condition of receiving this award, project-related IP will be subject to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) ensuring that future companies licensing the technology either:

• enter into a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) for the award amount at a 30% discount or
• reimburse the investment plus a 30% fee within one year of the license agreement being signed.

Application

For any questions about the funding, eligibility criteria or the application process, contact Justin Stitzlein. We also encourage you to share this announcement with colleagues who might be interested.