SCbio launches new program for South Carolina’s growing life sciences industry

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SCbio has partnered with MassBio to create its new accelerator program aimed to provide resources for emerging life sciences’ startups.

SCbioDrive is designed to advance companies through expert business curricula, industry guidance and mentorship, according to an SCbio news release.

“SCbioDrive will give emerging life science companies a solid foundation of resources, increased access to capital and continued mentorship from a network of established business leaders,” said SCbio President and CEO James Chappell in the release. “We want this program to show entrepreneurs that South Carolina is the state where businesses, at their earliest stages, are set up for success and sustained growth.”

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As a biannual program, SCbioDrive will select up to six seed-stage therapeutic and medical device companies for an eight-week course, which will consist of seven weeks of virtual instruction followed by one week in person at SCbio facilities in Charleston. Company founders will complete industry-specific curriculum modules, led by experts from leading companies within the Palmetto State, which will include:

• Business planning and commercialization
• Fundraising
• People strategy and operations
• Drug discovery and therapeutics
• Intellectual property and legal
• Regulatory strategy
• Business scaling

The program will conclude with an in-person demo day.

“Our vision for Drive has always been to support diverse founders with exciting science no matter where they are starting their company,” said MassBio CEO and President Kendalle Burlin O’Connell. “We’re pleased to see SCbio take the MassBioDrive model and put a Palmetto State spin on it to accelerate their homegrown startups toward success.”

SCbioDrive will launch this fall. Applications for the inaugural program cohort will be available in June at www.scbio.org.

SCbio is South Carolina’s investor-driven economic development organization focused on building, advancing, and growing the life sciences industry in the state. SCbio represents more than 1,000 organizations employing more than 87,000 professionals across the state and supports and advances organizations in multiple arenas including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and equipment, digital health, research and medical labs, bioscience distribution, bio-ag and more.