SCBio Launches New Life Sciences Business Accelerator Program

SCBio Launches New Life Sciences Business Accelerator Program

SCBio, the state’s premiere life sciences industry association and economic development group, announced the launch of a new accelerator program for emerging life sciences companies at the organization’s annual conference in Greenville this month.

The new program, SCbioDrive, is in partnership with MassBio, SCBio’s Massachusetts counterpart, and will offer companies expert business curricula, industry guidance, and mentorship. The program is patterned after MassBioDrive, and the collaboration reflects the huge potential SCBio’s Massachusetts counterparts see for the growth of life sciences companies in the Palmetto State.

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 scbio.org.