GenomeUp at UC Bekeley SkyDeck
SkyDeck is fulfilling its UC Berkeley academic mission, while expanding its global footprint, by partnering with leading institutions around the world to educate promising founders from outside of the US. SkyDeck Global Innovation Program (GIP) was launched in July, 2019. It is a unique pathway connecting global startups to the Silicon Valley ecosystem.
As Co-Founder of GenomeUp, with our team, we strive to improve the treatment and therapy for patients with rare genetic diseases. We are developing a more precise medical solution to reduce the time it takes for diseases to be diagnosed.
I’m passionate about this issue because 50% of the patients affected by rare genetic diseases are children, and that 30% of these children won’t live to celebrate their 5th birthday. We want to provide a solution for these children and their families. If rare genetic diseases can be diagnosed faster, there is more time to fight the disease and a better likelihood for survival.
GenomeUp decided to join the GIP team at Berkeley SkyDeck because we thought that the company was ready to move into the U.S. market. We chose Berkeley because it has the best academic environment for biotech startups. We saw that there are more biotech advisors here than other accelerators in the bay area, so we are able to learn and validate our solution before we go to market.
In terms of the things I learned here, I would like mention that I really learned to focus on our product, but also to consider the broader aspects of our startup. I learned to think in more interdisciplinary terms, as Berkeley SkyDeck also teaches a lot of business management and strategy. The workshops here are not only about biotech; a lot of them teach you to have an open minded approach to all matters in order to truly understand the world and the business.
After GIP ends, we hope to apply to the Cohort program! We believe the stage of our startup is ready to accelerate in the U.S. We want to go to market soon and scale up from Berkeley. We would like to continue to be involved with Berkeley SkyDeck because we already met many helpful biotech advisors, and I claim that the Berkeley environment is the best place for the startup to be.
Global Innovation Program teams are selected by SkyDeck’s Global Partners from around the world! “GIPs” access the best of Silicon Valley through SkyDeck, for a chance to explore launching in the U.S., connect with top experts from the valley, and to learn from the Berkeley SkyDeck Program and staff. Interested in learning more about the GIP program? Connect with BreeCahill@Berkeley.edu.
