IndieBio Rolls Out the Red Carpet for NY Life Science Startups

This month, IndieBio officially launched in New York City. Created with the support of New York State’s Life Science Initiative, IndieBio is seeking early-stage companies where biology is the underlying technology. This focus includes therapeutics, devices, diagnostics and computational biology, as well as consumer and industrial applications, such as plant-based foods and cellular agriculture.

Each team accepted into the accelerator will receive $250,000, lab and co-working space and mentorship during the four-month program that kicks off in May 2020. Therapeutics companies accepted into IndieBio are also eligible to receive up to $2 million. The Partnership Fund for New York City will invest $10 million into program graduates that remain in New York. Companies are invited to apply to IndieBio New York now through March 1, 2020.

IndieBio, the world’s first life sciences accelerator, was created in 2014 by venture fund SOSV in San Francisco. Since then, SOSV has backed nearly 200 life sciences startups which collectively have raised more than $700 million and employ over 2,000 people.

IndieBio is a key addition to New York City’s life sciences landscape. The program is a missing piece that fills two critical gaps — early-stage funding and access to talent. Despite increases in venture capital to New York City-based life science companies, the majority of recent funding has been at the Series A level and later. There is very little organized seed and pre-seed capital for New York life science entrepreneurs — a gap that IndieBio and follow-on funding from the Partnership Fund will fill. In addition, IndieBio is building a network of mentors and advisors that will provide program companies with valuable feedback and industry expertise.

Public sector investments in R&D and Excelsior state tax credits, in incubator facilities for early-stage life science companies (JLABS and NYBiolabs@NYU), in new wet lab real estate projects and in a life sciences internship program are starting to bear fruit. With the launch of IndieBio, young companies now have a much-needed entry point that positions them to capture later-stage opportunities in New York’s burgeoning biotech scene.

IndieBio’s expansion to the city will help foster entrepreneurship, create jobs and attract capital investment to build breakout companies in New York.

We are thrilled to work with the IndieBio/SOSV team to support its efforts to make New York City a leader in life sciences and create a stronger and more connected biotech ecosystem.