image: Todd Headley (left), CEO of the Zucker Institute for Innovation and Commercialization at the Medical University of South Carolina, and Mike Freeman (right), Innosphere Ventures CEO
Credit: Medical University of South Carolina, Photo by Sarah Pack
The Medical University of South Carolina is one of nine leading research universities across six states partnering with Innosphere Ventures on its Regional Life Sciences Incubator. Innosphere Ventures is a Colorado-based life sciences incubator with proven methods for propelling startups to successful market entry. Funding from a $2 million three-year Build to Scale Venture Challenge grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce will create a regional incubator that will offer its partnering institutions and selected startups access to its networks of mentors and investors and work with them to build the entrepreneurial infrastructure for life sciences in their states.
“This grant enables us to drive innovation, strengthen the life sciences ecosystem and create lasting economic impact not just locally but for the entire United States,” said Innosphere Ventures CEO Mike Freeman.
In South Carolina, the regional incubator will provide select startups with the expertise and resources they need to commercialize their ideas. It will also support the build-out of entrepreneurial programming by the Zucker Institute for Innovation and Commercialization (ZI). ZI is a nonprofit dedicated to the commercialization of MUSC intellectual property and innovations.
“This initiative not only bolsters our state's reputation as a hub for cutting-edge research but will help to support up to a dozen entrepreneurial teams and startups over the next three years,” explained ZI CEO Todd Headley.
Expert teams from Innosphere Ventures will assist these life sciences startups with intellectual property management and license agreements. They will also help investigators to determine if their research ideas have the potential to become marketable products and answer any other questions they might have.
Spanning six states, the regional incubator also offers networking opportunities.
“The teams going through this wouldn’t just be affiliated with MUSC but would be in cohorts with colleagues across the country,” said Headley.
Such networking sets the stage for potential collaborations within the life sciences industry and academic institutions.
Not only established entrepreneurs benefit from the regional incubator. It offers the broader MUSC community the chance to interact with life sciences companies across the country. Researchers and trainees can learn more about commercializing their innovations, creating a pipeline for career development opportunities.
“It creates something that everybody can gravitate to,” said Headley.
In learning how to commercialize their innovative ideas through the regional incubator, MUSC and other South Carolina startups will drive economic growth and provide more high-value job opportunities throughout the state.
“South Carolina's participation in the Build to Scale Venture Challenge grant marks a significant milestone in our state's journey toward becoming a beacon of innovation nationally,” said Headley.
# # #
About MUSC
Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the state’s only comprehensive academic health system, with a unique mission to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates more than 3,200 students in six colleges – Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy – and trains more than 900 residents and fellows in its health system. MUSC brought in more than $298 million in research funds in fiscal year 2022, leading the state overall in research funding. MUSC also leads the state in federal and National Institutes of Health funding, with more than $220 million. For information on academic programs, visit musc.edu.
As the health care system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality and safest patient care while educating and training generations of outstanding health care providers and leaders to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Patient care is provided at 16 hospitals (includes owned and equity stake), with approximately 2,700 beds and four additional hospital locations in development; more than 350 telehealth sites and connectivity to patients’ homes; and nearly 750 care locations situated in all regions of South Carolina. In 2022, for the eighth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health University Medical Center in Charleston the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.
MUSC has a total enterprise annual operating budget of $5.1 billion. The nearly 26,000 MUSC family members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers, scientists, students, affiliates and care team members who deliver groundbreaking education, research, and patient care.