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The Delaware Biotechnology Institute has launched a new Entrepreneurial Proof of Concept (EPoC) grant program to help address the three biggest needs that life science entrepreneurs face: access to capital, equipment and expertise.
The EPoC grant program offers up to $50,000 to support proof-of-concept research in the life sciences that leads to the establishment of a new start-up company in Delaware by the end of the 12-month grant period.
Entrepreneurs can collaborate with principal investigators from any academic research institution in Delaware are eligible to apply, including Christiana Care Health System, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical Community College, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, the University of Delaware and Wesley College.
“The EPoC grants will help to support entrepreneurial life scientists and get new innovative companies going,” said Kelvin Lee, director of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute and Gore Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UD.
The pilot program expands the funding opportunities administered by the institute’s Delaware Bioscience Center for Advanced Technology (Bioscience CAT), which has as its mission to support and grow Delaware’s economy and bioscience community.
The existing Applied Research Collaborations (ARC) grant program offers up to $75,000 for single-investigator projects. Projects involving two investigators can request up to $100,000.
Bioscience CAT also supports the Technology Access Program (TAP), which allows businesses a reduced fee-for-service access to state-of-the-art core instrumentation facilities. The maximum support level is now $5,000 per core facility per company per year.
The submission deadline for EPoC and ARC proposals for the current funding cycle is 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30. More information and applications are available at this website.
About the Delaware Biotechnology Institute (DBI)
The Delaware Biotechnology Institute is a partnership between government, academia and industry to help establish the First State as a center of excellence in biotechnology and the life sciences.
DBI promotes research, education and technology transfer for biotechnology applications to the benefit of the environment, agriculture and human health.
About Delaware Bioscience CAT
The Delaware Bioscience CAT’s mission is to support and grow Delaware’s economy and bioscience community by fostering innovative applied research collaborations between Delaware businesses and academic institutions.
Article by Alok Patel September 23, 2016