What's it like to be part of Accelerate@Babraham?
Accelerate@Babraham: Life Changing Ideas. Game Changing Support.
A sustainable business proposition based on great science, imagination, creativity, and resilience – the next generation of life science entrepreneurs need all these attributes and more when it comes to navigating this tough and fast-moving sector. Accelerate@Babraham, the bio-incubator initiative founded and developed at the Babraham Research Campus understands what it’s like for early-career entrepreneurs and their fledgling ventures - many of those involved in delivering the programme have been there themselves, many times.
The personal experiences of our network of incredibly skilled life science experts and mentors, combined with access to free lab space, business support, 10K non-dilutive funding and the opportunity to meet investors genuinely interested in funding the science being explored, all whilst experiencing what it’s like to be part of one of the most successful locations for life-science start-ups in Europe, is what sets Accelerate@Babraham apart.
The initiative is supported by a core group of strategic supporters - AstraZeneca, Eisai and LifeArc - all keen to understand the business opportunities and provide access to their networks too.
Applications for the 2025 cohort open on 13th January 2025.
Five companies will be selected to the bio-entrepreneurial programme, and each slot will be hotly contested via a rigorous, competitive application and interview process. Only those with the drive, ambition, and tenacity to succeed will secure what is undoubtedly the fast track ‘golden ticket’ for early-stage life science companies.
Jenny Hirst, Senior Lead Science and Entrepreneurship works closely with our partners, consultants and mentors to deliver the Accelerate@Babraham programme. If you have any questions, contact Jenny for an informal chat.
01223 496 195
So, what’s it really like to take part in Accelerate@Babraham?
We spoke previous participants and their mentors to find out. See some of their feedback below:
“Accelerate@Babraham was life saving for us. The right support at exactly the right time.” Pedro Correa de Sampaio, co-founder of Neobe Therapeutics (2021 cohort)
“I now have a completely different view of how I can move forward, and the business mentoring has helped me to get there” Tamsin Holland-Brown, founder of Paediatric HealthTech and a paediatrician at Addenbrooke’s hospital, Cambridge (2020 cohort)
“When you are starting up a company you can’t possibly know everything that you need to know and do. Financial models, legals and appearing credible to investors with a cohesive story used to keep me up at night! My mentor, Nicholas, helped to complete ConcR’s executive level strategy and how that ties into our financial model and the investments that come in.” Matthew Griffiths, CTO ConcR (2020 cohort), Nicholas Sterne, founding partner of Cambridge Partners (mentor on Accelerate@Babraham)
“The whole point about Accelerate@Babraham is that it starts off as a burst of interaction, but it doesn’t stop when the programme stops. I’m always here to continue the conversation”. Neil Torbett, CEO PhoreMost (mentor on Accelerate@Babraham)
“I have got a lot out of being a programme mentor and there is no doubt that larger companies can learn a lot from the energy, ideas and resilience from these early-career entrepreneurs.” Marco Cerato, former-Senior Vice President Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, Mundipharma (mentor on Accelerate@Babraham)
Reflection Therapeutics’ Story
Part of our second cohort (2019/20), Reflection Therapeutics is creating a first in class treatment for motor neurone disease. We spoke to CEO, Tim Newton to understand how both being part of Accelerate@Babraham, and now being permanently located on Campus, has accelerated the company’s development.