BioTools Innovator Announces the 2022 Finalists

Six Finalists Will Vie for the $250,000 Grand Prize at the BioTools Innovator Capstone Event on October 13th

LOS ANGELES- October 5, 2022- BioTools Innovator, the first ever accelerator  focused on life science tools, announced today the six finalists in its 2022 program. Selected from over 160 applicants, the finalists will vie for the $250,000 non-dilutive Grand Prize and the title of 2022 BioTools Innovator at the Capstone Event on October 13 in Carlsbad, Calif.

“Congratulations to the six finalists in this year’s BioTools Innovator program. Now in its second year, BioTools Innovator is fast becoming the premier accelerator focused exclusively on supporting, mentoring and advancing life science tools companies,” said Kathryn Zavala, managing director of BioTools Innovator. “This year’s finalists are commercializing technologies that enable us to discover, develop, and deliver therapies and diagnostics to improve human health. I’m looking forward to our Capstone Event and announcing this year’s Grand Prize winner.”

The six finalist companies are:

Ananda Devices (Laval, Quebec, Canada) – Scalable neurons-on-a-chip platform to test toxicity and efficacy of compounds in over 3,000 human neurons in vitro in less than 30 minutes

Cellbox Solutions (Hamburg/Norderstedt, Germany) – Intelligent, active CO2 incubator for transporting living cells, organoids and tissues under ideal conditions

CellChorus (Houston & San Carlos, Calif.) – The only single-cell analysis platform that evaluates  in high throughput how individual cells move, activate, interact, kill and survive

DropGenie (Montreal, Canada and Boston) – High throughput low volume discovery platform that enables genome wide arrayed CRISPR screens in primary cells

GenNext Technologies (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) – Elucidating the critical role that protein Higher Order Structure (HOS) plays in the safety, stability, and effectiveness of biotherapeutics.

RealSeq Biosciences (Santa Cruz, Calif.) – Highly accurate small RNA detection technology allowing for real-time profiling of disease markers dramatically improving diagnosis and treatment.

Co-located with the Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa, the BioTools Innovator Capstone Event brings together senior executives, investors, and top decision-makers in the industry. The event features keynote presentations, a company showcase with the BioTools Innovator 2022 cohort and the $250,000 Grand Prize competition. During the competition finals, each of the six finalists will have seven minutes to pitch their technology and answer questions from a panel of judges. After the presentations, the audience will vote in real-time to select the winner.

Register here to attend the event taking place at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa.

As part of a rigorous selection process, together with the senior leadership teams of its corporate partners at Research Corporation TechnologiesBroad Oak Capital PartnersNissan Chemical America Corporation, and over 30 industry judges from leading life science firms, BioTools Innovator evaluated the pitches of 26 candidates out of more than 160 applicants from 23 countries and 28 U.S. states. Fourteen companies were then selected to participate in the BioTools Innovator Accelerator, which prominently features best-in-class life science startups from around the world.

Reviewers and experts that participated in BioTools Innovator pitch events included representatives from Agilent, Alira Health, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Danaher, Draper, Eppendorf, General Inception, Hackensack Meridian Health, Illumina Ventures, InDevR, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, MilliporeSigma, Mira Life Science Ventures, Northpond Ventures, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Tosoh USA, Teknova, VC23, among others.

A complete list of the BioTools Innovator 2022 cohort companies can be found here.

BioTools Innovator provides startups with individualized mentorship and feedback, funding opportunities, and continual engagement with peers and advisors. Funding for BioTools Innovator is provided by the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation of Research Corporation Technologies, Inc. (RCT). Additional support is provided by BroadOak Capital Partners and Nissan Chemical America Corporation.

 

# # #

About BioTools Innovator

Based in Los Angeles, BioTools Innovator was established to advance cutting-edge research and improve human health by accelerating the growth of a broad spectrum of life science tools and diagnostics. BioTools Innovator matches industry leaders with innovative early stage and emerging growth biotechnology-focused companies for mentorship and support.

BioTools Innovator is powered by MedTech Innovator, the largest accelerator of medical device companies in the world and the premier nonprofit startup accelerator in the medical technology industry.[i] To date, MedTech Innovator has supported 421 alumni that have gone on to raise $5.8 billion in follow-on funding, brought 135 products to market, and achieved 30 exits.

For more information about BioTools Innovator, visit http://biotoolsinnovator.org/ and follow @BTInnovator on Twitter and on LinkedIn.

[i] Gibbs, M., Johnson, B., Silva, B. A., & Berube, K. (2020, July 10). Q2 2020 Life Science Accelerators Insights Cipher Bio. Retrieved September 15, 2020, from https://www.cipherbio.com/blog/life-science-accelerators-insights/