In biotech, $75,000 doesn’t go very far. When I talked with Jessica Martin Eckerly on the Startup Wisconsin Podcast, she said that without shared infrastructure, getting the space, equipment, and safety systems in place for a founder’s first experiments takes “months and hundreds of thousands of dollars at best.”
So an award of $25,000 to $75,000 isn’t going to build a biotech company.
It isn’t supposed to.
On October 14, Forward BIOLABS and BioForward Wisconsin named 10 companies to the second round of the Innovation to Commercialization Pipeline (ICP) program. ICP gives early-stage biohealth companies non-dilutive funding aimed at one specific milestone, the one standing between them and their next raise. And the first round suggests that narrow focus works.
What is the ICP program?
ICP is a statewide program run by Forward BIOLABS, the nonprofit coworking lab in Madison’s University Research Park, in partnership with BioForward Wisconsin. It’s one piece of the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub, backed by state funding alongside the federal Tech Hub dollars. Jessica called it the first program of its kind in the state.
Companies don’t apply for general operating money. They apply for a milestone.
“What milestone are they trying to hit, and how could a bit of funding help them get across the finish line and through their next fundraise?”
- Jessica Martin Eckerly, CEO and Co-Founder, Forward BIOLABS
For some companies, that’s IND-enabling studies, the work the FDA requires before a new drug goes into people. For others, it’s a regulatory strategy, IP protection, or getting to the conferences and sales partners that put a finished product in front of customers. A committee of Wisconsin biohealth industry leaders and investors reviews every application.
Who’s in Round 2?
Ten companies from Madison, Milwaukee, Brookfield, and Hartland. Four are in Milwaukee, the city where Forward BIOLABS is piloting its first presence outside Madison.
Did Round 1 actually work?
Round 1 named 18 companies in February. Eight months later, according to Forward BIOLABS’ Round 2 announcement:
Forward BIOLABS is careful not to take all the credit. Each of those milestones came from a team executing on its own plan, and ICP helped them get there faster.
One of those names should sound familiar if you listen to the show. Justin Byers set up Axio BioPharma’s lab at Forward BIOLABS in two weeks and had a first client two weeks after that, a story he told when we talked about fixing the data problem slowing down life-saving drugs. Now Axio is on the list of Round 1 awardees that raised.
Why does milestone money matter so much in biotech?
Because the costs show up early and the regulations never let up. A software founder can get pretty far with a laptop. A biotech founder needs equipment, safety systems, and test results the FDA will accept, all before anyone sees revenue.
Forward BIOLABS was built to close that gap. Founders walk into a lab that’s already equipped and staffed, with people ready to train them and fix the equipment when it breaks. But Jessica pointed out that the cost isn’t only money.
“Sometimes the barriers to starting a company are logistical and they’re financial, but also it’s a mental risk.”
- Jessica Martin Eckerly, CEO and Co-Founder, Forward BIOLABS
ICP takes the same idea one step further. Shrink the next hurdle, get the milestone done, and walk into the next raise with proof instead of a promise.
What if you’re building in biohealth?
Start with a conversation. Jessica told me it’s never too early or too late to reach out to Forward BIOLABS, even if you’re only thinking about starting a company. Inquiries through their site go to the whole team, and they try to respond within 24 to 48 hours. If they’re not the right fit for you yet, they’ll point you to someone who is.
Future ICP rounds haven’t been announced, so keep an eye on the ICP program page. And if you want the full story of how a napkin sketch turned into a lab that has supported more than 60 startups, listen to our conversation on how Forward BIOLABS gives Wisconsin biotech founders a running start.
Ten more companies are on the clock now. I can’t wait to see what they do with it.
