First SmiLe BioTech Bootcamp attracts PhD level participants

The first BioTech Bootcamp program – an international collaboration between SmiLe, Bio^M and Merck – generated a lot of interest. The selected dozen participants, half of them women, work on developing and commercializing their business ideas with international Life Science experts.

BioTech Bootcamp is a new, eight-week digital mentoring program, where the participants have the opportunity to develop their business ideas in biotech, pharma or diagnostics while working on their entrepreneurial skills and connecting with mentors, experts and industry professionals. In addition, a personal mentor has been designated to each of the participants to coach them throughout the entire eight-week program. It was kicked off on September 7^th. 

The participants selected for this first training program come from Germany, the Nordics, Spain and Greece. All of them have PhDs and what’s more; half of the participants are women. Between them they represent a number of different fields and backgrounds, and their business ideas cover a wide variety of disciplines, from drug development to diagnostics in many different areas; from treating hairloss, asthma and arthritis to drug-delivery, biomarkers and immunotherapies.

“I am very proud that the first SmiLe BioTech Bootcamp has attracted so many top-level participants and I’m especially pleased to see that more than half of them are women. The wide variety, high quality and potential of the business ideas in this program is impressive and I am looking forward to seeing the development of some exciting new BioTech breakthroughs," says Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO of SmiLe.

During the first six weeks the participants will work on validating and developing their business ideas through expert lectures, individual coaching and expert mentoring from international Life Science players like Merck, BioM, SmiLe, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, Abbvie etc. The program ends with the BioEntrepreneurship Summit week run by Bio^M, on October 18-22, where the participants have the opportunity to meet other European entrepreneurs, representatives of the pharmaceutical industry and investors. After completing the program, two winners will also be awarded with a trip to Mercks’ M Lab™ Collaboration Center in Molsheim, France.

For more information: Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO of SmiLe, +46 73 400 04 33, ebba@smileincubator.life