Astellas Venture Management LLC, a wholly-owned venture capital subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc., and Mission Bay Capital BioLabs (“MBC BioLabs”), a life-science incubator, today announced their collaboration on the “Astellas Future Innovator Prize” formerly known as the Astellas Golden Ticket competition. Building on over three successful years, the competition offers entrepreneurial scientists or emerging biotechnology start-ups one year’s priority usage of MBC BioLabs’ state-of-the-art lab facility and access to Astellas’ research and development (R&D) capabilities and business leaders.
With a shared commitment to discovering and advancing innovative science for the potential future benefit of patients worldwide, AVM and MBC BioLabs are continuing their partnership to support scientists and early-stage companies to accelerate their novel therapeutic programs, modalities or platforms. The 2022 competition will prioritize innovative research that compliment Astellas’ Focus Area Approach and pipeline.
“We are truly thrilled to host the Astellas Future Innovator Prize again this year,” said William Watt, President, AVM. “Through our long-term collaboration with MBC BioLabs, we aim to create an environment that encourages innovation to thrive. The Astellas Future Innovator Prize enables us to provide biotech companies with expertise and capabilities to turn an innovative idea into a real solution, which could transform the lives of patients in need around the world.”
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“We are pleased to continue our partnership with Astellas to uncover the innovators of tomorrow,” said Douglas Crawford, MBC BioLabs General Manager. “The past winners of the Astellas’s Future Innovator Prize show what can be achieved by combining Astellas’s support, advice and expertise with our laboratory incubator, and we are excited to see the result of our ongoing collaboration.”
Entrepreneurial scientists, emerging life-science and biotechnology start-ups have until November 4, 2022 to enter the Astellas’s Future Innovator Prize.
Astellas’s is offering up to two prizes for pioneering scientists with innovative research that complements Astellas’s areas of interest in alignment with its Focus Area Approach and pipeline, including Blindness & Regeneration, Mitochondria, Genetic Regulation, Immuno-Oncology, Cell Therapy, and other areas.