Building a Life Science Start-Up

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to apply basic biology and chemistry concepts to the applied field of biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals, preparing them to pursue professional-level careers in the life science industry or become a start-up founder.

This course offers a comprehensive examination of various drug modalities with a focus on small molecule drug development.

The course reviews key factors that are involved in choosing a target of interest, as well as detail the process of early-stage discovery work within a virtual contract research organization (CRO) environment.

Case studies are utilized to illustrate the target selection and early-stage discovery workflows including in-silico/artificial intelligence (AI) methods.

The course also includes sections on raising capital for a new biopharmaceutical company, intellectual property filings, and the early stages of clinical development to establish proof of concept for a new drug.