Innovation may be enduring a challenging federal funding climate. Yet biotech and life science leaders gathered at the 2025 XSeed Award ceremony expressed confidence that science—and the entrepreneurs behind it—will endure.
Speaking before an audience of founders, funders and researchers, panelists at the May 6 event at Cure’s New York City headquarters, struck a candid and encouraging tone as they shared personal stories and tactical advice for navigating today’s complex, capital-constrained healthcare landscape.
The panel followed the presentation of $250,000 XSeed Award grants to GenKardia Inc. and Sidereal Therapeutics, the two winning New York City-based startups led by underrepresented founders developing therapies for heart and kidney failure, respectively.
Now in its fifth year, the annual XSeed Award honors early-stage companies in New York City led by minority and women entrepreneurs whose preclinical drug development has transformative or first-in-class potential. Cure is an affiliate of Deerfield Management Company, which founded and funds the award with support from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC).
Even in a Tight Market, Early-Stage Biotech Innovation Finds a Way
“This panel is titled Rich in Possibilities,” said Seema Kumar, CEO of Cure, who moderated the discussion. “Despite the challenging environment that we’re in, innovation will actually continue on, and we will find ways to take this mission to market.”
Joining Kumar on stage were Michael Banyas, SBIR/STTR Program Lead at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities; Rekha Hemrajani, biotech board member and advisor; and Erika Smith, CEO of EpiTET and Chair of the Emerging Company Section at BIO.
Each panelist acknowledged the persistent headwinds facing early-stage biotech—from stagnant public markets and investor caution to shifting regulatory and federal policy landscapes—but expressed optimism in the industry’s resilience.
“I think this is one of the more challenging times that I have experienced,” said Hemrajani, whose background spans financing the biotech industry for almost 30 years.
When companies have to go through times like these, she noted, they focus and come out stronger. “Management teams have to really become creative, and I think this industry is one of the most creative, most innovative industries that we have.”
Smith, an early-stage seed investor for more than 20 years, noted that while the "valley of death" is familiar territory for many startups, she sees new signs of support.
She noted more organizations around alternative financing, from foundations to coalitions and communities, are stepping up to create opportunities to advance.
Banyas highlighted the federal government's continued prioritization of chronic disease, women’s health, and underserved populations, noting a need to focus more on “how therapeutics and drugs and services are delivered to these populations, especially in populations in rural or underserved markets because these are potential customers and people that need services that are often overlooked,” he said.
Concrete Strategies for Startups: Focus, Plan, and Find Your People
When asked to offer practical guidance for founders seeking capital, the panelists offered a range of advice—emphasizing planning, community, and clarity of mission.
Hemrajani advised entrepreneurs to “find your tribe”—a trusted peer group or mentorship network that can provide connections, feedback, and solidarity. She and Smith are members of the Biotech CEO Sisterhood, a group of women biotech leaders who support one another professionally and personally with information and introductions and as peer mentors.
“Find your mentors who will open doors for you, because we all need that even more now than ever before,” Hemrajani said.
The panelists echoed that sentiment, adding that industry trade groups like BIO at the national and state levels also provide a lever for influence and a sense of control in a volatile regulatory climate.
Smith noted that being able to say, 'These are some things that I'm going to need,' in an industry and as an innovator is important. “Through those sorts of trade organizations is the way that we can ensure that our industry stays strong.”
For founders applying for federal grants like SBIRs, Banyas stressed the importance of building teams with clear technical competencies and long-term commercialization plans. Startups should plan early on how to use the funding for nine months to a year from now, he explained.
“Have a strategic planning discussion to not only decide what people you need to bring onto your team, but also how you want to scale up and what markets you want to enter,” he said.
Lessons in Pivoting
When Kumar asked the panel to share pivotal moments from their careers, the responses offered a glimpse into the high-stakes decision-making behind the scenes.
Smith recalled her prior startup company being paralyzed—literally and figuratively—by a government shutdown just as it was about to file an IND for a spinal cord injury treatment.
“This had never even crossed my mind,” Smith shared, noting she had tried to think of literally everything else is planning for the IND submission, but this was such an external factor. “And even with that, I'm not going to let that go,” she recalled. “Because, as entrepreneurs, we got to just break down those walls.”
Smith pivoted quickly, calling her senators to rally political support and media coverage to get the issue noticed. “Sometimes you have to think outside the box,” she said. Ultimately, her advocacy enabled their IND to go ahead.
Hemrajani recounted helping a company pivot from treating ICU-related muscle wasting to combining its drug with GLP-1s for healthy weight loss—after a new scientific insight emerged that a significant portion of GLP-1 weight loss is due to muscle loss.
“It completely changed the trajectory of the company, and then we were able to raise a lot of money and go public,” she said. “Unfortunately, the drug didn't work.” But Hemrajani noted that the company could make this very clever pivot because it had identified an opportunity.
The Power of Public-Private Partnerships
Asked about the role of partnerships, Banyas pointed to Cure and similar organizations as essential conduits for outreach and alignment. He works with investment funds and places like New York Bio to help get the word out about current NIH funding opportunities.
“They help not only with the outreach, but they also provide a different lens of how I'm conveying the information, “ Banyas said. “Sometimes it helps to have other people that have experience in the room or just can provide that additional perspective.” These alliances help recruit applicants and steer them to other additional funding sources.
He also encouraged founders to take advantage of SBIR and STTR opportunities—like the current NIH Minority Health and Health Disparities SBIR funding opportunity, which closes June 10.
“Grants should be awarded at the end of September if you apply and get a favorable score at the end for June 10 [submissions],” he said.
Closing Advice: Center the Patient, Think Boldly, Stay Connected
In closing, Kumar asked each panelist to share one piece of advice for early-stage healthcare founders building amid uncertainty.
“Keep the patient in mind,” said Hemrajani. “Have a laser focus on the ultimate patient and how you're going to actually change their life. Work backwards from there, because that's going to clarify everything in terms of the commercial opportunity for an investor, how you're going to develop the drug, the unmet need, how you're going to sell it. So just walk in the shoes of the patient.”
Banyas emphasized strategic planning and customer focus. “If you're developing this product for people with disabilities, also think about how it impacts women, children, or other people from different communities and societies because those are additional customers or different patients that need these products and need to be taken into consideration,” he said.
As the panel concluded, Kumar returned to how the theme that innovation is resilient shaped the discussion. “Focus on what the problem is at hand and solving it,” she said. “Change is always constant. Staying resilient through it is really what it's all about.”
Learn more about the 2025 XSeed Award winners, and read more about past XSeed Award winners in Cure’s “Spotlight on XSeed Award Winners.”