Cure
Overview
Federal, university, and online programs that teach researchers how to commercialize their science and start a biotech company.
Most scientists who start a company learn the business side through trial and error, and in biotech those errors can cost years and millions of dollars. Entrepreneurship education programs move that learning earlier. They teach commercialization, intellectual property, regulatory strategy, market research and fundraising, the parts of building a company that scientific training doesn’t cover.
“Scientists are trained to ask whether the science works,” said David Crean, PhD, co-founder of CEO360, a peer mentoring program for life sciences CEOs, and author of Dual Fluency: How Life Sciences Leaders Master the Language of Science and Capital.
Crean noted that those questions are essential but “not enough to build a company.” A founder also has to ask who needs the product, what the regulatory pathway looks like, what evidence investors and payers will want, and where the next dollar should go.
That’s why he recommends education before acceleration. An accelerator helps once a company knows what it’s building. An education program helps earlier, while founders are still choosing an indication, a development path and financing milestones.
“Capital does not fix a weak strategy,” he said. “You can give a founder money, laboratory space, introductions, and a polished pitch deck, but none of those things answer the fundamental question: Are we building the right company around this science?”
When comparing programs, Crean suggests looking for instructors who have raised money, run companies and made hard calls in your sector, whether that’s therapeutics, diagnostics or devices. He also suggests asking one question before you enroll: “What will I be able to do at the end of this program that I cannot do today?”
Every program below is built around teaching, focused on the life sciences, designed for scientists and researchers, and currently offered. Some are open to anyone, while others are limited to one university or to NIH grantees, so check eligibility first.
1. NIH Concept to Clinic: Commercializing Innovation (C3i)
Overview: Entrepreneurial training and mentoring that helps academic innovators test whether their biomedical technology addresses an unmet need and has a viable path to market. Since its launch in 2014, C3i has trained more than 220 teams, which have gone on to raise more than $600 million in private investment, according to NIH.
Format: Two stages: a free online course, eC3i (10 weeks), and the core C3i course (24 weeks, in two 12-week phases), delivered mostly online with one in-person workshop. Expect 10 to 15 hours a week for the core course.
What You Can Expect: Lectures, interactive exercises, weekly advisor meetings and stakeholder interviews. Teams work through customer needs, intellectual property, regulatory and reimbursement requirements, business risks and routes to market, then finish by pitching investors or strategic partners.
Cost: Free. NIH covers participation costs for the core course, except travel to in-person events.
How to Apply: Open only to investigators with active research funded by participating NIH Institutes and Centers; not every NIH grant qualifies. Confirm eligibility with the NIH staff who manage your grant before applying.
2. Nucleate Activator
Overview: A free, biotech-focused training program for research teams preparing to spin out a scientific discovery. Nucleate reports that the Activator has supported the incorporation of 303 companies, which have raised $650 million.
Format: About six months, in person through regional chapters in the U.S. (including Boston, the Bay Area, Chicago, New York, San Diego, Seattle and Texas) and internationally. Teams without a local chapter can join the Global Virtual Activator.
What You Can Expect: Hands-on workshops on building a science-first business thesis, mentorship from biotech founders and executives, legal guidance on intellectual property and company formation, and clinical consulting to investigate unmet needs. Each cohort ends with a final showcase.
Cost: Free. Nucleate doesn't charge participants or take equity.
How to Apply: Cohorts run annually, with U.S. applications typically due in the fall. Teams need a defined technology backed by preliminary proof-of-concept data, an existing or planned path to protect IP, and interest in pursuing a spinout. Researchers need approval from their principal investigator and tech transfer office.
3. NIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hubs (REACH)
Overview: An NIH-funded network of regional hubs that helps academic innovators turn biomedical discoveries into medical products, pairing entrepreneurial education with milestone-based funding for selected projects.
Format: Varies by hub. Each sets its own training schedule, application process and length of support. The current hubs are CBC HITES, GCC REACH, Mid-South REACH, Rocky Mountain REACH and UM-BILD.
What You Can Expect: Training in evaluating market opportunities, business strategy, IP and regulatory planning, and fundraising, delivered through boot camps, workshops and one-on-one advice from industry professionals and federal experts in regulation and reimbursement.
Cost: NIH lists no standard fee. Costs and available project funding depend on the hub.
How to Apply: You generally need to be affiliated with an institution a hub serves. Find yours on the NIH REACH page, then contact that hub directly about eligibility, project selection and upcoming training.
4. I-Corps at NIH
Overview: An entrepreneurship training program for life-sciences small businesses, run through NIH's SEED office in partnership with the National Science Foundation. It focuses on customer discovery, market validation, business-model development and preparing for follow-on funding.
Format: Fully virtual, about eight weeks.
What You Can Expect: An onboarding session and intensive kickoff workshop, followed by weekly sessions and a closing workshop. Teams test the commercial potential of their technology through structured customer discovery, with guidance from biotech-sector experts, and leave with a commercialization strategy.
Cost: Free. Accepted teams receive a $25,000 stipend for program-related expenses.
How to Apply: Open only to small businesses with an eligible Phase I SBIR or STTR award from NIH, CDC, FDA or the Administration for Community Living. The I-Corps at NIH page lists eligibility requirements, cohort dates and the request process.
5. Cure Membership
Overview: A membership from Cure, the New York City healthcare innovation hub and publisher of this site, that pairs business-building courses with in-person events for researchers and founders working to commercialize healthcare innovations.
Format: Online courses plus in-person events at Cure’s New York City campus. Current courses include Translational Science, Therapeutic Market Analysis, and Concept to Cure, a series of lectures where industry leaders share practical guidance on building a healthcare business. In 2027, Cure is launching Building in Biotech, monthly small-group sessions in which experienced founders and executives share guidance on specific business challenges.
What You Can Expect: Courses led by industry leaders on taking a healthcare business from concept to market, plus networking, social and partner events where members meet investors, industry leaders, and policymakers.
Cost: Starts at $250 a year.
How to Apply: Open to anyone, though it’s designed mainly for researchers interested in commercializing their science and entrepreneurs building healthcare businesses. Apply through Cure’s membership page.
6. NYU Biomedical Entrepreneurship Program
Overview: A course-and-workshop program at NYU and NYU Langone Health that teaches researchers and clinicians how to commercialize biomedical discoveries, covering intellectual property, market assessment, regulatory strategy and venture formation.
Format: Runs over the academic year, with an introductory course in the fall and project-based learning in the spring. The introductory course meets in person at NYU Langone's Translational Research Building in New York and isn't offered virtually.
What You Can Expect: Lectures, case studies, guest speakers and discussions with entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts on turning discoveries into drugs, medical devices and digital health products. Students taking the course for credit also deliver an elevator pitch.
Cost: No fee listed.
How to Apply: Open only to the NYU and NYU Langone community, including faculty, postdocs, graduate students and clinicians working on biomedical technologies. NYU Stern MBA students may register if space allows.
7. University of Michigan FFMI fastPACE
Overview: A short, project-based commercialization course for academic innovators working on drugs, devices, diagnostics and related biomedical technologies. Since 2014, it has supported more than 400 projects and graduated more than 900 innovators.
Format: About five weeks, delivered virtually by U-M's Fast Forward Medical Innovation: a kickoff, three weekly checkpoint webinars, independent project work and a final presentation.
What You Can Expect: Problem identification, customer and stakeholder discovery, value proposition, preliminary market analysis, revenue and reimbursement models, IP, regulatory considerations, and development timelines and resources. Teams get feedback on their final business case and guidance on next steps.
Cost: Contact FEMI for pricing.
How to Apply: The U-M course is open only to University of Michigan faculty, staff and students; register through the fastPACE page, which posts upcoming cohort dates. Other universities, including the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, license fastPACE from U-M and run their own versions, so check whether your institution offers it.
8. TUM Realizing Biotech Innovation – A Business Guide for Scientists
Overview: A self-paced, three-course professional certificate from the Technical University of Munich that teaches scientists the business side of biotechnology.
Format: Online through edX, in English. About four months for the full certificate, at five to six weeks per course and three to four hours a week.
What You Can Expect: Three courses: “Biotech – From Science to Business” (evaluating commercial potential and building a business model), “How to Start a Biotech Venture” (team, finances, market strategy, IP and regulatory issues) and “Financing Biotech Innovations” (funding options, valuation, investment agreements and pitching). Instructors are academics, with input from industry professionals and entrepreneurs.
Cost: According to TUM, about 476 euros for the full certificate. Individual courses may be free to audit, but graded work and the certificate require payment.
How to Apply: Open to anyone, with no company or TUM affiliation required. Enroll through edX and work at your own pace.
