BioUK Launchpad: Empowering Japanese Start-ups in London
About The BioUK Launchpad Programme
We are delighted to deliver the BioUK Launchpad programme in partnership with JETRO. This initiative supports innovative Japanese startups expand into the UK market and provides them with the tools to utilise London’s exceptional life sciences ecosystem to supercharge their business.
In October last year, our Head of Life Sciences Nicki Bromwich, and Programme Manager Alex Straw visited Japan to launch the programme. They introduced our start-ups and two of the programmes expert mentors, Dr Mark Fisher and Dr Andrew Tingey to each other, who gave expert insights, delved into business validation, the business canvas, and guided the companies to refine their value propositions and understand what investors seek in pitch decks. They explored the three main methods for valuing IP, discussing the pros and cons of each, and shared valuable tips on deal negotiations and exit strategies.
The start-ups engaged in personalised sessions and pitch practice, receiving constructive feedback from peers and experts. They dived deep into their business models, challenges, and next steps to ensure they maximised their gains from the programme.
UK Onsite Programme
Last week, they put their skills into practice when we welcomed them to our UK onsite programme. An exciting week of site visits, mentorship, workshops, and networking with investors, academics, and potential partners in London.
The week kicked off at the London and Partners office where we welcomed the start-ups and listened to several talks including an overview of London life sciences and the London life sciences ecosystem, delivered by our CEO Dr Angela Kukula. We then heard about the opportunities and challenges when growing life sciences start-ups in London from Dr Nara Daubeney, CEO and Co-founder of Phaim Pharma, and Mr Luis Valente, CEO and Co-founder of iLoF. The day proceeded with lunch, networking and a talk with Dr Ivana Poparic, our Head of Cluster Development on key insights for inward investment. The start-ups then had the opportunity to talk 1:1 with MedCity’s investment team (Dr Ivana Poparic and Dr Wael Muselmani, our Senior Investment Manager). The day closed with a talk from Mr Harry Jennings, Partner, Life Sciences at VWV, and Mr Phill Melia, Partner at RSM on tax, R&D and corporate essentials.
The days were followed by a site visit to Scale Space, a working lunch and overview of Richmond Pharmacology followed by a facilities tour and talks on the history of Richmond Pharmacology’s work between the UK and Japan with Dr Jorg Taubel, CEO and Founder of Richmond Pharmacology and Lessons in supporting your vision for growth with Mr James Rickard, CSO at Richmond Research Institute.
On Thursday, the start-ups visited the London BioScience Innovation Centre (LBIC) where they had a facilities tour followed by a visit to the Francis Crick Institute where they explored the institute and listened to a lecture on deciphering the complexity of the Parkinson’s brain, delivered by Dr Sonia Gandhi, Senior Group Leader and Assistant Research Director at The Crick.
Friday was a productive day filled with pitch practice at the London and Partners office followed by a well-deserved rest at the weekend! We would like to pay a special thank you to Robert Mollen – US-qualified corporate and M&A Lawyer, and Matthew Konneh, PhD, MBA – Director at Appollorion Global Ltd for supporting the start-ups through their pitch practice. Monday was an exciting day with a trip to Cambridge to visit One Nucleus, where the start-ups engaged in networking and delivered presentations.
BioUk Launchpad Demo Day 28th Jan
Highlighting the week was the Demo Day on Tuesday 28th January. The event kicked off with a welcome speech from Nicki Bromwich, who lead the programme, and an opening address from Neil Brigden, Director of FDI at London and Partners. We heard valuable insights into UK/Japan collaborations and the valuable partnerships formed from Nicki, and why London is a great city to do business and a great city for Life Sciences, highlighting the connections the city offers and the London offer from Neil.
The room was filled with energy as the cohort conducted their pitches to a number of guests including a panel of three judges, Dr Barbara Domayne-Hayman, KQ Labs Chair and Entrepreneur in Residence at the Francis Crick Institute, Dr Simon Hepworth, Director of Enterprise at Imperial, and Tony Hickson, Chief Business Officer and Cancer Research UK and Cancer Research Horizons. The day was truly inspiring and an unmatched opportunity for the start-ups to showcase their innovations, network with potential partners and close off an unforgettable week which has undoubtably led to new opportunities formed.
A huge congratulations to:
Cognano
Participant(s) – Akihiro Imura & Yasuko Imura
EditForce
Participant(s) – Yuki Tanabe
iXgene
Participant(s) – Atsushi Mizuno
Molmir
Participant(s) – Masataka Yamamoto
NB Health Laboratory
Participant(s) – Kiyoshi Takayama