When forming a new life science start-up, getting off the ground can feel understandably daunting, and those early stages can be quite lonely for founders, who are often having to wear multiple hats while spinning multiple plates. Start-up support is therefore invaluable, particularly programmes that provide founders with the opportunity to meet with other entrepreneurs and like-minded businesses in the same boat as they are.

Accelerator and scale-up programmes offer a combination of mentorship, resources, networking, and funding that can significantly accelerate the development and success of budding life science businesses that are still finding their feet.

Pioneer Group is an experienced business incubator, supporting the growth of ambitious life-science companies. We offer Launch, Accelerator, and Scale-Up Programmes, which equip entrepreneurs with the tools you need to overcome challenges in achieving rapid business growth.

Launching your commercial venture

In collaboration with Innovate UK, Pioneer Group has brought our venture development ‘Launch Programme’ to the Exploit stage of Innovate UK’s ICURe programme.

The Launch Programme provides new entrepreneurs and spin-outs with access to tailored support and workshops to help de-risk the commercial and technical viability of their technologies and facilitate seed and series A investment.

Participants on the programme work to refine their business model and transition into a fully-fledged commercial venture. Pioneer Group’s highly specialised life sciences team provides 1:1 support to selected ICURe companies across the UK over a 12 month period, which includes regular sessions with a dedicated expert coach to strengthen business plans, pitching skills, as well as learning about the practicalities of building a business and raising investment. Read the full news story here.

Accelerating Growth with Accelerator Programmes

When it comes to start-up support, accelerator programmes should offer you far more than just networking opportunities.

One of the few certainties you do have when starting up a new life science venture is that, at some point, something will go wrong. You will face setbacks, and ideas, solutions and prototypes will fail and fail and fail again.

Helping you predict where it could go wrong so you can get it right is at the very core of what we teach on the Pioneer Group Accelerator Programme. We give science entrepreneurs the perfect, risk-free space to develop your ideas, discover possibilities, test theories, and iron out any potential issues, so that you can build a robust life science start-up and get investment-ready. From our side, having this early and ongoing involvement gives us unparalleled insight into you as an entrepreneur, your technology and your chances of success.

In 2023, we extended our Accelerator Programme to Ireland. The handpicked cohort joining us on the programme at our state-of-the-art Cherrywood Campus included AdNeruon, MetHealth, MedScan3D, Suil Pharmaceuticals and LEP Biomedical –  a dynamic and varied selection of trailblazing innovators.

Those taking part in the programme can work one-to-one with a dedicated coach and attend weekly sessions to develop your idea into a minimum viable product with a clear route to market. You’llmeet esteemed figures from the life sciences industry who can offer invaluable start-up support, advice and guidance on investment, market adoption and scale-up as part of Pioneer Group’s Expert Network.

Scaling Success with Scale-Up Programmes

While accelerators are typically designed for very early-stage start-ups, scale-up programmes specifically target early-stage businesses that have already proven their concept and are ready to expand their operations.

At Pioneer Group, we offer a free Life Sciences Scale-Up Programme, which equips entrepreneurs with the tools they need to overcome challenges in achieving rapid business growth through a combination of peer support, events and focused workshops.

A whole host of fantastic companies across the Pioneer Group community have taken part in our scale-up programme over the years, with our most recent graduates including 4D Biomaterials, Myconeos Limited, NanoSyrinx, Stuff4Life Ltd and AM Diagnostic Imaging Ltd.

We’re delighted with how the programmes have driven growth for our tenants – but don’t just take our word for it. Claire Thompson, CEO of Agility Life Sciences, and Denis Smit, Commercial Director at Micropore Technologies, shared their experiences of the Scale-Up Programme – see what they had to say here.

Navigating the Funding Landscape

Whether you’re looking to expand your services, engage in further research and development, grow your team or secure new lab space, at some point, you will undoubtedly need to secure funding to expand your operations.

From Venture Capital (VC) to grants and awards, understanding how to secure this funding is paramount to the success of early-stage start-ups and businesses. In fact, we’ve written a detailed guide on this subject to help start-ups navigate the funding landscape.

When researching funding options that offer start-up support, always look for VCs with a track record in providing life sciences funding to comparable companies in the industry; it’s not just about the money – VCs can also provide backing through technological expertise and/or managerial experience.

For instance, our Ventures team at Pioneer Group comprises scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors. Using our life sciences expertise, we, and our network of coaches and mentors, can support companies post-investment, whether that’s through offering direct advice, introductions to key people or access to our more comprehensive network. Everything we do is targeted at helping to build business success.

Check out this recent case study to learn how we like to work or visit our investments page.