After launching an expanded incubator for early-stage biotechs late last year, Charles River Laboratories is now looking to give participants access to crowdsourced cash. The CRO is working to secure a collaboration with BioTech Social to grant incubator companies entry into the latter’s crowdfunding portal.
Should the team-up come to fruition, early-stage cell and gene therapy outfits that are members of the Charles River Incubator (CIP) and Charles River Accelerator (CAP) programs would be able to use the BioTech Funding Portal to raise up to $5 million every year, Charles River announced in a July 31 release.
“The mission of the BioTech Funding Portal is to harness the power of non-accredited investors to support research that might otherwise go unfunded—despite it addressing clear, unmet medical needs,” the portal’s CEO Neva West, Ph.D., said in the release. “We aim to help selected applicants cross the notorious funding ‘valley of death’ that so often threatens innovative, early-stage companies.”
Charles River launched its incubator program in December 2024, building on the company’s cell and gene therapy accelerator program. The CIP focuses on biotechs still in the discovery phase, while the CAP is meant for companies that are 18 to 24 months away from an investigational new drug or clinical trial application submission.
The inaugural CIP cohort was unveiled in April, with six cell and gene biotechs taking part.
"As a new pharmaceutical company, there are many aspects where you need consulting support,” Chih-Wen Ni, founder and CEO of incubator participant NVI Therapeutics, said in the July release. “For instance, navigating regulations and conducting pre-clinical studies require expert assistance.”
Applications to join the second CIP cohort are open now.