On March 11, The Ganesha Lab open its doors again for top Latinamerican biotech startups to join its signature BIGinBIO acceleration and internationalization program. Science based companies, specializing in fields such as bioagriculture, biomedicine, biofood, health, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and medical devices and related AI-driven technologies, are invited to apply..

The customed made program is designed to boost the internationalization and scalability of high-potential Latin American biotechnological startups, providing entrepreneurs with the necessary tools and capital to successfully navigate competitive global markets.

This call is aimed, as in previous years, at early-stage startups with evident potential to make an impact on human and planet health in essential areas such as access to healthcare, food scarcity, aging population, climate change, and emerging threats.

BIGinBIO provides a unique opportunity to access intensive workshops, personalized mentorship, individual coaching, in addition to two weeks of intensive online soft-landing, specially designed by the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) Miami.

Catalina Fernandez, Program Manager, explains, «apart from the core elements of the program, participants benefit from continuous support from our team and mentors. This ensures that any questions or concerns are quickly addressed, enabling them to meet the requirements to be BIGinBIO.»

Anastasia Gutkevich, CEO of Bifidice and a member of our seventh cohort, adds that «BIGinBIO stands out among startup programs for its foundation in science and biotechnology. Their success stems from a focused program and a thorough understanding of the distinctive path to science-based startups.»

She emphasizes that «the work The Ganesha Lab is doing holds enormous importance because, ultimately, science-based startups possess greater value and face numerous market entry barriers. However, upon achieving success, their worth becomes immeasurable. Facilitating the global expansion of Latin American startups in this field is incredibly valuable,» she indicates.

David Bravo, CEO of Pannex Therapeutics, currently advancing promising clinical trials of his compounds for stage 4 breast cancer treatment and a participant in the U.S. accelerator IndieBio, remarks that “the scale-up program provided me with solid knowledge about how a scientific-based project could become a profitable company without losing our essence. The Ganesha Lab has been a game changer partner for my startup”.

However, the support provided by The Ganesha Lab extends beyond BIGinBIO. Upon completion, startups become part of The Ganesha Lab Portfolio and are assigned a Portfolio Manager. For Life Sciences companies, this role is filled by Camilo Anabalón, an experienced MedTech entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Babybe Medical GMbH, acquired by NATUS (Nasdaq: NTUS) in November 2020. For Agro-Tech and Food-Tech ventures, this position is taken by Matías Rothhammer, who has over 15 years of entrepreneurial experience, having founded three companies and directed sales and marketing divisions within a regional scale-ups.

Anabalón explains that «as portfolio managers, we leverage our successful entrepreneurial experience to help founders identify and addressing the challenges they will eventually face, and plan and prioritize the tasks to accomplish in order to overcome them as quickly and efficiently as possible, always with the purpose of scaling, internationalizing, and securing the necessary capital from the right investors to execute the startups’ plans.»

Both Camilo and Matías unquestionably excel in this task, as confirmed by David Bravo’s statements saying that “I have found in the team a highly committed group of professionals ready to share wise and practical advice to make the best decisions in my endeavor. And most importantly, as a boutique, they have put me on the map of biotech startups and potential investments. Becoming part of The Ganesha Lab portfolio has been one of the best decisions of my entrepreneur life”.

Matías Figgliozi, CEO of Unibaio and a participant in our sixth cohort, similarly expresses that “our experience at The Ganesha Lab has been transformative in every way. From a very early stage, they provided us with the required guidance to develop our project, as well as access to a network of world-class mentors and experts. Their support has been essential for the formation of our advisory board, which includes former global managers from our industry, and for securing Indiebio’s investment in 2023”.

The support from The Ganesha Lab has played a key role in boosting the achievements of Botanical Solutions Inc. (BSI), a third-generation startup, already established in the United States with numerous international recognitions for its eco-friendly practices, as well as a partnership with Croda Pharma to accelerate the manufacturing of a premium QS-21 vaccine adjuvant, highlighting green and pharmaceutical-grade quality.

Diego Ibáñez, Senior VP for Latin America at the before mentioned company, highlights that “being part of The Ganesha Lab portfolio has been vital: it has facilitated connectivity within a biotech network of both regional and global significance, urged us to adopt a global growth vision, prompting our establishment in the US, and exposed us to good corporate governance practices and effective talent attraction strategies”.

Moreover, this year, startups joining BIGinBIO will receive a US$ 100,000 investment from our affiliated venture fund, The Ganesha Lab Fund. This funding enables them to fully commit to the intensive learning process and fulfill the requirements of the scale-up program.

Join our quest and share this information with eligible startups willing to transform their science into a good business impacting the lives of millions of people worldwide! Together we can find the best biotech startups from all over Latin America!

To get more information regarding the Open Call 2024 and the application process, click here.