Government Non-Dilutive Funding for Bio Startups

JLM-BioCity Meeting on
"Government Non-Dilutive Funding for Bio Startups"
June 14, 2023, 17:30 * Azrieli College of Engineering, C-203 Auditorium

Dear Bio-preneurs,

There are many sources of funding for life science startups and businesses in Israel.

At this special session, 4 senior executives from Government Agencies have been invited to talk about Israel’s Innovation Authority Funding, Bilateral Funding (EC, Horizon, and others) and 2 special guests will speak about the latest trend - about VCs and crowdfunding for life science startups.
The invited speakers are:

• Itay Beck, Senior Director, Hd of R&D Funding Department, IIA
• Hadar Zax, International Partners, IIA
• Nir Shaked, Hd of Sector - Health, Agriculture, Food & Biodiversity; Israel National Contact Point to the European Horizon Program.
• Moran Ben-David Shapira, CBDO, VLX Ventures
• Michael Mizrahi, Piplbiz and CEO, AtBe

Generally, government grants are awarded to startups and businesses that are involved in research and development, scientific and technological innovation, or certain other areas of economic growth. There is less emphasis on business development. Grants are competitive, and the application process can be complex and time-consuming BUT IT IS WORTHWHILE! Additionally, grants usually require matching funds or in-kind contributions, meaning that they will need to contribute their own resources to the project as well. On the other hand, the funding is non-dilutive and investors see approved grants as due diligence. Other issues to be brought up are:

• What are the best practices when it comes to accessing this funding?
• What is required of you once you are awarded a grant?
• How to raise the matching funding (and why investors like startups with government funding.

The event is organized by JLM-BioCity and co-sponsored by the Azrieli College of Engineering and Atobe.

NOTE: We ask you for a 20 NIS donation at the entrance to the event. The JLM-BioCity Team are all volunteers, but we have expenses to cover. Thank you for your donation in advance.

Pl, fill out the following Google sheet in Hebrew, to gain access to the Azrieli college campus and parking. https://forms.gle/uiNQFL9sACJLeWPt6

About the Panel Members:

• Itay Beck, Senior Director, Head of R&D Funding Department, Growth Division. IIA
• A seasoned professional with 18 years of experience in the Israel Innovation Authority. Held various key roles, including managing programs such as the Incubators Program, the Startup's Program, and the R&D Fund. Expert in formulating strategic plans and policies related to these programs. Currently, as Senior Director and Hd of the R&D Funding Department in the Growth Division,
• Hadar Zax,
  International Partners, IIA, and manager of the Israeli site of KORIL-RDF fund, a bilateral fund established by the governments of Israel and South Korea.
  Responsible for developing new collaborations with international counterparts, designing and implementing new programs with partners, and Israeli companies to participate in these initiatives. Fosters innovative R&D partnerships between Israeli firms and counterpart organizations in Japan, Australia, and South Korea.
• Nir Shaked, ISERD
  Hd of Health, Agriculture, Food & Biodiversity at the IIA and Israel National Contact Point to the Horizon Program. Prior to that he served as a senior government communications officer in the Israeli Ministries of Labor and Social Affairs and Science and Technology; worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator in the oncology field at Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, and as a medical imaging software solutions quality assurance engineer at Algotec.
• Moran Ben-David Shapira,
  As Chief Business Development Officer at VLX, Moran is involved in pharma drug development, biology, and business and IP law from blockbuster-drugs IP litigation to the evaluation of new technologies, biological and business opportunities as well as management of collaborations worldwide. Former Head of Bus Dev at Pharma Two B in Israel. Held various business, strategy, and technological leadership positions at GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, and Takeda. Seasoned in establishing partnerships for early-stage innovative projects and clinical development.
• Michael Mizrahi,
  Head of Startup Investments at PipelBiz, Israel's first and leading crowdfunding platform for startups. Jerusalem Academic director of MaofTech. Faculty member professor at The Hebrew University Business School, International MBA, Chief Analyst at the Israeli pre-seed Venture Capital - Launch It Capital, Hd of Deal-flow of Supersonic Capital, Former Hd of the Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Authority at Azrieli College of Engineering, Founder and former Director of the Startup Accelerator AtoBe.