VCU receives grant for life sciences entrepreneurship program

By Lorraine Cichowski
VCU News Services

Virginia Commonwealth University has been awarded a grant of $50,000 by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to develop a curriculum to teach business entrepreneurship skills to life scientists, with the goal of spurring formation of biosciences companies.

The post-baccalaureate Certificate Program in Life Sciences Entrepreneurship is the second phase of VCU’s life sciences entrepreneurship initiative, which began in 2001 with the launch of a successful student internship program, also funded by the Kauffman Foundation, which teamed MBA candidates at VCU with owners of start-up companies in the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park for semester-long assignments.

The certificate program for professionals complements VCU’s life sciences curriculum, which extends over both the academic and medical campuses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to develop entrepreneurship training for professionals that will contribute to successful life sciences business initiatives in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” says Thomas F. Huff, Ph.D., vice provost of VCU Life Sciences. “As the first of its kind in Virginia, this certificate program will be another innovative interdisciplinary program we’ll offer at VCU to prepare the leaders and workers of the 21st century life sciences revolution.”

To develop and implement the program, VCU Life Sciences will team with the VCU School of Business and the Virginia Biosciences Development Center (VBDC), which assists start-up companies based at the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park with business planning and support and hosts popular monthly education and networking lunches for entrepreneurs.

The curriculum will combine academic study, on-the-job training and professional mentoring. Participants with life sciences backgrounds will begin with a primer in the core disciplines of business; those with an undergraduate degree in business will start by enrolling in Life Sciences 101, an overview of the life sciences.

A pilot program will be offered in September 2003, in evening courses at the BioTech Park. The program will officially begin in September 2004. Students will be required to complete four courses (12 credit hours) and will be awarded a continuing education certificate upon completion.

“Entrepreneurs starting a biosciences company face unique challenges not encountered by those launching more traditional startups,” says the project director, George M. Kasper, professor of information systems in VCU’s School of Business. “To be successful, life sciences entrepreneurs need to understand the idiosyncrasies of starting a company where capital needs can exceed $500 million and product lead and approval times can approach a decade and where the purchase/reimbursement decision is made by health insurance companies, not the patient consumer. These topics are central to the VCU Certificate in Life Sciences Entrepreneurship.”

Says David R. Lohr, director of the Virginia Biosciences Development Center, “This intersection of life sciences academic instruction with practical entrepreneurial experiences will help Richmond and Central Virginia build the talented work force necessary for the biosciences industry to grow in the region.”

The Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership was established in 1992 by Ewing Marion Kauffman, who built a small pharmaceutical firm into a major health care company, later merging with Merrell Dow.

CONTACTS:

Thomas F. Huff, Ph.D.
VCU Life Sciences
Phone: 804-827-5600
Email: tfhuff@vcu.edu

Lorraine Cichowski
VCU University News Services
Phone: 804-828-1231
Email: lcichowski@vcu.edu

George M. Kasper, Ph.D.
VCU School of Business
Phone: 804-827-0819
Email: gmkasper@vcu.edu

David R. Lohr
Virginia Biosciences Development Center
Phone: 804-828-7048
Email: drl@vabiotech.com