In its position in a cluster of research institutes and close to the Churchill Hospital, the BioEscalator is uniquely placed to translate the science coming out of the Medical Sciences Division into companies, he told Brad. Surrounded by collaborators, providing flexible lab space, core research facilities and a programme of entrepreneurial activities, companies flourish there. Since it was founded in 2018, more than 10 companies have graduated from the BioEscalator, and successes have included companies being bought, floating on the stock market and raising significant amounts of financing.
In its interview with Brad, Oxford University cancer vaccine spin-out Infinitopes backed up Matthew’s comments on the BioEscalator as a great home for small companies. It cited the quality of the entrepreneurial community with which to share growing pains and the availability of space in which to grow.
Dr Claire Brown, a partner at Oxford Science Enterprises which invests in the Oxford cluster, discussed in her interview how the innovation ecosystem fits together. She described how OSE maps the ‘hot science’ at the university and works to derisk and translate high potential research, helping develop the business plan and team plus providing finance for nascent enterprises.
Watch the interviews on BiotechTV here.
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