Event Type : Pathways Newsletter

EMD Millipore Corporation is accepting applications for the 2026 North American Advance Biotech Grant Program, an initiative designed to support emerging biopharmaceutical and biotechnology startups advancing toward commercialization. The program provides grant recipients with access to products, services, and expert consultation to help accelerate biomanufacturing and therapeutic development efforts.

This opportunity is intended for biotechnology companies located in or conducting substantial business in the United States or Canada. One selected winner will receive the Program Winner Prize, valued at $238,400. Two finalists will each receive $20k in credit, and semi-finalists won’t walk away empty-handed either. There’s NO IP sharing required to apply and 𝐧𝐨 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 from winners or finalists.

Applications are due by Thursday April 30th , 2026. To begin your application, click here.

The OUP is hosting an even “Legal Needs of Early-Stage Startups out of Academia” webinar for founders launching their first startups from academic settings.  This online session provides practical guidance on the key legal considerations for early-stage ventures. Registration is required, and attendees will receive a confirmation email with joining instructions.

The session will cover four core areas:

• Incorporation
  • Choosing the appropriate entity type and jurisdiction
  • Allocating founding equity
  • Hiring employees (offers, agreements, stock options)
• Intellectual Property (IP)
  • Identifying which IP to pursue
  • Timing and costs of patent filings
  • Navigating obligations to your university
  • Working with patent attorneys effectively
• License Agreements
  • Understanding tech transfer processes
  • Structuring and negotiating licenses from academic institutions
  • Best practices for smooth licensing
• Fundraising
  • Legal considerations for pitch decks
  • Role of legal advisors during early-stage fundraising

Scheduled for Thursday, April 30, 2026, at 1:00 PM ET. Click here to register.

Center for Advancing Point of Care Technologies (CAPCaT) is accepting applications for the 2026 Innovation Award Competition, which supports the development and validation of point-of-care technologies for heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders.

The program will fund up to four projects with awards of up to $100,000 over 12 months, with a focus on technologies that enable care outside traditional clinical settings, including remote monitoring, hospital-at-home models, and community-based care. Priority areas also include AI-enabled tools, wearable devices, diagnostics, and solutions addressing healthcare workforce gaps and rural health access.

The application is due May 1st. To begin your application and learn more here.

NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) invites participants to submit Small Satellite (SmallSat) mission concepts that use adaptive sensing and onboard processing to enhance regenerative agriculture, sustainable forestry, or related land resilience efforts.

The challenge emphasizes designing solutions that operate within SmallSat power, compute, and bandwidth constraints, focusing on orchestrating existing land observation algorithms into an efficient, responsive onboard intelligence system. Both hardware- and software-oriented approaches, or hybrids, are encouraged. The goal is to advance computational and systems methods for adaptive sensing, not to develop new agricultural or forestry science.

Submissions must be completed by May 4, 2026. To learn more, visit the challenge website here.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and March of Dimes are hosting Maternal Health Innovation: From Idea to Impact, a five-part virtual event series focused on advancing solutions to maternal mortality and morbidity.

The series will highlight key resources for translational researchers and early-stage companies, covering topics such as fundraising, regulatory pathways, reimbursement, non-dilutive funding, and business strategy. Participants will also gain insight into current gaps in maternal healthcare and opportunities for innovation.

The series begins on May 6, 2026 at 12:00 p.m ET, with subsequent sessions held biweekly. To register for the first session, click here.

Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is accepting submissions for the SMART Antiviral Prize, a multi-stage competition designed to accelerate the development of safe and effective broad-spectrum small molecule antivirals with the potential to advance into clinical trials and achieve U.S. regulatory approval.

The program offers up to $100 million in total prize funding across four progressive stages: Concept Stage, Stage 1 (Hit-to-Lead), Stage 2 (Lead Optimization), and Stage 3 (IND Readiness). Awards at the Concept Stage include up to eight prizes of $2.5 million each, while Stage 1 will award up to six prizes of $6 million each. Later-stage awards will support candidates advancing toward IND readiness on an accelerated timeline.

This opportunity is intended for innovators and research teams developing novel broad-spectrum small molecule antiviral candidates, including early-stage groups as well as teams with preclinical assets ready to enter the Hit-to-Lead stage.

Concept Stage submissions are open now through May 11, 2026. To review eligibility requirements and submit an entry, visit the website here.

America’s Seed Fund Week 2026 is a free virtual event focused on helping startups and small businesses access non-dilutive federal R&D funding through the SBIR and STTR programs, collectively known as America’s Seed Fund. The event provides guidance on navigating funding opportunities, applying for grants, connecting with federal agency representatives, and building relationships across the innovation ecosystem.

The event is hosted through America’s Seed Fund / SBIR-STTR programs and brings together leaders from federal agencies, the private sector, and entrepreneurial support organizations. It is designed for U.S.-based entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses developing technologies, as well as accelerators, incubators, university entrepreneurship groups, and innovation support organizations.

The event will take place virtually from May 12–14, 2026. To learn more visit the event webpage here.

The Activator Program is Nucleate’s flagship venture-building initiative, designed to equip academic entrepreneurs with mentorship, skills, and networks to launch successful biotech companies. Participants gain hands-on experience translating early-stage ideas from lab research to market-ready ventures.

Demo Day highlights teams from across Florida, presenting refined pitches to a panel of judges and showcasing innovation in life sciences. This is an opportunity to connect with emerging biotech founders and witness the impact of academic entrepreneurship in action.

Pitch Application: Apply here
Demo Day Registration: Sign up here

The event will take place Thursday May 14th at 5:00 PM. To learn more visit the registration page.

The 2026 Grand Challenge hosted by Nucleate in collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company is an innovation competition focused on accelerating early-stage biotech technologies that improve functional health and resilience in aging populations. The challenge centers on four areas: mobility and frailty, cognitive and sensory decline, immune resilience, and regenerative medicine, with an emphasis on real-world health outcomes and quality of life.The program  is open to researchers, startups, and biotech teams worldwide, regardless of affiliation with Nucleate. Technologies at all development stages are eligible to apply.

Selected participants will be invited to Lilly’s headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, for the Grand Challenge event on September 21–22, 2026, where they will network with Lilly scientists and executives and compete for $100,000 in non-dilutive grant funding.

The application deadline is May 15, 2026. Click begin your application, click here.

This SBIR Reauthorization webinar is hosted by Eva Garland Consulting (EGC) and presented by Dr. Kelsey McLaughlin. This webinar on SBIR/STTR reauthorization will provide an overview of recent changes to the federal small business funding programs and how companies can prepare for the evolving funding landscape.

Topics include proposal submission caps, expanded TABA options, enhanced foreign risk requirements, and the new Strategic Breakthrough Award, along with practical guidance for navigating future SBIR/STTR opportunities.

The session will take place on Wednesday, May 20th, at 1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT. To learn more and register, click here.