The BioEscalator is delighted to announce sponsorship of the Oxford Catalyse Programme for the second year running.
Catalyse Oxford is a biotech entrepreneurship programme that collaborates with the Oxford University Biotech Society (OUBT) and SynBioUK. Teams of participants will develop biotech ideas over eight weeks. The programme begins with team formation events followed by a series of workshops on the main aspects of building a biotech start-up, with access to personalised mentorship. The programme will culminate with the Biohackathon from Saturday 5 March to Sunday 6 March 2022, where the teams will finalise their business plans and pitch them to judges. This is where the BioEscalator sponsored prize of 3 months’ lab space and a £1,000 consumables budget will be up for grabs by the participating student entrepreneurs.
Organising Catalyse Oxford has formed some of the most exciting experiences of my time in Oxford. It is tremendously inspiring to have the opportunity to work with the students who are the future of biotech entrepreneurship! We would like to greatly thank our generous sponsors this year, without whom this programme would not be possible: the BioEscalator, Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Arctoris.
- Alissa Hummer, President of the Oxford University Biotech Society and Co-organiser of the Catalyse Oxford Programme
Biohackathon 2021
Last year’s programme was a tremendous success, with the two winning teams going on to incorporate companies, fundraise and carry out proof-of-concept experimental work.
Following the fierce competition, the BioEscalator prize was awarded to Évolvere Biosciences, founded by a group of Oxford undergraduate students focused on fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The company spent a productive three months over the summer of 2021 in the BioEscalator’s shared Innovation Lab, carrying out proof-of-concept studies and strengthening the company’s position for future fundraising.
Sign up to see Évolvere Biosciences’ monthly updates by emailing: hello@evolverebiosciences.com.
CyanoCapture, which won the Arctoris Prize, develops scalable carbon capture technology using genetically modified cyanobacteria. The team went on to win Oxford All-Innovate, jointly win the $5M Elon Musk XPRIZE and is now continuing proof-of-concept studies in the BioEscalator.
Find out more about CyanoCapture
It was a privilege to help and support the students in setting up the lab and doing proof-of-concept studies. It’s nice to see upcoming young entrepreneurs.
- Khwaja Islam, BioEscalator Laboratory Manager