Clearing Hurdles to Academic Startup Formation: How Editpep Became a Company

by Darren Cooke and Richard Lyons


This case follows an academic startup, Editpep, as it encounters and overcomes hurdles in its early days. The case also follows the creation of the Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center (LSEC) at UC Berkeley and the new LSEC Venture Grant program. Resources from this program, and other places, help Editpep develop and refine its strategy, secure seed funding, and hire its first CEO. The case also explores how UC Berkeley supports academic startup formation, how other universities might emulate and improve upon Berkeley’s achievements, and potential obstacles universities could face along the way.

Learning Objectives


1. Understand the barriers to academic startup formation present at most universities.
2. Understand how a program at one institution helps to overcome these barriers.
3. Follow one startup’s journey through that program.
4. Understand the biggest pain points for a biotech startup emerging from an academic lab.
5. Consider how the LSEC Venture Grant program could be improved.
6. Consider how other universities could emulate this program, and what obstacles they may face.

Details

Pub Date: July 1, 2024

Discipline: Entrepreneurship

Keywords: Biotechnology, Health care, Innovation, Business schools, Entrepreneurship, Executive selection, Intellectual property, Startups, Technology transfer, Venture capital

Product #: B6058-PDF-ENG

Industry: Biotechnology, Academic administration, Venture capital

Geography: United States

Length: 10 page(s)


Berkeley Haas Case Series
Berkeley Haas Case Series The Berkeley Haas Case Series is a collection of business case studies written by faculty members at the Haas School of Business. Cases are conceived, developed, written, and published throughout the year, on subjects ranging from entrepreneurship and strategy to finance and marketing. Each case includes a teaching note for use in the classroom.

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