The Virginia Catalyst announced today that it is accepting letters of intent (LOI) for Grant Round 18 to fund the development and commercialization of life science projects that address major unmet needs for improving human health and advance Virginia’s economy.
“Innovation often comes when interdisciplinary teams including members such as scientists, engineers, physicians, biologists, entrepreneurs, work together collaboratively to solve large unmet needs” said Mike Grisham, CEO of Virginia Catalyst. “The Catalyst’s Grant Program is designed to fund and support these types of innovative collaborations, and we are excited to open the next round of funding.”
We encourage those of you with innovative ideas in life sciences to reach out to colleagues and other professionals to create a high-performing team. World class research, entrepreneurial management and capital can achieve great things together. You have several months to get a team together and submit an LOI by March 14th. We award non-dilutive grants of $200k to $800k, plus we provide great contacts with other sources of capital and strategic partnerships.
Letters of Intent (LOI) must be received by March 14,, 2025 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time. Projects that meet funding criteria will be invited to submit a full application by April 30, 2025. Applications will be reviewed and scored by an independent review team of scientists, venture capitalists and CEOs of Virginia-based life science companies. The top eight applicant teams will be invited to present their proposal the week of June 9, 2025. Awards will be announced at the end June 2025. The LOI submission form, along with funding criteria and frequently asked questions, are available on the Virginia Catalyst website (www.virginiacatalyst.org/apply.html).
We encourage all interested applicant teams to view our webinar that was co-hosted by Virginia Catalyst and Virginia Bio. This webinar featured an expert panel, facilitated by Mike Grisham, CEO of Virginia Catalyst, to share what it takes to score highly, get funding and position your company and research university for significant follow-on funding from large corporations, venture capitalists, DARPA, NIH and philanthropic foundations. This webinar can be viewed, and the slides downloaded on the home page of Virginia Catalyst at: https://www.virginiacatalyst.org/
Cumulatively through the first 17 funding rounds, Virginia Catalyst has dedicated a total of over $34 million for 65 collaborative projects. Together, these projects have created over 400 new jobs and have attracted an additional $821 million of investment capital from venture capital, private equity, corporations and government agencies including DARPA, NIH and NSF and acquisitions.