Accelerator Award

Introducing the Accelerator Award Program

The Chicago Biomedical Consortium (CBC) Accelerator Award program supports translational research that moves therapeutic discoveries from the university laboratory to the market and provides university researchers with “early commercial guidance.” Accelerator Awards are intended to support the initial, and therefore, highest risk, stage of commercially directed research focused on the development of a therapeutic, molecular diagnostic, or drug discovery platform. The program fosters early collaborations between academic researchers and industry, pharmaceutical, and venture capital experts, offering guidance to award recipients on establishing and advancing toward key commercialization milestones. Award recipients will be mentored by faculty, industry experts, potential investors, technology transfer officers, and CBC personnel.

Awards are up to $250K over two years of funding, for direct costs only, for therapeutic or associated biomarker, molecular diagnostic, or drug discovery platform innovations that are beyond ideation and have generated data establishing technical feasibility and a clear path towards translational readiness. Applications must include at least one tenured, tenure-track, or research faculty member from Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, or the University of Illinois Chicago.

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Why Should I Apply? | Who is Eligible? | Review Processes | Apply Here | People | Resources

Why Should I Apply for the Accelerator Award Program?

The CBC also provides support in the form of market, competitive, clinical, manufacturing, and feasibility analysis; experimental review and project management; connection to experts and venture; and many other resources needed to move inventions into the market. We demystify the commercialization process by providing support at every stage:

• Pre-funding guidance
  • Evaluate ideas for commercial attractiveness
  • Identify appropriate scientific pathways that meet business needs
  • Solicit and share feedback from venture capitalists and industry experts
    as well as federal-level feedback and guidance on regulatory issues

• Post-funding support
  • Integrate insights from relevant clinical trials and competing program datasets
  • Develop milestone-driven timeline for value creation
  • Manage project progress and troubleshoot
  • Coordinate activities at Contract Research Organizations (CROs)
  • Network with industry experts and consultants
  • Guide to additional funding sources

• Beyond Funding
  • Access cumulative knowledge of expert advisory boards from the private sector
  • Provide support across development and commercial lifecycle

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Why Should I Apply? | Who is Eligible? | Review Processes | Apply Here | People | Resources

Who is Eligible for our Funding and Services?

• Applicants for the Accelerator Award program must include at least one tenured, tenure-track, or research faculty from a research program at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, or the University of Illinois Chicago applying with an innovation in therapeutics, molecular diagnostics, or drug discovery platforms.

  

  

  

• The CBC welcomes teams composed of post-docs, students, and trainees who have at least one eligible submitting PI. Faculty with full-time appointments on the clinical track at one of the three partnering institutions are also eligible to apply.

• Applicants must have their own designated laboratory space. Although collaborative proposals are encouraged there is no specific requirement for cross-institutional collaboration.

• Applicants may have created a company to pursue translation of their innovation, but there is no expectation or requirement for doing so. CBC also encourages applications before or without company formation.

• Projects at the focus of the application should be beyond ideation and have generated data establishing technical feasibility and a clear path towards translational readiness. Therapeutics programs must have robust target validation rationale and have multiple chemical or biological starting points to be further developed (e.g., lead identification stage or later). Molecular diagnostics must be based on well-defined molecular or histological markers and have been established using clinical datasets. Discovery platforms must have defined first use cases and data demonstrating feasibility for that use case.

• Multiple applications can be submitted from each institution.

• A PI is limited to one active Accelerator Award application at a time.

• There is no expectation that awards will be distributed evenly among the CBC institutions.

• Research teams should not already be funded for the same (or closely related) specific aims and/or milestones.

• Specific aims or experimental plans described in Letters of Intent cannot be under review at other funding institutions/agencies to support the same (or closely related) specific aims and/or milestones.

• The CBC funds cannot be used for administrative tasks (i.e., patent filing, federal application, or legal fees).

• The CBC does not allow facilities & administrative (F&A)/indirect costs on any funded project.

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Why Should I Apply? | Who is Eligible? | Review Processes | Apply Here | People | Resources

Review Processes

Review Process Goals:
The goal of the review process is to ensure that CBC staff works with applicants to evaluate and develop their ideas to move them along the path to commercialization. CBC staff and our Entrepreneurial Fellows work closely with the applicant teams and each institution’s technology transfer office to help Chicagoland academic scientists navigate and accelerate the translation of their innovative discoveries into impactful healthcare solutions.

Review Process Overview:

Process Timing:

Please note: The review and evaluation of applications are subject to the volume of submissions received. While we strive to provide timely feedback, the review process may be extended depending on the number of applications in the review queue. Applicants will be notified of any significant delays. 

Why Should I Apply? | Who is Eligible? | Review Processes | Apply Here | People | Resources

How Do I Apply?

For information about how to ‘Build a Competitive Accelerator Award Proposal’, register for an introductory presentation Register HERE. Registration is required. A recording of the meeting will be available after May 1, 2025.

For more information, contact Jessica Irons (jessica.irons @ northwestern.edu).

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Why Should I Apply? | Who is Eligible? | Apply Here | People | Resources

People of the Accelerator Award Program

Why Should I Apply? | Who is Eligible? | Apply Here | People | Resources

Valuable Resources for Academic Innovators

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