Life sciences and biotechnology companies

For a company with real science and no revenue, the order in which you take money determines what it costs you.

Early-stage life sciences companies have one structural advantage most startups do not: a large federal system that will fund their research without taking equity. Used well, SBIR and STTR carry a technology to the point where a venture round is a different conversation — de-risked, validated, and priced accordingly. Used badly, they are a distraction that consumes a year of founder time for a Phase I that leads nowhere. The difference is planning across the whole arc rather than chasing the next deadline.

What is different here

Sequencing money

Raising equity for work a grant would have funded is the most expensive avoidable mistake available to an early-stage company.

Phase I as a means, not an end

What a Phase I is designed to demonstrate determines whether Phase II is a continuation or a fresh argument.

Commercialisation is scored

Reviewers assess the commercial plan, not just the science. Treating it as paperwork is a common and costly error.

Investor readiness

Deep-tech and life sciences investors underwrite differently. What counts as evidence is specific and knowable.

Relevant practice areas

Federal Grant AdvisoryFederal grant strategy for research-driven organisations — programme selection, agency engagement and proposal positioning across NIH, DOE, NSF and DoD.Venture Capital AdvisoryEarly-stage advisory for research-driven ventures — academic spin-outs, translational research and companies bridging from grant funding to venture capital.Private Equity AdvisoryAdvisory work for companies preparing to raise private capital — readiness, positioning and introductions to investors active in the sector.

Common questions

Should we pursue an SBIR or raise a seed round?

Usually both, in that order, if the work is fundable federally. Non-dilutive funding that answers a feasibility question is cheaper than equity that answers the same question, and the round afterwards is priced against a de-risked asset.

Do you take a success fee on an SBIR award?

No. Success fees paid from SBIR or STTR award funds are unallowable under FAR 31.205-33(f), and the exposure — audit findings, repayment — falls on the company. Engagements are fixed-fee and agreed in advance.

How long does an SBIR cycle take?

Longer than founders expect. Agencies have their own cycles, review takes months, and the gap between Phase I and Phase II has to be planned for as a funding gap rather than discovered as one.