Thursday, October 23, 2025

4:30 PM - 5:15 PM

Momentum Room

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Details

The leap from the academic couch into the biotech lion’s den is not for the faint-hearted. In this candid panel, four startup founders share their journeys of spinning out cutting-edge science from the University of Melbourne and transforming it into venture-backed biotech companies. We’ll explore the critical building blocks of successful spinouts: commercialising promising research, navigating tech transfer and IP negotiations, and securing early-stage funding in a capital-intensive industry.   But this conversation goes beyond patents and pitch decks. Startups demand more than strategy, they require resilience. We’ll dive into the psychological challenges of being a biotech founder: handling constant uncertainty, dealing with imposter syndrome, managing relationships with co-founders, advisors, and institutions, and staying physically and mentally well while growing a company from scratch. In a field defined by long timelines and high stakes, avoiding burnout isn’t optional, it is essential. Expect honest, behind-the-scenes insights into spinning a company out of a university, making complex science understandable and investable. Whether you're an academic considering commercialisation, or an investor looking to understand the real dynamics behind spinouts, this session offers a rare window into the challenge (and potential blessings) of building a breakthrough biotech while still staying, relatively, sane.

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Speaker