The Institute for Life Science Entrepreneurship (ILSE) is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization located on the Kean University campus, established in 2014 by a team of respected executives and entrepreneurs to accelerate life science discoveries to improve human health, including new medicines, devices and transformative technologies. ILSE is a hub for hands-on entrepreneur support and company formation, with internal expertise in drug discovery, diagnostic and device development, genomics, bioinformatics, microbiology, microbiome, immunology and inflammation, antibiotic and antifungal R&D, and a vast network of external advisors, consultants and research providers.
ILSE has three business units that support entrepreneurship and startup companies in different ways: a research institute, a life science company incubator, and a business accelerator. These functions are interdisciplinary and draw on the expertise of the management team who come from the life science industry, and of the extensive global consulting network that spans the full spectrum of R&D and business operations.
ILSE performs original research, contract research for clients around the world, and collaborative research with our partners. We are also a startup accelerator, helping companies at every stage of their life cycle. ILSE is a CARB-X accelerator and member of their Global Accelerator Network, and provides the following support:
• Pre-award
– Scientific rationale, competitive landscape, development strategy and budgets
• Post-award
– Assess business and administrative needs
– Development: key performance indicators, milestones, and timelines
• Operation and Coordination
– External contracting, protocol development, study monitoring and report generation and review
• Administration, Finance and Business Support
– Startup support: incorporation, finance and budgeting
– Investor support and introductions; pitch and negotiations
• Training, Education, Networking and Programming
Partnerships are central to ILSE’s business model. In addition to CARB-X, we have a long-term collaboration with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) to develop tools and new products, utilizing our proprietary bioinformatics approach. We are also a charter member of the New Jersey Academic Drug Discovery Consortium, working to advance drug discovery research with Hackensack Meridian Health and universities including Montclair State, NJIT, Princeton, Rowan, Rutgers, and Stevens.
Kean University is a major partner as well. In close collaboration with Kean faculty, we have created internships and employment opportunities for students and research collaborations with ILSE members. Lastly, we have worked with over 50 academic and industrial researchers and entrepreneurs around the world to create companies and develop novel technologies. In many cases, we have performed research to develop the science and technology further on their behalf.
At ILSE we are proud of our accomplishments in entrepreneurship. We currently house eight (8) companies in our innovation center, employing over 35 people. Two additional companies have successfully graduated. Through direct and indirect support, we have helped these companies raise over $12 million in grant funding and over $20 million in private capital.
ILSE’s accomplishments in the past 3 years include supporting 3 companies at the IND stage and assisting a 4th company in receiving an FDA drug approval. We have served as principal investigator on SBIR grants and other funding, and served as sub awardee to provide administrative, finance and HR support.
ILSE is located in the New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics building on Kean University’s campus in Union, NJ at the epicenter of the NJ Life Science ecosystem. In fact, 75 percent of the more than 225,000 life science workforce in the metro region works within a 25-mile radius of ILSE. Further, we have easy access to the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike and are adjacent to the Union Station stop on New Jersey Transit, which is only 25 minutes to and from NYC’s Penn Station.
