Innovation AveNEW  for Startups

...helping start-up companies succeed

Held in February each year, the SLAS International Conference and Exhibition is the place to be for established life sciences and technology companies launching new products and services. Innovation AveNEW  is a program designed specifically to enable emerging, start-up companies the opportunity to actively engage and participate in SLAS’s world-class event, helping to grow and scale their business as well as directly connecting them with purchasing influencers and decision-makers from around the world.

The mission for Innovation AveNEW  is simple — to offer start-up, entrepreneurial companies in the area of life sciences and technology a venue for positive, collaborative interaction and exposure for their product and/or service concept. Innovation AveNEW  participants are highlighted in a specially designated area on the exhibit floor.

Who Should Apply?

Candidate companies must align in some fashion with the area of life sciences and technology, and while it is not required, an established relationship with a university, bioscience incubator, or research institution is preferable. The company’s products and/or services must be available for sale/distribution in the year of their conference participation.

Application Process

Candidate applications will be accepted starting in August of the year prior to the SLAS International Conference and Exhibition.

All applications are reviewed by an Innovation AveNEW  Review Panel, who will evaluate applications for technical merit and commercial feasibility as well as other criteria, inclusive of, but not limited to:

• Compelling science and technology
• Clarity of vision and market opportunity (business plan)
• Strength of management team
• Impact on the field of life sciences discovery and technology
• Start-up status

Only eight start-up companies are chosen for this program each year and a single company can be selected for participation only one time.

SLAS reserves the right to select and deselect any company at any given time. All decisions are final. Companies selected for participation in Innovation AveNEW  must agree to and adhere to the rules and regulations for participation.

Benefits and Privileges of Participation

SLAS is dedicated to advancing life sciences discovery and technology and connecting its users to each other. To fulfill that mission, companies selected to participate in Innovation AveNEW  receive at no cost*.

• Kiosk exhibit space on the floor of the SLAS Exhibition Hall including space for a computer and literature, signage, an Internet connection and power. (Innovation AveNEW  participants must have an official company representative present in their booth space at all times during show hours.)
• Travel and Lodging for One (1) Coordinated Through SLAS Travel Service Desk (must be pre-approved, air fare up to $1,500 USD max per traveler, and four nights lodging
• Access to thousands of practicing life sciences researchers, purchasing decision-makers, and potential business partners; ample time for networking
• Access to SLAS Ignite entrepreneurial workshops and presentations, and opportunity to collaborate with expert life sciences business professionals.

Finally, all participating companies are asked to submit a previously unpublished scientific manuscript (original research or a related review paper) for peer reviewed publication in JALA or JBS post-SLAS conference.

Critical Dates

Applications Accepted: beginning in August

Application Deadline: mid-October

Selection Announcement: late October/early November

Need more information?

Mary Geismann, Senior Manager, Member Services
mgeismann@slas.org
1.630.256.7527, ext. 109