Rutgers University and the Institute for Life Science Entrepreneurship (ILSE) have entered into a Memorandum of nderstanding (MOU) to support and advance research, innovation, and entrepreneurship in New Jersey.
The MOU, signed by ILSE president Thomas Richardson, PhD, MBA, and Rutgers senior vice president for research Michael E. Zwick, PhD, underscores years of productive partnership between the two entities, particularly in helping researchers and founders transform innovative life-science discoveries into high-impact companies. Together, the organizations will continue to harness Rutgers’ world-class research depth and infrastructure—spanning biomedical sciences, engineering, chemistry, pharmacy, agriculture, computational biology, and more—alongside ILSE’s specialized capabilities in pharmaceutical and diagnostic development, startup incubation acceleration, venture-readiness, and entrepreneur training.
“The purpose of this partnership between Rutgers and ILSE is to promote and enhance the
translation of technology into commercial products by creating, supporting, and
accelerating new startup companies in the life sciences,” said Zwick. “What we seek is to
accelerate the process by which Rutgers discoveries turn into commercialized solutions in
new startup companies. By partnering with ILSE, we can pursue this in an operationally
eSective manner to support economic development in New Jersey.”
“The MOU formalizes the long-standing collaboration between ILSE and Rutgers,
particularly in support of startups,” said Richardson. “With the depth and breadth of
Rutgers’research and infrastructure, and ILSE’s startup support through incubation,
acceleration, and entrepreneur training, we aim to start and grow biotech companies
through our respective contributions.”
The long-term goal of the Partnership is to support and nurture life science discovery,
innovation, and technology commercialization with a primary objective of providing a
platform to create more productive startup companies. The MOU will establish a
mechanism for developing research findings through new ventures, including priority
review and evaluation, strategic planning and development of startups, as well as jointly
supporting their establishment, funding, and growth.
According to Zwick, the OSice for Research’s New Ventures team, which assists Rutgers
innovators throughout the process of launching a startup based on the technology they
developed at the university, will take the lead on the partnership.
“We want more startup companies to succeed and impact the economy and lives of New
Jersey’s residents,” added Zwick. “Our collaboration with ILSE makes us all better in
carrying out this critical mission, while avoiding duplication of services.”
“The agreement deepens an already existing partnership to support life sciences new
venture success launched by Rutgers faculty and trainee founders,” said Vince Smeraglia,
executive director of the New Ventures unit within the OSice for Research, who has
collaborated with ILSE for eight years and currently serves as a mentor in the ILSE
Entrepreneur Training Program. “The OSice for Research, through the New Ventures team,
will continue to support entrepreneurship training through the ILSE start-up training
program.”
“As an organization dedicated to supporting life-science entrepreneurship, ILSE is proud to
deepen our relationship with Rutgers,” said Keith Bostian, PhD, CEO, ILSE. “ILSE is a unique
life sciences institute that combines research and services with startup and acceleration
support, including hands-on, studio-styled venture support. The MOU ensures continued
coordination to identify promising technologies, support emerging founders, and expand
the pipeline of Rutgers-aSiliated biotech startups participating in ILSE programs, as well as
to source scientific and technical challenges that Rutgers research is uniquely positioned
to address.”
“ILSE’s current Entrepreneur Training Program, as just one example, features multiple
startups associated with Rutgers research, including NanoNewron,” added Richardson. “As
charter members of the New Jersey Academic Drug Discovery Consortium, Rutgers and
ILSE continue to support each other’s mission, including developing and delivering
research symposia, pitch days, referrals for services, and other activities.”
Rutgers and ILSE are also charter members of the New Jersey Academic Drug Discovery
Consortium (NJADDC), a statewide alliance that unites academic and nonprofit research
organizations to advance drug discovery and therapeutic innovation. Through the MOU,
both institutions reaSirm their commitment to the Consortium’s mission, continuing to
coordinate research symposia, pitch events, referrals for scientific services, technology
transfer support, and other joint programming that strengthen New Jersey’s life-science
ecosystem.
By combining Rutgers’ broad scientific excellence with ILSE’s specialized entrepreneurial
support, the partnership hopes to drive job creation, industry growth, and scientific
breakthroughs that contribute to human health and economic development in New Jersey
and beyond.
