Pharmapreneurship Resource Toolkit

>> On-Campus

The Grid

UMB Innovation Hub provides entrepreneurial services and education to UMB students, faculty, staff, and the community. 

Contact: 

  • Jenny Owens, ScD, MS: Associate Dean of the Graduate School Faculty, Executive Director of the Grid
    • Email: jowens@umaryland.edu
    • Address: 620 W. Lexington Street, Suite 101, Baltimore, MD, 21201
    • Phone: 410-706-4412
  • Taylor DeBoer, MA: Assistant Director 

UM Ventures, Baltimore, aka Office of Technology Transfer (OTT)

Full-time professional staff available to advise UMB faculty, staff & students on IP protection, technology development, startup formation, etc. OTT is here to assist innovators and provide educational outreach, in addition to responsibilities for protecting/maintaining, marketing, and commercializing UMB’s intellectual property. OTT’s staff includes patent attorneys and paralegals, marketing and licensing specialists, and a team experienced in company formation, financing, and project management. OTT also offers access to seasoned Entrepreneurs-in-Residence and other specialized consultants.

Other unique resources to access through OTT:

  • President’s Entrepreneurial Fellowship
  • 3D Prototyping Lab (Bressler Building) with engineering support
  • Molecular Biology Wet Lab (UM BioPark)
  • Biorepository paid storage for research tools disclosed as TRP
  • Translational grant application support
  • Life Sciences IP Fund
  • Explore potential collaborations with industry
  • Special programming

OTT Contacts: 

Resources for Students:

  • Pharmapreneurship Pathway: This pathway offers an innovation-intensive program of study that aims to provide pharmacy students the opportunity to pursue special interests in innovation, entrepreneurism, and creativity. A priority of the pathway is to build upon existing strengths in areas of motivation, independence, and creative problem solving to develop new research study design, drug discovery, modern analytic methods, business and innovative methods in the broad areas of basic pharmaceutical sciences, clinical/translational research, pharmaceutical health services research, outcomes research, as well as create innovative clinical patient care programs and business solutions in health care.
  • Entrepreneurship Innovation Network (EIN): a student run, grass roots initiative that aims to assemble entrepreneurial minded University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) students to create an ecosystem for innovation through interprofessional collaboration.
  • President’s Entrepreneurial Fellowship: The President’s Entrepreneurial Fellowship is a new initiative designed to give students from UMB and the Smith School of Business hands-on training and experience in commercializing health science discoveries made by UMB faculty. The Fellows will work together as an interdisciplinary team to bring several of UMB’s most promising technologies to market.
  • President’s Student Leadership Institute, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Track: A co-curricular certificate program designed to expose students to contemporary issues in leadership and professional development in order to prepare participants for professional leadership in a diverse workplace.
  • The Student Incubator: Apply now to gain mentorship and resources to develop and commit to student business ventures.
  • Institute for Clinical & Translational Research (ICTR): campus-wide initiative designed to accelerate advancement of clinical translational research, training, and discovery. Of particular interest for students is the TL1-PRE-doctoral - Clinical Translational Research Training Awards.

Competitions and Award Funds: 

  • Natalie D. Eddington Pharmapreneurship Award for Health Care Innovation: This competition will support students and their transformative early stage pharmapreneurial ideas that have the potential to change pharmacy practice and health care. One winner will receive $100,000.
  • The Grid-Pitch: Grid Pitch is a showcase that allows for UMB students to pitch their innovative business ideas to a panel of experts and investors in the entrepreneurial community. Accepted participants will receive five weeks of one-on-one coaching and mentoring from an experienced entrepreneur or business expert. The program culminates in a pitch showcase.
  • Student Social Venture Fund: UMB is supporting students with big ideas up to $10,000 for their social venture ideas. 
  • Graduate Translational Research Award: promotes the mission of UM Ventures, Baltimore to translate basic research outcomes into real-world applications. Presented in collaboration with the Graduate Research Conference (GRC), this award recognizes important translational research performed by UMB graduate students or postdoctoral fellows. The GRC is hosted annually by UMB’s Graduate Student Association.

Scholarships:

>> In the Region

  • The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship: an award-winning hub for entrepreneurship that is committed to creating an equitable and inclusive community to educate, empower and equip students with the business skills needed to be an entrepreneur and the resources necessary to make their business ideas a reality.
  • Maryland Entrepreneur Hub: The site provides over 2,00 resources to build business from funding to talent in the State of Maryland.
  • Maryland Technology Development Corp (TEDCO): “Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies,” supporting translational research and technology-based economic and entrepreneurial development. TEDCO offers multiple funding programs include the Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII); Makerspace Program; Social Impact Funds; Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF); Rural Business Innovation Initiative Fund; State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI); and Venture Funds.
  • Maryland Momentum Fund (MMF): Launched in 2016 with a $10 million commitment from the University System of Maryland (USM), the Maryland Momentum Fund invests in USM-affiliated companies to support entrepreneurism, catalyze outside investment in early-stage startups, and foster economic development and technology commercialization. A pre-seed to late-seed stage investment fund, the MMF helps promising early-stage companies bridge from grant funding and angel investment to a Series A round of investment.
  • Baltimore Fund: An economic development tool to support academic-affiliated or collaborating technology companies and entities locating in Baltimore City. Contact Director Mary Morris.
  • Anchor Ventures: Anchor Ventures is a speaker series aimed at inspiring and supporting the development of startups and other technology companies in greater Baltimore.
  • Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech): Mtech is a national leader in entrepreneurship and innovation education and venture creation and is a pioneer in building successful university-company partnerships.
  • Betamore: Betamore, through its inclusive community of innovators, startups and educators, serves as the “connective tissue” for the greater Baltimore region.
  • BioHealth Innovation (BHI): BHI is a regional innovation intermediary that accelerates and facilitates technology transfer and commercialization of market-relevant research in federal labs, universities, and biohealth companies in the Region. It is a private-public partnership in the form of a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit that connects the Region’s innovation assets to provide integrated technical knowledge, financial means and entrepreneurial/managerial expertise to turn promise into prosperity for the region while advancing human health.
  • Emerging Technology Centers (ETC): ETC offers unique programs for entrepreneurs who want to transform their big ideas and accelerate their growth.
  • Maryland Tech Council: A collaborative community that is actively engaged in building strong technology and life science industries by supporting the efforts of individual members.
  • FastForward @ Johns Hopkins: FastForward is a coordinated suite of resources designed to efficiently move technologies from startup to marketplace.
  • Washington DC Economic Partnership: This site provide access to resources for entrepreneurs looking to build and scale in Washington DC.
  • Virginia’s Gateway Region: This site provides resources to assist with all the major parts of setting up and running businesses, from getting support through funding or mentorship/counseling to finding and training employees.

>> Nationally

Scholarships:

  • TYLENOL® Future Care Scholarship: The makers of TYLENOL® award annual scholarships to well deserving students pursuing careers in healthcare. Winners can receive up to $10,000 to help with tuition, books, and supplies.
  • CVS Health Minority Scholarship for Pharmacy Students: The CVS Health Minority Scholarship for Pharmacy Students will be awarded to five outstanding underrepresented minority (URM) students who have been accepted into a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program OR were enrolled in their first (P1) year of the professional phase of the PharmD degree program during the current academic year. URM pharmacy students are identified as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and/or Pacific Islander students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Selected awardees must demonstrate leadership, academic success, and a commitment to advancing the profession of pharmacy and patient care. Each awardee will receive a single $8,000 scholarship.
  • APhA Student Scholarship Program: The APhA Foundation Student Scholarship Program recognizes students who choose to invest their time in their school’s APhA-ASP chapter to help shape the future of the profession while managing the demands of a full-time pharmacy curriculum.
  • The NCPA Foundation Willard B. Simmons Sr. Memorial Scholarship: This award is given to a student with demonstrated leadership qualities, academic achievement, and an interest in independent community pharmacy and in independent pharmacy management and entrepreneurism. The recipient will receive a $2,000 scholarship as well as a $300 travel stipend and a complimentary registration to the NCPA Annual Convention.
  • ASHP Student Leadership Award: The federal government’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program offers competitive awards to support small businesses’ early R&D efforts. The proposals are solicited and funded by many of the same federal agencies that fund academic research. Successful SBIR projects sometimes obtain follow-on federal R&D funding or government production contracts

Resources for Startups:

  • NSF I-Corps: This 7-week program run by the National Science Foundation (NSF) provides academic scientists with grants and rigorous training in entrepreneurship and customer discovery through a defined curriculum.
  • SBIR grants: The federal government’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program offers competitive awards to support small businesses’ early R&D efforts. The proposals are solicited and funded by many of the same federal agencies that fund academic research. Successful SBIR projects sometimes obtain follow-on federal R&D funding or government production contracts
  • Nucleate: a student-led organization that represents the largest global community of bio-innovators.
  • Creative Destructive Lab (CDL): CDL hosts a program aimed at early-stage science and technology-based companies providing mentorship, opportunities to raise money, and advice on technology roadmaps and business plans.
  • Y Combinator (YC): YC offers a full-time program for early-stage startups that includes funding and workshops, culminating in a Demo Day presentation to investors.
  • Venture Well’s E-Team Program: This program supports multidisciplinary student-led teams who are aiming to bring their innovation out of the lab and into the market. Up to 25k in non-dilutive E-Team grants are available for early-stage student science and tech startups who are on the path to launching innovations with a social, health, or environmental impact.
  • S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO): This search engine allows you to search the USPTO's database of registered trademarks and prior pending applications to find marks that may prevent registration due to a likelihood of confusion refusal.
  • VentureBeat. Described by The New York Times as one of the best blogs on the Web, VentureBeat covers the venture capital industry. VentureBeat keeps those seeking investment capital "in the know" on who got funded from whom, also providing the latest on hot industries like mobile technology, social networking and green business.
  • FedStats. Statistics from more than 100 federal government agencies to help in your market research.
  • Employment Law Information Network. Information and advice on federal and state employment law, including guidebooks on and sample policies for all aspects of HR.
  • FindLaw Small Business Center. Get legal forms, find answers to common legal questions and even search for lawyers at this site.