BioSTL

Founded as a non-profit organization in 2001, BioSTL has executed on this mission by founding and growing companies built on the discovery strengths of our region (BioGenerator Ventures), recruiting world-class companies that meet the innovation needs of the people of Missouri (GlobalSTL), nurturing the local innovation & entrepreneurship ecosystem, and catalyzing equitable career pathways through talent and workforce development (Education to Workforce).

For over a decade, Biogenerator Ventures has supported hundreds of St. Louis founders and startups from the earliest stages all the way through successful exits. Companies like Confluence Discovery Technologies, Canopy Biosciences, Wugen, Geneoscopy, CoverCress and Benson Hill, all credit BioGenerator for important roles in the successful launch of their ventures.

Our focus is primarily on bioscience startups, but within that term, bioscience is broadly defined. Our programs are open to a wide range of industry sectors such as therapeutics, medical devices, agriculture, diagnostics, research tools and instrumentation, and healthcare services.

One of the critical forms of support offered by BioGenerator Ventures is access to well-equipped laboratory facilities that startups can use at low cost in order to drive milestones that enable early financing. Offered within these labs are a suite of tools designed to create and accelerate new ventures, and programs we have developed and refined to address critical needs of founders, entrepreneurs, and early-stage companies - beyond investment capital - based on our 15+ years of experience supporting bioscience startups. These programs tackle needs such as talent recruitment, pre-investment de-risking, expert advice, non-dilutive funding, and laboratory space.

Over the last 9 years, GlobalSTL, an initiative of BioSTL, has partnered with the healthcare, agriculture, and food sectors of the St. Louis region to match innovation priorities with innovative solutions from all over the world. The GlobalSTL team has worked with key partners to convert innovation into value for our healthcare providers, payers, patients, farmers, processors, and CPG companies.

By aggregating the innovation "buying power" of St. Louis and Missouri corporations and institutions, GlobalSTL creates a magnet for innovators seeking North American customers and partners. With deep networks overseas, the GlobalSTL team identifies cutting-edge innovations to bring business value and competitive advantage to St Louis. To date, GlobalSTL has engaged 16 countries to close 38 international deals in St. Louis generating $170 million in revenue.

As a trusted convener, BioSTL drives collaboration to enable St. Louis stakeholders to accomplish collectively what we could not do separately. We leverage the BioSTL Coalition of remarkable leaders to identify ecosystem gaps, win national grants, and put forth a unified regional voice around state and federal innovation policy.

Lastly, the Education to Workforce platform, stewarded by BioSTL, has built an integrated platform of workforce system partnerships to promote upward economic mobility for individuals and families from historically marginalized communities, and is scaling robust talent pipelines for in-demand quality jobs and long-term, shared regional prosperity, establishing an innovation economy workforce model for other industry sectors in the region.