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Technische Universität München (Technical University of Munich)

Financing Biotech Innovations

Technische Universität München (Technical University of Munich) via edX

Overview

To harvest the enormous potential of ground-breaking research in the field of biotechnology, large amounts of financing are needed. From the first lab results to a commercially viable product many years go by and much money is burnt. Thus, financing is the key to making biotechnology innovations accessible for everyone.

By the end of this course, you will have the confidence to talk to and convince investors to fund your endeavor. To do so, the course offers an introduction to financing and discusses the different motivations of those involved in financing. It will also enable you to evaluate different sources of financing. Moreover, it will establish an understanding of the challenges faced during to fundraising process such as valuing a company, the legal aspects of an investment contract, or pitching your company to investors. Thereby, it will provide you with the confidence of managing the fundraising process and communicating your project effectively to any type of financial backer.

This course will be part of the professional certificate program “Realizing Biotech Innovations--A Business Guide for Scientists” which will consist of three courses designed to realize your biotech innovation. The course is brought to you by the Technical University of Munich - one of Europe’s most outstanding universities in research and innovation. It offers the academic expertise on biotech entrepreneurship which is expanded by the hands-on expertise from those working in the field such as industry experts, investors, and entrepreneurs who will share their advice and experiences.

Syllabus

Module 1: Basic Concepts of Financing

Introduction to the concept of equity financing and the main mechanisms which drive financing decisions of entrepreneurs and investors including current and future financing needs, risks & return on capital, and stakeholders involved.

Module 2: Sources of Capital

Introduction of different investor types and when they are most relevant in a firm’s development. Investment types covered include among others public grants, angel investments, venture capital, and stock market financing.

Module 3: Funding Process

This module includes a walk through the stages of an investment process from screening and evaluating a business idea, to structuring the terms of an investment, and the post-investment collaboration.

Module 4: Valuation & Value Creation

Discussion of what value is and what drives value as well as an introduction of several business valuation methods.

Module 5: Pitching & Closing a Financing Round

Introduction on how to optimally present a business idea to an investor and what to consider when negotiating with an investor.

Module 6: Exiting a Company

Discussion of how an investor can exit the company including a more detailed understanding of acquisitions and getting a company listed at the stock exchange.

Taught by

Stefanie Weniger and Svenja Jarchow

Reviews

4.7 rating, based on 14 Class Central reviews

Start your review of Financing Biotech Innovations

  • Anonymous
    I recently completed the biotech financing course, and I must say it has been an enlightening and transformative learning experience. The course structure, combined with the expertise of the lecturer and valuable insights from industry experts, has…
  • Anonymous
    This virtual course is convenient for me to learn at the time and location I preferred. The lecturer is professional and provides straight forward teaching. The quizzes contain some challenging questions and I have learnt a lot during the event of f…
  • Anonymous
    It is an interesting course for me and I am able to learn how to get investment for my company in the future. Besides, through the course, I am able to see lots of examples of companies that succeed in the biotechnology field and how they achieve their goals. Through this course, I am exposed to the trends of the markets and learn how to calculate the company's value and the criteria I need to pay attention to when I am founding my own company in the future. The course is well structured and it is easy to understand with the explanation and example given.
  • Maria Khomich
    Very informative and very well-organized course. It explained me very well simple terms the basics of startups financing, valuation, and terms, which are important to keep in mind. And - what I find precious - course materials have a lot of ready-to-use real-life applicable worksheets.

    I also found the interviews with industry experts especially helpful to get some inspiration, but also to hear from real biotech Investors themselves - what they are looking at and what we should be ready to show.
  • Anonymous
    The course is very well structured and explained with excellent visual aids. The participants can truly understand all the content easily and thoroughly. Additionally, the advice and ideas from the experts are really helpful and promising as they help to link the real-life examples with the course content. Overall, the course is worth learning and I would recommend others to take it. Thank you so much.
  • Anonymous
    Highly recommended course for anyone with a career in biotech as it offers a good financial overview.
  • Anonymous
    I highly recommend enrolling in this biotech financing course to gain invaluable insights into the complex world of biotechnology investment. This course will equip you with essential knowledge on funding strategies, venture capital, and IPOs tailor…
  • Anonymous
    Really insightful course! It captures at a good granular level the details regarding the innovation, entrepreneurship and associated finance process with the necessary specificity when dealing with the life sciences / biopharma industry (which I wou…
  • Anonymous
    The course clearly points out the industry-specific challenges of funding venture creation in biotechnology and what needs to be considered from a founder's perspective. The mix of short lectures, follow-up questions and various assignemnts as well as the balance between generally applicable information, specific examples and contributions from practitioners help to take in the various concepts.
    I now have a much better understanding about the pros and cons of different types of funding and where to start with raising money. I would recommend the course to everyone who considers founding a company or taking over a leading role in a startup.
  • Anonymous
    The biggest strength of the course is in the presentation. The instructor is confident, welcoming, enthusiastic, and engaging. Her conversational style is easy to follow for beginners. Slides and visual aids are relevant and easy to understand. Course notes provided after the class for easy reference and recall are worth the fee alone. I also liked that the course included step-by-step exercises and tutorials. The assignments were where I discovered whether I truly understood the material. This course definitely produces real learning I feel much more confident that I understand the Finance path of Biotech Innovation and what it does.
  • Anonymous
    The course is both budget-friendly and educational. It contains extensive knowledge along with examples of successful ventures in the field. The lecturer made sure that nothing is left unclear to the students. The course material is informative, well-organized, and well-presented by the instructor. In addition, the interviews with specialists from the industry were quite encouraging and helpful. Although I am not a finance student, I never felt detached or out of place throughout the program. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to others.
  • Anonymous
    good general knowledge... examples that are more focused on biotechnology companies than other types of companies would make sense...
  • Anonymous
    I've found this course really interesting and well done, especially because, even if I don't have an economic background, I've been able to understand all the concepts. I think that an interesting feature of this course, are the experts' opinions that contribute to show the concepts in the real world dynamics.
  • Anonymous
    The course was very helpful. The content was well-designed and presented. The guest experts were knowledgeable and added a great deal to the course.

    Peer assessments were problematic and an unnecessary delay to completing the course.

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