BioConnect Iowa is Iowa’s #1 resource for bioscience startups and deep-tech entrepreneurs.
About
Our goal is to accelerate the growth of Iowa’s bioscience, advanced manufacturing, information technologies, and other deep-tech sectors—and we’re doing this by helping move good ideas into successful commercial endeavors. We provide entrepreneurs with resources, mentorship, and connections to the right people at the right time to help them turn dreams into reality.
We focus our efforts in four key areas: Biobased Products, Precision and Digital Agriculture, Vaccines, Diagnostics and Immunotherapeutics, and Medical Innovation.
Biobased Products
Biobased products—derived from plants and other renewable biological materials—offer an exciting alternative to many petroleum-derived and non-renewable products. Iowa is a preferred location for bioproduct manufacturing and is fast becoming an R&D leader.
Precision and Digital Agriculture
Big data, analytics, and sophisticated farm machinery are transforming the way we raise crops and livestock and are fundamental to our planet’s future. Iowa agriculture businesses lead the nation in precision and digital agriculture innovation, and our goal is to strengthen this lead.
Vaccines, Diagnostics and Immunotherapeutics
In a world where deadly viruses can travel halfway around the globe in a matter of hours, global health is more important than ever. Iowa researchers are working on vaccines for humans and animals that offer ground-breaking improvements to healthcare. Immunotherapies hold much promise for treating chronic disease and prolonging life, and our goal is to bring these products to the market so everyone can benefit from them.
Medical
Innovation
The medical device industry is booming, and we want to leverage Iowa’s concentration of medical experts and researchers to contribute to this boom. The state’s strong public university system serves as a giant incubator of bioscience and medical innovation, and the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics has a national reputation for medical and scientific excellence. There has never been a better time to position Iowa as a leader in this area.
We also manage Iowa’s Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer Outreach Program, which helps entrepreneurs obtain federal grants and funding matches.
BioConnect Iowa’s mission is to make Iowa a powerhouse of bioscience research and industry and to create exciting and high-paying careers for Iowans whose work will improve the health and welfare of people around the globe.
Imagine an Iowa where research and innovation lead to vaccines that prevent major diseases; environmentally friendly biobased products; medical devices that save countless lives; and precision and digital agriculture that transform food production.
This is the future of bioscience in Iowa, and the mission of BioConnect Iowa is to make it happen.
