SLAS and The Pistoia Alliance Partner to Promote Life Sciences Startup Companies

Oak Brook, IL – The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) is pleased to announce a collaboration with the Pistoia Alliance to support and promote innovative life sciences start-ups and emerging companies.

The SLAS Ignite Program is a multi-pronged initiative to promote innovation, pioneering research, start-up and emerging companies and their products, and commercialization and collaboration opportunities for all involved. Through Innovation AveNEW and the Ignite Award, Ignite Academic Collaborations and other activities, SLAS underscores its foundational commitment to enabling scientists, academic researchers and business development professionals to build relationships as potential strategic partners.

The Pistoia Alliance is a global organization made up of life science companies, technology and service providers, publishers, and academic groups working together to lower barriers to innovation in life science and healthcare R&D. Its President’s Startup Challenge provides the opportunity for start-ups to pitch their company to the Alliance’s annual conference audience, with the winners gaining access to prize funds and long-term support through an ecosystem dedicated to fostering innovation. Through the new collaboration, SLAS’s Innovation AveNEW participants will now have the opportunity to apply for inclusion in the Pistoia President’s Startup Challenge to gain visibility and recognition in addition to potential award monies. Earlier this year, the Pistoia Alliance participated in a parallel judging process for the SLAS2021 Ignite Award, which resulted in the award of an additional $5,000 Pistoia Alliance sponsored prize to Artificial Inc., the SLAS2021 Ignite Award winner.

Innovation AveNEW participants at the SLAS International Conference and Exhibition and the SLAS Europe 2021 Conference and Exhibition will have the opportunity to apply for consideration in the Pistoia Alliance’s President’s Startup Challenge final in October 2021.

“We’re looking forward to this collaboration with the Pistoia Alliance and the potential that it brings to both of our organizations in furthering our support for life sciences start-up companies,” says SLAS CEO Vicki Loise. “It’s a win-win for the participants and brings additional awareness of Innovation AveNEW, the Ignite Award and the President’s Startup Challenge to the life sciences community.”

“Life sciences innovation requires the whole industry to work together and support the start-up community, which is crucial to driving innovation in our industry. We are pleased to be joining forces with SLAS’s flagship competition and look forward to helping amplify awareness of new innovation in our industry,” added Dr. Steve Arlington, President of the Pistoia Alliance.  

The SLAS2021 Digital Ignite Award winner, Artificial, Inc. (Palo Alto, CA, USA) will give a brief presentation at the new SLAS Ignite Showcase virtual event, March 2, 2021, 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. CST. Several panel discussions featuring academic and industry entrepreneurs will participate in the program focused on launching and building successful life science start-up companies.

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SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening) is an international professional society of academic, industry and government life sciences researchers and developers and providers of laboratory automation technology. The SLAS mission is to bring together researchers in academia, industry and government to advance life sciences discovery and technology via education, knowledge exchange and global community building.

The Pistoia Alliance is a global, not-for-profit members’ organization made up of life science companies, technology and service providers, publishers, and academic groups working to lower barriers to innovation in life science and healthcare R&D. It was conceived in 2007 and incorporated in 2009 by representatives of AstraZeneca, GSK, Novartis and Pfizer who met at a conference in Pistoia, Italy. Its projects transform R&D through pre-competitive collaboration. It overcomes common R&D obstacles by identifying the root causes, developing standards and best practices, sharing pre-competitive data and knowledge, and implementing technology pilots. There are currently over 150 member companies; members collaborate on projects that generate significant value for the worldwide life sciences R&D community, using The Pistoia Alliance’s proven framework for open innovation. For further information visit www.pistoiaalliance.org

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