McMaster students are collaborating with local startups — many of them with origins on campus — to help move new health products from the lab to market.

A course called the Biomedical Consulting Team Project embeds groups of students in consultancy positions at a range of startup companies as part of the Master of Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization (MBDC).

The MBDC is offered by the department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences in the Faculty of Health Sciences, with the addition of MBA-style business training from the DeGroote School of Business for biomedical sciences students.

The student consultants develop business plans, conduct market assessments and identify and pitch opportunities for new business ventures.

“For students in the program, their scientific training is complete,” explains course instructor Andrew McArthur, a professor in the department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences.

“These students have already completed a large thesis, and their scientific chops are in good shape. So here, we really knuckle down on the business side of things.”

Each year, the program sends upward of 40 graduate students out into Ontario’s life sciences sector to gain tangible, on-the-job experience. The idea, program director Sara Andres says, is to ensure that the next generation of scientific entrepreneurs has the business acumen to thrive in Canada’s pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and biomedical industries.

“For many learners, this is their first time working with industry,” explains Andres, an associate professor in the department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences.

“This course provides them with experiences that will help them transition from the mindset of working on a class project in an academic setting to creating deliverables in a professional business environment.”

This year’s course is especially exciting, say Andres and McArthur, both members of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research. Not only are many of the participating companies McMaster spinouts, but several originated in the university’s Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences Program (iBioMed).

“It’s a great example of two premier programs intersecting at the right time,” McArthur says.

The iBioMed spinouts working with MBDC include Respyra Technologies, Power of Play Innovations, PalmFree and Cloak the Poke.

The partnership with MBDC is just as beneficial for the companies as for the students, say executives at Cloak the Poke, which transforms the appearance of syringes and needles to help children who are anxious about vaccinations.

“This collaboration has already helped us expand our network and initiate projects with fresh perspectives,” says Cloak the Poke chief operating officer Julia Ungureanu, an iBioMed grad herself.

The symbiotic relationship is by design, says Michelle MacDonald, associate professor in the department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and the co-director of iBioMed.

“MBDC is bridging gaps for budding companies by offering important services at no cost,” she says.

“Being able to draw on the expertise of MBDC students is a huge help for these startups and might just be the nudge that they need to really take off.”

After their consultancies, students will take what they’ve learned into formal internships at leading life sciences companies.

MBDC student Kristine Braun is looking forward to the opportunity to further sharpen her skills in a different business environment before she enters the workforce.

“Skill-building through practical experiences in the MBDC program is setting us up for success in future,” says Braun, who is consulting for Cloak the Poke along with four other MBDC students.

“This course, in particular, has provided an invaluable opportunity to gain real-world experience.”