Why 4C?

With the help of extensive knowledge around the 4C, medical life science startups close the gap between innovation in general and successful medical innovation in particular. Knowledge of the so-called Entrepreneurship Essentials using common methods such as Business Model Canvas, Business Plans, Design Thinking or Lean Launchpad are essential for the education of successful life science startups, but in our view not sufficient. We are convinced: Only a deep understanding of the following 4C will really help you to achieve more investor readiness!

Your individual added value through the training in the 4C

• You will gain knowledge of the reimbursement opportunities in the healthcare market and know how to leverage them and map them in your business plan.
• You will be able to build quality management systems and processes and link them as a company approval to a strategic concept for effective product approval.
• We create transparency about the different objectives and designs of clinical studies and transfer knowledge for the concrete implementation of clinical studies.
• We provide knowledge about the possibilities of appropriate IP protection as well as requirements of data protection in the healthcare sector.

Our approach?

The 4C Accelerator Tübingen helps you to help yourself. This means that we equip you with methods, ways of thinking and tools that you can then use in your entrepreneurial practice in a targeted manner. Therefore, our program consists of two parts:

In the first part, our experts impart knowledge around the 4C relevant for medical life science startups in live sessions and always put this into direct practical relevance with interactive and individual involvement of the participants. To maximize the practical relevance and individual involvement, the pattern of these live sessions is always the same: input – exercise – presentation – feedback and discussion. Therefore, be aware: 4C is not a lean back, 4C is a lean forward event. But it is worth it!

The second part of the program ensures continuous project management: For a period of one year, one of our startup coaches will support you in planning work packages that have emerged from the expert sessions of the first part. The progress will be evaluated in regular project review meetings and the necessary tasks will be derived. This means that you gain an additional human resource for this period, which can contribute to the success of your startup. As soon as you realize that you need deeper input on specific topics, you can ask for our additional startup services without obligation in the next step.

The Program

• For whom? Tailored to the needs of start-ups in the medical life sciences (medical devices, digital health, therapeutics, diagnostics).
• What?
  • Individual training (17 days with experts on the 4Cs).
  • Individual support after the training (1 year of project management for the 4Cs)
• Why? Faster way to „Investor Readiness“
• Costs? Free of charge thanks to funding from the state of Baden-Württemberg

Course of Action

Two-stage format with individual training in workshops & expert advice (Part 1) plus individual supervision & project management with prioritisation of work packages, progress monitoring, valuable processes and methods plus an extensive network (Part 2).

Part 1 – Individual Training & Feedback

• Total duration | 136 hrs. in 17 days
• Start-up teams | 8
• Experts | 14
• Outcome 1 | Individual project plan
• Outcome 2 | Regulatory Thinking

Part 2 – Individual Supervision & Project Management

• Total duration | 1-1,5 years
• Start-up Teams | 8
• Start-up Coaches | 5
• Outcome 1 | Investor Readiness
• Outcome 2 | Participant confirmation

Main Focus

This free training program focuses on the life science-specific topics and conveys specific knowledge for single elements of a business model in this industry. Basic entrepreneurship content has a subordinate role, whereas this program i.e. seeks to answer the following questions:

• Am I actually developing a product with a medical effect and if so, how do I determine this?
• Which norms and standards do I have to consider?
• Do I know the similarities between company certification and product approval?
• What renumeration options does my product have in the health system?
• Is a reimbursement by health insurance companies desirable for my product?
• Is my product attractive for the self-payer market?

Who can apply?

Eligible are all students, professionals, founding teams and innovators, including clinicians, nurses, lab technicians, scientists who want to translate their innovative ideas into health solutions of the following domains:

• Medical Devices (gadgets, machines, instruments, implants)
• Therapeutics (drugs, active ingredients)
• Diagnostics (laboratory tests or procedures)
• Digital Health (data, analytics, software, monitoring)

Our timeline for the next run:

• Application possible form December 9, 2022 to Januar 20, 2023
• Selection of participants until March 3, 2023
• Start of the program on March 24, 2023
• Every Friday for 17 days
• Total hours: 136 h