Below are a list of FAQ’s that may help with the most common questions we receive. If you should have any other ones, feel free to contact us.
How much funding does BaseLaunch provide?
For the ventures we support, we can provide up to $500,000. In general, this funding should be used to reach key value inflection milestones and/or to de-risk your project. We will then work with you to raise Series-A financing or similar and/or to make corporate deals. We have ways into almost all European venture funds and many US funds. We can also support on accessing non-dilutive money.
Our financial support is in the form of a convertible loan on venture-friendly terms. Importantly you stay in charge of whether it converts or not.
After initial selection, we will spend a significant amount of time and money, with external advisors etc. to do a deep dive on your science and business. We will, together with you, work out a detailed plan to solidify strategy, R&D plans, operations and build the company. So even if we eventually decide not to financially support you, this will allow the project to significantly progress.
What type of projects are BaseLaunch looking for?
Sector: Exclusively therapeutics. We do not support medical device, e-health or diagnostic projects. Within therapeutics we are especially interested in breakthrough innovations that form the basis of new biopharma platforms and products. We are interested in all therapeutic sectors (oncology, CNS, immunology, inflammation, metabolic, cardiovascular, antivirals, etc.) and all modalities (small molecules, antibodies, enzymes, peptides, gene therapy, cell therapy, etc.)
Stage: Pre-seed to seed stage projects. We are happy to consider projects that have not yet been established. Equally, we are interested in those that are more developed. We have supported biopharma ventures where, at the beginning, the only person involved was the professor or group leader with a promising discovery but no team to develop it further. However, if you have already raised a seed or small Series-A round then we could also be interested. If you have completed a significant financing and are well established, then it is unlikely we can help.
Location: You can be from anywhere, but we require you to have some corporate presence in the Basel Area. You do not have to be headquartered in Basel. We are confident though, that the Basel Area can sell itself to you!
What are the key criteria for a successful application to BaseLaunch?
There is no exact answer here. Exceptional science and a strong commitment from the founder(s) are perhaps the two most important things.
Do I already need to have incorporated the company?
No. If anything, we prefer if you have not because we take care to get the corporate structure correct when incorporating. Getting this wrong at the beginning can create a lot of problems down the road. We often get involved in licensing the IP. Again, something that is crucial to get right at the beginning.
If you are not established, in order to be eligible to receive our funding support, you will need to be incorporated and/or legally registered in the Basel Area. We can help you with this.
Do I need to stay in the region when we "graduate" from BaseLaunch?
There are no requirements on staying in the Basel Area once our support is over. But we of course hope you do. There is no better place in Europe than the Basel Area to start and grow a biopharma venture.
What obligations do I need to take on in return for support from BaseLaunch?
We will ask your venture to sign a convertible loan agreement regarding the financial support we provide. We have designed this loan to be “fair” to the founders, and to keep you in charge of the conversion rights. The loan agreement does require the venture to be incorporated and/or be legally registered in the Basel region. We do not ask you for any personal financial guarantees.
Which milestones must be met when working with BaseLaunch?
We will structure our financial support around certain development and potential business milestones. These are agreed on a case by case basis with each venture.
Who owns the intellectual property (IP) in projects supported by BaseLaunch?
That depends on the agreements you have, or make, with the inventors or owners of the relevant IP. We can assist you with this. We do not ask for any rights to your IP for BaseLaunch or our partners.
Confidentiality
Please refer to our Conditions of Application and Privacy Policy.
Contact
Whether you are looking to apply or want to know more about what we do, we always welcome any questions that you might have! Please feel free to reach out to us at the contacts below.
Media related inquiries: media@baselaunch.ch
General inquiries: info@baselaunch.ch
