The year-long Biomedical Entrepreneurship Program begins in the fall, with additional project-based learning opportunities offered in the spring.
Courses and workshops are led by Sadhana M. Chitale, PhD, MBA, Senior Director, Life Sciences and Technology Transfer, Technology Opportunities and Ventures, with guest faculty, investors, and entrepreneurs delivering lectures and leading case study discussions.
For more information, email Dr. Chitale at sadhana.chitale@nyulangone.org.
Fall Course: Introduction to Biomedical Entrepreneurship—Foundations of Biomedical Startups
Great ideas have little impact if you keep them to yourself, but taking them to the next level can be daunting. Luckily, the Introduction to Biomedical Entrepreneurship course is here to help! The course will teach you what it takes to take novel ideas and turn them into marketable drugs, devices, and digital health solutions. Participants will have a chance to learn from, and interact with, leaders in relevant fields and start building a support system to help along the way.
All members of the NYU Langone and NYU community are invited to join.
For those taking the class for credit, please register at the link below and also through your respective course registration portals:
Syllabus
Read the fall 2025 course syllabus.
Course Details
Albert/Vilcek
BMSC-GA 4535
NYUSOM
Course ID: 237250
Class Number: 2040
For those wishing to apply credits towards their Undergrad, Masters, or M. Phil degrees, please have a written confirmation from your advisors that credits from this course could be applied towards your degree requirements before registering for the course.
Location: Translational Research Building, Room 120, 227 East 30th Street. This course is not being offered virtually, and no recordings are being made.
Course Director: Dr. Sadhana Chitale, Senior Director, Life Sciences & Technology Transfer
Prerequisites: None
Credits Allocated: 3 credits
Dates and Time: Thursdays, 5:00 – 7:30 PM, September 4, 2025 to December 11, 2025
Course Objective
This course will provide an introduction to Biomedical Entrepreneurship, with a special focus on the commercialization of academic discoveries and inventions, and the entrepreneurial journey of scientist-entrepreneurs. Through a variety of reading materials, lectures, and case studies presented by guest speakers, participants will gain an understanding of the requirements for launching and building a new venture in the complex and highly regulated life sciences industry, and of the special challenges related to long timelines, reimbursement, globalization, etc.
Requirements and Deliverables
Performance will be assessed and taken into consideration in acceptance decisions for follow-on courses in the Biomedical Entrepreneurship Program. We have recruited a roster of some very experienced speakers and hope that all participants will respect the speakers’ time by being engaged and actively participating in the discussions.
Evaluation
Student grades will be based on:
- Class participation: 80%
- Homework assignments: 20% elevator pitch
Basis of Grade Determination:
Pass/Fail
Course Books
Participants will be given a hard copy of each book on the first day of class.
- Research to Revenue: A Practical Guide to University Start-Ups, Don Rose, Cam Patterson
- The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup, Noam Wasserman
Fall 2025 Course Schedule
All classes are held from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM. Attendance sheets will need to be signed in to record attendance.
Week 1 – Thursday, September 4
Topics:
General introduction class and entrepreneur interview
Guest Lecturers:
Speaker – Marc Sedam
Week 2 – Thursday, September 11
Topics:
The healthcare/life sciences industry – an overview
Guest Lecturer:
Ed Saltzman
Week 3 – Thursday, September 18
Topics:
Evaluating the market opportunity
Guest Lecturers:
Danielle Lewis
Steven Smith
Week 4 – Thursday, September 25
Topics:
Licensing IP – How to work with the technology transfer office
Guest Lecturer:
Abram Goldfinger
Week 5 – Thursday, October 2
Topics:
Intellectual Property Basics
Patent 101
How this works at NYU
Guest Lecturer:
Shilpa Patel
Week 6 – Thursday, October 9
Topics:
Commercializing medical devices
Guest Lecturer:
Brooke Huang
Week 7 – Thursday, October 16
Topics:
Building the team
Guest Lecturer:
Michal Gilon Yanai
Week 8 – Thursday, October 23
Topics:
From Clinical Practice to CEO of a Biotech Public Company: Lessons Learned Along the Way
Entrepreneurial Strategy
Guest Lecturers:
Francois Nader
Deepak Hegde
Week 9 – Thursday, October 30
Topics:
Critical legal issues every startup must know
Guest Lecturers:
Irina Vainberg
Joe Walsh
Week 10 – Thursday, November 6
Topics:
Digital health
Guest Lecturer:
Hassan Naqvi
Week 11 – Thursday, November 13
Topics:
The process for bringing a therapeutic to market (technical, clinical, and business aspects) “From Clinical Practice to CEO of a Biotech Public Company: Lessons Learned Along the Way”
Entrepreneurial strategy
Guest Lecturers:
Gaspar Taroncher Oldenberg
Stevin Zorn
Week 12 – Thursday, November 20
Topics:
Budgeting in a startup
Guest Lecturer:
Loren Busby
Week 13 – Thursday, December 4
Topics:
Understanding valuation/dilution
Guest Lecturer:
Loren Busby
Week 14 – Thursday, December 11
Topics:
Elevator Pitch by students followed by Panel Discussion: Being an entrepreneur; Other opportunities in health tech commercialization (panel)
Guest Lecturers:
Moderator: Frank Rimalovski
Panelists: TBD