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 M.Phil degrees, please check with your respective program directors if this is allowed before signing up.

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 
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-UpsDon RoseCam 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 12 – 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