Five Cohort Companies To Compete for the $250,000 Grand Prize at the BioTools Innovator Capstone Event on November 18th
LOS ANGELES – October 28, 2025 – BioTools Innovator, the first-ever accelerator focused on life science tools, announced today the five finalists in its 2025 program. Selected from a 31-company cohort, the finalists will vie for the $250,000 Grand Prize and the title of BioTools Innovator 2025 Winner at the Capstone Event on November 18 in San Diego, CA.
“The startups in this year’s finalist group are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible,” said Kathryn Zavala, PhD, Managing Director of BioTools Innovator. “Their technologies have the potential to accelerate research and development, improve clinical insights, and unlock new therapeutic opportunities. We are proud to support their journeys and excited to see their innovations improve human health.”
The five finalist companies are:
- Diagnostics Biochips (Glen Burnie, MD): DBS provides tools for measuring the electrical signaling of excitable cells in cultures, animals, and human patients.
- Eukarys (Paris): 5x to 7x biomanufacturing yields in mammalian cells (CHO, HEK) with the world-first multifunctional RNA polymerase: accelerates drug development, cuts costs, enhances hard-to-express biomedicines production
- Likarda (Kansas City, MO): Patented formulation delivery technology used for cell and biologic therapies hydrogel encapsulation (Core Shell Spherification) resulting in protection from immune rejection, customized drug release profiles such as targeted delivery and target hold, extended release and cryopreservation need
- Novilytic (West Lafayette, IN): The Proteometer replaces 30 year old technology, allowing scientists to save months of time in medicine development
- VisiCell Medical (San Diego): GPS for cell therapy: in vivo imaging analytics for accelerating product development during translational and clinical trials
The BioTools Innovator Capstone Event brings together senior executives, investors, and top decision-makers in the industry. The event, supported by Wilson Sonsini, Tosoh USA, and Medmarc, includes a startup showcase featuring this year’s cohort, panel discussions, the 2025 BioTools Innovator $250,000 Grand Prize competition. During the competition, the five finalists will each have seven minutes to pitch their value proposition and answer questions from a panel of industry experts. After the presentations, the audience will vote in real-time to select the winner.
Register here to attend the Capstone Event.
As part of a rigorous selection process, together with the senior leadership teams of its corporate partners at Research Corporation Technologies, Broad Oak Capital Partners, Nissan Chemical America Corporation, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and over 120 industry judges from leading life science firms, BioTools Innovator evaluated the pitches of 82 candidates out of more than 300 applicants from 35 countries and 28 U.S. states. Thirty-one companies were then selected to participate in the 2025 BioTools Innovator Accelerator, which highlights best-in-class life science startups worldwide.
Ten of the companies selected participated in the VANGUARD Accelerator. In addition to BTI programming and mentorship, these companies received additional support to develop a strategy around how their innovation can support the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority’s (BARDA) health security mission.
Reviewers and experts that participated in BioTools Innovator pitch events included representatives from Agilent, BARDA, BD, Bio-Rad, Catalant, Danaher, DeciBio, Draper, Eppendorf, General Inception, Genentech (Roche), Genoa Ventures, Illumina Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, MilliporeSigma, Miltenyi, NIIMBL, Northpond Ventures, Tosoh USA, Sartorious, among others.
A complete list of the BioTools Innovator 2025 cohort companies can be found at biotoolsinnovator.org. BioTools Innovator provides startups individualized mentorship and feedback, funding opportunities, and continual engagement with peers and advisors. Funding for BioTools Innovator is provided by the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation of Research Corporation Technologies, Inc. (RCT). Additional support is provided by BroadOak Capital Partners, Nissan Chemical America Corporation, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
About BioTools Innovator
Based in Los Angeles, BioTools Innovator was established to advance cutting-edge research and improve human health by accelerating the growth of a broad spectrum of life science tools and diagnostics. BioTools Innovator matches industry leaders with innovative early-stage and emerging growth biotechnology-focused companies for mentorship and support.
BioTools Innovator is powered by MedTech Innovator (MTI), the world’s largest accelerator of medical technology companies and the premier nonprofit startup accelerator in the medical technology industry. To date, MTI alumni have collectively brought over 500 products to market and raised $10+ billion in follow-on funding. For more information about BioTools Innovator, visit the website and follow the organization on LinkedIn.
Media Contact
Jenna Kane
Health+Commerce
jennakane@healthandcommerce.com
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