Praxis SCI Accelerate Program

A six-month Innovation program geared towards healthcare companies with a product ready to launch into market that will transform the lives of people living with SCI.

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| Praxis Accelerate Program 2024-25

Program Description

Praxis Spinal Cord Institute is proud to launch our third Praxis SCI Accelerate Program, a 6-month virtual acceleration program for health start-up companies with solutions that address care- and cure-related treatments and overall quality of life of individuals with SCI.

Located in Vancouver, Canada, this virtual program is designed for post-prototype companies to scale their innovations quickly. We pair our expertise in SCI research, knowledge translation, direct persons with lived experience (PLEX ) engagement and commercialization, with specialized coaching in regulatory and reimbursement advice, as well as helping build on your market validation and sales strategy. Through the 6-month program, we help build on your market validation and sales strategy and our hand-picked mentors and team will work closely with you to get ready to pitch to Canadian and US vendors (including hospital systems, investors and other buyers) through 1:1 matching as well as a demo day.

The Praxis Spinal Cord Institute’s SCI Accelerate program is made possible through support from the Government of Canada through the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) program.

→ Meet the 2024 Cohort

→ Download the Program one-pager (pdf)

→ Meet the Praxis Innovation Team

4 – 5

Post-Prototype Companies

Up to $30K

Non-Diluted Funding

160 – 200+ Hours

Hours of 1:1 Mentorship

Meet the Mentors

Meet the hand-picked experts that make up the team of SCI Accelerate mentors.

LEARN MORE

Learn More about the Praxis SCI Accelerate Program

“Praxis SCI Accelerate has done a great job tailoring their programming to our business needs and connecting us with a fantastic PLEX and research team that is helping accelerate the evaluation of our technology for the different SCI conditions. we look forward to having the technology tested soon.”

— Lukas-Karim Merhi, CEO of BioInteractive Technologies, SCI Accelerate 2020 Cohort

Hear from the Praxis SCI Accelerate inaugural 2020 cohort as they reflect on their experiences with the program in the Cohort Testimonials video.

Program Highlights

Program runs from October 2024 to March 2025 (6 months)
Virtual program based in Vancouver, BC
Up to $30K (CAD) in grant funding (will be provided in two tranches to all entry companies). Within three months following the program, further funding may be provided if the company has met key business/growth objectives
Cohort of maximum five companies accepted
Companies with a clear medical application to SCI care- or cure-related treatments required, but not limited to only SCI

Key Dates

Applications Closed: August 18, 2024
Interviews: August 20 to September 20, 2024
Notice of decision: September 23, 2024
Program runs: October 7, 2024 to March 27, 2025

Criteria

Our criteria for accepting companies for this program includes:

Demonstrated application that impacts SCI outcomes (functional mobility, neuro-restoration, secondary complications (i.e bladder and bowel complications, neuropathic pain, pressure injuries) or overall quality of life)
MVP completed, TRL 7 (TRL 5+ considered)
1 minimum full-time founder
Legally incorporated or planning to incorporate in Canada
Existing traction or target to reach traction in the next 12 months (e.g. planned pilots or sales pipeline)
Business plan which includes the following:
- Intended impact on SCI patients (# patients served, type of impact, significance of impact)
- Description of the solution
- Competitor analysis (what is unique about your solution)
- Financial statement and sales forecast
- Marketing/customer acquisition strategy
- Exit strategy
- Product roadmap
- Capital plan and raise
- Company team

Application & Selection Process

Applications for this year close on August 18, 2024 and finalists will be notified by September 23, 2024 of their selection.
All files (business plans and pitches) will need to be under 15MB and uploaded on the site.
Video links (with secure YouTube links) should be provided.

Should you have any concerns regarding the receipt of your application, please email SCI_Accelerate@praxisinstitute.org. Should you have any issues uploading the correct files, you may attach your files and send directly to SCI_Accelerate@praxisinstitute.org, as long as the files follow the size limits and are not provided as links (except for the video).

Applications will be reviewed by a(n):

SCI researcher
Clinical lead
Persons with Lived Experience (PLEX) and expertise in the SCI PLEX market
Commercial lead (entrepreneur with a track record of successful company scaling)
Network of mentor-advisors with an experience in healthcare investments.

Shortlisted applications will participate in a 1-hour interview with our panel of experts and given scheduling, this interview may occur in two parts to make sure all members of our panel have reviewed your program.

Application Disclosure

If you apply to the Praxis SCI Accelerate Program, we will collect personal information about you, information relating to your company, and why you are applying for the program. We use this information for the purposes of processing and responding to your application, including assessing the suitability of your company for acceptance into the program. If you provide us with personal information about any other individual (such as your co-founder(s) or partner(s)), you confirm that you have obtained the consent of such individual(s) prior to providing any personal information to us.

If you have any questions about our privacy policy, the personal information we hold on you, or you would like to exercise one of your privacy rights, please do not hesitate to contact us at araina@praxisinstitute.org.

For general questions pertaining to the Praxis SCI Accelerate Program, please email SCI_Accelerate@praxisinstitute.org.

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