Platinum Program FAQs
2025
General Questions
We are an early-stage biotech fund with a strong preference for novel therapeutics that opportunistically invests in adjacencies including medtech and diagnostics. We are disease- and modality-agnostic.
Boston/Cambridge Area
Burlington, VT
Dallas, TX
Durham, NC
Copenhagen, Denmark
Heidelberg, Germany
Los Angeles, CA
New Haven, CT
New York City, NY
Paris, France
Philadelphia, PA
Princeton, NJ
Saclay, France
San Diego, CA
San Francisco Bay Area
We aim to make up to 8 investments in 2025, with at least two investments in companies that are either currently incubating in the EU or plan to incubate in the EU.
We have no geographic preferences within the U.S. and will make award Platinum Tickets to the best investments we can find. We have reserved 2 of the 8 total available tickets for companies either currently incubating in the EU or who plan to incubate in the EU.
Eligibility Questions
Yes! Our investment model prioritizes our ability to get to know companies while they are in our affiliated labs as well as providing our entrepreneurs full access to the vibrant ecosystems within them, including other entrepreneurs and pharma partners. Entirely virtual companies are not eligible for a Platinum Ticket. Rent in the lab spaces is not included in the Platinum Ticket, but may be paid using funds from the award.
Early-stage companies and their teams can take many forms. We are looking for a team with at least 1 full-time dedicated person who will be advancing the science in our affiliated labs and responsible for developing the fundraising strategy and business model. In some situations, the Platinum Ticket award has served as the catalyst for converting someone responsible for these things to full-time. In other situations, there are several people already a part of the company who divide these responsibilities among themselves. We are happy to discuss this point further, so don’t hesitate to reach out!
Many of the Platinum Program companies are academic spin-outs. Academic spin-outs should understand the licensing requirements for any relevant IP. If a license from a university is required, there should be active discussions with the university about this. In some situations, our Platinum Ticket investments are in active negotiations for an Option or License at the time of investment, and in others, the Option and/or License has already been executed.
Award Questions
All applications will be reviewed by members of the Mission BioCapital investment team. A subset will advance as finalists that will have the opportunity to pitch virtually to Mission BioCapital, Lilly, and Ono. Up to 8 investments will be selected from the finalists. All information in this process should be nonconfidential in nature.
Applicants that will move on as a finalist will receive information about the process in June 2025. All final decisions will be communicated by the end of July 2025.
The pre-seed capital is provided via an uncapped SAFE (simple agreement for future equity). As with all investments, the terms can be, and are, individually negotiated.
For companies eligible for discovery services from Alloy Therapeutics and/or HitGen, an equity for services agreement will be negotiated directly with Alloy Therapeutics or HitGen as relevant and will be awarded in addition to the seed capital.
We aim to get the Platinum Ticket winners into the labs by the end of the first quarter of 2026. We recognize that some of the Platinum Ticket winners may not have incorporated yet and/or are actively spinning out of academic institutions. For these circumstances, we can be flexible according to each winner’s needs and support the launch of the company. Mission BioCapital will discuss this process and timeline with each winner.
Mission BioCapital Platinum Program Holding LLC is making the Platinum Ticket investment. When your company successfully raises an equity round, the SAFE investment will convert to equity and the Mission BioCapital Platinum Program Holding LLC will be the entity on the capitalization table. Any equity for services provided by Alloy Therapeutics, HitGen, or other partners will be treated separately.
- Up to $500,000 of pre-seed capital provided as a SAFE investment
- Guaranteed lab space in one of Mission BioCapital’s affiliated labs located in 15 cities in the U.S. and Europe
- Drug discovery services from Alloy Therapeutics and HitGen to enable companies with a derisked path to lead candidate.
- HitGen services include DEL Screening and other drug discovery research services.
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Alloy offers up to $1M total in service for equity across all Platinum Ticket winners, including fully human monoclonal and bispecific antibody discovery, ML-driven antibody optimization and humanization, high-throughput antibody production and screening, and more.
- Legal and business services to form and run your new business including: corporate entity formation, accounting and finance services, contract review and negotiation, intellectual property expertise, competitive intelligence assessment, and scientific mentoring and business development mentoring and guidance.
- Mentorship from experts at Mission BioCapital, Lilly, Ono, Alloy Therapeutics, HitGen and other companies across Mission BioCapital’s corporate network
- Goodwin is delighted to offer Platinum Program winners the following benefits and additional resources that particular winners may need to optimize their legal support:
- Minimum of three hours per Platinum Ticket investment winner of advisory services with focus on typical company formation and launch challenges including: Corporate organization and formation advice as well as governance advice and Board minutes and consents; day-to-day advice on typical questions; cap tables, e.g., founder equity and compensation topics, such as option plans, and etc.; support for SAFEs and convertible notes; and negotiating relevant contracts (e.g., leases, academic IP licenses, etc.) and access to standard form agreements used by startup companies.
- Free incorporation & filing of associated legal documents (excluding filing fees), CTA filings to the extent applicable (i.e., ex-US companies and founders).
- In continued capacity as company counsel: deferral until specified funding; 10% discount on fees; and up to 25 free billable hours of free first-year business law associate or tech specialist time (tech specialists are intellectual property practitioners with advance science degrees).
- Van den Boom & Associates offers expert guidance to help companies develop and implement scalable financial and G&A operations including contracts management, accounts payable, payroll, financial reporting, investor reporting, financial modeling/cash runway, and diligence support.
The Platinum Ticket guarantees a lab bench in our affiliated incubators, but rent is not included. Rent is negotiated through a lease with the incubator selected by the winner. Paying rent from the pre-seed capital is an acceptable use of funds.
A typical lease is approximately 1 year and is individually negotiated with the incubator that the Platinum Ticket investment chooses.
