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Innosphere Life Sciences Incubator is an eight-month, cohort-based program in Fort Collins, Colorado for founders commercializing medical devices, diagnostics, biopharma, digital health, health technology and veterinary medicine. It grew out of an earlier Colorado-focused life sciences incubation program and has run as a regional program backed by the U.S. Economic Development Administration since 2024. Each company works with a dedicated client director, usually a former senior executive. Most sessions run over Zoom, with select in-person events, and a council of five to six industry, investor and academic mentors joins each subgroup for the closing months. The program moves through three phases and ends with a national showcase event in December. The 2026 cohort brings together 38 startups from nine states and two foreign countries. Innosphere, a nonprofit founded in 1998, takes no equity, and its venture fund decides on any investment separately from admission. The operator, Innosphere, ranks 36th on the 2026 TIME and Statista list of America’s Best Incubators and Accelerators.
Frequency
1x/year
Duration
8 months
Investment
None — no investment or non-dilutive funding provided
Equity
None — equity-free program
Program fees
$20,000
Where
USA
Sectors
Biotech, HealthTech, Medical
Stages
Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A
Eligibility
• Fields: therapeutics and drug development, medical devices and tools, diagnostics and early detection, digital and decision support, health system technologies, veterinary medicine and One Health, and platform enabling technologies
• Companies from late formation to early launch, ideally with a working prototype, a validated market need and at least one team member working full time
• Six to nine months of working capital already raised
• Solo founders eligible, with team composition assessed
• Startups outside the United States eligible, though content is geared toward U.S. market entry
• Other life science categories may apply but are reviewed for fit before interview
• Participants must attend workshops, mastermind sessions and regular reviews, take part in the online community, and keep an objectives and key results document
Selection process
• Applications reviewed on a rolling basis for fit with the life sciences focus
• Shortlisted companies interviewed by an Innosphere client director
• Evaluation on field of focus, innovative solution, stage of development, team composition and founder characteristics
• Companies that are not a fit are told when that determination is made; acceptance decisions are communicated by April
Benefits
• Three phases: foundation, acceleration, and a momentum-and-exposure phase that ends in a national showcase event in December
• Cohort-based curriculum delivered mostly over Zoom, with select in-person sessions and investor events
• Company assessment and 90-day objectives and key results to track progress against a capital strategy
• A council of five to six mentors from industry, investment, academia, payers and patient advocacy during the final months
• Investor relationship action plan, pitch and deck development, and access to investor conferences such as the Rocky Mountain Life Sciences Investor & Partnering Conference
• Market and investor research support from Innosphere research associates
• Regulatory, reimbursement and clinical strategy taught in the curriculum; company-specific legal, FDA and trial-design help is not included
• Discounts on equipment and service providers through Innosphere and its bioscience association partners; lab space is not included and is leased separately
• Startups keep all intellectual property created during the program
• Alumni access to future curriculum, an online community and networking events; continued client director support is a separate paid arrangement
• Companies tied to a partner university should ask their technology transfer office about fee guidance
Notable alumni
Network
U.S. Economic Development Administration (program funder), Colorado BioScience Association, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, three state bioscience associations and research universities across the Mountain Plains region. Mentor pool has included representatives from Amgen, Biodesix, Medtronic and Roche.
Portfolio
65 startups across the 2024 and 2025 cohorts, with a 2026 cohort of 38 in progress
Funds raised
$42.3M+ aggregate raised by companies in the 2024 and 2025 cohorts
🕐 Sep 2026
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