The program is powered by the collaborative efforts of the U-M Medical School’s Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FFMI) program and Michigan Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE).
The Michigan Biomedical Venture Fund (MBVF) is advancing biomedical engineering by helping turn revolutionary ideas born in research labs into real-world applications that have the potential to transform patient care around the world.
The MBVF supports pioneering life science startups emerging from U-M, spanning novel therapeutics for cancer and autoimmune diseases, medical devices targeting heart disease and pulmonary embolism, and health IT solutions advancing precision medicine through genomic data. The program is powered by the collaborative efforts of the U-M Medical School’s Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FFMI) program and Michigan Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE). The core of the fund has centered on startups with U-M intellectual property.
At the helm of this effort is MBVF Manager and U-M BME alumnus John Seamans (BME, MS 2004). Seamans, who carved his path in the medtech world through both large corporations and startups, found a new calling in venture capital. “Working with a portfolio of companies and helping them succeed on a larger scale was what attracted me to venture capital,” Seamans said. “I realized that the innovation pipeline from research to tangible medical solutions needed more hands-on support, investment, and industry connections – this fund provides just that.”
“The process of building up the medtech sector in Michigan is aspirational because we have some of the ingredients: a world-class hospital system, incredible research infrastructure generating new breakthroughs, and a pipeline of amazing talent,” Seamans noted, “but the local bio/med industry is still emerging. To be able to play a role in helping to build up that sector around an institution I love is a worthwhile mission. I have the privilege to work with amazingly bright researchers and dynamic entrepreneurs – and help them build a company and product from their research. This helps U-M’s research scale up to impact thousands or millions of patients.”
Established in 2017, the MBVF developed thanks to the vision and generosity of the Monroe Brown Foundation. Seamans described the fund as “venture philanthropy,” a unique blend of high-risk investments aimed at both medical advancement and regional economic development. The fund is “evergreen,” meaning investment returns are reinvested. When a company succeeds – for example, MBVF portfolio company Parabricks was acquired by nVidia – those returns are redeployed into new startups, creating a virtuous cycle. Crucially, the fund revolves around U-M intellectual property, with an expanding reach that now includes alumni startups. The fund collaborates with many groups across campus, including Innovation Partnerships (formerly Tech Transfer), which has an incredible team working on IP, licensing, venture creation, and mentoring to guide projects through company formation and early fundraising.
“The MBVF has invested in 21 companies so far, with over $40 invested downstream for each $1 of early MBVF investment and over $500M in investment raised across the portfolio. Each venture is a testament to the power of collaboration – researchers, physicians, entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts working together to advance a novel idea into real-world clinical impact,” Seamans said.
The fund also works with promising student teams through groups including Nucleate, Sling Health, and the Center for Surgical Innovation, providing resources, mentorship, and connections that can be difficult to find. “We’ve opened pathways for students through initiatives at CFE as well as our venture fellowship program that tap into Ph.D, MD, and MBA students,” Seamans said. Programs like these provide hands-on experience in venture capital and startups.
Seamans detailed the process from research into startup at U-M, “The process of translating a discovery into a startup company typically begins with a breakthrough made by a faculty member or research team. The invention is reported to U-M Innovation Partnerships, which evaluates the invention for appropriate intellectual property (IP) protection, most often resulting in a university-owned patent or, in the case of software, copyright. Once protected, the licensing team, with support from the Ventures Team, assesses pathways to license the technology, whether to an existing company or a startup formed specifically to commercialize the technology. This requires support and interest from the inventor, and identification of someone to lead the commercial effort. While faculty members, grad students, or postdocs occasionally take the founding business lead role, much more commonly U-M helps recruit an external entrepreneur. Throughout the process, Innovation Partnerships play a central role in guiding the formation and early development of the startup, mentoring, connecting inventors with resources, legal support, and potential funding pathways.”
“When these startups go out to raise investment, MBVF is one of the first funds they’ll reach out to,” Seamans said, emphasizing that relationships need to be cultivated over time. “Our fund is a place where you can build those early connections and get feedback from bio/med investors across the country,” he added. David Esposito, CEO of one of MBVF’s startups, ONL Therapeutics, reinforced this point: “The MBVF team is strengthening the bio/med startup ecosystem around U-M — and, importantly, making that impact seen and felt across the country. They are helping spearhead innovation and attracting capital from across the world … Early support from MBVF was critical to not only the initial financing of ONL, but also provided a supportive network to pressure-test our plans.”
The fund’s emerging successes, including startups such as gut organoid developer Intero Biosystems and autoimmune disease treatment innovator EVOQ Therapeutics, reflect the broader vision of MBVF. Intero Biosystems, co-founded by U-M BME Ph.D. student Madeline Eiken and recent U-M graduate Charlie Childs, Ph.D., from the lab of Jason Spence, H. Marvin Pollard Professor of Gastrointestinal Sciences, and Professor of Internal Medicine, Cell and Developmental Biology, and Biomedical Engineering, evolved from being a research idea, to a winner of CFE Fuel program grant, grand-prize winner at the esteemed Rice Business Plan Competition, and closed a pre-seed investment round with MBVF in early 2025. Charlie Childs commented, “MBVF has been one of our biggest champions throughout our first fundraise. From making key investor introductions to providing specific, actionable feedback on our capital strategy, business model, and product development, their support has been instrumental to our success. We wouldn’t be where we are today without MBVF and other invaluable programs like the Fuel Award and other resources through the CFE.”
“Every new invention in a lab is like the seed of a potential company or product,” Seamans said. “You have to sort through the seeds and determine which ones could become something really big and impactful. You can almost think of building a startup like tending a garden. You need the right soil – a fertile market and ecosystem with talent. You need steady watering of investment capital. You need the right fertilizer – mentorship, connections, technical expertise. And most importantly, you need a gardener: founding leadership with the vision, grit, and adaptability to nurture the venture. At U-M, we produce the seeds: ideas full of potential. But even the most promising seed needs resources and the right environment to take root and flourish. Only one out of a thousand of those seeds ends up flourishing into something like HistoSonics – a U-M startup that developed a breakthrough device for cancer treatment that received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2023 to treat liver tumors. One of the roles of the MBVF is to make sure that those really compelling opportunities get the right resources around them outside the university so that they can make a really big clinical impact.”
The MBVF also actively supports other regional players and taps into a vast network of both seasoned alumni entrepreneurs and potential investors, thereby attracting significant attention and resources.
“Networking with our alumni plays a vital role,” Seamans added, citing that these connections often open doors to crucial next-step investments. “Opportunities grow when you connect with others who share Michigan’s drive and ambition for medical innovation,” Seamans said. “As Michigan increases its role in the medtech innovation sector, the MBVF stands as a key enabler, scripting a new era of growth and societal impact. I encourage our alumni to connect to the fund for ways to get involved, whether as an advisor, a resource, an expert or an investor who might be interested in supporting these types of companies. We are also looking for alumni entrepreneurs,” he said. “We are willing to invest in those alumni entrepreneurs, so even if they don’t have Michigan IP, there are opportunities for investment.”
Seamans concluded: “The Michigan Biomedical Venture Fund is here, and we’re ready to help nurture ideas into solutions that transform lives. It’s great to see the growth of U-M’s startups, and I’m excited to see what comes next.”