Tech and medtech business accelerator Octane in Newport Beach is teaming up with San Diego-based Biocom to spur innovation and growth.
Octane said March 16 it had formed a strategic partnership with Biocom to expand access to capital, accelerator programs and industry networks for life science and medtech companies across California.
Biocom, a life science association with more than 1,700 members, represents companies across California and major life science markets.
“Biocom will bring industry leading policy and regulatory expertise to Octane’s. existing clients and Octane will bring an accelerator, industry conferences, and capital access to Biocom’s members,” Octane CEO Bill Carpou told the Business Journal on March 13.
“Both companies believe this will be accretive to their respective business,” he added.
Octane Sees Network Expansion Nationally, Internationally
Through the partnership, Biocom will extend the reach of its global life science membership network into Orange County while connecting Octane’s innovation network to life science leaders across California, nationally and internationally.
The two entities share a common mission: to help innovative companies start, grow and scale.
Tim Scott, president and CEO of Biocom, said both companies bring “unique strengths” to the partnership.
“By bringing together Octane’s accelerator and investor networks with Biocom’s life science community, we are creating new pathways for entrepreneurs to access capital, partnerships and growth opportunities,” Scott said. Biocom also has offices in Los Angeles, the Bay Area and 3 other locations, in addition to San Diego.
Octane’s LaunchPad Accelerator
As part of the partnership, Biocom and Octane will collaborate to expand access to growth resources, industry events and investment opportunities for companies across the life science and medtech sectors.
Companies participating in Octane’s LaunchPad accelerator will receive one year of complimentary Biocom membership, providing access to policy and advocacy, workforce development initiatives, cost-saving Biocom Group Purchasing programs and the Biocom Health Benefits Trust.
Biocom members will gain greater exposure to Octane’s innovation community, through its industry conferences, capital programs and investor network, with preferred pricing for Octane events and opportunities to engage with its network of entrepreneurs, investors and corporate partners.
Octane will work closely with Biocom to identify high-potential life science and medtech companies within the Biocom membership and help prepare them for fundraising, strategic partnerships and growth.
“This partnership represents step in a broader strategy to align with lending organizations across the country,” Carpou said. “We will continue to build on this model to bring even more capabilities, resources and connectivity to the companies we serve.”
Octane’s Nearly Quarter Century
Octane was founded in 2002 by five well-known local executives—Jim Mazzo, Dwight Decker, Mike Mussallem and Matthew Massengill, as well as Tom Moebus, then the vice chancellor at UCI.
Its board of directors and advisers total about 80 people, including many well-known in business circles such as Alteryx co-founder Dean Stoecker, former Allergan executive Carrie Strom and former Johnson & Johnson Cardiovascular Chairman Celine Martin, according to the Octane website.Â
“We’ve helped more than 2,514 companies raise over $12.1 billion in funding and create 45,237 high-paying jobs since we started in 2010,” the organization says.
