A first-of-its kind collaborative effort between Siena College and Albany Medical Center will help high-tech innovators and startup firms build a vibrant biotech industry across the Capital Region.
The program, to launch September 9, is expected to create a pipeline of successful new businesses that will build upon the region’s Tech Valley reputation with a growing biotech industry.
“This collaboration taps into the resources of Siena’s Institute for Leadership Development and the biomedical expertise of Albany Medical Center to create a program that will help bring new ideas and new technologies to the marketplace,” said Michael J. Hickey, ’83 M.B.A., Vice President and Chief of Staff at Siena College.
AMC’s BACC (Biomedical Acceleration and Commercialization Center), founded in 2014, has become the nucleus for physicians, researchers, inventors and others working on breakthrough biotechnology in the region.
"We came up with a three-track curriculum, and we'll have 15 to 20 participants in the first year," said Amy Johnson, a former Apple engineer who is the BACC's director.
Siena’s Institute for Leadership Development provides senior management and leadership skills to CEOs, entrepreneurs and other business executives throughout the Capital Region and beyond. The Institute has provided training programs for managers at Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurial startups, helping leaders develop new competencies, refine existing practices, and create cultures that foster continuous improvement.
“By combining the leadership training at Siena with the biotech and medical research capabilities at Albany Medical Center, this joint initiative offers all of the tools individuals will need to build a successful biotech business,” said Erik Eddy, Ph.D., a Siena professor of management and director of the Institute.
Known as the BACC Academy, the program curriculum focuses on biomed, business and leadership seminars that are led by Siena professors, Albany Medical Center leaders and other experts from the fields of law, medicine and business consulting.
The BACC Academy is a three-month course that will meet weekly in the evenings, allowing working small-business leaders and entrepreneurs the opportunity to continue their work while learning how to take their ideas to the next level.
In addition to providing leadership training and biotech lab support, the program offers participants an opportunity to expand their professional networks and a potential for up to $25,000 in cash and in-kind services for program graduates to further their business development.
“This strategic collaboration of private industry and higher education will support the growing number of startups and high-tech innovators in Upstate New York. Through this new BACC Academy program, launched by one of the state’s Certified Business Incubators, we look forward to supporting the growth and success of new businesses as we continue to advance the region’s biotech industry,” said Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky.
