A real problem
You choose a problem from drug safety, clinical trials, regulatory, real-world evidence or discovery, or bring one from your own field.
This is your chance to build with AI in biotech
Seven days to build a working AI tool on a real life-science problem, alongside specialists from the industry.
Only for people already working at life-science GCCs and the service companies that work with them.
Request an invite
What it is
Biotech Foundry brings together people from across life sciences for one week to build AI tools on real drug-development problems.
Built alongside life-science industry specialists
It is a chance to step out of your usual role and become the person who builds. You pick a problem worth solving, work on it with specialists who know the field, and finish the week by showing your tool to a room full of people who care about the same problems you do.
You go back to work with the tool, the know-how to build the next one, and a close group of peers from the life-science GCC community who built alongside you.
What you build
Use AI on a real life-science problem
A few of the tools you could build in the week. Pick one, or bring an idea of your own.
( Drug safety )
(01)An adverse-event signal ranker
FDA FAERS( Drug safety )
(02)A drug–drug interaction checker
openFDA drug labels( Drug safety )
(03)A label-change tracker for a class of drugs
openFDA drug labels( Clinical trials )
(04)A trial landscape explorer for one disease
ClinicalTrials.gov( Clinical trials )
(05)An eligibility matcher between patients and trials
ClinicalTrials.gov, Synthea( Clinical trials )
(06)A protocol comparison tool for similar studies
ClinicalTrials.gov( Regulatory )
(07)A question-answering tool over EMA assessment reports
EMA EPARs( Regulatory )
(08)A US and EU label comparison for the same drug
openFDA, EMA( Real-world evidence )
(09)A patient cohort builder that follows outcomes
Synthea( Real-world evidence )
(10)A treatment pathway map from claims data
CMS synthetic claims( Literature )
(11)A literature assistant that answers with citations
PubMed( Discovery )
(12)A target prioritiser for a disease
Open Targets( Discovery )
(13)A compound activity explorer
ChEMBL( Discovery )
(14)A drug repurposing finder
Open Targets, ChEMBL( Discovery )
(15)A protein structure annotator
PDB, AlphaFold DB( Your idea )
(16)Something your own team needs
Public or synthetic dataEach build is a research prototype on public data, not a validated product. That is what makes it possible in a week.
The week
What you will build, day by day
Four evenings online, after work, then three days in your city.
(Day 01)Choose the problem.
Online
You arrive with an idea, your own or one from the list. By the end of the evening it is a one-line problem statement a specialist has agreed to.
You leave withYour problem statement
(Day 02)Get the data.
Online
You load the public dataset your problem lives in and find out what it can and cannot answer.
You leave withYour data, loaded, with notes on what is missing
(Day 03)Get a first version running.
Online
You assemble the AI parts rather than writing a model from scratch, and learn what each part does along the way.
You leave withA rough version that answers the question on a small slice of data
(Day 04)Scope the weekend.
Online
A one-to-one call with a specialist to decide what the finished tool will do, and what it will not.
You leave withA plan for the three days in your city
(Day 05)Build.
In your city
You meet the cohort and build all day with the specialists beside you. Friday is a working day, so you will need one day of leave.
You leave withA prototype a specialist has reviewed
(Day 06)Put it on a live link and test it.
In your city
A simple interface that anyone in your team could open, and an honest record of where it works and where it fails.
You leave withA tool on a live link and an evaluation report
(Day 07)Write the case and show the tool.
In your city
You write a one-page business case, then demo the tool live to the cohort and invited guests. Six minutes each, recorded for you.
You leave withThe tool, the report, the business case and your demo recording
What you get
One week, built around you
A real problem, people who know the field, and something you keep.
(Your choice)01
Specialists beside you
People who do this work today guide you through the week, from scoping the problem to reviewing what you built.
specialists)02
Public data only
Every build runs on public or synthetic data, such as FAERS, ClinicalTrials.gov, Synthea or ChEMBL. Nothing from your employer is used, so there is nothing to clear with compliance.
build)03
Yours to keep
A tool your team can open on Monday. You leave with:
- The tool, on a live link
- An honest evaluation report
- A one-page business case for your team
- Your six-minute demo, recorded
- A Bversity certificate and a place in the alumni circle
take home)04
Who it's for
People already working in life sciences
This edition is for professionals at life-science GCCs and at the service companies that work with them, such as CROs and life-science IT and analytics firms. Students and freshers can't join this one.
Drug safety
Pharmacovigilance and safety science
You process cases, work signals and write up what the data shows.
Clinical and regulatory
Clinical data, biostatistics, regulatory
You manage trial data, write analyses or prepare submissions.
Evidence
Real-world evidence and HEOR
You build cohorts and answer questions from claims and records.
Discovery
Research and data science
You work on targets, compounds or the data around them.
You'll fit if
- You work in one of these functions, or close to one, at a GCC or a service company.
- You have a problem in mind, even a rough one.
- You can take Friday 4 December off and give the weekend and four evenings.
You won't if
- You're a student or a fresher.
- You're looking for lectures. There are very few.
- You can't make the four online evenings.
Who you build with
Build it alongside life-science industry specialists
From Bversity's industry faculty
People from Bversity's industry faculty, who work in drug discovery, genomics, real-world evidence and biotech today.
Cities and fee
Bengaluru or Hyderabad
Both cities share the online evenings, then meet in person on the same weekend. Venues are announced to confirmed participants.
Programme fee₹25,000 + GST
Early bird ₹19,999 + GST for the first 5 seats in each city.
Invites open 2 November and close 25 November. Your seat is confirmed on payment.
- Four online evenings, 30 Nov – 3 Dec, 7:30–9:30 pmIncluded
- Three in-city days with the specialistsIncluded
- Lunch and snacks on the in-city daysIncluded
- Public datasets and tool creditsIncluded
- Certificate and alumni circleIncluded
- Travel and stayNot included
Request an invite
About five minutes. Tell us where you work and what you'd build. We reply by email within three working days, so please keep an eye on your inbox.
Invite requested
Thanks, there. Your request for is in. We'll email you at within three working days, so please check your inbox, and your spam folder too. Questions? WhatsApp +91 81447 99592.
Questions
Questions people ask before they join
I work at a CRO or a life-science IT services company. Can I join?
Yes, if your day-to-day work is in life sciences. We check the employer on the form.
I work in data science or IT at a life-science company. Is this for me?
Yes. Many of the best tools come from people who sit between the science and the systems. You'll work on a life-science problem alongside people from safety, clinical, regulatory and discovery roles.
Do I need to code?
No. You assemble the tool from existing AI parts with the specialists, and learn what each part does. Comfort with data in Excel, SAS or R is enough. Basic Python helps on discovery builds.
I already code. Will this be too basic?
No. The problem and the scope are yours to set, so if you're comfortable with code you can take on a more ambitious tool. The specialists will push you as far as you want to go.
Can I bring a problem from my own work?
Yes, as long as it can be built on public or synthetic data. Bring the question, not your company's data. On the first evening a specialist helps you shape it into something you can finish in the week.
How much time does it take?
Four evenings online, Monday to Thursday from 7:30 to 9:30 pm, then Friday to Sunday in your city. Friday 4 December is the only working day you need to take off.
What do I tell my manager?
You need Friday 4 December off. If it helps, here is a short version you can send.
I'd like to take Friday 4 December as leave for Biotech Foundry, a seven-day programme by Bversity for people working in life sciences: four evenings online and one weekend in person. I'll be building a working AI tool on public data (nothing from work is used) and writing a short business case for it.
What should I bring?
A laptop you can install software on. A personal laptop is usually easier than a work one, since company machines often block installs. We share everything else, including the datasets and tool credits, before the first evening.
I don't live in Bengaluru or Hyderabad. Can I still join?
Yes. Travel and stay are not included, so you would arrange those yourself. The online evenings work from anywhere.
Where is the venue?
Announced to confirmed participants in each city.
How are seats decided?
There are 15 seats in each city. We read every request and look at where you work and the problem you'd like to build. Once we invite you, your seat is confirmed on payment.
What happens after the week?
You keep the tool and join the alumni circle, which meets every month in each city. It also runs demo nights and an opportunity board for its members.
Who runs this
Bversity School of Bioscience
Bversity School of Bioscience, based in Chennai, runs degree and postgraduate programmes in biotechnology and bioinformatics. Its PG Programme in Bioinformatics, Genomics and Data Science is certified with IIT Madras Pravartak, and its graduates work at companies including 4baseCare, MedGenome and Decode Age.
Biotech Foundry is its first programme for working professionals. More at bversity.io.
While I was doing my PhD in Germany, if I needed a tool for my research, I had to build it myself, usually late at night and with nobody to ask. The people I meet at GCCs in Bengaluru and Hyderabad already know which tool would help their team. What they rarely get is a week to build it, with someone beside them who has done it before.
Sudharsan VCo-founder, Bversity
Your tool goes live on 6 December
Demo night, in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Invites close on 25 November.
Request an invite