UF Innovate’s first biotechnology-focused GatorPitch event debuted in Jupiter, Florida, on Thursday, March 5, showcasing five University of Florida life sciences startups to a distinguished panel of inventors and approximately 100 attendees. This was the fourth iteration of GatorPitch, which began in Miami in 2024.
The event was hosted in partnership with The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology and the Venture Mentoring Team, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering the startup community. .
“We were really excited to bring GatorPitch to Jupiter and to have a biotech-focused event to showcase UF’s life sciences companies to investors from across the country” said Melissa Kuchma, Ph.D., assistant director of biological sciences and corporate engagement at UF Innovate.
The spring event included a research showcase featuring UF faculty and a panel discussion with venture capitalists from Ascenta Capital, Mission BioCapital, and Curie.Bio.
Ascenta Capital’s Evan Rachlin, Mission BioCapital’s Steve Tregay, and Curie.Bio’s George Voren also served as a panel of experts judging the pitches. They awarded the “Panelists’ Choice” designation to Ribonaut Therapeutics, a UF company co-founded by Wertheim UF Scripps scientist Matthew Disney, Ph.D. Ribonaut Therapeutics is developing RNA-targeting small molecules for neurological diseases and movement disorders. Its lead program focuses on Huntington’s disease.
Ribonaut Therapeutics also received the first BioPitch Launchpad Winner designation from BioFlorida, the statewide trade association for Florida’s life sciences industry.
Through the BioPitch Launchpad Initiative, select winners from university pitch competitions advance as finalists to BioFlorida’s BioPitch competition, where BioFlorida will award $100,000 in non-dilutive prizes at the BioFlorida Innovation Conference, October 14–16, 2026, in Orlando.
“BioFlorida is proud to partner with UF Innovate and GatorPitch to launch the BioPitch Launchpad Initiative. Florida’s universities are a powerful engine for life sciences innovation, and programs like GatorPitch help translate groundbreaking research into real-world solutions,” said Mark Glickman, president and CEO of BioFlorida.
Other startup presenters included Neuropacs Corp., iOncologi, Aqualung Therapeutics Corp., and Sparian Biosciences, Inc.
South Florida is the heart of Florida’s biotech corridor. By showcasing the university’s top talent, GatorPitch serves as the bridge between UF innovation and the region’s dynamic investor and entrepreneurial community.
Hutchison PLLC, Wolter Van Dyke Davis, DeepWork Capital, and SCAD Media sponsored this spring edition of GatorPitch.
GatorPitch will return to Miami in the Fall 2026.