Kivi Bio uses FORWARD Biolabs grant to speed life science commercialization

Kenosha-based startup Kivi Bio is working to shorten one of the most difficult stages in life science innovation: the path from scientific discovery to the market.

Founded in January 2025 by chemical engineer and business development veteran Todd Kapp, the company supports emerging life science businesses by helping founders navigate commercialization challenges, from market strategy and intellectual property planning to scaling production technologies.

The company was recently awarded an Industry Collaboration Program (ICP) grant from FORWARD Biolabs, which will allow Kivi Bio to invest in shared laboratory equipment designed to reduce barriers for regional startups developing new therapies and medical technologies.

The ICP program provides targeted, non-dilutive support to startups seeking to translate scientific innovation into commercial products. It is aimed at companies navigating early commercialization challenges, including regulatory strategy, intellectual property development, scale-up planning, and investment readiness.

Kivi Bio operates out of the Kenosha Innovation Center and focuses primarily on companies working in life sciences, including medical devices, bioprocessing, and advanced therapeutic development. Rather than applying a standardized accelerator model, Kapp said the company works with founders on a project-by-project basis, identifying gaps that often slow early-stage companies.

Kapp explained that emerging life science companies often need support with the business side of commercialization. “Usually, if they’re a tech founder, they don’t need a lot of help on the technology side,” Kapp said. “It’s the business side: understanding the market, the value proposition, and how to get in front of customers is where companies often need support.”

The ICP grant will fund the purchase of specialized drug manufacturing equipment that startups and researchers can use to test and validate processes before making significant capital investments. Among the first additions is a high-pressure homogenizer, a tool used to control particle size in drug products, which can improve consistency, shelf life, and overall efficacy.

By placing equipment in shared environments such as FORWARD Biolabs and partner facilities, Kivi Bio aims to give companies the ability to evaluate new technologies at a fraction of the cost required to purchase and install them independently.

“In bioprocessing and medical device adoption, people want to see and touch the technology before they commit,” Kapp said. “If companies can test whether something works with their product first, they avoid spending large amounts of capital on equipment that may not be the right fit.”

Kapp said access to newer manufacturing technologies can also dramatically improve efficiency. Some emerging systems can reduce production workflows that traditionally require multiple processing steps and more than a week of work into a single operation completed in a matter of hours, lowering both cost and development timelines.

Those efficiencies are becoming increasingly important as the pharmaceutical industry shifts toward therapies designed for smaller patient populations, where traditional large-scale manufacturing models are often inefficient or cost-prohibitive.

Kivi Bio’s approach focuses on helping companies adopt these newer methods earlier in development, allowing startups to move more quickly from innovation to commercialization.

Kapp believes the region is well positioned for growth in life sciences and advanced manufacturing, pointing to a corridor stretching from Indianapolis to Madison that includes major pharmaceutical investments and research institutions.

“We’re in a unique position geographically,” he said. “You can build something here now and be part of shaping the ecosystem rather than trying to enter an already crowded market.”

As Kivi Bio expands its equipment offerings and programming through the ICP grant, the company aims to provide startups with earlier access to tools and expertise that can help promising life science innovations move from concept to market more efficiently.

“What can I do to help shorten the cycle of product development, so treatments reach people sooner?” he said. “That’s really what drives this.”