Li and Qiu founded Conifer after seeing how new entrepreneurs had the intellect to create products but lacked the business knowledge to develop a thriving startup. As a result, Qiu and Li join in-progress life sciences startups as co-founders, quickly accelerating their growth by providing expert supports including seed funding, marketing, and financial planning. Li has added 18 new employees within the past year to the parent company as it launched two startups at Worcester incubator Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives, including Conigen, co-founded by Qiu.
The company’s March ribbon cutting for Conifer was attended by Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty and a number of state representatives.
Conigen is a life science tools company developing proteins that mimic human cells to later be used by scientists in the drug discovery process. The company has been able to expand its workforce within the region, hiring eight additional personnel within the last year including development scientists, bio-manufacturing technicians, and business management professionals, all while increasing its lab and office space at MBI.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
