News ItemIn the Know – August 2017

August 17, 2017 –

SPECIAL EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITY ALERTS

Summer’s end and fall’s beginning will launch a flurry of event activity for our members and other professionals in the bioscience, health care, technology and non-profit sectors, starting with a Mayoral Forum this Thursday at Fat Pipe. NMBio’s first social networking event of 2017 takes place on August 29 at the new Lobo Rainforest building. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet our esteemed board members while touring the building and enjoying beer, wine and hors d’oeuvres. Immediately following our event, attendees will have the opportunity to make the short walk to FatPipe to attend a no cost event hosted by ABQid.

Our friends at TEDx are hosting their main event and a lineup of thought provoking ideas and superb speakers on a wide range of topics on September 9 at the Kiva Auditorium, Albuquerque Convention Center. The event will run from noon to 6 pm. NMBio members are eligible for a 10 percent discount on ticket prices (use code BIO when you register). Here is the link to the program and current list of speakers — https://tedxabq.com/2017-main-event/#speakers

The two marquee events for the fall season will occur back-to-back in mid-October. On the 17th, Innovate New Mexico will showcase a group of rising entrepreneurial companies in the tech and bioscience fields. On the 18th, NMBio will launch its first Knowledge Fair/Expo that will be followed by its version of Octoberfest. STC-UNM’s Lisa Kuuttila, who founded Innovate New Mexico and is Chair of our board of directors, and I will cross-promote the two events. We’re both striving to make these informative and educational events truly meaningful to the participants and attendees. We would appreciate you reaching out to your contacts and taking the time to encourage them to attend. We want to play to a full house.

This fall will also see the official launch of the Bioscience Authority, a public private initiative that was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor earlier this year. It will play a major role in helping to propel the growth of the state’s blossoming bioscience sector. The initial inductees to the board include several NMBio board members — Dr. Richard Larson, Executive Vice Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of Research for UNM’s Health Sciences Center. Dr. Tom Kieft, who heads NM Tech’s new interdisciplinary Ph.D program in biotechnology, Wayne Savage, the Executive Director
of the Arrowhead Research Park at New Mexico State University, and me.

The Bioscience Authority will promote coordination among the state’s universities, research entities, and the private sector. It will make policy recommendations to elected officials, promote ties with bioscience industries and support legislation to help develop those industries, serve as a clearinghouse for bioscience enterprise information, facilitate new ventures and startups, oversee feasibility studies for bioscience projects and recruit biotech businesses to relocate in New Mexico.

I’m heading to Los Alamos later this week to tour the New Mexico Consortium and meet some of its new tenants, including Innate Immunity LLC, an exciting firm that will be joining the NMBio family of companies. The founder is Dr. Goutam Gupta, who recently retired from LANL. Dr. Gupta is an internationally recognized expert and scientist on innate principles and methods and therapies for disease resistance in plants and humans. He is currently the lead PI/Program Manager for the USDA/NMC project on developing disease resistance to the devastation impacting the citrus crop in Florida and grapes in California. This is the initial beachhead for the startup.
If you have news that you’d like to share with our members and leaders in the bioscience and health care communities, please contact me. Our newsletter is distributed to two groups. The first goes to 150 individuals and includes members, prospects, local media and VIPs working in or serving the life science sector. The second list is broader and reaches more than 650 individuals in and outside of New Mexico.

Enjoy the rest of your summer; I’m looking forward to seeing many of you at next week’s tour of the Lobo Rainforest building.
Kind regards,

Greg Byrnes

Executive Director

NMBio

P.O. Box 31516

Santa Fe, NM 87594

610-731-3671 (M)

MORE NEWS AND UPDATES

Mayor’s Entrepreneurial Forum —Thursday, August 17 from 5-8 pm at FatPipe ABQ

NMBio is one of a dozen organizations sponsoring the Mayor’s Entrepreneurial Forum! The purpose of this forum is to give candidates seeking to be the next Mayor of Albuquerque an opportunity to address a wide range of issues that will impact the city’s burgeoning tech, bioscience and business community members. This forum will allow community members an opportunity to become better informed about their choices for our next mayor. This will be a moderated-style forum, with each candidate having three minutes to introduce themselves and their agenda. There will be a one-hour Q&A session with equal time for all candidates to answer questions.

New Mexico’s SBIR Award Matching Grant Program Launches September 1

The New Mexico Economic Development Department is launching a New Mexico Small Business Innovation Research Matching Grant program. This grant encourages the creation and expansion of commercial enterprises based in New Mexico through the acceleration of the commercialization of innovation and technologies developed with federal SBIR awards.
This new program provides matching funds to New Mexican companies that have been granted federal SBIR awards. The purpose of these funds is to assist businesses in achieving development and commercialization goals, according to NM EDD’s Julia Wise. This competitive grant will match half of Phase I SBIR awards up to $50,000. Phase II awardees are eligible for a match up to $100,000.

The complete solicitation and application will be available September 1 on the Office of Science and Technology’s website. Applications are due by 5 pm (MST), September 30, 2017.
For more information please contact Julia Wise, Manager of the Office of Science and Technology: Julial.wise@state.nm.us.

INNOVATE NEW MEXICO TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE — October 17

You are invited to attend this special collaborative event, sponsored by PhRMA, which highlights research and technology opportunities, start-up companies, and economic development resources from the leading research institutions in the state of New Mexico.

Representatives and researchers/investigators from six research institutions in New Mexico, including the University of New Mexico, the Air Force Research Lab, Los Alamos National Lab, Sandia National Labs, New Mexico Tech and New Mexico State University will be in attendance. The event will be held from 8 am to 3:30 pm at the Sandia Golf Club in Albuquerque.

Showcasing NM’s Life Science Industry & BIO Business Solution’s Preferred Providers

October 18 is the date for NMBio’s inaugural Knowledge Fair/Expo & Octoberfest. Registration starts at 7:30 am. Our first keynote speaker kicks off the program at 8 am and we conclude the educational portion of our program at 4 pm. That’s when the networking and fun kicks in. You’ll have two hours to network and enjoy our version of Octoberfest.

The event will be held on the campus of the University of New Mexico. The Knowledge Fair will harness the talent, energy, research and business smarts of the region’s bioscience, biomedical and health care organizations, research institutions, economic development agencies, the national labs and venture groups committed to the advancement of the biotech, medical device, pharmaceutical, drug discovery and diagnostic industries throughout the state.

The Santa Fe Business Incubator, NMSU’s Arrowhead Center, The BioScience Center, STC-UNM, UNM-HSC, NM Tech, ABQid, the NM Economic Development Department, The New Mexico Partnership, the New Mexico Technology Council, the New Mexico Angels, MDVA, Albuquerque Economic Development, Inc., the SBA, the state’s International trade office, are examples of the organizations that are being invited to share their knowledge, program offerings and incentives for both emerging and established firms.

We’re also recruiting TEDx quality speakers from both within and outside of NM to join us. The leaders of bioscience and healthcare firms as well as BIO’s and NMBio’s service providers from the scientific equipment, CRO, accounting, legal, insurance, health care, office supply, shipping, marketing, job placement, real estate and other sectors will provide essential and practical information on how their firms can save NMBio members thousands of dollars annually on their business expenses as well as assisting core members in finding effective tools and solutions for capital, employee training programs, office and lab locations and other pressing business needs. Here is a link to the firms that can save you thousands of dollars on your purchases — http://bbs.bio.org/?_ga=2.262500873.469444220.1502768932-1677104270.1502487261

NMBio and its committed partners will offer members and prospective members unparalleled education and networking opportunities in an intimate and informal educational settings. Robert W. Rubin, President & CEO of Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute will be the morning keynote speaker. He’ll be joined by the top executives of LRRI’s family of companies. We have invited BIO President & CEO James Greenwood to be our luncheon speaker. In between the two keynote addresses, attendees will be able to attend a wide range of simultaneous informative briefings and the opportunity to meet one on one with speakers and with service providers that will be sharing classrooms and manning table top exhibits.

The unique learning environment will be immediately followed by our version of Octoberfest. The combination of tasty food, beer and wine will provide everyone with the chance to put their cell phones on mute and enjoy a couple hours of networking before heading home.

ABQid Hosts Mark Harris Talk — Tuesday, August 29 from 6 to 8 pm

Following your tour of the Lobo Rainforest building, you can stroll over to FatPipe ABQ to hear Concert Genetics Founder Mark Harris discuss his journey, and the importance of authentic customer discovery. This is also a great opportunity to come meet the new cohort companies of ABQid’s Health and Wellness Accelerator Program!

UNM-STC Receives National Science Foundation $444,000 Grant Award

The five-year grant will convert UNM’s new Lobo Rainforest building at the Innovate ABQ research and development site downtown into an official “NSF Innovation Corps site.” That NSF program pumps money into select innovation centers across the country to stimulate efforts at bringing new university-developed products and services to market.

The grant will allow the Science and Technology Corp., UNM’s tech-transfer office, and the university’s Innovation Academy to offer funding to nearly 120 teams of students, faculty and business mentors over the next five years to bring new innovations to market, according to a recent article in the Albuquerque Journal. The program will begin this fall with $34,000 for 10 different teams, or $3,400 each, said STC President and CEO Lisa Kuuttila.

“We’ll have two cohorts of ten teams each this first year, starting with one in the fall and another in the spring,” Kuuttila said. “That will grow to 25 teams annually by the third year of the grant.”
Each team will receive business mentoring and training as they conduct intense market research and development for new products and services over a three-month period. Those that show market viability for new innovations while demonstrating the business acumen needed to move forward will become eligible to apply for NSF grants of up to $50,000 to continue their work, Kuuttila said.

“It is perfect timing,” Kuuttila said. “We’re trying to grow the ecosystem through broad collaboration at Innovate ABQ. Turning the Lobo Rainforest building into an NSF I-Corps site will help a lot.”

New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Center is also an I-Corps site. It won a $300,000 NSF grant last year. “We’ve funded 32 entrepreneurial teams so far,” said Aggie I-Corp Site Director Kramer Winingham. “It’s a tremendous program that provides resources for early stage technology businesses. It’s awesome that UNM will now be able to leverage that program.”

Sandia Labs Pitch Event — September 14

Hosted by Sandia Labs’ Entrepreneur Exploration Program and ABQid, this event encourages Scientists and Engineers to pitch their best and brightest innovations to a panel of esteemed judges and members from Albuquerque’s entrepreneurial community. The winner will represent Sandia Labs at the national level and get the chance to win $50,000 and inclusion in the DOE Energy I-Corps Program. The competition will be September 14, 6-8 pm at Gravitate, 1121 4th St NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. RSVP

SBIR Workshop at ABQid, September 28

Are you a small business or inventor looking for a way to fund your innovative idea or research? This workshop will explain how the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs can help move your technology and business forward.
The workshop will cover:

The basics of the Federal Government’s seed fund – the SBIR/STTR Programs
An overview of the NM FAST Program
Critical steps and tips to consider when preparing a strong proposal
Question and answer Session

The Workshop will be Thursday, September 28 from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM at ABQid, 302 Central Ave SE, Albuquerque, NM 87102. The event is free to attend but you must register. Register

Announcing the 2017 BIO Investor Forum & Member Incentives

The industry’s most influential independent investor event for early stage biotech’s seeking new funding sources is fast approaching. The 16th annual BIO Investor Forum (Oct. 17-18 in San Francisco) will host more than 175 healthcare venture capital and public market investors and more than 600 business development executives from leading global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

BIO is once again offering its state affiliates a discount. This year, NMBio members receive $400 in conference registration savings. Register using code BIOBIF24 and benefit from the BIO Member rate! NMBio member companies should contact bblake@bio.org to take advantage of additional savings.
A little bit of information about this year’s event:

The BIO SPARK Showcase Event—held on Monday, October 16^th—academic researchers in the SPARK network will showcase drug development programs that are ready for partnering or venture funding.
Fireside chats featuring candid conversations with the industry’s top executives.
Expert led panel discussions on topics ranging from liquid biopsies, bispecific antibodies and translational research to alternative funding models and general market outlook.
Company presentations—150 presentations from up-and-coming innovators and start-ups. See who presented in 2016.
Networking events—including our Tuesday night Welcome Reception and other industry gatherings.
BIO One-on-One Partnering™—More than 2100 meetings took place during last year’s conference, a 27% increase in the past two years. Partnering will launch on Sept. 1, with the number of companies in the system quadrupling. Getting in early and sending meeting requests before the system is deluged will increase your chances of getting the meetings you want.

New ShareVault White Paper: “What’s the role of Non-Immuno Oncology in an Immuno Oncology World?”

ShareVault, a BIO Business Solutions partner is granting NMBio members access to its extensive resource center.
All of the firm’s industry white papers, blogs and recordings of its webinars are available at its website:

ShareVault white papers: https://resources.sharevault.com/life-sciences-white-paper-vault-series
ShareVault webinars: https://resources.sharevault.com/life-sciences-webinar-vault-series

Its most current white paper discusses the role of non-immuno-oncology therapies for cancer in a world where immuno-oncology is playing a greater role.
The clinical success of checkpoint inhibitors has made Immuno-Oncology an amazingly “hot” area for pharmaceutical and biotech deal making. With checkpoint antibodies seen as backbones for combination therapy in cancer, many in Oncology are asking:

What is the role of non-IO in an IO world and can you partner a non-IO opportunity?
Is there still room for new anticancer agents that are not working in IO models?
Are drug candidates evaluated with the assumption that everything will eventually be used in combination with IO agents? Or are there indications or mechanisms for which IO will never be important? Should I pursue combinations with IO?
What kinds of mechanisms are attractive in non-IO? What data and models will big pharma want to see? Do I need to run experiments with their molecule? Are there certain tumor types that are particularly attractive?
Is it too late to try to compete in the crowded space of combination with PD1 antibodies? What other IO agents are likely to backbones of oncology franchises?
What will make my non-IO drug candidate compelling for partners and investors?

Click this link to register.