Likarda Receives $4 Million Series A Funding from Werth Family Investment Associates
 NMBio preferred provider and cutting-edge biotech research laboratory, Likarda, has received $4,000,000 in Series A funding from Werth Family Investment Associates, bringing the promise of future diabetes treatment options to dogs and cats. Likarda is the leading regenerative medicine company for companion animals. They have discovered—and are commercializing—a better way to manage diabetes in dogs and cats. Their insulin-producing cell clusters, called the Kanslet™, can be infused into animals with diabetes. The process allows veterinarians to offer a minimally invasive, cost-effective answer to pet owners battling the burden of diabetes in dogs and cats.
With an estimated 1 in 100 dogs and cats contracting diabetes in their lifetime, nearly 1.5 million pets will suffer from diabetes at some point. Currently, the only option for treatment is twice daily insulin injections, placing enormous stress on pets and their owners. Through years of development and working with various partners, Likarda is in the process of bringing islet transplants to dogs. The microencapsulated islets (the insulin-producing cells of the body) are transplanted via injection into the belly of a diabetic dog, removing the need for twice daily insulin injections. The additional resources provided by the investment allow Likarda to scale the project from hundreds of animals to thousands in the treatment of diabetic pets. The clinical research program is being finalized and is expected to launch by the end of 2017.
In addition to pioneering work in the animal health arena, Likarda — http://likarda.com/ — is a world-class contract research organization (CRO), supporting start-up companies and science entrepreneurs through large pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies. Likarda uses a proprietary cell culture system to create three-dimensional cell clusters, or miniaturized organs. This system has applications in markets ranging from drug discovery and development to cell-based transplantation and regenerative medicine. The technology and its ability to scale gives pharmaceutical companies a way to test new drug compounds on human 3D cell clusters, providing a better prediction of how the drugs will work in the body. Please note, Likarda offers NMBio members a 5 percent discount on all its services.
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We’re delighted to report that James C. Greenwood, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s (BIO) long-time and distinguished leader, will be a keynote speaker at the October 18 Knowledge Fair — https://www.bio.org/biography/James-c-greenwood. With Jim, a former Pennsylvania Congressman and LRRI’s Robert Rubin onboard as our two keynote speakers, we’re anticipating a strong turnout of attendees from the life science, health care and tech communities. 
The New Mexico Economic Development Department is offering a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Award matching grant of up to $100,000 to accelerate commercialization of technologies developed with the aid of the federal SBIR awards. This is a competitive grant for New Mexican companies. To be eligible, companies must have an active Phase I or Phase II SBIR award or a letter of award. Award funds must be used for business development. Here is a link to the application:
The final countdown for the Rocky Mountain Investor Conference, October 2-3, has begun. There has been a discount code created for NMBio and other regional partner’s companies to attend. Membership registration for life science companies is discounted to $400 with the promo code MEM200. This code can be entered at check out. All event details can be found on the website: 
Discounted early bird registrations are still being accepted for this special collaborative event, sponsored by 
Founder and CEO Sarah Boisvert has been splitting her time between MIT/Cambridge and Santa Fe for many, many years. She’s now ensconced full time at the Santa Fe Business Incubator (SFBI), a real plus for NM entrepreneurs interested in exploring digital fabrication technologies such as 3D Printing, laser cutting, CNC machining, and generative design. Fab Lab Hub has partnered with SFBI to expand the Archimedes makerspace into a Fab Lab in the Fab Lab Network. Sarah, who has more than 75K Twitter followers, is focused on workforce development, digital fabrication certifications, startup creation, entrepreneurship and STEAM education. In response to requests from Fab Labs, Makerspaces and startups in the United States, Canada and Mexico for support and collaboration, Fab Lab Hub formed the North American Digital Fabrication Alliance. Fab Lab Hub works with America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, to foster New Collar Job training for Industry 4.0. For more information, go to 
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