News ItemIn The News – August

August 8, 2016 –

BIO EXPANDS ITS BUINESS SOLUTIONS PROGRAM to 12 FIRMS

BIO has added Nikon Instruments (Nikon research grade microscope systems) and Airgas (packaged and bulk gases) to its lineup of preferred service providers. There is no fee for NMBio members to utilize any of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s cost-saving programs offered by industry leaders such as VWR International, FedEx, Office Depot, UniClean (cleanroom services), Clean Harbors (environmental services), ShareVault (secure document sharing), UniFirst (workwear services), AON, Business Wire and CHUBB. Go to the following link and click on the company name to learn more about each firm’s offerings. http://bbs.bio.org/

Also, be sure to check out the offerings of NMBio’s own service providers, LikardiaBio –http://www.likardabio.coLim/company/our-approach/ — and the DMVG Technology — www.dmvg.tech. We’ll have several new additions to our own list by Labor Day. Please keep in mind that placing business with any of these companies saves you more than money. Your purchases are also helping to support the association and its expanding list of activities and goals.

THE RISE OF THE REST TOUR HEADS TO ALBUQUERQUE

Albuquerque’s budding entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to personally showcase their business ideas to Steve Case, AOL Co-founder, mentor and entrepreneur extraordinaire when his nationally recognized Rise of the Rest Tour comes to the city on October 6.

Case’s bus tour, which has previously visited 19 cities and logged more than 4,000 miles east of the Mississippi, is making its first swing through the Southwest. Other Southwest cities on the tour include Phoenix, Denver and Salt Lake as well as Omaha.

At each stop Case, the Revolution Team, and their partners host a pitch competition pitting the best startups in each city against one another for a chance to win $100,000. Partners include Village Capital, Google for Entrepreneurs, Salesforce for Startups, Economic Innovation Group Inc., Engine and Tech Co.

Applications for the pitch competition are open until Sept. 7. Startups can submit applications online — https://www.f6s.com/riseofrest

Case has invested $2 million in selected startups since the inception of the tour in 2014. President Obama, business leaders and mayors across the country have praised Case and the initiative.

AGILVAX RECEIVES SBIR GRANT & APPOINTS NEW BOARD MEMBER

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded NMBio member Agilvax a one-year, $286,000 grant under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program entitled “Development of a VLP-based RSV vaccine targeting pre-fusion F protein.”

Agilvax (www.agilvax.com) is a biotechnology company that is developing targeted vaccines and cancer stem cell immunotherapies based on a proprietary virus-like particle (VLP) platform technology. The technology integrates epitope identification and immunogenic presentation in a single platform. Founded in 2011, the company has its headquarters in Albuquerque and offices in El Paso, TX.

“We are excited to be recognized with this highly competitive award from the NIH,” said Federica Pericle, President and CEO. “This award provides a vital springboard to further the development of our novel RSV vaccine. It also validates our unique VLP platform technology for the development of vaccines against diseases with high unmet clinical need.”

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is responsible for over 30 million new acute lower respiratory infections in children under five, which results in more than 3.4 million hospital admissions, according to the World Health Organization. RSV also impacts adult populations resulting in 177,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths in adults older than 65 years in the United States alone, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Thus, the development of an RSV vaccine is paramount to treat the world’s most vulnerable populations; children and the elderly.

Federica also announced the addition of a prestigious board member — Dr. Brad H. Vale, Ph.D., DVM. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Calaveras Creek Capital since 2015. His investment focus has been on biotech and medical device companies. Dr. Vale served as the Head of Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation – JJDC, Inc. from 2012 to 2015. He joined Johnson & Johnson in 1992 and in July 1997 moved to California to establish its Silicon Valley office and has invested in over 30 companies for JJDC, including five that were ultimately acquired by various J&J subsidiaries.

The Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) Conference

RESI will return to Boston for its10th RESI Conference. Life Science Nation will be hosting the RESI Boston conference in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS on September 13th, 2016.

RESI will be establishing a global circuit for early stage life sciences companies to source investors, create relationships, and eventually, get funding. The RESI conference focuses on the diverse breadth of early stage investors that LSN tracks, including Family Offices, Venture Philanthropy Funds, VCs, Angel Groups, Corporate Venture Capital Funds, and more. The RESI Partnering Forum allows fundraising executives to identify and book up to 16 meetings with life science investors who fit their company’s technology sector and stage of development. Additionally, through an expansive series of panels and workshops, attendees will have the chance to hear firsthand accounts from investors explaining their current investment mandates and process for identifying and qualifying candidates. Click here for more information and registration materials: www.resiconference.com

TPP Healthcare Organizes China Partnering Forum at AdvaMed’s annual MedTech Conference, Oct. 17-19

The Pharma Partners (TPP) Healthcare is a boutique advisory firm specializing in deal flows that connect healthcare and life sciences companies with Chinese investment, manufacturing and distribution groups. It will host a delegation of Chinese medical device, pharmaceutical and investment firms seeking strategic partnerships within innovative healthcare technologies.

Attendees at the Minneapolis conference will have the opportunity to understand the complexities of the Chinese healthcare market through a combination of company presentations, educational panels and 1-on-1 meetings. There is no additional fee to participate in the China Partnering Forum for full-access attendees of AdvaMed 2016.

TPP Healthcare delegations include the largest Chinese healthcare companies like SinoPharm, Tasly Holdings, Wuxi AppTec and Fosun Pharma, as well as large investment institutions including Legend Capital, Orbimed and YunFeng Capital.

For additional information or to learn how to participate in the China Partnering Forum, please contact Derrick Li at Derrick@ThePharmaPartners.com.

NMBio SUPPORTS WHITE HAT INVESTOR CONFERENCE

The West was won by innovators, investors, and prospectors who understood the value of discovery and accepted the challenge of investing in new frontiers. Today innovators across the Rocky Mountain Southwest Region are pioneering new ways to:

Prevent disease and improve health.
Provide more timely and accurate diagnostics
Personalize therapies so that the right patient gets the right treatments at the right time and has the best possible outcome
Engineer medical devices that improve the quality of life
Utilize the best of information technology to promote healthy behaviors, manage disease, and improve access to care.

Join representatives and members from NMBio and the biotech associations from Colorado, San Diego, Utah, Nevada and Arizona to meet a new generation of biotech and healthcare pioneers at White Hat Investors 2016, the biotech and healthcare investor conference that showcases the best of the Rocky Mountain & Southwest Region at the Phoenix Convention Center on September 21 & 22, 2016. Link to register: http://azbio.formstack.com/forms/azbio_white_hat_event_registration

FOLLOW JOHN CARROLL

John Carroll, the longtime editor of FierceBiotech started his own publication, Endpoints. It is a data-driven, analytical approach to biopharma news. He covers the most newsworthy issues of the day, supplemented by a front-page guide to what’s happening in biotech at any given moment. Check it out. (Here’s the sign-up page.)

Here’s a sample post: http://endpts.com/where-the-money-is-biotechs-megahubs-command-vcs-billions/?utm_medium=email

SAVE THE DATE

Your chance to socialize and share holiday greetings with NMBio’s board members, your life science colleagues and business professionals will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on December 8. While we’re scouting several locales for the event, you have time to nominate your favorite spot for food and atmosphere. We’re also seeking a few sponsors to help cover the association’s costs. If interested, please contact me asap. Thank you.