OBI & OTRADI June 2019 Newsletter

Grant Awarded to OBI to Build Out Lab Space in Portland Innovation Quadrant

For years, one of the primary factors limiting Oregon bio companies’ growth has been the complete lack of available lab space in the Portland Metro area. OBI has been diligently working on solving this problem by collaborating with local real estate developers and by actively participating on the board of the Portland Innovation Quadrant.

We previously shared the very promising lab building developments coming soon to the central east side of Portland’s Innovation Quadrant, and now we are thrilled to announce that the OBI has received grant funding to build-out ~10,000 square feet of labs in the first building to be completed. This funding will allow us to deliver turn-key lab space to lab-based companies of up to 40 people. Please click this link for more info on our upcoming OBI Bio Bridge space.

Also, the Portland IQ and our new lab-based bio buildings have recently been featured as the cover story of the Portland Business Journal. Here is the full article. 

If you would like to learn more about our upcoming lab space available in the Portland IQ, email us ASAP at hellis@otradi.org. We are currently meeting with interested companies and anticipate space will fill up quickly. We are happy to discuss these developments and the great progress being made to develop a hub for bioscience within Portland’s Innovation Quadrant. Thank you all for being part of this vibrant and rapidly growing bio community!

OBI’s Newest Employee

The Oregon Bioscience Incubator (OBI) is proud to welcome our newest employee, Alexander Coombs, as Operations Assistant.

Mr. Coombs joined the OBI in the Spring of 2019 and will aid in implementing our entrepreneurial programs, as well as provide operational support for companies within the OBI. Alex will help drive OBI’s newest initiatives and our digital and marketing presence to grow Oregon’s bioscience and digital health startup ecosystem.

Mr. Coombs graduated from Appalachian State University, receiving a B.S. in Cell biology with a minor in Chemistry.

OBI Client Company Wins

New OBI Client Company Resource

OBI Client Companies now have access to MathWorks Accelerator and Incubator Program benefits which include:

Note: This is a resource for internal OBI Client Companies or OBI Alumni only. If you are an OBI Client or Alumni and would like to utilize this resource, email Heather Ellis at hellis@otradi.org for more information.

OBI BioMentor Highlight

OBI offers an extensive BioMentor program to provide pro bono advice and assistance to promising life science and digital health entrepreneurs across the state of Oregon. This month we are highlighting Ryan Dunlap, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operating Officer at MolecularMD.
As a BioMentor, Ryan can assist with issues around corporate and fiscal strategy development, business scale up, financial reporting, fundraising and financing preparation, budgeting, forecasting and financial modeling, investor relations, and risk management. He also has first-hand knowledge about mergers and acquisitions, business integration, decision support, deal structuring and other collaborative arrangements, out-licensing and in-licensing, business processes and internal controls, corporate governance and organizational leadership development/team building.

Also, as MolecularMD was recently acquired by ICON plc resulting in a successful shareholder exit, Ryan will be finishing up with business integration activities soon and will be available for more formal consulting and/or employment opportunities as needed. Ryan can be reached directly at ryan@dunlapadvisors.com.
Click here to learn more about our BioMentor program and to see our network of BioMentor contacts.

If you are an entrepreneur that would like to connect with our BioMentors, please fill out this form.

Join us for these upcoming OBI and OBI-Partner events:

Partner Event: Tonkon Torp is hosting a Tonkon Talk on How to Achieve “Second Date” Success on June 5th from 12-1pm. Register now. Free to attend.

Partner Event: NanoString GeoMx™ Digital Spatial Profiler Technology Day at OHSU Knight Cancer Institute on June 7th from 8:30am – 4pm. Register now.

Partner Event: OEN is hosting their signature OEN event, Angel Oregon. This year’s event, the Angel Food Conference, is on June 19th. Register now.

Partner Event: Techstars startup weekend is in Independance, Oregon June 21-23. Register now. $0-$20 to attend.

 

Partner Event: Cambia Grove is hosting an Interoperability Summit: Empowering Consumers with Data, in Seattle June 20-21. Register now. $30 to attend.

 

OBI Event: Join us for a Lunch & Learn on Commercializing using Healthcare Claims Data with Katie Vahle, Chief Commercial Officer at Carevoyance, on June 26th from 12-1pm. Register now. Free to attend.

Partner Event: Portland State University is hosting their Invent OR Collegiate Challenge Finals on June 28th from 9am – 5pm. Register now. Free to attend.