OBI & OTRADI December 2021 Newsletter

Seasons Greetings from OBI & OTRADI

All the best to you and yours this holiday season and in the new year!


Vir Biotechnology Tackles COVID-19

Big news in the treatment of COVID-19! Earlier this year, OBI client company Vir Biotechnology and partner GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced a joint collaboration to produce an investigational monoclonal antibody for the treatment of COVID-19. The treatment, called sotrovimab, is an FDA EUA-authorized monoclonal antibody which is administered by infusion in the early stages of a COVID-19 infection in eligible patients. Last month, they announced a $1 billion U.S. government contract to purchase sotrovimab, to be delivered this week. Vir Bio and GSK also have other governmental purchase agreements through the European Commission. Preclinical studies indicate that sotrovimab retains activity against the full combination of spike proteins on the recently discovered Omicron variant.

Press releases for these announcements can be found here and here.

Congratulations Vir Bio!


More Exciting OBI Client Company Wins

Rewire Neuro

Hemex Health

ProMedix, Inc.

Gamma Diagnostics, Inc.

SUTUREGARD Medical, Inc.

Congratulations on all of your achievements!


OBI’s Mentor of the Month:
Sheila Ramerman

Sheila Ramerman is one of OBI’s helpful volunteer mentors. With a background and education in Medical Laboratory and Hospital Administration, Sheila is a wealth of knowledge for our OBI mentees. Her primary areas of expertise are in FDA regulatory requirements and quality system basics. Sheila has extensive experience in designing and performing IVD clinical studies. She has worked in multiple start ups, and as a consultant to start ups. Sheila started in product development for an IVD company (point of care diagnostic) and worked into clinical studies, then in regulatory affairs, and into quality systems. Since then she has worked in regulatory/quality/clinical roles in other start ups. Her colleagues describe her as having a practical, pragmatic approach – what is needed now, and what’s needed in the future. They also appreciate her ability to understand the requirements and apply them and adapt as needed to the specific situation.

Thank you Sheila, for helping OBI mentees navigate the complex world of FDA regulation in the OBI Mentoring Program.


Hiring or Seeking?
Post it on OBI’s Job Board 


OBI has launched a Job Board where you can easily list your organization’s open positions. Click here to post your open positions. We’ll approve it on our end, and it will be posted for 30 days (and it’s renewable too).

And, if you’re a job seeker and would like to have your resume reviewed by recruiters in the community, please upload your resume to the “submit resume” section of our job board.


PCC Bioscience Technology Information Sessions

Spread the word to interested persons to attend a Portland Community College info session to learn about the bioscience industry, the BIT program, and the admissions process.

Please review the info slides on this page and RSVP for an upcoming session. (An RSVP is required in order to provide you with the information to join the online session in Zoom.)

Questions? Contact a program advisor.


Preventing the Next Public Health Emergency

COVID-19 is not the first pandemic caused by a novel strain of a virus affecting the upper respiratory tract. Over the past 100 years, pandemics have been caused by novel forms of influenza and other coronaviruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS) and Middle East Severe respiratory syndrome (MERS). Common complications of each of these infections include pneumonia which can lead to secondary bacterial infections requiring treatment with antibiotics. New evidence demonstrates the need to address microbial resistance to help prevent the next public health emergency. Read more about it here.
 

Life Sciences Trend Report

logo for CBRE Ajay Malhotra and Kristin Hammond

CBRE’s most recent U.S. Life Sciences Trend Report now available. A couple of key takeaways:

Download the full PDF report here, compliments of our friends at CBRE.


Pitch Oregon 2021

“In its 6th year, Pitch Oregon is TiE Oregon’s marquee event, attracting hundreds of entrepreneurs, mentors and investors each year. New this year, we are welcoming companies from around the Pacific Northwest to apply and applicants will compete for an equitable investment!

Applicants in the following categories will have the opportunity to receive an equitable investment. These applicants generate TTM of at least $250,000 or have raised external capital of at least $250,000:

Software / Tech Enabled:  Companies with services or products related to electronics, software, hardware, artificial intelligence, cloud services, etc.
Life Science:  Companies with services or products related to pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, biomedical, telehealth, etc.
Clean Technology:  Companies that aim to improve environmental sustainability with products or services related to renewable energy, recycling, green transportation, sustainable manufacturing, etc.”

OBI client company Rewire Neuro is a finalist in the Life Science category.

Additionally, Pitch Oregon has an Early-Stage category.

You won’t want to miss these fun events – pitches take place on February 11, 2022 from 1:00-4:00, and the winners will be announced at the TiE Oregon Annual Awards Dinner that evening.

More information and registration at TiE Oregon.


OHSU Innovates 2021 Impact Report

Oregon Health & Science University has just published their OHSU Innovates 2021 Impact Report. They highlight some of the innovations to come out of OHSU, showing resilience and strength during a particularly challenging time. Special shout-outs to OBI graduate Aronora, and current OBI client companies ProMedix, Inherent Targeting, and Vir Biotechnology, all OHSU spinouts featured in this comprehensive report.


Events

Join Us For These Upcoming OBI Events

Accelerate Biotech + Digital Health
Virtual Happy Hour

January 13, 2022
5:00-6:30 PM
Register now!

Lunch & Learn: Center for Experimental Therapeutics –
Translating Discoveries from Lab to Clinic

January 19, 2022
12:00-1:00 PM
Register now!

 

Other Great Community Events

OSU Advantage Accelerator Webinar:
Intellectual Property Essentials for Startups

December 16, 2021
12:00-1:00 PM
Register here

Zapproved Seminar: Turning Awareness
into Action with Dr. Dana Crawford

January 12, 2022
12:00-1:00 PM
Register here