Big congratulations to OBI client company Rewire Neuro for winning Angel Oregon Tech 2021 and receiving a $125,000 equity investment from AOTech investors. Out of 90 companies who went through the program, nine were selected to pitch at the final AOTech at TechFestNW event on May 21, and Rewire Neuro was the judges’ top pick. Kudos!
Presented at the Angel Capital Association Summit Innovation Showcase, sponsored by the Oregon Bioscience Association.
CEO Connor Barth was awarded OHSU’s Early Career Innovator Award. The Early Career Innovator Award is presented to an OHSU employee such as a student, post-doctoral fellow, medical resident or someone else early in their professional career who possesses a passion for innovation and developing technologies to solve real-world problems. They work closely with the innovation ecosystems within and outside of OHSU to prepare their innovations for commercial success.
Selected to present a company presentation at the BIO Digital 2021 conference.
CryoDiscovery (TM): A Machine Learning Platform for Automated Cryo-electron Microscopy 2D Class Selection paper will be presented at the ACA (American Crystallographic Association) conference in Aug 2021.
Is now a member of the Nvidia Inception and Intel AI Builder program.
Recently signed a Master Service Agreement (MSA) with Agios.
Welcome New OBI Client Companies
Founder Thomas Buchanan, MD and his company, Buchanan Science, joined the OBI in May. Buchanan Science is developing a rapid COVID-19 immunity test using whole blood or saliva.
In June, we welcomed Oncol Drug Discovery Service, with founder Franklin Yu, PhD. Oncol DD Service is focused on CAR-T immunotherapy research and reagent development, CAR-T cell generation, and T cell activation and proliferation assays for IO drug discovery, among other things.
Mentor of the Month: Keith Daellenbach
Keith Daellenbach is one of our current OBI mentors. He has a BSME from Oregon State University and a MSME from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Keith’s experience with startups includes working with startups as part of Principles of Entrepreneurship course while in graduate school, working at the startup Ora Innovations, Inc. developing a high speed dental drill as a Product Development Engineer, serving on the BioPro Workforce Training Steering Committee with Oregon Bioscience Association to create a workforce training program, and serving as an Advisor with the OBI/OTRADI.
Keith is enjoying monthly meetings with his mentees to help them reach their goals, and plans to participate once again in next January’s mentoring cohort. Thank you, Keith, for all you do!
Funds from this investment will be used to further develop Sparrow’s proprietary HSD-1 inhibitor, SPI-62, for treatment of disorders of corticosteroid excess.
Congratulations to Sparrow Pharmaceuticals!
FDA Office of Minority Health and Health Equity
The FDA’s Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE) was established in 2010 with the mission of protecting and promoting the health of racial and ethnic minority and other diverse populations through research, outreach, and communication of science that addresses health disparities. The office’s dedicated staff in the Research and Collaboration and Outreach and Communication programs work with a wide variety of public and private stakeholders to address the needs and concerns of diverse communities through developing tailored educational, outreach, training, and scientific initiatives that advance health equity. Please read Richardae Araojo, Pharm.D., MS, the Associate Commissioner for Minority Health Director, Office of Minority Health and Health Equity, U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s guest post on The Catalyst.
Events
Join Us For These Upcoming OBI Events
Virtual Lunch & Learn: Accelerating Global Pharma Licensing & Financing June 22, 2021 12:00-1:00 PM Register here
Accelerate Biotech + Digital Health Virtual Happy Hour July 8, 2021 5:00-6:30 PM Save the date
Virtual Lunch & Learn: Biotech and Biomed Patents by USPTO July 14, 2021 12:00-1:30 PM Save the date
We have teamed with one of the leading foot and ankle surgeons in the world, Dr Mark Myerson. He has now enrolled 8 colleagues across the country and is initiating a clinical trial of HEMIGARD in ankle replacement/fusion surgery.
We just attended the Chicago Lower Extremity Surgery Symposium in April as invited speakers, and we had the HEMIGARD successfully demo’ed on live video by the Symposium Chairman, Dr. Edgardo Rodriguez-Collazo.
We had our first Consano Speaker Series virtual event featuring one of our crowdfunding researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on 4/15 utilizing local tech platform Brandlive. It was a great success, raising over $10K for the project which is working to increase health equity for cancer patients by connecting them directly with community resources. Watch recording of the 45 minute event here.
OBI graduate AbSciannounces completion of $125 million crossover financing to advance AI-powered synthetic biology drug creation platform. Read press release.
Mentor of the Month: Peter Schuerman
Peter Schuerman is CEO of Open Clearing, LLC and is one of our valuable mentors. With a PhD in Genetics, and experience in ideation, business strategy, and intentional networking, Peter works with start ups in the role of coach, mentor, and advisor. He focuses on customer discovery, team formation and dynamics, business model innovation, and strategy; he enjoys creating environments and partnerships that foster success.
Each month, Peter’s mentee through the OBI Mentoring Program has glowing comments about working with Peter and his help in setting goals and concrete steps, brainstorming, and pivoting when needed.
Thank you Peter, for all you do!
SBIR/STTR Workshop May 25
The Federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are a critical source of non-dilutive financing for early-stage companies. On May 25 from 10-11:30 a.m., NIH National Cancer Institute SBIR program directors Monique Pond and Jonathan Franca-Koh will deliver a virtual seminar covering eligibility, resources, and investor initiatives. Pre-selected companies will also be speaking with the program directors afterward for 1:1 meetings.
Portland State Business Accelerator is Hiring a Director
The Director will oversee and execute a suite of support services for resident companies, including workshops, boot camps, mentors, software tools and programs, and shared resource management. The Director will create and execute the operational plans for the PSBA and contribute to strategic direction for Propel PSU within Research and Graduate Studies, and be accountable for achievement of short-term operational objectives at the PSBA. The tasks for the position require interpretation and application of the PSBA’s strategy to set objectives, and ultimately impacts the achievement of results within the PSBA and Propel PSU. The position includes coordination of the PSBA’s wet-lab facilities, managing the PSBA budget, and seeking additional resources for the PBSA through sponsorships and grant applications.
For more information and how to apply, see the full job posting.
Americans are Relying on Vaccines to get through the Pandemic
Data shows Americans are relying on vaccines to get us through the pandemic. As we continue to combat the pandemic, America’s biopharmaceutical industry is working around the clock in unprecedented partnerships to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines, reaching billions of doses by the end of the year. Vaccination rates and willingness to receive a vaccine among Americans are also at a high, where half of all adults in the U.S. have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
New Pre-Seed Venture Fund: Startup Haven
Silicon Florist recently blogged about a new venture fund: the Startup Haven Ventures Fund is a new pre-seed venture fund, investing in North-America-based pre-seed companies with capital-efficient business models and early signs of commercialization. The Startup Haven Ventures Fund also invests in all of the companies who participate in the Startup Haven Accelerator.
Read more about this new fund and how you might get involved here.
Events
OBI EVENTS
SBIR/STTR Workshop May 25, 2021 10:00-11:30 AM Register here
Virtual Lunch & Learn: Employees Returning to the Workplace June 9, 2021 12:00-1:00 PM Save the date
Caregiven App Jam Focus Group June 10, 2021 5:30-6:30 PM Register in advance
MORE COMMUNITY & PARTNER EVENTS
VertueLab: The ABCs of SBIR/STTR Funding May 13, 2021 12:00-1:00 PM Register now
TAO: Oregon STEM Week May 14, 2021 9:00-10:00 AM Register here
In April, Thaena, Inc. joined the OBI as its newest client company. Thaena’s four-person team describes their company’s mission and vision:
“Thaena Inc. is a women-led early stage biotech company. Our mission is to reduce suffering by restoring balance to the microbial ecosystems.
“At Thaena we achieve our mission through research and development of all natural pre and postbiotic products derived containing hundreds of compounds and metabolites that work together to balance and restore native microbial ecosystems. Our main focus is to produce and manufacture effective, safe, and reproducible (cGMP) products that are scientifically proven to support health via the microbial ecosystems of the gut and/or skin.
“Thaena’s vision is to be the leading and trusted manufacturer and supplier of naturally derived pre and postbiotic active ingredient products. We are working towards this goal with a data-driven approach researching the molecules (postbiotics) that are found in healthy human stool. This work is based on the pioneering work of our founders in Fecal Microbiota Transplant as well as an experienced research team. We are pioneers in advancing our understanding of microbiome science by providing a research and development platform that will allow for exploration and discovery of what it means to be ‘healthy’ from the lens of the microbes.”
We are thrilled to have Thaena onboard!
Thank you, Autodesk!
Thank you, Autodesk and Greg Fallon, VP of Platforms and Technology at Autodesk’s Portland site, for becoming an OBI corporate partner and for your support of OBI’s mission to provide resources for health innovation companies that impact human well-being and create jobs for Oregon!
Upward Growth
Two of OBI’s client companies are moving on up! Inherent Targeting is moving from an OBI membership to a spot in our co-working space in Suite 200, and Izon is moving from the co-working space to private office suite and lab space, also in Suite 200. We wish them much success on their continued growth and expansion within the OBI.
OBI Client Company Wins
Rewire Neuro‘s Pipsqueak AI version 5.5.0 has been released. It features new detection models, smoother model customization, and better co-localization analysis.
Caregiven crossed another threshold earlier this month when Rogue Venture Partners finalized their pre-seed investment becoming a true partner to our vision and catalyst for the next stage of our company’s growth. Our app is set to launch on April 15.
In a recent clinical study conducted in Brazil and published in the Malaria Journal, Gazelle was shown to outperform current RDTs (Rapid Diagnostic Tests) in detection of P. vivax malaria. P. vivax, the most widely dispersed species of malaria, tends to be more difficult to detect with RDTs due to typically low levels of parasitemia. We are excited to share the results of the study with you in our press release.
We also won a Phase I grant to add multispectral imaging to our Hb Variant test to lower the limit of detection and allow the test to screen newborns for sickle cell and other hemoglobin variants.
Join the OBI Mentoring Program: Applications Open Through April 30
Mentor and mentee applications are open until April 30 for this structured, 6-month mentoring program, so now is your opportunity to get involved!
Would You Like to be a Mentor? If you have experience working with startups in the bioscience or digital health industry, consider applying to become a mentor. Benefits of mentoring include:
Free mentor training
Exclusive access to handpicked startups
Exclusive network of mentors
Ability to earn mentor certification
Give back to your community
OBI highlights its mentors in the monthly newsletter
Growing Your Business? Become a Mentee! We are looking for entrepreneurs who are already in business but would like guidance, accountability, and support from a mentor to help set and reach business goals. Benefits and time commitments for mentees include:
Mentoring helps you grow your business! A recent survey from Kabbage found that 92% of businesses who have a mentor say mentoring has directly impacted their business growth and survival
Mentee meets with mentor 2 hours a month for 6 months
Mentee checks in with OBI once per month and completes a survey at the end of the program
Apply by April 30 For more important dates, details, and link to the applications: www.otradi.org/mentoring
Mentor of the Month Douglas Kawahara
Douglas Kawahara is the President & CEO of Elex Biotech and has over 25 years of biotechnology industry experience in business development, M&A, in-/out-licensing, technology assessment, strategic marketing/market analysis, patent portfolio management, and R&D management. His work has spanned the spectrum of the life sciences industry: multiple therapeutic areas, discovery to late-stage development, a range of therapeutic classes, therapeutic and preventive vaccines, platform technologies, diagnostics, and research products. In addition, he has an extensive international network in pharma, biotech, and venture capital communities.
Dr. Kawahara holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, San Diego, an MBA in finance from California State University, Long Beach, and a Ph.D. in microbiology (immunology) from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
His mentee is very pleased with the mentoring and notes that Dr. Kawahara’s experience in negotiating licensing agreements has been extremely helpful.
OHSU Invent-a-thon Post-Hack
Wednesday, April 21 from 3:00-6:00 PM Pacific
Come cheer on the most promising teams from October’s Invent-a-thon, addressing topics ranging from Alzheimer’s to asthma, aging-in-place to efficient trial recruiting. They’ll pitch live to compete for a share of $40k in prizes plus in-kind investor support. Get inspired by brief keynotes from OBI client company Hemex Health, as well as Kiddo and Xploro. Then enjoy some genuinely fun virtual networking and poster session with healthcare entrepreneurs, investors, and researchers while the judges deliberate.
This is an exciting opportunity to connect and catch a glimpse of the future of digital health and med-tech first-hand. Free, learn more and register at inventathon.org
SBIR/STTR Workshop May 25
The Federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are a critical source of non-dilutive financing for early-stage companies. On May 25, NIH National Cancer Institute SBIR program directors Monique Pond and Jonathan Franca-Koh will cover eligibility, resources, investor initiatives and meet 1:1 with pre-selected companies.
As we mark a full year since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, it’s impossible to overstate the significance of collaborations. The coronavirus outbreak has brought new attention to the importance of these innovative cross-stakeholder partnerships. A new report from PhRMA looks broadly at the collaborative ecosystem and illustrates biopharmaceutical industry’s long history and vast experience with a diverse breadth of collaborative efforts.
Congratulations to Aronora on their Graduation from OBI!
Aronora is graduating from the OBI March 31, 2021, after joining the incubator in March 2013. Oregon‐based Aronora is a privately held, early clinical stage translational biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, and commercial development of proprietary biological therapeutics.
Upon graduation, Aronora will relocate their lab and office from OTRADI’s incubator in the Willamette Wharf building, to a brand-new high rise downtown where they will have double the office space, a private wet lab, and conference room. In February, 2021, the Portland Business Journal listed Aronora 31st on their list of the top 37 largest bioscience and health technology companies in Oregon and SW Washington.
Dr. Craig Yoshioka is joining HTI as Senior Advisor for Cryo-EM. Read their press release for background information on Dr. Yoshioka and HTI’s innovative Cryo-EM technology.
HTI’s CryoDiscovery™: A Machine Learning Platform for Automated cryo-EM Class Selection poster was selected by One World Cryo-EM conference on March 10-11.
Promedix had abstracts from their clinical trials selected from a national pool of applications for presentation at both the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine and Pediatric Academic Society national meetings this spring.
They were awarded a fast-track SBIR grant from the NCI at the NIH worth a total of $2.25M to complete lead selection and preclinical testing for investigational new drug approval of their nerve-specific fluorescence guided surgery contrast agents.
They were awarded a SBIR matching grant from Business Oregon worth $82k to cover IP and business development expenses.
Caregiven is participating in Australian CareFactor Pitch Day 2021 on March 22, part of the Information Technology Across Care virtual summit.
Hemex reports: “On Saturday, Feb 27, Ruaraka Neema hospital in Nairobi held a public screening event for families to bring their kids in for sickle cell screening using Gazelle. The team was able to run most of the samples they collected on one day, the rest on the following Monday morning. Running almost 50 samples in one day is what Gazelle was designed to do, and we’re so proud to see this helping the kids who need it most now.”
The Portland Business Journal listed the largest bioscience and health tech companies in Oregon and SW Washington. Five OBI client companies made the list:
Shannon Heizenrader joined the OBI Mentoring Program as a Mentor in January, 2021. Shannon has a BA in Communications from Pacific Lutheran University and an MBA from Concordia University in Portland. She brings her experience in project management, as well as marketing and communications, to the mentoring relationship. Her consistency, reliability, patience, and love of learning has been a positive experience for her Mentee, who says her depth of knowledge is amazing and really helpful.
Thank you, Shannon, for being a part of the OBI Mentoring Program!
OTBC Virtual Incubation Program
Date change! OTBC‘s Virtual Incubation Program (VIP) for rural-Oregon entrepreneurs starts its next 8 week series on April 1, 2021. VIP is for early-stage entrepreneurs who need information and advice on how to test, develop and fund their idea so they can take it from concept to the launch of a successful company. The VIP is entrepreneur education and group mentoring in an 8-week program that walks you through the process of testing your idea, starting and funding a company. Learn more about VIP and register here.
OHSU Invent-a-thon Post-Hack
Come see the future of digital health and med-tech first hand on Wednesday, April 21 from 3-6 PM. Watch the top teams from the last fall’s OHSU Invent-a-thon make their pitch for $40,000 in funding and in-kind investor support. Network with other healthcare innovation enthusiasts in the field while the judges deliberate, and celebrate the winners. Attendance is free and open to all. Register now!
Announcing Angel Oregon Tech at TechFestNW
Angel Oregon Tech offers an integrated program of education on growing and financing your tech startup, peer-to-peer and investor networking, as well as the opportunity to pitch for a direct angel investment of ~$125K.
Virtual workshops will run on Thursday mornings from 9-11 AM from March 11 through April 1, 2021. Each session will feature active local investors, entrepreneurs and experts, and offer plenty of time for Q&A and community-building.
Investment-ready startups can also pitch for investment from a pool of PNW angel investors. Ten finalists will be selected to pitch at the AOTech Finale at TechFestNW on May 21, 2021.
The challenges of 2020 have shown more than ever how important science communication is to the functioning of society. But, beyond that, it has highlighted our resilience as communicators, and the passion that we share to educate, inform, and entertain. March 24-26, 2021, connect with your community of professional science communicators at SCIENCE TALK ’21 over three days of workshops, panel discussions, presentations, and networking opportunities. Learn, explore, and share with other Science Talkers!
Stanford Drug Discovery Symposium 2021
Stanford Drug Discovery Symposium, founded by Dr. Sanjay Malhotra from OHSU Center for Experimental Therapeutics, has become one of the highest attended events at Stanford. Every year the SDDS has the participation of leaders in the field of biomedical sciences. The speakers in this year’s symposium will include two Nobel Laureates, scientific leaders from NIH, FDA, big pharmaceutical industries and Venture Capitalist groups.
Register here for the April 19-20, 2021 symposium, free of charge.
Biopharmaceutical Industry Leads the Way in Developing Vaccines and Treatments for COVID-19
Strong and reliable IP protections – including patents – have supported America’s robust innovation ecosystem by promoting discovery, development, affordability and access to new treatments and cures. As our industry continues to expand vaccine production and deliver medicines to patients in need, reliable IP protections have been critical in supporting multiple research and development and manufacturing ramp-ups on COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. Read why intellectual property protections are vital to research.
Events
OBI EVENTS
Virtual Lunch & Learn: Licensing and Technology Transfer March 18, 2021 12:00-1:00 PM Registration Link
Virtual Lunch & Learn: From the Lab to the State House Building Trust in Bioscience March 30, 2021 12:00-1:00 PM Register Here
Accelerate Biotech + Digital Health PDX Virtual Happy Hour April 1, 2021 5:00-6:30 PM Registration Page
MORE COMMUNITY & PARTNER EVENTS
TiE Oregon: Entrepreneurship and the Economy March 16, 2021 12:00-1:00 PM Register Here
TAO Coffee & Connection: Share Your Skills With Students March 18, 2021 11:00 AM-12:00 PM Registration Page
PSBA Lunch & Learn: Early Stage Marketing March 24, 2021 12:00-1:00 PM Registration Link
OBI graduate company AbSci has announced an exciting partnership with Xyphos, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Astellas. This collaboration will utilize AbSci’s trademarked Protein Printing technology in the development of Xyphos Biosciences’ cell line, essential for Xyphos’ immuno-oncology program. AbSci specializes in next generation biologics built on complex protein scaffolds. For more information, see full press release here.
BIP Corp Program Begins March 5
Moving your idea or technology beyond the lab or clinic can be challenging. BIP Corp is a five-week experiential course designed to help you and your team assess and validate your biomedical technology. You’ll gain the basic knowledge and tools to initiate innovation and commercialization of your technology, and a competitive business case to secure funding, partnerships and further research opportunities.
Pete Murray began mentoring in the OBI Mentoring Program last month. He and his mentee have already begun making progress in the mentee’s company goals. Pete has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from University of California Santa Barbara, and MS in Engineering from Boston University, and an MBA also from Boston University. Pete founded Skender Manufacturing in 2018 as President and COO. He is part of Murray Consultants, advising several early stage/start up companies in the Portland area and Western US. Pete’s focus is in commercialization and scaling of products/services/organizational development.
Thank you, Pete, for all you do for our community!
New Data Show Retail Medicine Prices Fell in 2019
In 2019, retail prescription medicine prices declined by 0.4%, on average, according to National Health Expenditures (NHE) data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published recently in Health Affairs. While retail prescription medicine spending grew 5.7% that same year, this increase was due to more patients getting the medicines they need, not higher prices. More information here.
Oregon Bio Professional Development
Did you know that Oregon Bioscience Association has several BioPro professional development courses? The Project Management: Foundations and Best Practices online course introduces students to the foundations of successful project management, especially in a technology environment. Students will learn key project management concepts, then immediately apply them in a hands-on team simulation. This course approaches project management from the standpoint of managing a single, stand-alone project that is small to medium in size. It takes students through the project life cycle in the same sequence they would face when managing a real project in the workplace.
Upcoming training dates are February 15, 16, 22, and 23 – four half-days – from 8:00 AM-12:30 PM each day. For more details and registration, as well as information about their other BioPro offerings, see their course page.
OTBC Virtual Incubation Program
OTBC‘s Virtual Incubation Program (VIP) for rural-Oregon entrepreneurs starts its next 8 week series in February. VIP is for early-stage entrepreneurs who need information and advice on how to test, develop and fund their idea so they can take it from concept to the launch of a successful company. The VIP is entrepreneur education and group mentoring in an 8-week program that walks you through the process of testing your idea, starting and funding a company. Learn more about VIP and register here.
Ensuring Vaccine Safety and Distribution
Less than a year after identifying the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, biopharmaceutical researchers have made tremendous progress toward developing safe and effective vaccines. As we enter the next phase of our fight against COVID-19, ensuring sufficient manufacturing capacity, maintaining our commitment to safety, and supporting the effective, equitable distribution of treatments and vaccines is paramount to continued success. Link to full article.
Zoom in on STEM Education Happy Hour
Support Saturday Academy and have some fun at their annual fundraiser on March 11, 2021, where you’ll Zoom in on STEM education. Use a “foldoscope” with samples, and try desserts and a signature Discovery cocktail during this exciting event.
Lonza Pharma & Biotech helps support early development services to prepare a successful transition to the clinic. They have upcoming virtual roadshow dates where you can schedule a tailored discussion with their experts, to help provide benefit to your company’s early stage biologic therapies. See their flyer with additional information and to schedule a time to discuss your project in more detail. Dedicated dates and times are February 8–12 and March 15–19, 2021, from 8:00 AM–1:00 PM PST.
WSU MAP Opportunity
Have you heard about the Business Growth Mentor & Analysis Program (MAP) at WSU Vancouver? Seniors who are majoring in business administration can provide no-cost student consulting for your small business or nonprofit organization. Whether you are looking for suggestions on how to address core challenges or are looking to grow and take your business to the next level, consider letting a MAP team help your organization.
Participating MAP clients receive approximately 500 hours of pro bono student consulting conducted under mentor and faculty supervision. Each MAP team works through proven process that helps them develop detailed recommendations and an implementation plan to help their client address a variety of challenges and goals. Each MAP project can be completed remotely and the time commitment for business owners is around 15 total hours over the course of a 16-week semester.
Have questions? Interested in becoming a MAP client this Fall? Contact Nolan Yaws-Gonzalez at nolan.yaws@wsu.edu.
ScienceTalk ’21 Conference March 24-26, 2021
The challenges of 2020 have shown more than ever how important science communication is to the functioning of society. But, beyond that, it has highlighted our resilience as communicators, and the passion that we share to educate, inform, and entertain. Connect with your community of professional science communicators at SCIENCE TALK ’21 over three days of workshops, panel discussions, presentations, and networking opportunities. Learn, explore, and share with other Science Talkers!
Stanford Drug Discovery Symposium 2021
Dr. Sanjay Malhotra recently joined OHSU and started the Center for Experimental Therapeutics in the summer of 2020. Prior to that, he was at Stanford University and started the Stanford Drug Discovery Symposium, which has become one of the highest attended events at Stanford. Every year the SDDS has the participation of leaders in the field of biomedical sciences. The speakers in this year’s symposium will include two Nobel Laureates, scientific leaders from NIH, FDA, big pharmaceutical industries and Venture Capitalist groups.
Usually this event has a registration fee, but considering its educational importance and networking benefit, the organizers decided to make registration for SDDS 2021 free of charge. Their hope is that people interested in life sciences (business, academia, research, policy, philanthropy, etc.) from across the world will be able to participate and benefit from this event. As such, Dr. Malhotra invites all members and affiliates of the Oregon Bioscience Incubator and OTRADI to attend this event and have an opportunity to network with the wider community. Register here for the April 19-20 symposium.
PCC Bioscience Program Internships
Students in the Bioscience Technology program at Portland Community College are working towards completion of the bioscience technician certificate or degree and are seeking internship opportunities through the college’s cooperative education program. This is a credit‐for‐work experience program in which PCC students earn credit while gaining work experience and/or training, and laboratories and employers gain motivated, skilled workers for part‐time or short term positions. Many find that hiring an intern through the cooperative education program is an excellent way to get acquainted with potential employees.
For more information, visit pcc.edu/bio or contact Bioscience Technology faculty chair Josh Cary at josh.cary@pcc.edu.
Thank you to PhRMA for sponsoring OBI’s new biosafety cabinet!
Events
OBI EVENTS
Accelerate Biotech + Digital Health Virtual Happy Hour March 4, 2021 5:00-6:30 PM Register Here
Virtual Lunch & Learn: Licensing Deals March 18, 2021 12:00-1:00 PM Registration Open Soon
COMMUNITY & PARTNER EVENTS
University Lab Partners Presents: How to Write a Great NSF Project Pitch February 16, 2021 1:00-2:00 PM Register Here
Cambia and PDXWIT: Black Futures & Black History Month Happy Hour February 17, 2021 5:00-6:15 PM More Info
TAO Leader Launchpad: Revamp, Reignite, ReLaunch 2021 February 18, 2021 4:00-5:30 PM Details Here
TAO: Support Equitable Funding with Black Founders Matter February 19, 2021 9:00-10:00 AM Register Here
Thank you for your support of OBI & OTRADI over the past year!
OBI/OTRADI Receives High Impact Opportunity Program Award
The Oregon Innovation Council and Business Oregon have approved OBI/OTRADI for a High Impact Opportunity Project Award to support bioscience companies’ ability to stay and grow in Oregon by adding 6 wet labs and offices to our incubator facilities. Space availability inquiries can be made here.
2020 OBI Client Company Wins
Aronora’s new antithrombotic, AB002 is featured in this Blood Podcast from the American Society of Hematology.
Aronora wraps up their cardiovascular drug Phase 2 clinical trial and prepares for Phase 3 – and graduation from OBI into their new space! Portland Business Journal story.
Bates Medical Systems participated in the Oregon Bioscience Association Digital Conference in November.
Caregiven‘s Candice Smith shared her story to over 400 live participants at the Global Insurance Accelerator’s Startup Showcase, which also resulted in several introductions to individuals and funds. You can watch the 6-minute pitch here.
Rebecca Campbell joined as Caregiven’s Co-Founder & CTO in March.
Caregiven was profiled by HITLab and their Women’s Health Tech Initiative.
Caregiven‘s mobile app was “born!” The alpha version of the Caregiven mobile app is now live on over a dozen devices. The alpha testers are using the app to help care for their loved ones, while also giving valuable feedback and ideas for new features.
Caregiven filmed two promotional videos, including a 90-second company overview and a 60-second version tailored for insurance carriers, financial services, and health & benefits plan provider audiences for the InsurTech Connect (ITC) Conference September 21-23, 2020.
Caregiven has been selected to participate in CareFactor for the program that commenced in November and concludes in March, 2021. CareFactor was developed by its partners to rapidly scale innovations that improve the aged-care sector nationally (Australia) and globally.
Candice Smith of Caregiven was featured in the newest edition of Techlandia, as The Faces of Healthcare Innovation. You can read her story on page 44.
Candice Smith, Caregiven Founder & CEO, spoke at the DIGIN Conference 2020 on the topic of “Evolving the Home Health and Insurance Paradigm in a Post-Pandemic World.” She also spoke on a panel at the Society of Actuaries Eldertech Summit on the topic of Care for the Caregiver and was also one of five companies who pitched at the Changing Tides Wave Tour.
Caregiven has raised $125,000 in funding so far. They have a signed term-sheet for the remainder of their pre-seed capital raise with the strategic partner they’d been searching for (and couldn’t be more excited to collaborate with).
Over 70 users are on the Caregiven platform participating in their private beta offering invaluable suggestions and refinements; they will begin pushing out opportunities for public beta participation after the holidays.
Consano held an event called Consano PDX at the Portland Art Museum, to honor and raise funds for their 2020 Ripples of Hope Winner, Dr. Alexandra Butler.
Floragenex graduated from the OBI in 2020, after joining the incubator in July, 2013. Oregon‐based Floragenex is a privately-owned biotechnology company providing innovative solutions for genomic analysis in the life sciences.
The Portland Business Journal listed Floragenex in its list of the top 41 largest bioscience and health technology companies in Oregon and SW Washington.
Dr. David Farrell from Gamma Therapeutics gave a TEDxMcMinnville talk in January, titled “Can We More Accurately Predict Heart Attacks and Strokes? The Clot Thickens….” Read full OHSU article here.
HTI received the Oregon Business Enhanced Innovation and SBIR Phase1 Matching grant awards.
HTI presented poster sessions on CryoDiscovery at the ACA 2020 (American Crystallographic Association) and M&M 2020 (Microscopy & Microanalysis) events.
HTI announced that Dr. Justin M. Kollman, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry at the University of Washington, is joining HTI to Chair its Science and Technology Advisory Board. More information on the announcement can be found here.
HTI is listed on @Science Exchange to provide Cryo EM services and automating data processing to help Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology companies accelerate their structure-based drug discovery workflows to reduce time to market.
HTI signed the Master Services Agreement (MSA) with a leading drug development vendor for Cryo EM workflow processing.
In spite of the challenges presented by COVID-19, Hemex Health had a very productive year.
Hemex Health‘s Gazelle platform was formally launched in June, and they are selling the Hb Variant test (for sickle cell and other hemoglobin variants) in India, Ghana, Kenya, and Haiti. They are receiving good press on the product. The Devex Media Platform listed Hemex/Gazelle as one of the top non-COVID global health stories for 2020. Link to full article here. A study comparing Gazelle Malaria to other malaria testing protocols was published in the Lancet’s EClinicalMedicine. Gazelle was found to be a valuable diagnostic tool, and a fast and cost-effective way to test for malaria in field settings. Read the full text article here.
Hemex Health participated in three virtual global health conferences. Hemex was one of 53 companies chosen to participate at the TechEmerge Conference in East Africa. They presented 5 posters at the American Society for Tropical Medicine, and their research partners at Case Western Reserve University delivered a presentation to the American Society of Hematology on new Gazelle technology for diagnosing anemia.
Hemex Health won several grants/prizes, including a Phase I SBIR for anemia research, a Phase II SBIR to further develop their malaria diagnostic, and a Business Oregon grant for COVID testing. Hemex and partners won third prize in the NIH Technology Accelerator Challenge for non-invasive finger cuff technology to detect malaria, anemia, and sickle cell disease.
Inherent Targeting won the Judges’ and People’s Choice awards at the early-stage startup pitch contest at Oregon Bio Digital Conference.
Inherent Targeting presented at the McKinsey & Co. Early Stage Investor Conference on Monday, December 7th.
Inherent Targeting received a Business Oregon Matching SBIR Grant award in December for IP protection and further testing and commercialization of nerve-specific fluorescent compound to avoid nerve damage in surgeries.
Madorra‘s first patent was issued. This is the original patent they submitted while in the Stanford Biodesign Fellowship program. It has broad coverage of the use of ultrasound for treating vaginal dryness.
Madorra was featured in the May issue of Oprah Magazine, as a rising star in women’s health technology, improving the quality of women’s lives after breast cancer or menopause with their non-hormonal medical device to reduce vaginal dryness.
The NIH sponsored Madorra’s pitch at the ACA innovation showcase where they won the Best Pitch and Most Venture Taps awards.
Madorra was mentioned in Forbes article about one of their favorite menopause telehealth companies, Gennev.
Madorra presented an oral abstract presentation at the North American Menopause Society Annual Meeting. The topic of their research is “A novel, non-hormonal, non-invasive ultrasound device is effective in treating the symptoms of vaginal dryness associated with genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM).” Madorra’s abstract was also published in the December 2020 issue of Menopause.
Nelson Bio Lab is providing a wide selection of SARS-CoV-2 recombinant antigens and serological antibodies to support the IVD test manufacturers in COVID-19 related assay development.
OmnEcoil Instruments recently received an NSF SBIR Phase 1 grant that will enable the company to begin a Proof-of-Concept Clinical Trial at OHSU for OmnEcoil’s MRI imaging/biopsy device.
ProMedix, Inc. was awarded a 2021 Pediatric Medical Device Funding Grant from the Consortium for Technology and Innovation in Pediatrics, an FDA pediatric device consortium. This funding will further develop regulatory strategy and a recently launched clinical trial at OHSU in the intensive care unit.
ProMedix, Inc. has an ongoing clinical trial in the ICU and launching a trial in the ED to study their technology’s ability to both improve detection and monitoring of sepsis.
ProMedix, Inc. had a manuscript accepted in a peer-reviewed journal.
Refeyn closed Series A financing, which will support the introduction of Refeyn’s next-generation instruments, building on the rapid market adoption of the OneMP Mass Photometer by both academic and industrial institutions.
Rewire Neuro was recently featured in a Portland Business Journal article about how artificial intelligence is changing the way humans and machines work.
Activation of Cytosolic Calpain, Not Caspase, Is Underlying Mechanism for Hypoxic RGC Damage in Human Retinal Explants. Kobayashi-Otsugu M, Orihara K, Nakajima E, Shearer TR, Azuma M. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2020 Nov 2;61(13):13. doi: 10.1167/iovs.61.13.13. PMID: 33156340
Segmenting OCT for detecting drug efficacy in CRAO. Shearer TR, Hwang TS, Steinkamp PN, Azuma M. PLoS One. 2020 Dec 11;15(12):e0242920. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242920. eCollection 2020. PMID: 33306701
Sirona Dx can accelerate your COVID-19 studies. Their expert team offers the industry’s most comprehensive immune profiling of blood samples using state-of-the-art CyTOF technology.
Sonivate Medical, Inc. is part of a group of institutions (including Duke University Medical School) which submitted a White Paper on 3/21 regarding detection of COVID-19 using artificial intelligence (AI) and Sonivate’s SonicEye Dual-Array Ultrasound System.
StoneStable, Inc. received a $100K grant from the Portland State University Venture Capital Fund, and its first institutional dilutive funding from Elevate Capital.
SUTUREGARD published a journal article in JAAD Case Reports about their HEMIGARD device for wound closure. They also recently received orders for devices from Kenya, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, and Zimbabwe after participating in Arab Health in Dubai.
SUTUREGARD and their product HEMIGARD was featured in a video on Dermatologist Dr. Dustin Portel’s Tik Tok page. The video received over 10,000 views in the first hour it was posted.
SUTUREGARD signed a distribution agreement with Federated Healthcare Supply.
SUTUREGARD sales have returned to pre-COVID19 levels.
SUTUREGARD‘s multispecialty use has expanded to include podiatry and emergency medicine.
SUTUREGARD has its highest revenue month achieved in October 2020, extending their runway.
SUTUREGARD completed Clinical Evaluation Reports for CE mark submission, applications for SUTUREGARD ISR and HEMIGARD devices will be filed this month to Notified Body in Germany for CE mark approval.
SUTUREGARD has official approval as vendor for in hospital sales at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida – national leader in melanoma treatment and research.
SUTUREGARD has expanded clinical use by podiatry, dermatology, surgical oncology, cardiovascular surgery.
Veana Therapeutics and University of Washington Medicine are conducting a phase 1 clinical trial of a new oral therapy for advanced HER2 positive breast cancer patients. See press release for all the details.
Dr. Emmanuel Akporiaye of Veana Therapeutics was featured in the newest edition of Techlandia, as The Faces of Healthcare Innovation. You can read his story on page 45.
Veana Therapeutics, Inc. Founder and CEO, Emmanuel Akporiaye, Ph.D won the Judges’ Award at the Oregon Bio Digital 2020 Conference held from November 17 -19.
Vir Biotechnology announced that “. . . laboratory testing showed two of its antibody drugs appeared to neutralize the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 and that it would pursue testing them in people.” Read full STAT article here.
Vir Biotechnology announced a collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline for research and development of coronavirus solutions. GSK’s investment and genomics expertise, combined with Vir Bio’s proprietary technology, will work to develop therapies and prevention for coronaviruses. Read their full press release.
Vir Biotechnology announced the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of VIR-3434, an investigational monoclonal antibody that neutralizes hepatitis B virus (HBV) and has been engineered to potentially also act as a therapeutic vaccine. They have also finalized a process development and manufacturing agreement with Biogen Inc. Under the agreement Biogen will perform process development activities and specified manufacturing and process transfer services to enable commercial supply of Vir’s SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies for potential COVID-19 treatment.
Vir Biotechnology is one of the ARCH Venture Partners companies fighting COVID-19. See ARCH’s news about two new venture funds with $1.46 billion in funding, to assist in these efforts. Vir is focused on combining immunologic insights with cutting-edge technologies to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases.
Vir Biotechnology announced the presentation of preclinical and Phase 1 data demonstrating the broad neutralizing ability, high-level effector function, extended half-life and tolerability of VIR-2482 in the prevention of influenza A. Read full press release here.
Vir Biotechnology announced the clinical trial for the first product using the HCMV vector platform originally conceived and developed at OHSU in Portland, Oregon. This vaccine is an investigational HIV T-cell vaccine with the potential to fight against HIV and other serious diseases. See press release for all the exciting details.
Vir Biotechnology’s CEO George Scangos, Ph.D will virtually present at the J.P. Morgan Health Conference on January 12, 2021. The presentation will be live-streamed and archived on Vir’s website.
Virogenomics Bio Development (VBD) had a big win in April. In collaboration with Arthur Vandenbark at OHSU and the VA, VBD was awarded a three year, $3M Phase IIB SBIR. This project will advance a recombinant protein, DRhQ, that has the potential to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) and other conditions with neuro inflammatory components. The aims of this project are to transfer production of DRhQ to a GMP manufacturer, determine its potential toxicity in two species and develop assays for evaluating its safety and efficacy after administration. These aims will provide preclinical data for an IND submission, a critical step in creating an FDA approved drug.
Virogenomics Bio Development (VBD) is developing an oral rinse – the HyperHex rinse – that is composed of a hypertonic solution with a safe and effective microbicide. The HyperHex rinse would be an easier, safer and more effective way to collect samples to screen millions of people to monitor transmission and to evaluate immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Virogenomics Bio Development (VBD) presented at the Oregon Bioscience Association Digital Conference in November.
Virogenomics Bio Development (VBD) was awarded a Business Oregon SBIR matching grant to support the development of an in vitro diagnostic for the detection and monitoring of aortic aneurysms.
Congratulations to our amazing OBI Client Companies!
We have exciting news! We now have interactive, virtual 3D tours of Suites 130 and 200, our largest spaces. Check them out on our Facilities page. And if you have any lab or office space needs, fill out the Facilities Request form for more information.
New OBI Mentoring Cohort Begins
We are pleased to announce that January 4, 2021 was the start date for OBI’s newest Mentoring Program cohort. Twelve mentees and thirteen mentors will work together in pairs and threes for 6 months.
MENTORS: Joseph Volpi, Sandra Shotwell, Keith Daellenbach, Nathan Lillegard, Andrew Owen, Pete Murray, Christa Nicholas, Shannon Heizenrader, Peter Schuerman, Kabir Bhatia, Will Marshall, Douglas Kawahara, and Curt Jennewine.
MENTEES: Jeremy Hammer, Carin Berg, Gabriella Kiss, John Harkness, Claude Goodman, Paul ReFalo, Heber Michaels, Smriti Zaneveld, Megan Meinel, Carl Ruby, Daniel Freed, and Ray Browning.
Best of luck to the Winter-Spring OBI Mentoring Program cohort. Find out more about our Mentoring Program.
Portland Area Bioscience is Growing
Twist Bioscience Corp. is planning to lease a 111,000 square foot site to be a “factory of the future” in Wilsonville and employ up to 400 people, starting in 2022. Twist Bioscience makes synthetic DNA on silicon chips, used in healthcare and other industries.
The Portland Business Journal has a story about this exciting development for the Portland area, reflecting its prominence as an up-and-coming bioscience nerve center in the country.
Business Oregon and Oregon Innovation Council’s Innovation Awards
In addition to the High Impact Opportunity Project (HIOP) Award to OBI/OTRADI listed above, Business Oregon and Oregon InC granted several other HIOP awards to Oregon organizations, including Portland State Business Accelerator.
They also awarded 17 companies a Matching SBIR Grant Award, including three OBI Client Companies: Health Technology Innovations (HTI), Inherent Targeting, and Virogenomics Bio Development.
Congratulations to all awardees!
MedTech Innovator Applications Due January 25
MedTech Innovator is looking for outstanding early- to mid-stage medical device, diagnostic, and digital health companies who are transforming healthcare to apply for their 2021 program.
MedTech Innovator is a highly selective and unique opportunity for start-ups and emerging growth companies to gain access to stakeholders across the healthcare industry including investors and industry leaders such as Johnson & Johnson, Baxter, Olympus, W.L. Gore, Fujikura, Nipro, Edwards Lifesciences, Maxim, and Asahi Intecc. Additionally, in 2021, they will give out $500,000 in non-dilutive cash prizes. More information about the strategic interests of their stakeholders can be found here.
MedTech Innovator does not charge or take equity for participation, and there is no application fee. Deadline to apply is January 25. Link to application.
Upcoming Events
OBI Events
OBI Virtual Lunch & Learn: Best Practices in Medical Device Software & Firmware Design January 14, 2021 12:00-1:00 PM Register here
OBI Virtual Lunch & Learn: Is Your Brand Story Due for a Tune Up? February 10, 2021 12:00-1:00 PM Registration open
Community Events
PSBA’s DEI Training with Christine Slattery January 21, 2021 1:30-3:00 PM Register here
TAO Event: I Am Tech Oregon January 14, 2021 11:00-11:30 AM Registration page
TAO Panel Discussion: Data Privacy in 2021 January 28, 2021 9:00-10:00 AM Register here
TAO Event: Strategic Plan for Exit January 28, 2021 11:30 AM-1:00 PM Registration
ULP Event: Market Access and Life Cycle Aspects of Medical Technology Products January 20, 2021 3:00-4:00 PM Register here
ULP Event: Lifesciences Innovators Forum January 27, 2021 3:00-4:30 PM Registration
Cambia Grove: Incentivizing Health Hackathon February 4-5, 2021 9:00 AM-2:00 PM Register/apply here
What a year 2020 has been! We have been through a lot together, and we at the OBI are celebrating the holiday season and the end of a most unusual year. Look for a 2020 OBI recap in next month’s newsletter. Happy Holidays to you and yours!
2021 is almost here. Stay healthy and safe and we hope to see you in person in the new year!
Highest revenue month achieved in October 2020, extending our runway
Completed Clinical Evaluation Reports for CE mark submission, applications for SUTUREGARD ISR and HEMIGARD devices will be filed this month to Notified Body in Germany for CE mark approval
Official approval as vendor for in hospital sales at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida – national leader in melanoma treatment and research
Expanded clinical use by podiatry, dermatology, surgical oncology, cardiovascular surgery
First sales in Australia
Veana Therapeutics, Inc. Founder and CEO, Emmanuel Akporiaye, Ph.D won the Judges’ Award at the Oregon Bio Digital 2020 Conference held from November 17 -19.
The humbleness and excitement that came with two new investments from extraordinary women
Seeing our expaning team coalesce as we refine our business model together (special thanks to CareFactor for providing access to Strategyzer)
Receiving feedback from The Wave Pitch Showcase judges (Canaan, GingerBread Capital, Outlines Venture Group) that “with the right business model, nothing will stop you!”
Since the end of October, we have been inviting 25 new beta testers each week onto the Caregiven platform
We’ve received two new investments and have raised $150,000 on our convertible note
Support me (Candice Smith, Founder & CEO) as I speak at the DIGIN Conference 2020 on the topic of “Evolving the Home Health and Insurance Paradigm in a Post-Pandemic World.”
Inherent Targeting won the Judges’ and People’s Choice awards at the early-stage startup pitch contest at Oregon Bio Digital Conference. Additionally, Inherent Targeting has been invited to present at the McKinsey & Co. Early Stage Investor Conference taking place Monday, December 7th.
Promedix has had 3 large wins that have accelerated clinical adoption and validation:
We have an ongoing clinical trial in the ICU and launching a trial in the ED to study our technology’s ability to both improve detection and monitoring of sepsis
We had a manuscript accepted in a peer-reviewed journal
Keep the wins coming. We love to celebrate your successes!
Program Recordings on Demand
Great news! You now have the ability to view all of our Lunch and Learns from October, 2019 to the most recent program. These closed caption-enabled videos are available on our website and on our YouTube channel. Subscribe to the Oregon Bioscience Incubator YouTube channel to be notified when new videos are posted, approximately once per month.
Welcome to Our Newest Client Company
Izon Science is the world leading manufacturer of nano-biological separation and characterization tools. Its TRPS measurement system is the most accurate, standardizable and practical method of measuring complex nano-bio particles, while its qEV platform has rapidly become the gold standard in extracellular vesicle separation.
Izon Science joined the OBI on December 1. Welcome, Izon!
Mentor of the Month: Michael McGarry
Michael McGarry is one of our helpful and engaging mentors in our current Mentoring Program cohort. He is the Founder and President of Forvida, a customer-focused consulting firm passionate about developing health solutions that engage individuals and make health and every day event. Before founding Forvida, Michael had more than 20 years experience in the health care industry, developing innovative programs and medical devices from prototype through FDA approval within small start-up organizations as well as Fortune 500 medical companies.
Congratulations to OBI graduate AbSci for raising $65 million Series E equity financing. AbSci is a synthetic biology company focused on their Protein Printing™ technology for protein biomanufacturing. This financing round will enable AbSci to increase production, expand their facility, and fund research and development.
For more information on AbSci and their exciting news, please read the recent press release.
OBI Client Company Wins
Caregiven has been selected to participate in CareFactor. This represents a significant opportunity for us and we are very excited for the program that commences in November and concludes in March, 2021. CareFactor was developed by its partners to rapidly scale innovations that improve the aged-care sector nationally (Australia) and globally.
Vir Biotechnology announced the presentation of preclinical and Phase 1 data demonstrating the broad neutralizing ability, high-level effector function, extended half-life and tolerability of VIR-2482 in the prevention of influenza A. Read full press release here.
Candice Smith of Caregiven and Emmanuel Akporiaye of Veana Thereapeutics and were featured in the newest edition of Techlandia, as The Faces of Healthcare Innovation. You can read their stories on pages 44 and 45.
Inherent Targeting is developing nerve targeted fluorescent contrast agents to improve surgical outcomes. Nerve injury is a feared surgical complication affecting 50 million patients and incurring a $5 billion cost to the healthcare system annually. Currently, surgeons are entirely unassisted in nerve identification and preservation, relying solely on naked eye visualization or anatomical knowledge. Our technology provides direct highlighting of nerves during surgery in real time and is currently under clinical translation.
Forbie, Inc. is developing an AI & NLP enabled solution that helps connect patients and providers in real-time offering full visibility into patient state and changing needs, thereby improving quality of care and enabling better outcomes.
Inherent Targeting and Forbie joined the OBI on November 1. Let’s give them a warm welcome!
Mentor of the Month: Sandra Shotwell
Sandra Shotwell has co-founded three startup companies: Alta Biomedical, DesignMedix, and Elex Biotech, and played a leadership role in all three. Her life sciences experience includes technology transfer, early-stage commercialization, and company startup operations and leadership. Sandy and her mentee are making great progress in their mentoring program, and her mentee always has glowing feedback. Sandy is also an OTRADI & OBI Board Member.
Of the OBI Mentoring Program, Sandy says, “The program has been great. It is rewarding to work with an early-stage entrepreneur and watch them spread their wings. I’d highly recommend it for both the entrepreneurs and the mentors.”
Thank you, Sandy, for all you do for the bioscience community!
Business Oregon SBIR Phase 0/00 Application Support Grants
From Business Oregon: “Because the SBIR/STTR programs are very competitive, Business Oregon also provides application support grants to help businesses prepare better applications to give companies a better chance to receive federal funding. These grants are called Phase 0 and 00 grants. Phase 0 grants go to businesses that are pursuing federal Phase I SBIR/STTR grant funds, while Phase 00 grants help businesses pursuing federal Phase II or Fast-Track grants. Phase 0 or 00 grants can be for up to $5,000. Business Oregon has provided approximately $280,000 of these grants to companies that have then won approximately $10M in federal grant awards.
“Phase 0 Grants Can Be Used For:
Professional fees to develop the SBIR/STTR Phase I application (e.g., technical consultants, writer, reviewer)
Other professional fees (e.g., legal, accounting) directly related to preparing the SBIR/STTR Phase I application
Other out-of-pocket costs directly related to preparing the SBIR/STTR Phase I application (e.g., market research, technical database research or statistical analyses)
“Phase 00 Grants Can Be Used For:
Professional fees to develop the SBIR/STTR Phase II application (e.g., technical consultants, writer, reviewer)
Other professional fees (e.g., legal, accounting) directly related to preparing the SBIR/STTR Phase II application
Other out-of-pocket costs directly related to preparing the SBIR/STTR Phase II application (e.g., market research, technical database research or statistical analyses)
“How To Apply Business Oregon is now offering application support grants as long as funding is available. To apply for a grant, please review the program guidelines document, complete an application form, gather the supporting documentation, and submit the materials. Details are in the guidelines.”
Technology Association of Oregon Digital Health Week
What an informative and interesting line up of topics at TAO’s Digital Health Week. Dates and topics include:
AI & Data – Monday, November 16 9-10 a.m.
International Digital Health Roundtable – Tuesday, November 17, 9-10 a.m.
Human Centered Design – Tuesday, November 17, 11 a.m. to noon
Innovation in Healthcare Delivery Models – Wednesday, November 18, 9-10 a.m.
Policy & Innovation – Thursday, November 19, 9-10 a.m.
Register soon! OTRADI & OBI is a proud sponsor of Digital Health Week.
Oregon Bioscience Association Digital Conference 2020
Registration is now open for one of OregonBio’s biggest events of the year! Keynote, networking, Pitch & Partner event, and a Career event are the highlights of this multi-day program.
To help local area businesses during these uncertain times, the Oregonian and Oregon Live is pledging up to $2.5 million in a matching marketing grant program called Oregonian Cares. Individual grants range from $500-1500 per month. Businesses are encouraged to fill out the application form now, for a quick turnaround.
Virogenomics BioDevelopment (VBD) is developing an oral rinse – the HyperHex rinse – that is composed of a hypertonic solution with a safe and effective microbicide. The HyperHex rinse would be an easier, safer and more effective way to collect samples to screen millions of people to monitor transmission and to evaluate immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Optimal sample collection is one that is safe and simple for health care workers and those being tested as well as being more comfortable than nasal swabs or blood draws. Hypertonic oral rinse solutions increase the yield of analytes such as immunoglobulins that can be used to detect exposure and immunity to coronaviruses. To develop the HyperHex rinse, VBD is working with Andrew Goldstein, a founding officer and director of Epitope, Inc. (now OraSure Technologies, Inc.), and was intimately involved in developing FDA approved saliva-based diagnostic assays for HIV antibodies, HIV and HCV point of care tests.
Vir Biotechnology has published an article which will appear in the November 12, 2020 print issue of Cell, focusing on differing antibody responses based upon COVID-19 disease severity, as well as structural characteristics of six different neutralizing antibodies. This study, conducted in the US, Switzerland, and Italy, was the largest of its kind with serum samples from nearly 650 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, will aid in the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and other strategies. In addition, Vir and GlaxoSmithKline have announced Phase 3 of the COMET-ICE (COVID-19 Monoclonal antibody Efficacy Trial – Intent to Care Early) study for treatment of COVID-19 patients who are at high risk for hospitalization. For more information on their research, please see Vir Biotechnology’s September 24, 2020 press release and October 6, 2020 press release.
ProMedix, Inc. was selected from a large group of startup company applicants to join the Creative Destruction Lab Accelerator. This will significantly help business development and achieving high level milestones to further commercialization and fundraising efforts. ProMedix was also one of five projects selected as winners for CTIP’s Catalyzing Pediatric Grant (CPI) competition. ProMedix is a medical device company aiming to develop technology to simplify diagnostic home healthcare as well as ER/Critical Care.
Rewire Neuroscience was a semi-finalist in the 2020 Bend Venture Conference Growth competition. Rewire Neuroscience offers artificial intelligence services for biomedical image analysis in clinical, veterinary and research applications. Rewire has a machine learning platform, Sightologist.ai as well as a consumer-facing analysis software, called Pipsqueak AI, which is used by thousands of researchers around the world to quantify tissue samples.
Madorra will be presenting an oral abstract presentation at the North American Menopause Society Annual Meeting this month. The topic of their research is “A novel, non-hormonal, non-invasive ultrasound device is effective in treating the symptoms of vaginal dryness associated with genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM).” Madorra’s abstract will also be published in the December 2020 issue of Menopause.
Congratulations to Hemex Health and Medtronic for winning third prize at the NIH Technology Accelerator Challenge. They won $100K for their finger cuff technology to detect malaria, anemia, and Sickle Cell Disease.
Mentor of the Month: Lynn Sheehan
Lynn Sheehan, Business Strategist from Evolve Strategic Ventures, joined our Mentoring Program in June and hit the ground running with his mentee. Lynn is a consultant working with startups and fortune 500 companies globally. He has a special focus on the startup community in the Portland/Vancouver area. He’s a member of the MAPS Program at WSU Vancouver Carson College of Business both as a mentor and a board member. Lynn has been a guest lecturer at PSU’s business programs, and is an Executive in Residence with Technology Association of Oregon, supporting members through mentorship.
Lynn says, “The OBI Mentoring Program is a great way for entrepreneurs to receive guidance from industry veterans. The complex areas these companies work in really benefits from mentor experience. In the end this accelerates them to revenue and team growth.”
Thank you, Lynn, for all you do for the startup community!
Applications Now Open for Mentoring
We are now accepting Mentee applications for OBI’s structured, 6-month program. Are you an entrepreneur who has a company (or are seriously considering starting one) and need guidance, accountability, and support from a Mentor to help you set and reach your goals? This program is free for Oregon entrepreneurs and runs from January – June, 2021. Take your business to the next level by joining OBI’s Mentoring Program.
Here is what some of our current Mentees are saying:
“[My Mentor] worked with me to hone my pitch, participated in pitch presentations to three investment groups, one of which has now expressed an interest in investing in [my company]!”
“Obtained very helpful advice and guidance on the strategy from a business and clinical perspective going forward.”
“[My Mentor] introduced me to a potential collaborator.”
“Exceeded my expectations. We are on track to meet the goals I set.”
We have a network of more than 90 Advisors who are available to provide short-term free advice and assistance to promising life science and digital health entrepreneurs across the state of Oregon. Our Advisors have valuable expertise in a wide range of business topics that are integral to the success of early-stage life science companies, including:
Accounting
Business Plans
Digital Health
Government Funding
Health IT
Legal/IP
Licensing
Machine Learning/AI
Management, including HR/Talent
Manufacturing
Market Analysis
Marketing
Private Funding
Product Development
Regulatory/FDA
To request assistance, please fill out this entrepreneur registration form and we’ll match you with an Advisor who can help. This service is free of charge.
Business Oregon Launching Funding Opportunities
From the October 7, 2020 press release: “The Business Oregon Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) Matching Grants are intended to help Oregon companies that have received a federal award be successful as they move forward. Companies can use matching funds to fill gaps in the federal award or further commercialize or scale their technology. Oregon-based businesses with more than half of employees based in Oregon who have been awarded a federal SBIR or STTR grant on or after Jan. 1, 2019 are eligible to apply.
“The application will be open through November 8, 2020. Awards can range up to $100,000 depending on eligibility and other parameters, with a total of approximately $1,000,000 available for funding.
“The High Impact Opportunity Project (HIOP) program looks for proposals that support the growth of emerging industries that individual businesses cannot address on their own. Projects could support these industries by addressing barriers to commercialization or support product development and testing. Projects must directly support the growth of an industry sector, not an individual business or its proprietary technology.
“Oregon-based organizations with at least half its employees based in Oregon are eligible, and the application period will be open through November 4. There is approximately $1,500,000 available for funding in this round of the HIOP program.”
OHSU Invent-a-Thon
Applications open for OHSU Invent-a-thon Online event, October 23–25, 2020
Make Healthcare Better. From anywhere.
Grab your virtual raincoat and apply for our first Pacific Northwest-focused event, in partnership with Oregon Health Sciences University.
Building on MIT Hacking Medicine’s successful model, this weekend convenes teams and a wide range academic and industry partners to address problems in the medtech tracks of surgical care and early disease detection, and digital health/health IT tracks of rural and low resource setting health care and management of chronic conditions.
$40,000 in prizes will be awarded to the most promising teams, with a special emphasis on reducing health disparities and addressing COVID-19. Anyone with an interest in improving healthcare is invited to join the clinicians, researchers, designers, investors, and many others joining this dynamic weekend event.
Propel an idea into action!
Learn more and apply by October 14 at inventathon.org. #OHSUInventathon
Pitch Oregon 2020
In its fifth year, Pitch Oregon is TiE Oregon’s marquee event, attracting hundreds of entrepreneurs, mentors and investors each year. Entrepreneurs from all around Oregon pitch for free services and a cash prize of $2,500! We are looking for traded sector businesses in technology, new market innovation, and CPG in two categories – Concept and Seed.
Concept – you either have an idea or you’ve just started working on your product Seed – you have a product and have taken some funding or are bootstrapping
Timeline October 16, 2020 — Application Deadline October 30, 2020 — Finalist Announcement December 1, 2020 — Pitch Oregon
Details When: Tuesday, December 1, 2020 Time: 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM Where: Zoom Webinar (login available after registration) Cost: Application Fee – $10 members | $25 Nonmembers; Registration Fee – $15 members | $30 Nonmembers
McKinsey & Company Early Stage Investor Conference
December 7-11, 2020
Grow. Connect. Expand.
Early Stage Investor Conference (ESIC) is an annual flagship event designed to inspire and advance innovation across industries. Each year, we bring together an ecosystem of entrepreneurs in emerging technology, established industry-leaders, researchers from top universities, and individual and corporate investors looking for the next big idea.
Building off our 2019 success with more than 300 attendees and 50 presenting startups, in 2020 we are raising our ambitions even further by introducing new investor tracks that include biotech, medtech, healthtech, fintech, femtech, and sustainability. We are also holding a virtual forum to create a truly global community of ideas, expertise, and investors.
Applications accepted through October 31. For more information on applying or attending, see Overview page.
Upcoming Events
TiE Women: Functional Working Session on Marketing October 13, 2020 2:00-3:30 PM Register here
Oregon Bio, Business and Good Beans: Latest Updates on PPP Loans and COVID Paid Leave Tax Credits October 14, 2020 9:15-10:00 AM Free – register here
TAO Leadership Exchange Fall Series: Liability & Returning to Work October 15, 2020 9:00-10:00 AM All the details here
Bend Venture Conference October 15-16, 2020 8:00 AM-5:30 PM Register now
Under the Boughs with Dr. Thomas Lynch Jr., Fred Hutch October 21, 2020 9:30-10:45 AM Free to attend
Women in Science Lunch and Learn: BIPOC Imposter Syndrome in STEM October 21, 2020 12:00-1:00 PM Free to attend
TiE Event: Confessions of an Entrepreneur October 27, 2020 5:30-7:30 PM Details and registration
TAO PDX Lunch & Learn: Strategic Plan for Exit October 28, 2020 11:30 AM-1:00 PM Register here
OBI client company Caregiven has some very exciting news: their mobile app has been “born!” The alpha version of the Caregiven mobile app is now live on over a dozen devices. The alpha testers are using the app to help care for their loved ones, while also giving valuable feedback and ideas for new features. Caregiven is also seeking private beta testers: people who are currently giving care or who have recently lost a loved one. Contact candice@caregiven.co for more information about the beta testing program.
Caregiven recently filmed two promotional videos, including a 90-second company overview and a 60-second version tailored for insurance carriers, financial services, and health & benefits plan provider audiences. To visit with Caregiven in a virtual kiosk, see the promotional videos, and maybe even get a sneak peek at the beta version of their new mobile app, register for the InsurTech Connect (ITC) Conference September 21-23, 2020.
OBI Client Company Wins
RAW Molecular Systems finished recruiting for their GWAS study of microbiomes and genetics in recovered COVID-19 patients, received ICorp funding from UW, and hired new engineers to work on detection devices.
Veana Therapeutics and University of Washington Medicine are conducting a phase 1 clinical trial of a new oral therapy for advanced HER2 positive breast cancer patients. See press release for all the details.
Health Technology Innovations, Inc. (HTI) announced that Dr. Justin M. Kollman, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry at the University of Washington, is joining HTI to Chair its Science and Technology Advisory Board. More information on the announcement can be found here.
Mentor of the Month: Curt Jennewine
OBI launched its revamped Mentoring Program this summer and is proud to give a September Mentor of the Month shoutout to Curt Jennewine. Curt is the President of Asia MedPartners, which provides consulting services for a variety of medical start-ups looking to introduce their technologies into the US market.
Curt’s background in consulting for many different medical fields combined with his insightful input, creative problem-solving, good understanding of the customer, systems-approach, strong understanding of business strategy, and excellent communication makes Curt an ideal mentor. Curt is currently mentoring two mentees in OBI’s 6-month structured mentoring program. He’s receiving high praise from his mentees, too. As one of his mentees, Anil Kumar of RxHomeTest states, “We went through our business in more detail, brainstormed ideas that needed help, and came up with strategies for further growth. We specifically planned few action items for me to follow. This mentoring program has been extremely helpful for my business, thanks to OBI and my mentor!”
Thank you Curt, for volunteering as a mentor. We appreciate you!
Mentoring Program Seeks Applicants
OBI is gearing up for our January, 2021 mentoring cohort. We will begin accepting Mentor and Mentee applications for this structured, 6-month program next month, so now is your opportunity! If you have experience working with startups in the bioscience and digital health industry, please consider applying to become a Mentor. We are also looking for entrepreneurs who already have a company but could use guidance, accountability, and support from a Mentor to help you set and reach your goals.
Here is some nice feedback we’ve received from Mentees in the program:
“[My Mentor] worked with me to hone my pitch, participated in pitch presentations to three investment groups, one of which has now expressed an interest in investing in [my company]!”
“Obtained very helpful advice and guidance on the strategy from a business and clinical perspective going forward.”
“[My Mentor] introduced me to a potential collaborator.”
“Exceeded my expectations. We are on track to meet the goals I set.”
Grab your virtual raincoat and apply for our first Pacific Northwest-focused event, in partnership with Oregon Health Sciences University.
Building on MIT Hacking Medicine’s successful model, this weekend convenes teams and a wide range academic and industry partners to address problems in the medtech tracks of surgical care and early disease detection, and digital health/health IT tracks of rural and low resource setting health care and management of chronic conditions.
$40,000 in prizes will be awarded to the most promising teams, with a special emphasis on reducing health disparities and addressing COVID-19. Anyone with an interest in improving healthcare is invited to join the clinicians, researchers, designers, investors, and many others joining this dynamic weekend event.
Propel an idea into action!
Learn more and apply by October 7 at inventathon.org. #OHSUInventathon
OMSI’s New Fall Programs and Fundraising Goals
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is answering the call to help during the COVID-19 pandemic, by providing new programming to support K-8 students, teachers, and caregivers. Their OMSI Homeroom program will serve 120 students per week with hands-on learning and STEAM enrichment education.
Any financial assistance you can give toward their fundraising goals for families in need will be much appreciated. See the link to their flyer describing OMSI Homeroom and their other virtual programs, and the financial support needed to bring this important education to those who need it most.
Upcoming Events
OBI Virtual Lunch & Learn: Bioscience Career Panel Join us for this interactive event September 23, 2020 12:00-1:00 PM Register now!
OBI Virtual Lunch & Learn: Cultivating High-Performance Teams October 6, 2020 12:00-1:00 PM Free – register here
VertueLab Cleantech Innovation Summit FUEL 2020 September 9-25, 2020 All the details here
Oregon Bioscience Association Biotech Summit September 16, 2020 9:00 AM-1:30 PM More information
Technology Association of Oregon 2020 Technology Awards September 23, 2020 3:00-5:00 PM Register here
Oregon Bio Coffee Talk: Retirement Benefits September 24, 2020 9:15-10:00 AM Link to registration
OBI Appoints Two New Members to Its Board of Directors
Aditi Martin was recently elected as an OBI/OTRADI Board Director. She is the Senior Director of Collaborations and Entrepreneurship at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). Aditi is a strategy and innovation professional with extensive experience in building partnership and negotiating a variety of commercialization agreements. She was also a recipient of Portland Business Journal’s 2018 Forty under 40.
Ken Wilson was recently elected as an OBI/OTRADI Board Director. He is the Vice President of Campus Development at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). Ken is a multifaceted real estate executive with expertise in transactions, project management, portfolio management, sourcing and managing outside vendors, managing in house real estate departments as well as third party providers. In his role at OMSI he is responsible for leading the organization’s development of 11 riverfront acres around the museum’s primary facilities.
Welcome RAW Molecular Systems to the OBI!
Our newest client company is RAW Molecular Systems. Their services include biological pathogen monitoring to tackle untreatable antibiotic/antifungal resistant diseases or diseases without current therapy for plants, animals, and people. We are excited to have them join us, and they have hit the ground running with some great wins last month:
Successfully filed an IRB for a COVID19 study and got it approved
Promedix, Inc. was awarded a 2021 Pediatric Medical Device Funding Grant from the Consortium for Technology and Innovation in Pediatrics, an FDA pediatric device consortium. This funding will further develop regulatory strategy and a recently launched clinical trial at OHSU in the intensive care unit.
Signed a distribution agreement with Federated Healthcare Supply
Sales have returned to pre-COVID19 levels
Multispecialty use has expanded to include podiatry and emergency medicine
Health Technology Innovations, Inc. presented poster sessions on CryoDiscovery at the ACA 2020 (American Crystallographic Association) and M&M 2020 (Microscopy & Microanalysis) events August 2nd-7th. CryoDiscovery is a machine learning platform for cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) image processing, currently in Alpha stage testing at OHSU and University of Washington, showing strong results.
Caregiven was recently profiled by HITLab and their Women’s Health Tech Initiative. This profile includes the creation of a case study they are planning to share with their stakeholders in the coming weeks. Caregiven is also making great strides in their platform content following their research with Particle Design.
Last month we reported on Hemex Health‘s release of their Gazelle Diagnostic platform for malaria and sickle cell disease. Hemex Health also has a strong collaboration with Novartis, which is focused on Sickle Cell Disease treatment in Ghana. Novartis recently featured Hemex in their company’s World Sickle Cell Day video.
We were mentioned in Forbes article about one of our favorite menopause telehealth companies, Gennev
Bend Venture Conference Applications Open Until August 13
One of the features of the Bend Venture Conference (BVC) is an Early Stage competition. Companies applying in the early stage competition typically:
Have a great idea, and are close to “proof of concept”
Are pre, or very early, revenue
Are in the process of testing their product in the market
All applicants, regardless of whether or not they are a finalist, have the opportunity to receive feedback from the investor group. The winner of this category could be awarded a minimum $30,000* investment, courtesy of Portland Seed Fund. Applications must be received by August 13, 2020. See details and apply here.
In addition, Portland Seed Fund is also offering limited Early Stage Access Scholarships and coaching. To be considered for a scholarship, at least one company founder should identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and have a financial barrier to the company’s ability to participate in the conference. For more detailed information and how to apply, please see the BVC Early Stage Competition and Scholarship page.
Apply Now for the 2021 Beaverton Startup Challenge
In its 6th year, the Beaverton Startup Challenge is a collaboration of the City of Beaverton, the Westside Startup Fund, and the Oregon Technology Business Center (OTBC). Each year, they select five Startup Challenge companies who receive:
A $25,000 convertible note investment
Introductions to Legal, Accounting, HR and marketing services
National Science Foundation’s America’s Seed Fund (SBIR-STTR) invests up to $1.75 million in seed funding for early-stage research and development, and takes no equity in your company. Submit a project pitch now, before September 3, 2020. Details here.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) SBIR/STTR funding application proposal dates are September 5, 2020; January 5 and April 5, 2021. For more information on what the NIH funding entails, see this link.
Floragenex graduated from the OBI last month, after joining the incubator in July, 2013. Oregon‐based Floragenex is a privately-owned biotechnology company providing innovative solutions for genomic analysis in the life sciences. Since 2007, Floragenex has been a leader in genomics and next-generation DNA sequencing. From the early days when generating a million sequence reads was considered impossible to the 200M read runs of today, they have been helping scientists by providing expert guidance and support in genomics research.
Upon graduation, Floragenex relocated their lab and offices from OTRADI’s incubator in the Willamette Wharf building, to Nimbus Corporate Center in Beaverton where their parent company, Sedia Biosciences has a presence. In February, 2020, the Portland Business Journal listed both Floragenex and Sedia Biosciences on the list of the top 41 largest bioscience and health technology companies in Oregon and SW Washington, at rankings 38 and 10, respectively.
Hemex Health and HTI Awarded Business Oregon Enhanced Innovation Grants
OBI companies Hemex Health and Health Technology Innovations (HTI) have some great news! Out of 66 proposals Business Oregon received for their Enhanced Innovation Grant, they were two of the six awardees. Congratulations!
From the Business Oregon press release: “Hemex Health is a medical diagnostic device company making tests for malaria and sickle cell disease. Enhanced Innovation Grant funds will be used for developing and validating a rapid test to detect COVID-related infection that targets viral proteins.
“HTI is developing digital imaging technologies to capture high-resolution 3D images from the molecular level up to the tissue level. Enhanced Innovation Grant funds will be used to integrate their CryoDiscovery product (Cryo-electron microscope that uses machine learning) with the CryoSPARCTM, a commercial grade software product.”
More OBI Client Company Wins
SUTUREGARD and their product HEMIGARD has been featured in a video on Dermatologist Dr. Dustin Portel’s Tik Tok page. The video received over 10,000 views in the first hour it was posted! Check out the video and feel free to share it with others:
Hemigard is a great little product I enjoy using in the clinic. It’s an efficient way to help close wounds on very fragile skin after skin cancer removal.
Vir Biotechnology is one of the ARCH Venture Partners companies fighting COVID-19. See ARCH’s news about two new venture funds with $1.46 billion in funding, to assist in these efforts. Vir is focused on combining immunologic insights with cutting-edge technologies to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases.
OBI Alumni Sparrow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. won the Start-Up Stadium pitch competition that was held during BIO Digital in June. Out of the 30 finalists who submitted a pitch presentation, Sparrow was one of five winners. Here’s a link to BIO’s press release. Sparrow Pharmaceuticals is developing novel, proprietary new standards of care for Cushing’s syndrome.
Congrats to all!
New Mentoring Program Begins
July 1 marked the start of our new and improved mentoring program at OBI. This 6-month cohort consists of 7 mentors and 6 mentees. Mentor-mentee pairings are one-to-one or two-to-one. They are all excited to begin working together to set and reach the mentees’ business goals.
Participating Mentors:
Eric Distad, Cerebral Therapeutics
Lynn Sheehan, Evolve Strategic Ventures
Michael McGarry, Forvida
Sandra Shotwell, Alta Biomedical
John Tortorici, Chart Solutions
Curt Jennewine, Asia MedPartners
David Forman, Tonkon Torp, LLP
Participating Mentees:
Connor Barth, Inherent Targeting, LLC
Anil Kumar, RxHomeTest
Pabel Delgado, Asterism Healthcare
Holly Rockweiler, Madorra
Emmanuel Akporiaye, Veana Therapeutics
Heber Michaels, Kamino Care
We will have a new cohort of mentors and mentees in January, 2021. Keep an eye on the mentoring page on our website and newsletter for more information in the fall on how you can participate in our mentoring program.
OBI’s Advisors Help Entrepreneurs
In addition to mentoring, OBI has a list of over 80 Advisors who are ready and willing to help entrepreneurs seeking assistance. If you are an entrepreneur with a question or needing advice in the areas of…
Accounting
Legal/IP
Licensing/Partnering
Private Investment Funding
Government Funding
Product Development
Regulatory/FDA
Manufacturing
Market Analysis
Marketing
Management
Business Plan/Strategy
… simply fill out this form and we will match you with an Advisor with expertise in the areas you need assistance in. This service is free of charge, and designed to help entrepreneurs build thriving businesses in Oregon!
Looking for Seed Capital for Early-Stage Product Development?
NSF’s America’s Seed Fund (SBIR-STTR) invests up to $1.75 million in seed funding for early-stage research and development, and takes no equity in your company. Submit a project pitch now, before September 3, 2020.
Oregon Bioscience Association has converted their BioPro classes to a new virtual format! The next class begins July 21, 2020 Link to full class schedule
TAO Virtual Lunch & Learn: Marketing in Times of Crisis July 23, 2020 11:00 AM-12:00 PM More information here
PSBA Virtual Lunch & Learn: Allyship and Confronting Prejudices in the Workplace July 23, 2020 12:00-1:00 PM Free to attend
TAO and Catalyte Webinar: Process Resiliency | Keeping Everything from Hitting the Fan July 28, 2020 11:00 AM-12:00 PM More information and registrationSciEducate Webinar: Business Plans are a Research Endeavor July 28, 2020 1:00-2:00 PM More info here
Oregon Bio Event: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Dialogue July 30, 2020 11:30 AM-1:00 PM Registration is free
PSBA Virtual Lunch & Learn: Conflict to Conversation August 4, 2020 12:00-1:00 PM Registration is free
Our new executive director will likely be an incredibly familiar face for many of you.
That’s because OTRADI and OBI are pleased to report that our board of directors has unanimously ratified the proposal that Heather Ellis, former interim executive director for the organization, be promoted to the position of full-time executive director for OTRADI and OBI.
“Over the past three years, we have admired and appreciated Heather’s exceptional work at OTRADI and OBI, including her immediate willingness to step into the role of interim executive director,” said Joseph Janda, chairman of the OTRADI and OBI board of directors. “The board is thrilled to continue our work with her as she takes on the full-time role of executive director for our organization. We have the utmost confidence in her ability to lead the organization in this next chapter of its continuing evolution.”
After joining OTRADI and OBI in 2017, Heather was promoted to assistant director in early 2019. She assumed the role of interim executive director for the organization in July of that same year. She steps into the role as the third executive director for the organization. As part of assuming that role, she also joins the boards of the Oregon Bioscience Association and the Portland Innovation Quadrant.
“I’m incredibly excited to begin this new phase of OTRADI and OBI,” said Ellis. “As an employee of OTRADI, I’ve had the honor and privilege to be at the forefront of healthcare innovation here in Oregon. Recognizing the decade long effort it has taken to get here, I am ecstatic to have the opportunity to lead our organization into its next chapter.”
“In times like this, it’s especially humbling to have the opportunity to do this work. I look forward to working with each and every one of you as we continue to support Oregon entrepreneurs in improving healthcare for people around the world.”
OTRADI/OBI’s board of directors has promoted Interim Director Heather Ellis to the position of full-time Executive Director for OTRADI and OBI.
“During my time at OTRADI and OBI, I have gained an even greater appreciation for the potential for innovation in healthcare – and Oregon’s opportunity to play a part in that innovation. OTRADI has been the forefront of healthcare innovation in the state of Oregon for more than a decade. I am honored and excited to leverage that history of work as we continue to support Oregon entrepreneurs in improving healthcare for people everywhere. I am incredibly excited to step into this role and continue supporting OBI and Oregon health innovation companies in my new position,” said Ellis. Read full press release here.
Madorra was featured in the May issue of Oprah Magazine, as a rising star in women’s health technology, improving the quality of women’s lives after breast cancer or menopause with their non-hormonal medical device to reduce vaginal dryness.
Caregiven‘s Candice Smith recently shared her story to over 400 live participants at the Global Insurance Accelerator’s Startup Showcase, which also resulted in several introductions to individuals and funds. You can watch the 6-minute pitch here.
Vir Bio announced the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of VIR-3434, an investigational monoclonal antibody that neutralizes hepatitis B virus (HBV) and has been engineered to potentially also act as a therapeutic vaccine. They have also finalized a process development and manufacturing agreement with Biogen Inc. Under the agreement Biogen will perform process development activities and specified manufacturing and process transfer services to enable commercial supply of Vir’s SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies for potential COVID-19 treatment.
Hemex Health‘s medical diagnostic device, Gazelle, was tested in the field alongside other malaria testing protocols, as published in the Lancet’s EClinicalMedicine. Gazelle was found to be a valuable diagnostic tool, and a fast and cost-effective way to test for malaria in field settings. Read the full text article here.
COVID-19 Resources for our Business Community
Business Oregon, alongside the Oregon Employment Department, the Oregon Secretary of State, and the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services compiled the information on this page to assist Oregon small business owners, employees, and others dealing with the impacts of COVID-19.
Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP) has a COVID-19 Workplace Preparedness Assessment. The purpose of this assessment is to recommend/suggest ideas you may wish to consider as Oregon moves toward reopening in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Take the assessment here.
Upcoming Events
OBI Events
Virtual Lunch & Learn: Pivot with Purpose – Build Your Business Around Your Greatest Strength June 17, 2020 12:00-1:00 PM Register here – Free to attend
Virtual Lunch & Learn: They Said it Couldn’t be Done! De-Risk Your Projects July 22, 2020 12:00-1:00 PM Free – Register here
Other Community Events
Cooley Healthtech Talks: Funding for Your Early Stage Startup: A Roadmap to Seed + Series A Financing June 11, 2020 9:00-10:00 AM Register to attend – Free
Current Trends in Venture Funding: Perspective on Investments Post-Pandemic June 16, 2020 10:00-11:00 AM Register now – Free to attend
FAN BASE: Competitive Edge [PREGAME] Summer Business Coaching Series June 16, 2020 12:00-1:30 PM More information
Bio, Business and Good Beans – Data Security and Privacy: Managing Risks of Remote Work June 24, 2020 9:15-10:00 AM Free to attend – Registration link
OHSU INVENT Seminar: How to Leverage Market Research and Customer Outreach to Successfully Launch Your Idea June 25, 2020 Panelists include OBI client company leaders from Maddora and Hemex Free to attend – Register here
NOW CFO Roadmap to Recovery Weekly Webinars Wednesdays at 2 PM, Fridays at 12 noon Learn more here
SciEducate Webinars Series of upcoming webinars More info here
Business Oregon Announces Enhanced Innovation Grant Program
The May 6, 2020 memo from Business Oregon states: “The Oregon Innovation Council (Oregon InC) supports companies with high-growth potential emerging from science and research. In 2018-2019, Oregon InC invested in 27 companies through the Enhanced Phase 0 program, providing critical gap funding between very early research and development funding sources and larger federal grants and/or private investment. These early investments supported innovative companies to scale up in Oregon, develop new technologies and products, create or retain jobs, and move products and services closer to market.
“Given the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, continuing this support of innovation-based entrepreneurship is vital for Oregon’s economic recovery. In recognition of this crisis, Oregon InC is re-launching the Enhanced Phase 0 program, now named the Enhanced Innovation Grant program. The Enhanced Innovation Grants will be awarded to early-stage Oregon companies that:
are advancing innovation-based solutions related to the resolution or the management of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic or
have received previous Oregon InC funding and has made progress toward commercialization since that funding
“Proposals will be accepted until Wednesday, May 20th and will go through a formal review process. Full details can be found in the RFP document on Business Oregon’s website.”
OBI Client Company Wins
Health Technology Innovations, HTI, received the NSF Phase1 STTR award for CryoDiscovery ™ : An integrated cryo-EM intelligence solution. CryoDiscoveryTM: A Machine Learning Platform for Automated Cryo-electron Microscopy Particle Classification paper has been accepted to the Microscopy & Microanalysis August 2020 Conference. CryoDiscovery ™ Alpha released and being tested at OHSU. HTI LLC is now HTI Inc. Dr. Gershon Wolfe joined HTI as Director of R&D. HTI is looking for a machine learning development engineer and computer science interns.
On April 6, 2020, Vir Biotechnology announced a collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline for research and development of coronavirus solutions. GSK’s investment and genomics expertise, combined with Vir Bio’s proprietary technology, will work to develop therapies and prevention for coronaviruses. Read their full press release.
Hemex Health is partnering with PAI Life Sciences in Seattle to create a rapid COVID-19 test on Hemex’s Gazelle Diagnostic platform. The test is designed for affordable use in remote locations with limited resources. The Portland Business Journal recently reported on this important collaboration. Link to full article here.
Virogenomics Bio Development, VBD, had a big win in April. In collaboration with Arthur Vandenbark at OHSU and the VA, VBD was awarded a three year, $3M Phase IIB SBIR. This project will advance a recombinant protein, DRhQ, that has the potential to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) and other conditions with neuro inflammatory components. The aims of this project are to transfer production of DRhQ to a GMP manufacturer, determine its potential toxicity in two species and develop assays for evaluating its safety and efficacy after administration. These aims will provide preclinical data for an IND submission, a critical step in creating an FDA approved drug.
OBI’s Mentoring Program Now Accepting Mentee Applications
Last month we told you about our newly expanded Mentoring Program. We are pleased to announce that we’re now accepting applications to become a mentee.
Are you an entrepreneur with an early-stage or developing company in the bioscience or digital health industry? Did you know that mentoring helps you grow your business? A recent survey from Kabbage found that only 22% of businesses had mentors when they started their company, and 92% of business who have a mentor say mentoring has directly impacted their business growth and survival.
OBI’s mentoring program is a 6-month structured program, with our next cohort beginning July 1, 2020.
Apply now to become a Mentee! But act quickly – mentee applications are only open until May 15. Note: This program is open to all; however, priority will be given to OBI client companies.
Please see our Mentoring page for Fast Facts about mentoring, and a link to the application.
Welcome to our new Administrative Assistant, Kaci Garcia!
Ms. Garcia joined OBI in March 2020 as an Administrative Assistant. She is responsible for daily operations, the main point of contact for the companies in the incubator, and will be the office receptionist when we’re back in the office after Governor Brown’s Stay Home order is lifted.
Ms. Garcia graduated summa cum laude in 2019 from Portland State University with a B.A. in Arts and Letters and a minor in Art History. She also has an AAS in paralegal studies and an AGS from Portland Community College. Her professional background includes general office administration and work as a legal assistant in the field of business immigration law.
Upcoming Events
TAO Event: Virtual Lunch & Learn: Preventing Burnout May 13, 2020 11:30 AM-1:00 PM Details here
VertueLab/BBC Webinar: ABCs of SBIR/STTR Funding May 13, 2020 12:00-1:30 PM Register to attend – Free
OEN Event: BYOB May Pubtalk – It’s Time to Build May 13, 2020 5:30-7:00 PM Information here
PSBA Virtual Lunch & Learn: What Leaders Need to Know About Negotiation May 20, 2020 12:00-1:00 PM More information here
PSBA Virtual Lunch & Learn: Conflict to Conversation June 3, 2020 12:00-1:00 PM More information here
NOW CFO Webinars: Roadmap to Recovery Weekly Webinars Wednesdays at 2 PM, Fridays at 12 noon Learn more here
SciEducate Webinars: SBIR Miniseries Series of 4 webinars More info here
BIO International Event: BIO Digital June 8-12, 2020 For 2020, the BIO International Convention will transition to a new, virtual event format, BIO Digital. This virtual gathering of the global biotech industry provides access to key partners via BIO One-on-One Partnering, educational resources to help drive your business, and the insights you need to continue critical research and development. Register here
OBI Event: Virtual Lunch & Learn – Pivot with Purpose: Build Your Business Around Your Greatest Strength June 17, 2020 12:00-1:00 PM More information here – Free to attend
OBI staff is complying with Governor Kate Brown’s directive to Stay Home, Save Lives. The employees in the administrative office of OBI/OTRADI is teleworking during this time, but please know that we are still here for you. Some of our client companies have staff working from home, while their staff working on essential research may continue working in their offices and laboratories, utilizing safe distancing and hygiene practices. We’re all working diligently to take steps to reduce the spread of Coronavirus and avoid getting sick with COVID-19.
Oregon and Federal Resources for Business
This pandemic is affecting businesses large and small. Here are some resources that we hope you find helpful during this time:
Caregiven Featured in Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
Caregiven, one of OBI’s digital health startup companies, was featured in the AIMed March 5, 2020 special report entitled “Women in AI – DeathTech.” Caregiven’s digital health platform guides families to the appropriate end-of-life support and services so they can spend less time overwhelmed by administrative tasks and more meaningful time with their loved one. If you are unable to view the entire article, please email candice@caregiven.co (not .com) for a PDF copy.
Dr. David Farrell of Gamma Therapeutics gives TEDx Talk
Can We More Accurately Predict Heart Attacks and Strokes? Dr. David Farrell, TEDxMcMinnville, March 6, 2020
Hemex Health is working on a fast, low cost and accurate point of care diagnostic for COVID-19. It is built on our miniaturized electrophoresis platform. We are applying for grants to do the needed work.
Nelson Bio Lab is working with other companies to develop COVID-19 diagnostic kits. We already have samples and have obtained samples from other Chinese companies. The FDA has accepted them. If necessary, we can provide kits.
Rewire Neuroscience is a provider of artificial intelligence technologies intended to quickly and accurately detect biomarkers for diseases and other physiological states in tissue samples and cell cultures. We offer core AI, machine learning, and computer vision services for integration into biomarker detection workflows. This technology can be used for automated analysis of diagnostic testing kits and assays. Rewire Neuroscience is an Oregon startup that is funded by state and federal grants and located at the Oregon Bioscience Incubator.
RxHomeTest has launched a COVID-19 PCR test kit that can be ordered by clinicians for their patients with symptoms (not available for direct-to-consumer yet). You can contact them at test@rxhometest.com for more information.
Sirona Dx can accelerate your COVID-19 studies! Our expert team offers the industry’s most comprehensive immune profiling of blood samples using state-of-the-art CyTOF technology. We’ll help you maximize results from precious blood samples of COVID-19 patients and translate new discoveries into better clinical outcomes. Using antibody panels developed for single-cell mass cytometry, we can simultaneously analyze 44 immune markets in less than 300 µL of blood and help you identify immune signatures to reveal the best treatment and immunization strategies.
Sonivate Medical, Inc. is part of a group of institutions (including Duke University Medical School) which submitted a White Paper on 3/21 regarding detection of COVID-19 using artificial intelligence (AI) and Sonivate’s SonicEye Dual-Array Ultrasound System. The approach is to use Sonivate’s High Frequency Linear array to scan the lung. Up to 80 participants will be evaluated in North Carolina comparing their ultrasound images to those of their CT-Scans. The AI algorithms will be based on these findings and integrated with early images/findings from China. It is expected to be a 6-9 month program. The objective is to evaluate a patient’s condition on a 20 point scale with a minimally trained clinician. This is a proposal and does not have any certainty of being awarded.
StoneStable, Inc. is not directly working on SARS-CoV-2, but are working on how to make vaccines better, including potential SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and testing kits.
Vir Biotechnology announced that “. . . laboratory testing showed two of its antibody drugs appeared to neutralize the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 and that it would pursue testing them in people.” Read full STAT article here.
OBI’s NEW Mentoring Program
Exciting news! We have listened to your feedback and have ravamped our biomentor program!
The newly expanded program is in two separate parts:
A structured 6-month Mentoring Program
And a more informal Advising Program
Apply now! Applications to become a Mentor are open now! Applications for Mentees will open in May.
Please see our Mentoring page for Fast Facts about both programs and links to the applications.
Upcoming Events
OBI Event: Virtual Lunch & Learn – Negotiate Like a Boss by Being Yourself April 14, 2020 12:00-1:00 PM Register here Free to attend – join us from the comfort of your home or office, but register soon because tickets are going fast!
OBI Event: Virtual Lunch & Learn – Financial Projections in the Time of Coronavirus April 21, 2020 12:00-1:00 PM Register here Free to attend – join us from the comfort of your home or office!
OBI Partner Event: Pacific Northwest Healthcare Demo Day This virtual event launches April 8, 2020 Information and Registration
TAO Webinar: Maintaining Connection & Collaboration While Teleworking April 9, 2020 11:00 AM-12:00 PM Information and Registration
BIO International Event: BIO International Convention June 8-11, 2020 San Diego, CA Start-Up Stadium was designed to provide start-up companies with the opportunity to engage key members of the investment community, venture philanthropy groups, strategic partners, and non-dilutive capital at the world’s largest biotechnology event. Apply now.
Boulder Care Partnering with Blue Cross for Addiction Treatment
The Portland Business Journal featured Boulder Care‘s new partnership with Blue Cross in helping its members access opioid addiction treatment. “Portland startup . . . Boulder Care is trying to make medication-assisted treatment accessible to more people, especially those in rural areas, with the hope of scaling its telemedicine-based buprenorphine program to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans in the next couple of years.” (Read article here)
OBI Client Company Wins
Rewire Neuroscience (photo of Founder & CEO John Harkness, above) was recently featured in a Portland Business Journal article about how artificial intelligence is changing the way humans and machines work.
Hemex Health was highlighted in the Elevate Capital monthly newsletter. The article discussed Hemex Health’s efforts in a clinical study in Ghana, to screen for and monitor sickle cell disease.
OBI graduate AbSci had an Expansion Celebration and ribbon cutting at its new location.
On February 8, Consano held an event called Consano PDX at the Portland Art Museum, to honor and raise funds for their 2020 Ripples of Hope Winner, Dr. Alexandra Butler.
SUTUREGARD Medical just published a journal article in JAAD Case Reports about their HEMIGARD device for wound closure. They also recently received orders for devices from Kenya, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, and Zimbabwe after participating in Arab Health in Dubai.
Want to know more about Aronora‘s new antithrombotic, AB002? Check out the latest Blood Podcast from the American Society of Hematology.
OBI Mentoring Program
Our BioMentor program is in the process of being revamped. Look for more information in the next month!
Upcoming Events
OBI Event: Accelerate Biotech & Digital Health Happy Hour March 5, 2020 5:30 – 7:00 PM Join the Waiting List. Free to attend.
OBI Event: Lunch & Learn – Aus-Trial-ia: Early Phase Clinical Trials in Australia March 10, 2020 12:00 -1:00 PM Register now, just a few seats left! Free to attend.
OBI Event: Lunch & Learn – Financial Projections – NOW CFO Financial Series #3 March 24, 2020 12:00 -1:00 PM Register here. Free to attend.
OEN & OTBC Event: Workshop – Startup 411 – How to Start Your Startup March 5, 2020 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM Details here
PSU Event: ProductCamp Portland March 7, 2020 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM Register here
Oregon Bioscience Association Event: BIO on the Rocks March 12, 2020 5:00 – 8:00 PM Details here
OHSU Event: INVENT and SoPE Panel – Explore Alternative Funding Sources March 18, 2020 5:00 – 7:00 PM Register here. Free to attend.
Science Talk Event: Science Talk 20 March 26-27, 2020 Tiffany Center in Portland Details here
OHSU Event: Invent-a-thon May 1-3, 2020 Portland, OR Details here BIO International Event: BIO International Convention June 8-11, 2020 San Diego, CA Start-Up Stadium was designed to provide start-up companies with the opportunity to engage key members of the investment community, venture philanthropy groups, strategic partners, and non-dilutive capital at the world’s largest biotechnology event. Apply now.
Congratulations to OBI/OTRADI graduate AbSci for starting off the new year with a $10 million funding round and more growth on the horizon!
Thank you for your support of OBI & OTRADI over the past year!
From 2015 to 2019, OBI Client Companies have:
2019 OBI Client Company Wins
Aronora has completed a first-in-human clinical trial of their unique FXI inhibitor.
Aronora announced a $9M+ deal for drug royalties from their novel stroke, clots and heart disease products.
Aronora was just awarded a new Fast Track Phase I/II SBIR grant from the NIH for $2.5 million to help support the phase 2 clinical trial of AB002 (E-WE thrombin).
Aronora has started a phase 2 clinical trial of AB002, a novel recombinant antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory enzyme. This is their third product candidate, in addition to AB012 and AB023, that had passed phase one. Information on this trial is available here.
Aronora was awarded an SBIR matching grant from Business Oregon at the end of 2019.
Hemex Health was awarded a $150,000 SBIR grant to design and automate an affordable microchip-electrophoresis for sickle cell disease using a test cartridge that can be used in Hemex Health’s portable, easy-to-use analysis equipment.
Hemex Health was invited to Ghana to discuss therapy for sickle cell patients. They also toured Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, which has been working to institute sickle cell screening for all newborns.
Hemex Health won a $45K Catalyzing Pediatric Innovation Grant from CTIP (Consortium for Technology & Innovation in Pediatrics). The Grant will fund a study in Ghana to determine if a large number of infants can be screened efficiently for sickle cell disease during the vaccination process. Hemex presented at the CTIP Symposium held in Los Angeles.
Madorra completed their Human Factors Study with great results.
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals was awarded a $100,000 Enhanced Phase 0 Grant to develop new drugs that work in combination with corticosteroids while mitigating adverse effects.
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals completed Keiretsu Forum due diligence and has now received initial investments from Keiretsu members.
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals passed $1M capital attracted to support development of safer steroids.
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals received an FDA agreement to conduct their next clinical trial as designed, they converted US provisional to PCT patent application, and have allowance of 101st composition of matter patent.
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals received preliminary examination of the PCT application that found novelty, non-obviousness and utility.
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals initiated Phase 2 development activities for their lead product SPI-62.
StoneStable was awarded a $49,930 STTR grant for stabilization of influenza vaccine by silica-coating. The company will conduct additional experiments to demonstrate efficacy of silica-coated flu vaccines that are much more stable than existing means.
SUTUREGARD Medical was chosen from many startups to participate in the Innovation Pitch Competition and JP Morgan/RESI in San Francisco January 8th.
SUTUREGARD completed round 2 of Willamette Valley Capital’s pitch series.
SUTUREGARD participated in a surgical trade show in Las Vegas on February 3rd.
SUTUREGARD has completed their seed round. Kaiser Permanente has approved their device for a 3-month product trial and surgeons from multiple specialties will be involved in this clinical trial.
SUTUREGARD in introducing another Class I product, the HEMIGARDTM.
SUTUREGARD now has 4 patents and 7 pending patents including international submissions.
SUTUREGARD has partnered with OPERATION SMILE, the most prestigious global plastic surgery organization serving the underprivileged peoples of the world.
SUTUREGARD has partnered with 9 sales consultants, covering the sunbelt regions of the US and all have existing relationships and accounts in SUTUGARD’s target specialties (dermatology, Mohs, general surgery and plastics).
WebMarkets has updated SUTUREGARD’s website and is working on optimizing their SEO. Check out their new website (www.suturegard.com) and store (www.suturegard.store).
SUTUREGARD has finalized their supply chain. The SUTUREGARD ISR is manufactured by Molded Devices Inc in Tempe, AZ, and the HEMIGARD by MBK Adhesives in Chatsworth, CA. Both products are sterilized and packaged by DemeTECH in Miami Lakes, FL. SUTUREGARD has partnered with Preferred Depot in Tustin, CA for domestic order fulfillment.
SUTUREGARD recently recently returned from MEDICA, the worlds’ largest MedTech exposition, held this November 18-21 in Dusseldorf Germany! Thank you to Business Oregon for the support!
Veana Therapeutics recently entered into a collaboration with The University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle WA to clinically evaluate its first-in-class lead product, Veana Immune Modulator (VIMO-001) in combination with HerceptinTM in patients with advanced HER-2+ breast cancer. This FDA-approved trial is now open for patient enrollment.
Virogenomics BioDevelopment was awarded a phase 1 sttr in March DRα1-MOG as a Next-Generation Immunotherapy for Methamphetamine Use Disorder”, collaborating with Jennifer Loftis and Marilyn Huckans, at OHSU & the VA. $300k
Virogenomics BioDevelopment was awarded a phase I SBIR in September, “Developing novel fibrillin biomarkers for aortic disease”, collaborating with Lynn Sakai, OHSU & Shriner’s Children’s Hospital. $268k
Virogenomics BioDevelopment applied for and was accepted into the NIH Commercialization Accelerator Program (CAP) program, as part of our ongoing Phase II STTR work for “Development of DRα1-MOG-35-55 for treatment of DR2 negative MS subjects”. The NIH CAP program provides mentoring and consultants to advise and help overcome hurdles to commercialization.
OBI WELCOMED ELEVEN NEW STARTUPS TO OUR INCUBATOR IN 2019
OBI EVENT: Accelerate Biotech & Digital Health Happy Hour March 5, 2020 5:30-7:00 PM Register Now!
TAO EVENT: PDX Lunch & Learn – The Ultimate Guide to Communication & Management Across Generations February 12, 2020 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Details Here
OEN EVENT: PubTalk – Picking the Right Incubator, Accelerator, or Co-Working Space February 12, 2020 5:15 – 7:00 PM Details Here
OEN EVENT: PubTalk – Learning From Failure February 19, 2020 5:15 – 7:00 PM Details Here
BIOCOM EVENT: Biocom’s Global Life Science Partnering Conference February 25-27, 2020 San Diego, CA Details Here
OEN & OTBC EVENT: Workshop – Startup 411 – How to Start Your Startup March 5, 2020 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM Details Here
OREGON BIOSCIENCE ASSOCIATION EVENT: BIO on the Rocks March 12, 2020 5:00 – 8:00 PM Details Here
Applications NOW OPEN for Springboard Enterprises’ 2020 Health Innovation Hub: Life Sciences
Springboard is now recruiting women-led life science and healthcare companies seeking growth funding and connections to experts and strategic partners for product development and expansion. Areas of focus for the program include (but are not limited to) drugs, therapeutics, diagnostics, medtech, and medical devices.
The 2020 Health Hub programming has a special focus onwomen’s health innovation. Applications will be open through February 19th-24th (priority deadline February 19).
Cascade Seed Fund Invites Early Stage Companies to Apply for Funding
Entrepreneurs seeking investment capital have an opportunity to present their early stage businesses to Cascade Seed Fund with the opening of its first application period running from from November 12, 2019 to January 17, 2020. This is the first of several planned application periods for 2020. Entrepreneurs interested in applying can do so via Gust.
The Fund anticipates investing in 5-8 companies annually. Investments are made in early-stage technology and consumer products companies with those initial investments anticipated to average $250,000 per company.
The Fund’s mission is to create regional opportunities for businesses to drive economic growth, fuel prosperity, and generate a return for investors. Cascade Seed Fund is managed by 44North Ventures, under the leadership of Julie Harrelson and Robert Pease. Harrelson, an entrepreneur, investor and leader in Oregon’s startup community, founded Cascade Angels Fund in 2013 and managed all five predecessor funds to Cascade Seed Fund with over $5 million invested in 30 companies. Pease has over 20 years of experience as an investor, founder, operational executive, and consultant. He joined Julie in the management of Cascade Angels Fund V and serves as a Venture Partner to the previous Cascade Angels Funds.
OBI Client Company Wins
Madorra was awarded a $500K Phase IIB SBIR extension grant from the NSF. Madorra also delivered the pilot study device. Fully tested and documented: Madorra has finished its first medical device!
Rewire Neuroscience has been busy pitching recently. They pitched at and won Founders Live PDX in September, pitched at Oregon Bioscience Association’s Company Pitch Showcase in October, and pitched at TAO’s Ignite: Health in November. They have also been accepted into the NVIDIA Inception Program.
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals competed in and won Oregon Bioscience Association’s Company Pitch Fest (photo above).
Vir Bio went public. In October, Vir raised $142.9 million in gross proceeds from an initial public offering.
Welcome OBI/OTRADI’s Newly Appointed Board Chair Joseph Janda
Joe has served on OBI/OTRADI’s board of directors for 3 years and was recently voted on as OBI’s Board Chair. He is Assistant Vice President in Research and Graduate Studies at Portland State University. As Assistant Vice President, he leads the innovation commercialization activities including intellectual property development and licensing, entrepreneurial training and support, engagement with the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and engagement with faculty and research groups to grow their research portfolios with an awareness of impact, commercial, and IP considerations.
Grace Bio-Labs has a special offer for the OTRADI and OBI community. Email info@gracebio.com if you would like to partake.
Upcoming Events
OBI Event: Join us for the Lunch & Learn – Who’s on your Board of Directors on December 18th from 12-1pm. Register now. Free to attend.
OHSU Event: OHSU’s Invent Seminar Series on January 7th from 12-1pm will focus on “How to approach market research.” Register now. Free to attend.
OBI Event: Join us at our first 2020 Accelerate Biotech & Digital Health Happy Hour on January 9th from 5:30pm – 7pm at OBI/OTRADI. Register now. Free to attend. Thank you to Oregon Bioscience Association for sponsoring this event.
BIO International Event: BIO International Convention will be in San Diego from June 8-11th. Start-Up Stadium was designed to provide start-up companies with the opportunity to engage key members of the investment community, venture philanthropy groups, strategic partners, and non-dilutive capital at the world’s largest biotechnology event. Apply now.
Business Oregon is seeking applications for matching grants of either federal Phase I SBIR/STTR awards or Phase II awards. An Oregon company that has received a Phase I SBIR/STTR award may submit a proposal for projects up to $50,000. A company with a Phase II or Fast-track award may submit a proposal for projects up to $100,000. Open now through 11:59 pm October 31, 2019—Get the request for proposal (RFP); download the application form.
Check out Business Oregon’s SBIR Web Page for more information.
Hemex Health won a $45K Catalyzing Pediatric Innovation Grant from CTIP (Consortium for Technology & Innovation in Pediatrics). The Grant will fund a study in Ghana to determine if a large number of infants can be screened efficiently for sickle cell disease during the vaccination process. Hemex presented at the CTIP Symposium held in Los Angeles last month.
OBI’s BioMentor Program is available throughout the entire state of Oregon
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.
We have a network of >90 BioMentors with valuable expertise in a wide range of business topics that are integral to the success of early-stage life science companies, including:
OBI Event: Join us for a Lunch & Learn on how to Pregame Your Business on October 22nd from 12-1pm. Register now. Free to attend.
OBI Event: Join us for our Accelerate Biotech & Digital Health Happy Hour on November 7th from 5:30-7pm at OBI/OTRADI. Register now. Free to attend.
Join us for these upcoming OBI-Partner programs and events:
Partner Event in Bend: The 16th Annual Bend Venture Conference will be October 17th & 18th. Register now. $135-$329 to attend.
Partner Event : Catalyze is hosting The Future of Digital Health and Wearables on October 22nd from 5-8pm. Register now. Free to attend.
Partner Event: Oregon Bioscience Association is hosting their 2019: Innovating and Scaling our Region’s Growth conference on October 29th from 8am – 6:30pm. Register now. $95-$180 to attend.
Partner Event: Oregon Entrepreneurs Network is hosting their 26th OEN Tom Holce Entrepreneurship Awards Dinner on October 29th from 5pm – 9pm. Register now. $255 – $2,750 to attend.
OBI Appoints New Board Chair and Two New Members to Its Board of Directors
Dan Snyder has been elected as OBI/OTRADI’s new Board Chair. He was most recently the President and CEO for MolecularMD, which was recently acquired by ICON. His experience as a bio-entrepreneur benefits us by ensuring our client companies and all bio-entrepreneurs in the community are well represented.
Liisa Bozinovic was recently elected as an OBI/OTRADI Board Director. She is the Executive Director of the Oregon Bioscience Association, a trade/industry organization. Her experience in workforce training and development along with academia and industry partnerships will bring a new prospective to OBI/OTRADI.
Sandra Shotwell was recently elected as an OBI/OTRADI Board Director. She is the Co-Founder and CEO of Designmedix and Co-Founder and Board Chair of Elex Biotech Inc. Her experience in technology transfer and licensing, active angel investor and as a bio-entrepreneur will bring new levels of experience to OBI/OTRADI’s Board of Directors.
OBI Client Company Wins
Bates Medical Systems is pitching at MedTech & Digital Health Demo Day, a pitch event to showcase promising medtech and digital health startups from outside the bay area. This pitch will be in San Francisco on September 18th.
Motusi is pitching at MedTech & Digital Health Demo Day, a pitch event to showcase promising medtech and digital health startups from outside the bay area. This pitch will be in San Francisco on September 18th.
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals passed $1M capital attracted to support development of safer steroids. They also received an FDA agreement to conduct their next clinical trial as designed, they converted US provisional to PCT patent application, and have allowance of 101st composition of matter patent.
OBI Event: Join us for our Accelerate Biotech & Digital Health Happy Hour on September 5th from 5:30-7pm at OBI/OTRADI. Register now. Free to attend.
Collaboration Event: PSBA and OBI are partnering to bring a Finance Lunch & Learn series. Join us for the first session on “Understanding the Basics” on September 17th from 12-1pm at the PSBA. Register now. Free to attend.
OBI Event: Join us for a Lunch & Learn on Setting Up Your Books & the Importance of Financial Statements on September 26th from 12-1pm. Register now. Free to attend.
OBI Event: Join us for a Lunch & Learn on Funding in Connection with Women Inventorship on October 2nd from 12-1pm. Register now. Free to attend.
OBI Event: Join us for a Lunch & Learn on how to Pregame Your Business on October 22nd from 12-1pm. Register now. Free to attend.
Join us for these upcoming OBI-Partner programs and events:
Partner Event: Tonkon Torp is hosting a Tonkon Talk on Accelerators & Incubators – How They Can Help on September 4th from 4-6pm. Register now. Free to attend.
Partner Event: OTBC, OEN TiE and Ater Wynne are partnering on an online series “How Early Stage Startup Funding Works.” The next topic will discuss How the Series Seed Works on September 10th from 12-1pm. Register now. Free to attend this webinar.
Partner Event: VertueLab is hosting their Impact Summit 2019 on September 13th. They are also hosting a Funding Startups Lunch with SBIR Grants and Other Funding Options at 12pm. Register now. $10-$125 to attend.
Partner Event: Women in Science is hosting their Annual Gala on September 18th from 6-9pm. Register now. $75-$100 to attend.
Partner Event in San Francisco: Catalyze is partnering with Runway Innovation Hub to bring MedTech and Digital Health Demo Day on September 18th from 2-8pm. Register now. $35 to attend.
Partner Event: OCTRI is now accepting applications for BIP Corp, 4-week experiential course. BIP Corp runes October 4 – November 1. Applications are due September 20th. Apply now.
Partner Event in Medford: Oregon Bioscience Association is hosting a Medford Meet Up 2.0 on September 24th from 5-8pm. Register now. $20 to attend.
Partner Event in Bend: The 16th Annual Bend Venture Conference will be October 17th & 18th. Register now. $135-$329 to attend.
Partner Event: Oregon Bioscience Association is hosting their 2019: Innovating and Scaling our Region’s Growth conference on October 29th from 8am – 6:30pm. Register now. $95-$180 to attend.
Best Wishes to OBI/OTRADI’s Executive Director, Jennifer Fox, in her new position as Autodesk’s Director and Chief of Staff
“The last eleven years at OTRADI and the OBI have been the most exciting and professionally rewarding time of my career. I am immensely proud of the work that we have been able to accomplish — opening Oregon’s first bio-focused startup incubator and growing Oregon’s bioscience and digital health startup sector. While I hate to leave OTRADI/OBI, in July 2019, I accepted a position in Portland with Autodesk as a Director and Chief of Staff.
While my new role is a fantastic opportunity that promises to be exciting and challenging, it was very difficult for me to leave our outstanding team, organization and the OBI community. Autodesk is a leader in working with innovators, makers, engineers and community builders, which is why it will be a wonderful next step for me. Moving forward, I will continue to be an active member of the bio and digital health community here in Oregon. I remain incredibly excited to continue to see the phenomenal growth of bioscience startups and health and wellness innovators across Oregon.
I look forward to seeing you all again in the near future.”
-Jennifer Fox, Ph.D
OBI/OTRADI names Heather Ellis as Interim Director
OBI/OTRADI’s board of directors has named Heather Ellis as Interim Director. Heather has been with OBI/OTRADI for the past two years and has most recently served as our Assistant Director. She is well-informed, passionate about incubation and a wonderful contributor to our community.
We are committed to supporting a smooth transition, and we have outstanding staff and board of directors that are committed and dedicated to supporting bio-entrepreneurs at the OBI and across Oregon.
Aditi Martin to lead new OHSU Collaborations and Entrepreneurship Office
OBI’s close partner, Aditi Martin, has be crucial to the entrepreneurial community, OHSU partnerships and business development since 2015. She will now serve OHSU as Senior Director of Collaborations and Entrepreneurship, a position designed to encourage the development of OHSU innovations.
Aronora has started a phase 2 clinical trial of AB002, a novel recombinant antithrombotic and antiinflammatory enszyme. This is their third product candidate, in addition to AB012 and AB023, that had passed phase 1. Information on this trial is available here.
OBI Client Companies now have access to a recording of a 3 hour SBIR Workshop “All About the SBIR Grant Process: An Insider’s Perspective” with Dr. O’Halloran. This seminar provides a comprehensive overview of the small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant process, with emphasis on how to get funded.
Understanding the Omnibus Solicitation and Application Process
What the Solicitation does and does not cover
Strategic planning
Understanding the element of “Innovation”
Writing a competitive grant application
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 access to this webinar, email Heather Ellis at hellis@otradi.org for access.
Join us for these upcoming OBI and OBI-Partner events:
Partner Event: Oregon Bioscience Association is hosting a Finance Skills for Non-Finance People workshop on August 1 & 2. Register now. $625-$775 to attend.
Partner Event: OTBC, OEN TiE and Ater Wynne are partnering on an online series “How Early Stage Startup Funding Works.” The next topic will discuss How the Pre-Money SAFE and Post-Money SAFE Work on August 6th from 12-1pm.Register now. Free to attend this webinar.
OBI Event: Join us for a Lunch & Learn on Executive Profile Building to Build Opportunities with Eric Schudiske on August 29th from 12-1pm.Register now. Free to attend.
OBI Event: Join us for our Accelerate Biotech & Digital Health Happy Hour on September 5th from 5:30-7pm at OBI/OTRADI. Register now. Free to attend.
Partner Event: VertueLab is hosting their Impact Summit 2019 on September 13th. They are also hosting a Funding Startups Lunch with SBIR Grants and Other Funding Options at 12pm. Register now. $10-$125 to attend.
Partner Event: OCTRI is now accepting applications for BIP Corp, 4-week experiential course. BIP Corp runes October 4 – November 1. Applications are due September 20th. Apply now.
Partner Event: The 16th Annual Bend Venture Conference will be October 17th & 18th in Bend, OR. Register now. $135-$329 to attend.
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
Aronora was just awarded a new Fast Track Phase I/II SBIR grant from the NIH for $2.5 million to help support the phase 2 clinical trial of AB002 (E-WE thrombin).
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals was awarded a $100,000 Enhanced Phase 0 Grant to develop new drugs that work in combination with corticosteroids while mitigating adverse effects.
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals completed Keiretsu Forum due diligence and has now received initial investments from Keiretsu members.
OBI Client Companies now have access to MathWorks Accelerator and Incubator Program benefits which include:
All current OBI startups and alumni may request up to 10 Individual licenses of MathWorks desktop software
This includes MATLAB, Simulink and over 90+ additional tools
50% discount on all MathWorks self-paced online training
Full Tech Support
Ability to purchase our software in years 2-5 under their Startup License program.
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.
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.
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.
Bioscience Growth and the Portland Innovation Quadrant
For years one of the primary limiting factors for local bioscience companies’ growth has been the complete lack of available lab space in the Portland Metro area. Many of you know that we have been diligently working on solving this problem by meeting with local real estate developers and by actively participating on the board of the Portland Innovation Quadrant (Portland IQ). The Portland IQ is a public-private partnership founded by Portland’s leading institutions (OHSU, PSU, PCC, OMSI) and expanded to include private industry, incubators, trade associations and local government (for more info, see www.portlandiq.org).
If you are a lab-based company with up to 25 employees, and you’d like to learn more about our new lab space available in the Portland IQ, please email hellis@otradi.org to let us know. We are happy to discuss these developments and the great progress being made to develop an innovation quadrant in Portland. Thanks to you all for being part of this vibrant and rapidly growing bioscience community!
OBI’s Executive Director, Jennier Fox, was a panelist at TechfestNW discussing the Portland Innovation Quadrant (Portland IQ). She shared her excitement for the Portland IQ and how it is creating the next step in the pipeline for bioscience startups.
OBI proudly sponsored the following companies at PitchfestNW:
Suturegard Medical has completed their seed round. Kaiser Permanente has approved their device for a 3 month product trial and surgeons from multiple specialties will be involved in this clinical trial.
As a BioMentor, Jurgen can advise on, and put in place, an intellectual property strategy (on what patents to file, when to file them, where and how) that will help startups save money and will add value to the company at time of exit based on an overview of the competitive landscape.
Join us for these upcoming OBI and OBI-Partner events:
OBI Event: Our Accelerate Biotech & Digital Health Happy Hour is TONIGHT, May 2nd at OBI/OTRADI. Register now. Free to attend.
Partner Event: Oregon State University Advantage is hosting an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit on May 9th. Register now. Free to attend.
Partner Event: SoPE will be hosting their next meeting on May 16th.Register now. Free to attend.
Partner Event: Oregon Bioscience Association is hosting their signature event, Bio in the High Desert, on May 16th in Bend.Register now. $25-$35 to attend.
Oregon Bioscience Incubator Names Heather Ellis as Assistant Director
The Oregon Bioscience Incubator (OBI) is proud to announce that our previous Community Coordinator, Heather Ellis, has been promoted to the position of Assistant Director of the OBI. Heather joined the OBI in the Fall of 2017 and has excelled at implementing our entrepreneurial programs, including OBI’s monthly Lunch and Learn events, Accelerate Bio and Digital Health monthly happy hours, SBIR grant writing workshops, startup company outreach and promoting partner events across the State’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
In her new role as OBI Assistant Director, Heather will be spearheading OBI’s newest initiatives, developing entrepreneurial programs, growing OBI’s partnerships and collaborations, participating on the Portland Innovation Quadrant’s startup resources work group, growing OBI’s digital and marketing presence, as well as developing programs, workshops and events designed to grow Oregon’s startup bioscience and digital health ecosystem.
Ms. Ellis graduated from Portland State University, receiving a bachelor’s degree with minors in Business and Communications.
Hemex Health was invited to Ghana to discuss therapy for sickle cell patients. They also toured Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, which has been working to institute sickle cell screening for all newborns. (photo above)
New client company, Rewire Neuroscience, joined the OBI in April!
Rewire Neuroscience is a Portland startup focused on empowering the future of biomedical research by providing intelligent research tools that are powerful and affordable. They offer an array of laboratory equipment and analytics software, ranging from real-time freezer power monitoring to artificial intelligence for analyzing biomedical images.
Partner Event: Girls Inc of the Pacific Northwest is hosting their Power of the Purse Gala on April 12th. Register now. $200 and up.
Partner Event: Cambia Grove is hosting a TRAILS Competition. Apply now; applications are due by April 14th.
Partner Event: Technology Association of Oregon is hosting their 2019 Oregon Technology Awards on April 17th from 5 – 9PM. Register now. $150-$2,400.
Partner Event: Oregon Science Startup Forum is on April 20th. Register now. $30-$60.
OBI Event: Join us for a Workshop on Sales and Marketing – Sales Strategy from a Company Planning Standpoint on April 24th from 10AM – 4PM. Register now. $35 to attend.
Hemex Health was awarded a $150,000 SBIR grant to design and automate an affordable microchip-electrophoresis for sickle cell disease using a test cartridge that can be used in Hemex Health’s portable, easy-to-use analysis equipment.
StoneStable was awarded a $49,930 SBIR grant for stabilization of influenza vaccine by silica-coating. The company will conduct additional experiments to demonstrate efficacy of silica-coated flu vaccines that are much more stable than existing means.
OBI’s BioMentor Program is available throughout all of Oregon
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.
We have a network of >90 BioMentors with valuable expertise in a wide range of business topics that are integral to the success of early-stage life science companies, including:
New client company, Bio Lab Analytics, joins the OBI in February!
Bio Lab Analytics, LLC, provides data management & analysis services for life science professionals and organizations. We assist clients with study design for research & quality improvement projects; statistics, biostatistics, and data analysis in R, SAS, Python, and Tableau; and SQL database design & development. Areas of expertise include clinical research, laboratory medicine, biotechnology, and plant biology.
As a BioMentor, Andrew can help entrepreneurs with questions regarding intellectual property and patents, startup funding, government funded research and development, medical device regulatory and quality, product development and manufacturing.
SUTUREGARD Medical was chosen from many startups to participate in the Innovation Pitch Competition and JP Morgan/RESI in San Francisco January 8th. They also presented at the Med Tech Monday in Costa Mesa on January 28th. They completed round 2 of Willamette Valley Capital’s pitch series. Next, SUTUREGARD will participate in a surgical trade show in Las Vegas on February 3rd.
OBI welcomed new client company Caregiven in January!
Caring for someone who won’t get better is one of the most expensive and traumatic experiences we all will go through; Caregiven’s digital health platform guides families to the appropriate end-of-life support and services so they can spend less time overwhelmed by administrative tasks and more meaningful time with their loved-one.
We were proud to have PIE and Built Oregon complete the video above about the OBI and our startups in 2018.
Above you can see the host of entrepreneurial programs the OBI hosted in 2018 along with logos of our wonderful sponsors and partners. Thank you to all of our partners and sponsors for supporting our programming and helping us make 2018 the best year yet for entrepreneurial programs and outreach at the OBI!
OBI/OTRADI’s Executive Director, Jennifer Fox, represented Oregon and promoted more robust funding for scientific research and STEAM education during the national Bio Fly-In Event in Washington DC.
The FDA granted Aronora’s biological drug candidate, AB002, Fast Track designation. This Fast Track designation allows for drug candidates to qualify for accelerated (Ph I & Ph II) drug development and evaluation. See article here.
Hemex Health completed the final design of their diagnostic platform and is in the manufacturing handoff process. They have signed with a major distribution partner in India.
Hemex Health was awarded 3 NIH SBIR awards: 1. $1.725M fast-track SBIR award from the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute for to advance their sickle cell test. 2. $225K SBIR contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to enable their malaria diagnostic to distinguish between the two most common forms of malaria and to further lower their limit of malaria detection. 3. $225K award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to adapt their device to identify and measure HbA1C (glycosylated hemoglobin), which is an indicator of diabetes.
Hemex Health started a new subsidiary, HemexDx, in India, where the initial release of the product will take place.
Hemex Health’s sickle cell diagnostic technology “microchip electrophoresis (TM)” won a USPTO Patents for Humanity Honorable Mention.
Hemex Health presented posters of their research studies at MHSRS (Military Health System Research Symposium), ASTMH (American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene), and presented this December at ASH (American Society of Hematology).
Madorra was awarded a $2.3M Fast-track SBIR grant from the NIH to further develop their cutting-edge women’s health medical device.
Madorra closed the first tranche of their Series A raise. They also received IRB approval for their Human Factors study.
OmnEcoil Instruments’ device has benefited from three grant awards; an NSF Phase I SBIR grant ($225K), an ONAMI Gap grant ($250K) and a Murdock Trust grant ($120K).
Sirona Dx launched a novel urine-based bladder cancer assay with PD-L1 quantification based on IncellDx’s single cell immuno-oncology/PD-L1 technology. Press release article.
Sonivate finalized product design including Dual-Array Probe, Graphical User Interface (GUI) and all board electronics.
System (Microsoft tablet) demonstration for military medical leadership in August 2018.
Two provisional patents filed; final GUI Design Patent filed.
Units for safety testing and verification & validation produced and assembled.
SUTUREGARD Medical completed a successful human use clinical trial and was issued a key patent (US patent # 10,064,616 – Variable Stiffness Suture Bridges Compatible with Various Suture Patterns”) for their device.
VIR Biotechnology announced collaborations with RNAi biotech Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and infectious disease company Visterra, as well as four academic research labs, including groups at Stanford and Harvard. Press release article.
OBI has opened a new Digital Health IT Annex co-working space with dedicated desks available for startups on a month-by-month basis. This new shared space is a great way to collaborate with other Digital Health IT companies while still having a place to call your own.
AMENITIES INCLUDED:
Specialized Mentoring: Entrepreneurs-in-Residence and unique BioMentoring program to assess company needs, identify and reach milestones and accelerate companies’ growth. Entrepreneurial training via workshops, peer-mentoring, etc.
Collaborations: Share resources, ideas, and space with regional incubators, accelerators, networking events, Life Science and Digital Health Startup CEO Roundtable Lunches, Lunch & Learns, and entrepreneurial training opportunities.
Space:
Private kitchenette and server room
Access to conference rooms, meeting and networking spaces
Free parking
Key code access to building and OBI 24-hours/day
WiFi included
Utilities included
Janitorial services included
Contact Heather Ellis at hellis@otradi.org for more information or to schedule a tour of this space.
Each year the Portland Business Journal honors the region’s top manufacturing companies who drive our economy with innovation, excellence and productivity. These companies shape the future and build what is needed for our next generation.
NOTE: If you do not have access to the Portland Business Journal, click here for a PDF of this article.
Please note this grant DOES require a startup to have SBIR/STTR funding.
Business Oregon is looking for entrepreneurs and startups who would like to apply for this supplemental funding to match a portion of their SBIR/STTR grant/s. Business Oregon is accepting applications on a rolling basis, so you can apply as soon as you get all the materials together. All information is available on Business Oregon’s web page: www.oregon4biz.com/sbir. The application form and guidelines are in the resources box on the right side of the page.
Now offering up to $2M for startups and growth stage companies. OVP investors will contribute their expertise and leverage their network to help businesses succeed.
Join us for these OBI and OBI-Partner events in December:
Partner Event: Oregon Bioscience Association is hosting their signature event Bio in the Valley on December 6th in Eugene. Register now. $15-$35 to attend.
OBI Event: Our monthly Accelerate Bio & Digital Health Happy Hour is on December 6th at OBI/OTRADI. Register now. Free to attend.
Opportunities in the community:
Position: OHSU Program Manager – Innovation
OHSU’s Department of Surgery is looking for a full time Program Manager.
Internship Grant Opportunity: Applications open Monday, December 3 for Prosper Portland’s first Small Business Internship Grants, available for up to 12 eligible small businesses in the Portland metro area.
“When we were looking for locations we took into account what would be a great location in terms of connectivity with the organization and patients and community,” said Claire Scott, Vice President of Access Solutions. “We love the mission driven culture we found in Oregon and Portland.”
NOTE: If you do not have access to the Portland Business Journal, click here for a PDF of this article.
Summit Development Group is excited to announce that the Eastside Innovation life science laboratory building at 808 SE Alder is under construction and open for pre-leasing, with estimated Summer 2019 move-in dates. The Eastside Innovation building features BSL-2 lab spaces and robust lab-specific mechanical systems never before offered in the Portland for-lease market.
VIR Biotechnology was featured in FierceBiotech announcing collaborations with RNAi biotech Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and infectious disease company Visterra, as well as four academic research labs, including groups at Stanford and Harvard.
Nature article by OHSU team, including OTRADI scientist Dylan Nelson, details
NOTE: Click here for a PDF of the Portland Business Journal
November BioMentor Highlight
OBI offers an extensive BioMentor program to provide pro bono advice and assistance to promising life science entrepreneurs across the state of Oregon. This month we are highlighting Michael Phillips, Partner at Davis Wright Tremaine.
As a BioMentor, Michael can bring not only the required legal expertise to help a company and its founders achieve their goals and succeed, he offers the experience of having been through complete histories of startups, from earliest stage through initial public offerings and acquisitions.
Please note this grant DOES require a startup to have SBIR/STTR funding.
Business Oregon is looking for entrepreneurs and startups who would like to apply for this supplemental funding to match a portion of their SBIR/STTR grant/s. Business Oregon is accepting applications on a rolling basis, so you can apply as soon as you get all the materials together. All information is available on Business Oregon’s web page: www.oregon4biz.com/sbir
The application form and guidelines are in the resources box on the right side of the page.
Now offering up to $2M for startups and growth stage companies. OVP investors will contribute their expertise and leverage their network to help businesses succeed.
Join us for these OBI and OBI-Partner events in November:
Partner Event: OHSU’s Technology Transfer and Business Development is hosting their MedTech Alliance Showcase on November 1st. Register now. Free to attend.
Partner Event: Tonkon Torp is hosting a Tonkon Talks on Business Immigration for Startups on November 7th. Register now. Free to attend.
OBI Event: Accelerate Bio & Digital Health Happy Hour is on November 8th at OBI/OTRADI and will be featuring our sponsor, Summit Development. Register now. Free to attend.
