Big News for Veana Therapeutics and Rewire Neuro!
OBI client companies Veana Therapeutics and Rewire Neuro each received one of 11 state grants from Business Oregon, designed to leverage their federal SBIR and STTR grant awards.
Veana Therapeutics‘ grant helps provide funding toward commercialization for its VT-101 oral medication for oncology patients.
Rewire Neuro received a grant award to develop a marketing strategy and hire additional staff for their AI-as-a-service platform in diagnostics and analysis.
See Business Oregon’s press release for more information.
More Exciting OBI Client Company Wins
- As of today we have 865 users signed on to our platform! We have decreased our customer acquisition costs and churn significantly in recent months.
- In our latest product update we launched our affiliate program with 4 amazing companies who support caregivers: Grief Coach, SilverBills, eFuneral, and Pinventory. While Caregiven does not advertise to our users, we do offer referral links to our affiliate partners who offer users a discount and provide Caregiven with lead generation revenue.
- Alaska’s Dementia Action Collaborative profiled Caregiven as a valuable resource to its stakeholder community in their recent newsletter.
- Caregiven was selected to participate in the APIS Health Angel program.
- Our podcast with Expert Dojo was released online.
- MedRxiv published our study of gamma prime fibrinogen in COVID-19 patients.
- Whitney Wilhardt has joined Hemex as PR and Marketing Specialist.
- Health Technology Innovations, Inc. was awarded an SBIR Phase II grant from the National Science Foundation to commercialize CryoDiscovery ™, a Cryo-EM Automation and Intelligence Platform for Drug Discovery.
- HTI is hiring AI/ML software development engineers, interns & post doc. Inquire to kumar@hti.ai.
- Launched a new product line specifically designed for gene therapy applications, called the SamuxMP. The Refeyn SamuxMP is a mass photometer optimized for adeno-associated virus (AAV) characterization and is an essential analytical tool for laboratories working with AAVs. The SamuxMP precisely measures the empty/full capsid ratio for AAVs of any serotype. SamuxMP mass photometry measurements are rapid and require very little sample.
- Brenda Watt has been promoted to Customer Success Manager in the Portland office, and Ritu is a new member of the Portland team.
- Rewire Neuro is a finalist in the upcoming Pitch Oregon by TiE Oregon, in the Life Science category.
- Pitch Oregon will take place February 11, 2022.
- CSO and Founder Ken Stedman was interviewed by a local KATU reporter about the new SARS CoV-2 subvariant, which was then picked up and shown on Good Morning America.
Congratulations on all of your achievements!
OBI’s Mentor of the Month:
Mel Ellis
Mel Ellis joined the OBI Mentoring Program in 2021 and quickly became a valuable member of our mentoring team. He has a BA from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard. His background includes ten years in professional venture capital in NYC and Boston. Mel was also the owner/operator of a small manufacturing business for 23 years, which he sold in 2014. He brings this valuable experience plus his positive, make-it-happen attitude to his role as a mentor, working with multiple mentees at a time. Thank you, Mel, for all you do!
NEW! Introducing AOBIO
Registration is now open for Angel Oregon Life & Bioscience (AOBIO). Open to bio startups at any stage of development, this program offers a four-week education series focused on investment-readiness led by successful local founders, and includes the opportunity to be considered for an angel investment of up to $300,000 at the end of the program. Presented by OEN in partnership with OHSU, Oregon Bioscience Incubator, and Oregon Bioscience Association, we highly recommend this program for the education and networking opportunities! Series kicks off February 23 at 8:30 a.m. Learn more and register here by February 22.
Calling all angel investors and the investor-curious! Angel Oregon Life & Bioscience (AOBIO) is an education and investment program designed to grow investment in local bio startups while helping new investors learn the sector. Units in a pooled investment fund start at $5K/each, and include the opportunity to join the startup education series, participate in due diligence, learn the ropes from experienced bioscience angel investors, get exposed to cutting edge innovation, and get networked in the bioscience entrepreneurial community. Investor info session to be held February 17th, 4:00 p.m., via Zoom. Sign up for more info here.
University Lab Partners Presents 4-Part SBIR Series
February 10 – Introduction to the NIH SBIR program
Learn about the SBIR program background, eligibility requirements, advantages of SBIR, programmatic structure, deciding whether to apply, challenges for first time applicants, and funding trends.
February 17 – How to Create a Competitive NIH SBIR Grant Application Part 1
Review prerequisites, high level planning, the importance of writing style, aligning an application with division priorities, engaging reviewers, application structure, the importance of advisory committees and academic collaborators, and a detailed approach to creating the Summary and Specific Aims sections, with examples.
February 24 – How to Create a Competitive NIH SBIR Application Part 2
Review the Research Strategy sections: Significance, Innovation and Approach. Budgeting will be discussed in detail. We will also review the importance of advisory committees, academic collaborators and the value of Preliminary Data. We will wrap up with the structure and requirements for the Commercialization section.
March 3 – Understanding the SBIR Review Process
Understanding the review process will enable you to: better understand your target audience, inform your grant creation process and interpret and respond to Summary Statements. We will also discuss what reviewers especially look for in your grant application.
More information and registration for these virtual programs here.
OSU Advantage Accelerator Iterate Program
Do you have a business idea but need some help? OSU Advantage Accelerator offers Iterate, a free virtual class for researchers, entrepreneurs and prospective entrepreneurs who have a business idea or technology that could become a sellable product or service but aren’t sure what to do next. Come learn how to create a value proposition, find and understand your market, and more. Iterate consists of four workshops on THURSDAYS that build on each other: Feb. 24, March. 3, 10, & 17, all from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Open to OSU and non-OSU members.
Apply here for the Winter 2022 Workshop Series.
FDA’s New Approvals Offer Greater Treatment Options for Patients
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a total of 60 new drugs in 2021. A new report from the FDA catalogs 50 new approvals by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). These novel medicines offer to transform many debilitating diseases, resulting in improved survival, better health outcomes, enhanced quality of life for patients with lupus nephritis, lung cancer, endometrial cancer, migraines and HIV.
Key takeaways from the report here.
Pitch Oregon
“In its 6th year, Pitch Oregon is TiE Oregon’s marquee event, attracting hundreds of entrepreneurs, mentors and investors each year. New this year, we are welcoming companies from around the Pacific Northwest to apply and applicants will compete for an equitable investment!
Applicants in the following categories will have the opportunity to receive an equitable investment. These applicants generate TTM of at least $250,000 or have raised external capital of at least $250,000:
Software / Tech Enabled: Companies with services or products related to electronics, software, hardware, artificial intelligence, cloud services, etc.
Life Science: Companies with services or products related to pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, biomedical, telehealth, etc. OBI client company Rewire Neuro is a finalist in the Life Science category.
Clean Technology: Companies that aim to improve environmental sustainability with products or services related to renewable energy, recycling, green transportation, sustainable manufacturing, etc.”
Additionally, Pitch Oregon has an Early-Stage category. OBI mentee Tonsil Tech is a finalist in this category.
You won’t want to miss these fun events – pitches take place on February 11, 2022 from 1:00-4:00, and the winners will be announced at the TiE Oregon Annual Awards Dinner that evening.
More information and registration at TiE Oregon.
Events
Join Us For These Upcoming OBI Events
Virtual Lunch & Learn: How Accelerators Can Help
Boost Your Startup – Founders’ Perspectives
February 16, 2022
12:00-1:00 PM
Register now
AOBIO Investment-Readiness Virtual
4-Week Education Series Begins
February 23, 2022
8:30-10 AM
Registration open through February 22
Accelerate Biotech + Digital Health
Virtual Happy Hour
March 3, 2022
5:00-6:30 PM
Register here
Virtual Lunch & Learn Panel:
Women in Leadership – Mind the Gap
March 15, 2022
12:00-1:00 PM
Save the date
Other Great Community Events
TAO Leadership Exchange:
A Conversation with Women Leaders in Tech
February 24, 2022
9:00-10:30 AM
Register here
OTBC Social Media Marketing
Virtual Workshop with Allison Tivnon
February 24, 2022
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Register here
TiE Westside Pitch Competition 2022
March 10, 2022
4:00-7:00 PM
Hillsboro Cultural Arts Center
527 E Main St., Hillsboro
Ticket information