OBI & OTRADI November 2020 Newsletter

AbSci Receives Series E Funding

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.

Madorra was a keynote presenter at Springboard Enterprise’s Women’s Health Innovation Coalition Menopause Round Table. 

 

Welcome New Client Companies

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:

“Phase 00 Grants Can Be Used For:

“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:

Speakers include OBI client company founders John Harkness from Rewire Neuroscience and Anil Kumar from RxHomeTest.

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.

Four of OBI’s client companies are participating in the pitch event: Emmanuel Akporiaye, PhD from Veana Therapeutics, Ken Bates, PhD from Bates Medical Systems, Connor Barth, PhD from Inherent Targeting, and Jeff King, PhD from Virogenomics Bio Development.

OTRADI & OBI is a proud sponsor of the OregonBio Digital Conference 2020, and we hope to see you there!

 

Oregonian Cares Grant 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.

 

Events

 

OBI EVENTS

Virtual Lunch & Learn: Market Research Deep Dive
November 10, 2020
12:00-1:00 PM
Free to Attend – Register Here

 

Virtual Lunch & Learn: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in R&D
December 9, 2020
12:00-1:00 PM
Registration Now Open

 

COMMUNITY & PARTNER EVENTS

PSU Event: The Cube Demo Day
November 6, 2020
11:00 AM-1:00 PM
Free – Tickets Still Available

 

OEN Entrepreneurship Awards 2020: Disruption Edition
November 19, 2020
5:15-8:00 PM
Register Now

 

OTBC Event: SBIR-STTR Success Panel – the Inside Story
November 20, 2020
12:00-1:30 PM
Register Here

 

TechFest NW + PitchFest NW
December 2-4, 2020
$15 Early Bird Tickets Here

 

McKinsey & Co Early Stage Investor Conference
December 7-11, 2020
Information Here