OBI Client Company Wins
- Expanded headcount with 5 full time new hires in 2023
- Monica Richmond: Quality Control Manager
- Matthew Anstett: VP, Business Development
- Teresa Pham: Director of Global Sales, Biopharma
- Erik Gerdtsson, PhD: Director of Bioinformatics
- Kristina Baker, MSc: Principal Scientist
- Sirona secured a government contract (> $500K) with the US Department of Defense to develop a custom ultra-deep immune profiling panel to accelerate the development of vaccines against viral and bacterial pathogens. Great demonstration of the depth of knowledge and dedication of our scientific team.
- Secured contracts for our specialized single cell multi omics and spatial biology capabilities with numerous leading pharma and biotech companies including a $1.4M contract to support a phase 2 clinical trial.
- Sirona is leader in profiling complex biology with single-cell resolution to reveal the next generation of precision biomarker signatures. Our team has developed multiple, propriety immune oncology profiling panels which can accelerate immunotherapy development and distinguish responders vs non-responders. Our team’s leading edge expertise in single cell biology and digital pathology has attracted 9 out of the top 20 global pharma companies (J&J, Gilead, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck, AstraZeneca, and Moderna). We are initiating new contracts in 2024 that will triple revenue compared to 2023.
- In addition to maintaining our CLIA accreditation and passing the last 3 audits with Zero Deficiency, our QA team developed and implemented an advanced Quality Management System enabling us to operate under GCLP guidelines and support two Phase 2 clinical trial studies in 2024. An important aspect of this includes the development of leading edge, validation strategies, enabling our clients to submit single cell biology readouts in FDA submissions.
- PDX Pharmaceuticals has been selected to receive a $100,000 SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Matching Grant award from Business Oregon. The award will be used for our IP protection, marketing campaign, and fundraising activities.
- Gazelle was used in an important study in Haiti, published in Blood Advances, that demonstrated that the rate of follow-up visits improved when parents received their child’s sickle cell diagnosis at the point of care.
- Last month, our founders, Patti White and Peter Galen, had the valuable opportunity to present Gazelle to the Chief Minister of Gujarat, a state in India with a high prevalence of sickle cell disease, at India’s prestigious Vibrant Global Investment Summit.
- India’s Sickle Cell Elimination Mission, aimed at screening 70 million people and eliminating sickle cell disease by 2047, has reached a significant milestone. As of now, 10 million people have been screened under the mission. Hemex Health is proud to be a part of the contribution to this achievement.
- HTI’s CryoFast™, an ML based solution for cryo-em workflow automation, being tested at PNCC/OHSU with great progress. Getting ready for more testing at NYSBC and other sites.
- Presented HTI investment pitch to few investors with good feedback at JPM2024. Also met few CROs for potential cryo services partnership.
- Dr. Leah Frye joined HTI advisory as Senior Advisor. Dr. Frye has 40 years of experience in drug discovery with an emphasis on medicinal and computational chemistry.
- Currently, she is the sole owner of LLFrye Consulting. In 2001, she co-founded the therapeutics group at Schrödinger. She led the group for 18 years and rose to the level of Vice President before returning to a focus on science as a senior drug designer and scientific advisor for the team. Under Dr. Frye’s leadership, the Schrödinger Therapeutics Group worked with collaborators to put numerous compounds into clinical trials resulting in 2 FDA-approved drugs to date. Recently, Schrödinger has developed its own internal drug discovery pipeline and currently has 2 compounds in clinical trials.
- Dr. Frye left Schrödinger in 2023 to form LLFrye Consulting. Prior to Schrödinger, she was a Principal Scientist at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals and before that, she was an Associate Professor of Chemistry with tenure at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
- Dr. Frye holds a Ph.D. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from Johns Hopkins University and a B.S. Professional degree in Chemistry from the University of Idaho. She was an Individual Research Service Award postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
- Dr. Frye is an inventor on 20 issued US patents plus a number of recent patent applications.
Learn more about OBI’s 32 startups by visiting our website!
Angel Oregon Life & Bioscience
Back for its third year, Oregon Entrepreneurs Network‘s Angel Oregon Life & Bioscience (AOBIO) presents its education and investment program for life and bioscience startups. OBI is a proud partner of this program, which combines:
- 3-week educational series focused on investment readiness for bio startups
- Live pitch practice
- Investment mixer
- Equity investment opportunity
The format has changed slightly from past years, with an even stronger focus on investment readiness. More details can be found on Oregon Entrepreneurs Network website –> Registration is now open. Don’t miss it!
Startup Business Essentials
Oregon Entrepreneurs Network has brought back its popular Startup Business Essentials program for entrepreneurs. Enroll in the 5-part series to gain support, insight, and guidance from thought leaders and successful founders.
You may be wondering if your startup is a good fit for this program. All the details are available here, including who might benefit most from Startup Business Essentials.
Registration for the cohort starting March 4 is now open.
Pacific Northwest Pitch Opportunities
Life Science Innovation Northwest
Poster Presentations are an excellent opportunity for early-stage entrepreneurs, research teams, and startups to have one-on-one conversations with other experts in your industry, get feedback about your ideas, and answer questions about your research or work. It could even lead to finding your next investor, employee, or employer!
The Seattle Angel Conference (SAC) is a program for growing the startup and angel investor ecosystems in the greater Seattle area. Attend workshops, register your startup in the conference, or inquire about whether Angel Investing is for you. Offers startup workshops, investor conferences, or participate with your company.
Flywheel Investment Conference
Don’t miss out as hundreds of investors, founders, and professionals come together to connect, learn, and develop resources for building companies.
The deadline has passed to apply for the Pitch Oregon investment, but show your support and meet other entrepreneurs and investors by attending Pitch Oregon in April.
Do you have pitch opportunities or other events to share with our
newsletter subscribers and on our events calendar?
Submit them here!
Upcoming Events
NIH, OCTRI, and OBI Webinar: Entrepreneurial Support
to Advance Your Small Business Health Innovations
February 21, 2024 | 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Virtual
Free – register here
ITHS Biomedical Innovation Fireside Chat Series
February 22, March 7, April 18, May 2 | 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Virtual
Free – register here
OBI Lunch & Learn: IP Law for Scientists
March 6, 2024 | 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Virtual
Free – register here
OBI Accelerate Happy Hour Networking +
Fireside Chat: Bioethics and Healthcare Decision-Making
March 7, 2024 | 5:30-7:30 p.m.
OBI Event Space – Portland
Space is limited – register soon!