Posted on September 1, 2009 by TKtraveler
When Congress returns next week, reauthorizing the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant program will be one of the many decisions policymakers need to address. BioWorld Today explored the VC loophole in a story today (“Squabbling Over VC Loophole Leaves SBIR Program in Limbo”). The article fairly presents both sides of the argument regarding whether majority VC-backed firms should have limited eligibility for the program.
All small, innovative companies should have the opportunity to compete for these grants, and awards should be based on the best science not financial structure regardless of their funding sources. The spirit of the program is to provide funding for companies working on innovative cures and treatments for life threatening diseases. By allowing more biotech start-ups to continue their important work in research and development will lead to significant medical advancements that can save and improve lives, and sustain our country’s position as the global leader in biotech innovation.
The SBIR grant program has been beneficial in promoting innovation in the past, and without the program, many early stage ideas would never have gotten off the ground (as the article points out). And obviously, we agree.
Kudos to BioWorld on such a fair and timely article.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 26, 2009 by nicoleatbio
Posted on June 5, 2009 by cartier@bio
The National Institutes of Health unveiled two new grant programs this week for small research companies that will be supported by stimulus funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. “These new programs will help provide much-needed resources to biotech companies, who are at the cusp of many medical breakthroughs and advancements,” BIO Executive Vice President for Emerging Companies and Business Development Alan Eisenberg said in a recent statement.
“Many emerging biotech companies are struggling to raise the necessary capital to continue their groundbreaking research due to the economic crisis. As a direct result of this difficult environment, many small companies are being forced to leave promising research projects on the shelves and layoff researchers.”
According to GenomeWeb, the grants will amount to at least $5 million.
“The goal is to fund projects that aim to “generate high impact results,” NIH said in a funding announcement, and innovative research tools, techniques, devices, inventions, or methodologies that will improve public health, as well as create value and contribute to economic stimulus.”
Applications are due September 1, with anticipated start dates in April 2010.
Filed under: BIO, Uncategorized | Tagged: BIO, financing, NIH, Small Business | Leave a Comment »
Posted on May 13, 2009 by cartier@bio
Is your life sciences company led by women?
Springboard Enterprises is looking for women-led science companies to present at AllThingsLifeSciences 2009 — a venture forum showcasing early and later stage biotech, medical device, health care IT, products & services and other life science companies.
According to Venture-Catalyst Springboard Enterprises, it is
“the go-to organization for information about and support for emerging growth ventures led by women. Springboard has become a central player in the infrastructure that fosters women’s entrepreneurship with the goal of connecting women entrepreneurs and investors nationally and globally.”
Springboard companies have received over $4 billion in financing.
The deadline for applications is June 1, 2009. Please visit www.springboardenterprises.org for more information.
Filed under: venture capital | Tagged: VC | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 27, 2009 by cartier@bio
A two-time cancer survivor and a perennial Republican swing voter, Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), urged the creation of the Cures Acceleration Network, a new agency to provide grants to help biotech companies develop new treatments, reports Reuters and The Boston Globe:
I believe that we can live not only longer lives, but healthier lives, by harnessing and applying the genius of our biomedical research community and getting about the task of accelerating cures
Specter said in remarks prepared for a Chicago speech to physicians and researchers.
Specter acknowledges that many biotech companies are having a hard time raising cash for research and development and have had to shelve promising lines of research.
Agree or disagree with Senator Specter, one thing is certain: These difficult times call for creative measures to ensure that biotech’s benefits continue to reach the public.
Filed under: Congress, Finding Cures, In the News, Uncategorized | Tagged: Cures Acceleration Network, Specter | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 24, 2009 by cartier@bio
Josh Green, general partner at MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures and three entrepreneurs visited Capitol Hill on Wednesday to testify before the House Small Business Committee about the need to reauthorize the SBIR program.
The Wall Street Journal’s Venture Capital Dispatch blog reported,
“Companies receiving venture funding may have other innovation in the pipeline worth pursuing,” Green told the committee Wednesday. ”It’s for these projects that companies would apply for SBIR grants. Businesses must continue to innovate and the current SBA interpretation forces companies into an uncomfortable dilemma for worthy new projects. This scenario results in small businesses at best delaying important discovery projects and at worst abandoning this important work altogether.”
According to Venture Capital Dispatch, Committee Chair Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) asked Rachel King, chief executive of GlycoMimetics, Inc., if her company would be able to develop new research using SBIR grants that it wouldn’t otherwise be able to develop.
“Absolutely. We have a family of compounds that could be useful in a number of infectious diseases, such as HIV and tuberculosis,” King said. “We can’t focus on that program because we have to focus on our lead program. If we were able to access that funding source then we and other companies would be able to invest in more early stage, very promising research than we can now.”
All committee testimony is available on You Tube, split into 25 videos.
Filed under: Congress, In the News, SBIR, Uncategorized | Tagged: Congress, House Small Business Committee, SBIR, venture capital | 1 Comment »
Posted on April 6, 2009 by cartier@bio
A new regional investor angel fund has sprouted up in the New England area — Mass Medical Angels (MA2) is devoting all of its funds to backing life science startups. The group says its focus is on early stage life science companies looking to raise $250K to $3.0M.
According to the group’s website
Depending on the amount of funding needed, we can fund all or a portion of the round, and will work closely with other angel groups or venture funds in the area to complete the round. We are looking for companies that are extremely capital efficient opportunities where our funds will lead to significant step-ups in valuation to avoid unfavorable future funding rounds.
Mass Medical Angels is looking for a 10x return within 5 years. The group is currently accepting business proposals.
Filed under: SBIR, venture capital | Tagged: biotech, venture capital | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 2, 2009 by cartier@bio
The economic news this week wasn’t all doom and gloom – Google announced Google Ventures, a new venture capital fund that will finance biotechnology start ups, among other things.
According to Google Blog:
At its core, Google Ventures is charged with finding and helping to develop exceptional start-ups. We’ll be focusing on early stage investments across a diverse range of industries, including consumer Internet, software, clean-tech, bio-tech, health care and, no doubt, other areas we haven’t thought of yet. Central to our effort will be our fellow Googlers, whom we view as a critically important resource to help educate us about potential investments areas and evaluate specific companies.
This new fund falls in line with a survey of investors sponsored by Thomson Reuters and BIO, which found 70 percent of investors expect biotech to outperform the rest of the market this year. According to the survey, 57 percent of investors expect biotech to rebound during this year while another 30 percent expect a rebound in 2010.
Filed under: BIO, In the News, venture capital | Tagged: biotechnology, Google, Innovation, start-up, VC, venture capital | Leave a Comment »
Posted on March 31, 2009 by cartier@bio
With Congress knee-deep in legislation to help stimulate the economy and arguing over the budget, things are starting to heat up for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) as well. The current credit crunch has made obtaining funding for biomedical research even tougher. Researchers are facing unprecedented challenges. Unfortunately for some in biotech, slow cash flow has started to mean shelving promising new therapies.
Here’s a snapshot of how small biotechnology companies are faring:
- From September 2008 to February 2009, over 28 companies shelved promising drug development programs in a number of therapeutic areas including: Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, diabetes and various cancers
- 120 companies (30%) are now trading with less than 6 months of cash on hand. This represents a jump of 90% more companies that have less than 6 months cash on hand vs. 2007.
- By comparison with 2007, funds raised from IPOs in 2008 fell 97% and follow-on/secondary offerings fell 56%.
- More than 80 companies laid off over 5,000 employees in 2008. In 2009 alone, at least 21 small, public biotech companies have laid off over 1,177 employees.
For many companies, SBIR can be key to accessing critical financing, and as Patent Baristas recently noted:
The program is set to currently operating under a continuing resolution (CR) with re-authorization due for re-upping on March 20. Now, the House and the Senate have reached a compromise on legislation that will amend PL 110-235 (the current CR) to extend the SBIR Program from March 20, 2009 to July 31, 2009. This means that there will be yet another urgent need for re-authorization in just a few months.
On another front, SBIR availability appears to have dodged a bullet after President Barack Obama’s stimulus package lacked support for the SBIR program. The current stimulus bill has a section granting $7.5 billion to the National Institutes of Health to fund research.
We will be keeping track of SBIR here, and also following other trends important for emerging biotech companies. We encourage you to comment, or contact us!
Filed under: BIO, Congress, In the News, SBIR | Tagged: Alzheimer's, Barack Obama, Congress, NIH, Patent Baristas, SBIR | Leave a Comment »
Posted on January 15, 2009 by nicoleatbio
Do you know anyone who deserves recognition for their advocacy work? There are so many people in our community who fight against diseases every day, working towards a cure, but rarely receive recognition. Many of those fighting do it because they care about ending human suffering, not because they want accolades or praise. However, it is important to honor those who are working on behalf of thousands of people and let them know that we appreciate what they are doing and we are grateful.
You can show your appreciation by nominating the efforts of a colleague, advocate or friend for the Biotech Humanitarian Award.
The award will recognize an everyday hero, and our own community is perfectly suited to nominate people who we believe have produced tangible improvements to humanity through their advocacy efforts, research, venture philanthropy or policy work.
This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate someone in your life that has made an impact on contemporary health issues. You should feel free to nominate anyone including advocates, scientists, researchers, academics, entrepreneurs, financiers, philanthropists, educators and others.
The Biotech Humanitarian Award winner will be announced at the to the 2009 BIO International Convention and receive $10,000. Nominations can be made online at www.iambiotech.org and must be submitted by April 15, 2009.
Filed under: Award | Tagged: award nomination, BIO convention | Leave a Comment »
