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NMBio: IN THE KNOW – DECEMBER
Dear Colleagues and Friends:
On behalf of NMBio’s board of directors, I wish our members, community partners, sponsors and prospects a wonderful New Year filled with good health, happiness and success. We thank you for your support, engagement and commitment to the association as well as your passion to accelerate the growth of the state’s bioscience industry. We’re looking forward to collaborating with you throughout 2019.
 We achieved many successes in 2018, including organizing and hosting our second annual Knowledge Fair & Expo, marketing NM and promoting seven promising bioscience firms at BIO’s 25 annual international convention that was held in Boston to a record breaking 18,000 attendees, recruiting exceptional speakers and seeing attendance increase by as much as 50 percent at our Meet & Learn luncheon meetings, increasing membership by 20-plus percent and revenue from the BIO Business Solutions program by 500 percent over the past two years. We also launched an information packed Resource Center on our website, began recruiting a new category of members: Strategic Partners. The Strategic Partners provide the knowledge, critical skills and expertise to help you overcome hurdles and grow your business. We have conducted both statewide and nationwide searches for these firms and consultants. We will continue to add firms and consultants to this list in 2019.
At the national level, there were more than 50 novel drug approvals in 2018, passage of comprehensive opioid legislation, and more than 300 IPOs since the JOBS Act, according to James Greenwood, President and CEO of BIO. “The biotechnology industry is making great strides in our efforts to heal, fuel, and feed the world,” Jim said in his year-end message to BIO members.
 Before turning to upcoming events and other items of interest, I want to thank three board members for their exceptional service. Current President Lisa Kuuttila – CEO and Chief Economic Development Officer, STC-UNM, has spent the past two years helping to shape the association’s strategic direction and guiding its growth. She has served as a mentor to me as well as to Rick VanNess, the association’s Vice President and incoming president. She’s also served as a sounding board on ideas and speakers and has taken the time to introduce me to several individuals that have joined the association. She has also provided us with space at the Lobo Rainforest for our luncheon meetings as well as our board meetings. While her term as president ends at the end of January, she has graciously committed to staying on the board as a member of the executive committee.
 Rick, Director, Product Management at TriCore Reference Labs, has been a significant behind-the-scenes player in helping to recruit new members and sponsors as well as overseeing and recruiting volunteers for the association’s handful of important committees.
 Finally, I want to give a special shout out to Andrew Salazar, Principal of Iron Gate Intellectual Property, LLC and the association’s former board President and the person most responsible for the association’s growth over the past decade. While Andrew will officially retire from the board, he has promised to continue to answer SOS calls and emails (even on weekends) whenever I or his colleagues on the board need to tap him for his insights and sound judgement or get his historical perspective on past board actions and activities.
Next year will be critical to building on the momentum we’ve achieved over the past three years. Our plans include increasing the board from 16 to 20 members, including adding board members that will represent both Sandia and Los Alamos National Labs. We’re also seeking volunteers from member firms to serve on the association’s various committees, including membership, sponsorship, and legislative as well as special events such as the Knowledge Fair, marketing the BIO Business Solutions program and planning and hosting an annual awards dinner that will honor successful colleagues and elected officials that support and contribute to the growth of our industry.
With your assistance, we want to inform business leaders about our mission to foster strategic partnerships, serve as the hub and advocate for a thriving bioscience sector that’s capable of creating thousands of new jobs and improving patient care. Several of our members are developing life-saving medical technologies. Recruiting businesses to financially sponsor our initiatives will enable us to keep our membership rates affordable and eventually allow the association to add additional staff to serve the critical needs of its members.
Please plan to join us for our kick-off Meet and Learn luncheon and our annual board meeting on Thursday, January 24. The luncheon meeting will feature the leaders of three or four member firms that are on the brink of breakout success. VisionQuest Biomedical and Agilvax have confirmed their participation. The event will be held at Lobo Rainforest in Albuquerque. Additional details will be posted to the website by January 11. The board meeting will focus on the election of 10 board members for two-year terms; it will immediately follow the luncheon. Ballots will be sent to members in January. They can be cast online or in person at the luncheon and or board meeting.
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Ski Lift Pitch Returns To Taos Ski Valley on February 21
 ABQid is teaming up once again with Taos Ski Valley to bring Ski Lift Pitch to New Mexico! This nationally recognized event will give up to 15 carefully selected startups the opportunity to pitch to investor judges from around the country. The winning team will win $10,000, while all teams will receive invaluable feedback and networking opportunities with investors! Go to www.skiliftpitch.com to apply to compete or to purchase a ticket. January 11 is the deadline to apply.
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Venture Madness Conference Applications Are Due By January 10
Invest Southwest announced its call for applications for the 2019 Venture Madness Conference; the deadline is January 10. Companies gaining market traction are encouraged to apply to compete as one of 24-36 entrants who will live-pitch their unique value for a chance to win a portion of the $60,000 cash prizes, mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs, executives and investors and exclusive access to active institutional and angel investor judges and attendees from throughout the Southwest.
Venture Madness is the go-to competition for startups and emerging growth companies who have proven initial market demand and are eager to advance to the next level,” says Ryan Edwards, 2019 chairman of Invest Southwest and managing director of technology banking at Silicon Valley Bank. “Venture Madness connects growing companies with investors to create key relationships that often result in accelerating their growth. We even see applicants that don’t win still make incredibly meaningful connections and gain invaluable exposure that helps advance their growth and funding objectives down the road–so there’s a lot of benefit to applying and getting to the live event overall.”
The upcoming event will open with a networking reception the night of Feb. 27, 2019 at Galvanize Phoenix, and a one-day pitch event the following day at Events on Jackson, in the historic warehouse district of Downtown Phoenix. The 24-36 applicants that make it through the two initial judging rounds in January will win a spot to participate in the live event, and pitch their way to victory against other contenders.
The annual event is presented in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority and attracts the most renowned venture capital, angel and institutional investors as well as community focused sponsors and CEOs from the region.
“We’re proud of the fact that Invest Southwest has helped raise over $300 million for startups since inception, and our signature event is a big part of that,” said Karen Katzorke, executive director of Invest Southwest. “One of the best aspects of the competition and this organization is that it brings our entrepreneurial community together. It’s really the ‘connective tissue’ that creates mutually beneficial relationships across key audiences.” Companies can also contact Karen Katzorke at Karen.Katzorke@investsouthwest.org, with any questions.
Invest Southwest is the premier organization for connecting investors with the best and brightest ventures in the region. In addition to providing valuable information on topics important to the investment community, Invest Southwest offers year-round opportunities for investors to connect with emerging growth companies. Visit InvestSouthwest.org for more information.
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BIO CEO & Investor Conference, February 11-12, New York, NY
 BIO One-on-One Partnering is now open. More than 700 investors and more than 750 C-level executives attended the conference in 2018.
Register now so you can login to the system early, set up your profile, open your calendar and start requesting and accepting meetings before schedules get filled. New to BIO One-on-One Partnering? Learn everything you need to know by clicking here.
If you’re a recent IPO or established large-cap public company wishing to tell your story to public and private equity investors, as well as industry analysts, investment bankers, and senior biotechnology executives, apply to present today. Presenters at the BIO CEO & Investor Conference attract and successfully schedule 40% more BIO One-on-One Partnering meetings than non-presenting companies!
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Holiday Must Reads: The Value of Bioscience Innovation in Growing Jobs and Improving Quality of Life 2018
This eighth, biennial report focuses on the economic progress and footprint of the industry geographically including the performance, positioning and latest trends in the bioscience industry for the nation, states and metropolitan areas. For the first time, it includes a national assessment of the full economic impact of the bioscience industry not only in terms of employment, but also with respect to economic output and fiscal impacts. In addition, the report details the nation’s academic research activities and trends in federal funding, access to critical angel and venture capital and the innovation outputs context via patent activities.
Download Report »
NM Legislative Leaders Discuss Top Priorities for the 2019 Session
House Speaker Brian Egolf and Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth hosted a presentation earlier this month highlighting the top legislative priorities for the 2019 Session. They are also introducing the concept of the “rocket docket”. The idea is to introduce bills that have received unanimous or near-unanimous approval in the past and move them into both legislative chambers quickly for a vote. This could be good news for the New Mexico Bioscience Authority
You’ll recall the legislature gave a thumbs up to $250,000 in seed funding last year. However, Governor Martinez vetoed the legislation.
There’s Venture-Capital Life Beyond Silicon Valley
Three-quarters of all venture-funded startups are in or near Silicon Valley, New York City or Boston. That leaves plenty of opportunities in the rest of the country. Learn More »
Best Wishes for a Happy & Healthy New Year,
Greg Byrnes
Executive Director
NMBio
610-731-3671
P.O. Box 31516
Santa Fe, NM 87594
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