News ItemIn the Know – October 2017

October 30, 2017 –

In The Know – October

Innovative medicines save and extend lives, improve the quality of life and drive value to patients and the healthcare system as a whole. This innovation can only continue by continual investment in the next generation of biotechnology. The vast majority of the companies working on these innovations, and across biotechnology, are small, pre-revenue enterprises. At the Innovate New Mexico meeting on October 17 and NMBio’s Knowledge Fair on October 18, you’ll have the opportunity to meet many of NM’s pioneering and rising stars in the technology and bioscience communities. Lisa Kuuttila and her team at STC-UNM and I, on behalf of NMBio, have spent many weeks researching, selecting and assembling these game changing leaders. We are truly looking forward to welcoming you to these two marque events.

Innovate New Mexico Technology Showcase: October 17

This special collaborative event, sponsored in part by PhRMA, will highlight research and technology opportunities, start-up companies, and economic development resources from the leading research institutions in the state of New Mexico. Representatives and researchers/investigators from six research institutions in New Mexico, including the University of New Mexico, the Air Force Research Lab, Los Alamos National Lab, Sandia National Labs, New Mexico Tech and New Mexico State University will be in attendance. Showcase will be held from 8 am to 5 pm at the Sandia Golf Club in Albuquerque. The program will include Louis P. Berneman, EdD, CLP, Founding Partner, Osage University Partners of Philadelphia as the keynote speaker, and a lunchtime panel session on Startup Companies in New Mexico, featuring DefendSix Corp., Pajarit o Powder, Agilvax, and other startups. Full agenda available here.

Register to Attend »

NMBio’s Knowledge Fair & Expo: October 18

New Mexico’s Bioscience Industry — A Blueprint for Success is the theme for the association’s inaugural Knowledge Fair. It will showcase New Mexico’s talent, energy, research and pioneering entrepreneurs in the bioscience, biomedical, agriculture and healthcare communities from Las Cruces in the south to Los Alamos in the north. The event will be held from 8 am to 5:30 pm at UNM’s Student Union Center.

Robert W. Rubin, President & CEO of Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute — https://lrri.org/ — will be the event’s morning keynote speaker. He’ll be joined by the top executives of LRRI’s family of companies — Mako Labs, Mind Research Network and Lovelace Scientific Resources. The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) President & CEO James Greenwood will be our afternoon keynote speaker — https://www.bio.org/about. In between the two keynote addresses, attendees will be able to explore a wide range of simultaneous informative briefings and the opportunity to meet one on one with speakers and with service providers that will be sharing classrooms and manning table top exhibits.

Some of our featured conference speakers and panel moderators include:

Dr. Richard Larson, Executive Vice Chancellor, Vice Chancellor for Research, UNM Health Sciences Center
Terry Dunlay, CEO of Intellicyt
Richard Gill, Board Director and Investor Member, Launchpad Investor Group
Sarah Boisvert, Founder and CEO, Fab Lab Hub
Bob Proulx, President and CEO of Imagion Biosciences
Lisa Kuuttila, President & Chief Economic Development Officer, STC-UNM
Steve Buelow, CEO, New Mexico Consortium
Michelle Miller, Founder & CEO, High Desert Discovery District
Janeen Vilven Doggett, Partner, Peacock Myers, P.C.
Marie Longserre, President and CEO, Santa Fe Business Incubator
Terry Lombard, Director of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer, NMSU
Wayne Savage, Executive Director, Arrowhead Park
Karthik Ramachandra, VP & Director of Business Development, Likarda
Dr. Ronan Polsky, Research Chemist, Sandia National Labs

The unique learning environment will be immediately followed by 90 minutes of social networking. The combination of tasty food, beer and wine will provide everyone with the chance to put their cell phones on mute and enjoy some quality networking before heading home.

REGISTER »

BIO 2018 Call for Sessions & Speakers — October 12 Deadline

BIO will bring together the most innovative thinkers in biotechnology at its 2018 conference in Boston, MA, June 3-7. This is your chance to submit provocative, cutting-edge topics that will be at the forefront of the global biotechnology industry, including: healthcare, intellectual property, digital health, environmental issues, and business development. Due to the competitive nature of the selection process, BIO encourages prospective session organizers to submit comprehensive proposals, including panelist suggestions. Preference will be given to session proposals that foster audience interaction. Accepted sessions will receive a slot of 60-75 minutes in the convention program.

What innovations are you working on? Submit Now

NMBIO Welcomes New Members

Southwest Labs. Based in Albuquerque, Southwest Labs — https://www.southwestlab.com/ — is focused on a single area of specialization – clinical drug testing. Because of the firm’s dedication to minimizing drug abuse, and its expertise and experience in this field of concern, Southwest Labs choose not to be an all-things-to-all people laboratory. They test for an expansive list of drugs and medications, and use the most advanced technology available. Southwest Labs uses the most advanced drug testing instrumentation available – liquid chromatography with dual mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) – which is over 99% accurate. Using this technology, physician monitoring programs are truly effective, patient care is administered at a higher level, and the physicians and caregivers take an active role in reducing drug abuse and preventing overdoses. “Our team dedicates itself not only to providing the highest level of service in our field, but also to improving the lives of New Mexicans through combating the drug overdose epidemic and assisting medical practitioners in implementing meaningful testing programs,” said John Lahoff, operations director.

TriNet. The firm — https://partners.trinet.com/English/ — offers a full range of HR services for small to mid-sized companies. One of its main client offerings is providing benefits focused on retaining top talent. Its breadth of coverage includes everything from medical, life and disability to commuter benefits, an Employee Assistance Program, and even pet insurance. TriNet also offers 401 (k) plans by highly regarded investment management companies. Its online payroll services include payroll processing with direct deposit and debiting. TriNet offers paperless options for payroll administration, including e-pay stubs and electronic W-2 preparation and delivery.

The Advanced Medical Technology Association. AdvaMed is a trade association that leads the effort to advance medical technology in order to achieve healthier lives and healthier economies around the world. AdvaMed’s membership has reached nearly 300 members and more than 80 employees with a global presence in countries including Europe, India, China, Brazil, and Japan. AdvaMed’s member companies range from the largest to the smallest medical technology innovators and companies. The association acts as the common voice for companies producing medical devices, diagnostic products and health information systems. It is affiliated with the The State Medical Technology Alliance (SMTA) is a consortium of state and regional trade associations representing their local medical technology companies (NMBio is an active member). SMTA’s mission is to collectively support the medical technology industry on the local, state and national levels by fostering a collaborative environment through sharing of best practices, promoting the industry, and advocating for public policies that support innovation. For additional information: https://www.advamed.org/issues/state-medtech-alliance

Business Wire. This Berkshire Hathaway Co. provides news and multi-media distribution, social media monitoring and financial disclosure services. For more than 50 years, Business Wire has delivered critical communications for everyone from start-ups to the Fortune 500. Companies. NMBio has aligned with Business Wire to help you effectively distribute your news releases to your target market with easy, powerful and targeted tools at preferred pricing. Business Wire also instantly and simultaneously delivers multimedia and financial disclosure news around the world, provides valuable measurement data an ooffers special targeting options.

SBIR and STTR Funding Opportunities

There are several SBIR and STTR funding opportunities from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) that might help you advance your research and/or technology! Learn more about the targeted grants and contracts available, and find out if you’re eligible to apply. The next deadline is January 5, 2018. https://goo.gl/yDiHnv In the meantime, I’ll be working with NCATS to arrange for a special webinar that will focus on the needs and questions of NMBio members. Stay tuned for the time and date.

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. NCATS, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, offers small business funding opportunities for entrepreneurs and researchers aiming to commercialize new technologies and platforms that can improve translational research and health care. NCATS encourages researchers and entrepreneurs to apply for funding particularly in these research areas: drug discovery and development, biomedical, clinical and health research informatics, clinical, dissemination and implementation research, and clinical trials.

NTxBio LLC Launches Search for Its First CEO

Based on research that was originally being done at Los Alamos National Laboratory, human biologist Michael Humbert and structural biologist Alex Koglin set out to build revolutionary computational and bioscience platforms to enable the development of fast and reliable processes for drug discovery.Through its core platform technologies that focus on the development and manufacture of qualified new drug candidates, the company will be able to reduce the time and cost associated with new drug development, with the goal to characterize 10 to 20 novel candidates a month. For the past two years, Alex and Michael have been working to build the system into a commercial platform that could help pharmaceutical companies rapidly push new medicines into the market. They co-founded their startup, NTxBio LLC, with an initial $500,000 in funding from local investors connected to the Santa Fe-based business accelerator High Desert Discovery District, or HD3. They set up their lab at the Santa Fe Community College. The NTxBio CEO position will afford the right candidate the opportunity to lead and build a truly world class, biotechnology platform company, with an initial team of up to 12 to 15 industry leading scientists, according to HD3 founder and CEO Michelle Miller and Stuart Schoenmann, one of the original investors in the NTxBio. For jobs specs, contact michelleh@hddd.org

Biotech Primer offers online learning discount to NMBio members and Knowledge Fair & Expo attendees

Biotech Primer Inc. delivers current, relevant training to help professionals understand the science, business, and regulatory processes essential to the Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical, Molecular Diagnostics and Medical Device industries. With continuously updated materials and industry experts behind the podium, the firm provides relevant and engaging instruction.

When Biotech Primer opened the company doors in 2001, its sole focus was entry-level science education for the non-scientist, which helped clients bridge in-house communication gaps and develop more cohesive, well-trained teams for product development. Since then, the firm under the leadership of Stacey Franklin has expanded to offer advanced training for all levels of experienced professionals—an estimated 45,000 people have been trained worldwide to date. Biotech Primer helps prepare companies to make strategic business decisions, navigate important regulatory hurdles, and move healthcare products from the bench to the bedside. To accomplish these goals, the firm offers a diverse range of learning, ensuring participants retain and put into practice what they learn.

Learn biotech anytime, any place. Easy-to-access, hour-long classes are packed with the most relevant information you need to move your career forward. Check out our online learning opportunities. 50% off coupon code “nmbio”

If there’s enough demand, Stacey and her faculty members will also fly to NM to present extensive instruction and workshops. She has worked with many of the state biotech associations over the past 15 years. My association colleagues give Biotech Primer high grades for course content and presentation.

Best regards,

Greg Byrnes

Executive Director

NMBio

610-731-3671 (M)