Applications for the White Hat Life Science Investor Conference will close at Midnight on July 15

White Hat is a collaboration between the life science associations of Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Southern California, Texas, and Utah. Final judging packets will be distributed to the selection committee on July 18 and all companies will be notified the week of August 1.

To date, New Mexico applicants include David Joseph of Avisa Pharma, Inc. and Les Stewart of SolaranRx, Inc. White Hat is our opportunity to show the quality of the life sciences investments available in New Mexico as well as across our Rocky Mountain Southwest Region and it is your opportunity to get your company in front of Strategics, VC’s and Accredited Investors during both
the selection process and the conference itself. www.WhiteHatInvestors.com.   In addition, every person attending ANY event during Arizona Bioscience Week will have the opportunity to opt-into the statewide partnering system for additional opportunities to make connections.  www.AZBio.org/AzBW
I hope you will be able to take advantage of this opportunity

Nikon Instruments and Airgas are added to BIO’s cost-savings portfolio.

Nikon Instruments will provide Research Grade Microscope Systems; Airgas will market Packaged & Bulk Gases. Both companies are leaders in their industries, offer national sales and service capabilities and have provided special pricing and terms for NMBio members.

MEMBER BENEFITS:

BIO has pre-negotiated the following discounts and favorable contract terms:

NIKON Instruments benefits include:
–  15% discount on select BIO customized microscope packages
–  7% discount on individual Nikon items, 5% discount for third party products
– Onsite NO CHARGE installation; inclusive of hardware & software, including 3rd party items
– 1 Year Warranty Full on Systems, 5 Year Warranty on Microscopes
– 15% discount on wide variety of Warranty Extension Programs
 
Airgas benefits include:
·     10% to 25% discounts on cryogenic equipment, gas distribution equipment and safety products
·     Hotlist of medical-grade nitrogen, helium, argon & carbon dioxide, plus custom offerings tailored to    specific member needs
·     Customized product service agreement for renewal, removal, and remedy terms and guaranteed price savings option

LikardaBio is NMBio’s newest member and Silver Sponsor 

The Kansas-based firm will also become one of NMBio’s preferred providers. This means the firm will discount its services to our members as well as provide NMBio an incentive fee based on the amount of business it receives from member firms. Working with and providing great service to small firms is LikardaBio’s sweet spot, according to Karthik Ramachandra, the firm’s founder.
 
I selected this firm as a partner — http://www.likardabio.com/company/our-approach/ — because it concentrates on working with small, start up firms seeking Phase 1 approvals. Its line of products and services includes drug discovery and screening, assay development, analytical and biological services, consultation, grant writing, manuscripts, patents and presentations, micro plates and assaying technology. 
 
“Our prices are much less than the major CRO companies,” said Karthik. “Basically, we’re working with cash strapped companies and helping them align their projects to conserve their resources. We also partner with many of the larger CROs who forward many of their smaller projects to us,” he said. 
 
This is one of 10 or so companies that I identified at the annual BIO conference as potential members and preferred service providers.  I’ll provide you updates on future successes throughout the summer.

New Board Member Represents Los Alamos National Laboratory

Miranda Huang Intrator is the bioscience lead business development executive at Feynman Center for Innovation at Los Alamos National Laboratory, responsible for developing agile partnerships to complement and grow Los Alamos’ bioscience portfolio. 

Miranda spent her formative academic years studying mathematics and art history at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and holds a Master’s in Bioengineering from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Prior to her time at the Feynman Center Miranda performed graduate research in the fields of drug delivery for breast cancer therapy, and ultrasound tomography for breast cancer detection.

Miranda replaces John B. Mott, Ph.D, who represented LANL on our board for two terms. We thank John for his prior service and wish him the best as he transitions from LANL into retirement. 

The Coalition of State Bioscience Institutes (CSBI) releases the 2016 Life Sciences Workforce Trends Report 

The report provides a national snapshot of the current and projected talent needs in the life sciences industry. View Key Findings 

Qualitative and quantitative data support the fact that the life sciences industry continues to experience demand at all levels, with a strong need for knowledge-based employees. Job postings in the life sciences industry remained at historic highs with over 92,000 positions posted last year, a 45% increase over 2010, and a 37% increase from 2015.

“We are very excited about the release of this report, as it will serve as an important resource for leaders in industry, academia and government,” said Liisa Bozinovic, CSBI Co-Chair and Executive Director, Biocom Institute. “The quantitative data are strong and further strengthened by the findings highlighted in candid interviews with close to 100 industry executives reflecting important insights into the current hiring practices and future workforce needs. These data will be useful to both industry and academia as we partner to produce the next generation of the life sciences workforce, and to legislators who can steer training dollars and incentivize such partnerships.”

Several themes emerged among life sciences industry leaders and hiring managers who participated in the interviews:

Big Data and Electronic Record Keeping: Advances in computational technology, supported by developments in informatics, bioengineering, and robotics, dictates the need for a high level of agility in all aspects of “rich data” collection and management, including database managers, bioinformaticists, and biostatisticians.
Regulatory & Reimbursement: The need for a depth of understanding of the changing regulatory requirements and reimbursement trends impacts critical business decisions at all stages of the company life cycle.
Soft Skills: Communication above all: The ability to communicate well across many disciplines in a fast-paced, global environment is overwhelmingly the top ranking soft skill sought in employees today. Additionally, teamwork, interpersonal skills, adaptability,critical thinking and problem-solving, and collaboration are viewed as vitally important skill sets.
Employee Development: Ongoing employee training and development are critical for keeping employees’ technical and business skills relevant and helping companies compete for and attract the best talent.
Industry partnerships with academia at all levels are vital for developing collaborative research and preparing and inspiring new generations of talent with industry-relevant knowledge

Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine Launches August 9 

Almost 30 NMBio members and their guests heard an excellent presentation on the nation’s newest medical school and its mission to serve the rural poor from founding dean and chief academic officer, George Mychaskiw.
Here’s a link to the article that appeared in the Albuquerque Business Journal on Friday, June 24 —
 http://www.abqjournal.com/797808/burrell-college-ready-for-first-class-of-162-medical-students.html
 
Our next newsletter will arrive in mid-July. In the meantime, board members and I extend our best wishes to you for a wonderful July 4 celebration.

Greg Byrnes, Executive Director
NMBio

Why You Should Join NMBio

What NMBio does:

1. presents Informative and educational programs presented by industry experts
2. provides website and event recognition for sponsors to increase visibility both locally and nationally
3. provides ccess to BIO’s Business Solutions Programs which offer huge savings on everyday items such as lab equipment, office supplies, insurance and federal service sector programs
4. strong advocacy on Federal and State legislative and administrative issues
5. provides networking events to increase local awareness of your company and learn about others
6. provides access to local and national BIO affiliates
7. members have an invitation to BIO Fly-In in Washington, DC including access to congressional leaders
8. members have an invitation to attend BIO events alongside companies, venture capitalists and affiliates
9. provides opportunities to participate in building the bioscience and biotechnology industry locally and nationally

If you are not currently a member of New Mexico BIO, please consider joining. We all want to see the growth of a cleaner, higher wage industry, and bolstering biotechnology is a proven way to do that. An industry united strengthens each of our companies individually.

Joining NMBio gives your company an edge by providing access to our purchasing programs which cover everything from reagents to insurance. Testimonials from our members confirm the savings from the BIO Business Solutions program can exceed thousands of dollars.