532nd Edition, November 8, 2022

Under the SBIR and STTR Extension Act of 2022 (the Act), signed into law last month, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs were extended through fiscal year 2025. These programs provide grants or contracts to small businesses to fund early-stage research and development. Over a dozen agencies participate in the SBIR or STTR programs, including the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, and NASA. According to the Small Business Administration, more than 5,000 new awards, amounting to over $3 billion, are made each year under these programs. The complete list and link to each agency's website (including current opportunities) can be found here.

Join this collaborative webinar between MedTech Color and the National Institutes of Health on November 8th 2022 at 2:30 PM ET. Attendees will learn about the NIH programs and initiatives relevant to diverse founders and entrepreneurs in the Medtech space including SBIR/STTR funding and related NIH programs for entrepreneurs. Hear from specific institutes and departments, such as the NIH Small business Education and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and more, further describe their specific programs, have an open dialogue, and ask questions regarding best fit programs, resources and more!

MedTech Color aims to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) measures in the medical device industry for underrepresented ethnic minority groups. Their core objectives are: to increase the number of leaders of color who enter and stay in Medtech, add tangible value to the industry's ecosystem via thought-leadership and actionable initiatives, and build a strong, diverse network of mentors and sponsors who champion thought leadership and innovative clinical advancement.

To register for the event, visit https://bit.ly/3Fgrvk0.

Great entrepreneurs can come from anywhere, but some universities have a truly exceptional track record of producing future entrepreneurs.

PitchBook's annual university rankings compare schools by tallying up the number of alumni entrepreneurs who have founded venture capital-backed companies. The undergraduate and graduate rankings are powered by PitchBook data and are based on an analysis of more than 144,000 VC-backed founders.

HOUSTON – (Nov. 2, 2022) – The largest crowd in the history of the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) Conference gathered last week in Las Vegas to celebrate creativity and innovation in university-based entrepreneurship education.

The GCEC is made up of more than 250 leading university entrepreneurship programs working together not only to share best practices and develop programs and initiatives, but also to collaborate and help each other advance, strengthen and celebrate the role universities fulfill in educating the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business in Houston is the global headquarters for the GCEC.

Stephen Squinto, Ph.D., Gaurav Gupta, M.D. and Anya Schiess join J.P. Morgan as Managing Partners

Industry luminaries to act as Strategic Advisors to support new team

NEW YORK, Nov. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — J.P. Morgan Asset Management today announced the launch of a new life sciences private equity team, Life Sciences Private Capital. The new team will invest in both early and growth stage healthcare companies across multiple strategies aligned to specific market opportunities, with a focus on novel therapeutics and technologies in several target areas including Genetic Medicine, Oncology, Neurodegenerative Disease, Rare Diseases, Autoimmunity, AI/ML platforms, Metabolic Diseases and Neuropsychology.

Maryland life sciences and biotechnology companies have been at the forefront of the state’s public health response and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, lawmakers are considering policies that weaken the very backbone of Maryland’s robust innovation economy at a time where protecting this industry had never been more critical. Without the necessary policies and protections in place, essential innovation and research, such as COVID-19 clinical trials and cybersecurity development taking place right here in Maryland, could be forced to come to a screeching halt.

Image: Scientists work on the vaccine purification process as they design updates to the Novavax's COVID-19 shots in the company's research laboratory on May 24, 2022, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. In July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized use of Novavax’s more traditional kind of COVID-19 vaccine, which the company hopes can win over unvaccinated people and become a top choice for boosters. (AP Photo/Angie Wang) (Angie Wang/AP)

An Orange County-based startup, Innovation Lab, announced that it was awarded $30,000 in grant funding to help bring its “Move-D” mechanical elbow brace to market to help improve Activities of Daily Living (ADL) for pediatric ataxic cerebral palsy patients. The grant was awarded during the “Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” competition held during the 10th Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Symposium hosted by Children’s National Hospital on October 23, 2022.

An NCI Technology Opportunity Webinar

We invite you to register and join us on November 15 from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm ET for a free NCI technology webinar.

Attendees will hear from Drs. Anand Swaroop, Ph.D. and Kamil Kruczek, Ph.D. of the National Eye Institute about a new gene therapy method for treating CRX-autosomal dominant Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA). LCA is a rare genetic disease that is responsible for about 20% of all childhood blindness. It’s caused by mutations in any of at least 25 genes that control photoreceptor development or function. LCA has both recessive and dominant forms. Currently, there is an FDA approved gene therapy for treating only one of the recessive forms of LCA caused by mutations in the RPE65 gene. In addition to most recessive forms, the dominant form of LCA with underlying mutations in CRX remains untreatable.

Click here to register or learn more.

Maryland life sciences and biotechnology companies have been at the forefront of the state’s public health response and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, lawmakers are considering policies that weaken the very backbone of Maryland’s robust innovation economy at a time where protecting this industry had never been more critical. Without the necessary policies and protections in place, essential innovation and research, such as COVID-19 clinical trials and cybersecurity development taking place right here in Maryland, could be forced to come to a screeching halt.

Image: Scientists work on the vaccine purification process as they design updates to the Novavax's COVID-19 shots in the company's research laboratory on May 24, 2022, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. In July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized use of Novavax’s more traditional kind of COVID-19 vaccine, which the company hopes can win over unvaccinated people and become a top choice for boosters. (AP Photo/Angie Wang) (Angie Wang/AP)