Important SBIR/STTR Information Update from NIH

Update courtesy of BBC Entrepreneurial Training and Consulting

NIH is strongly encouraging small businesses to contact the appropriate Institute or Center early in their application planning to ensure their technology is a priority for the Institute/Center.

An updated SBIR/STTR Application Guide with additional instructions for SBIR Direct Phase II application preparation and submission will be posted by November 26, 2018. The following sections of each FOA are changed:

Part 2, Section I. Funding Opportunity Description The following has been added at the end of the section for each FOA:

PA-18-573 The following Components will not accept an SBIR Direct-to-Phase II submission:
– National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
– National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

PA-18-574 The following Components will not accept an SBIR Direct-to-Phase II submission:
– National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS )
– National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
– National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
– Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP)
– Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (All Components of CDC)
– U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (All Components of FDA)

Part 2, Section II. Award Information for both PA-18-573 and PA-18-574. Application types now allowed are:
– New (Phase I, Fast-Track)
– New (Direct Phase II)
– Renewal (Phase II)
– Resubmission (all phases)
– Phase IIB Competing Renewal (Phase IIB)
– Revision

The OER Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) SBIR/STTR Application Guide provide details on these application types.

Life Sciences Summit 2018: 10/24-10/25

The Center for Biotechnology’s annual Life Sciences Summit is an early-stage investor and business development conference for emerging companies and academic innovators. This year’s event will take place on October 24-25 at 10 on the Park at the Time Warner Center in New York City.

The objective of the meeting is to connect emerging companies with early-stage investors, business development professionals, and medical research foundations with the goal of advancing new innovations through clinical development. The robust, two-day program features:

– Emerging Company Showcase
– Pitch Doctor Sessions
– Pipeline Café
– Business Workshops & Plenary Sessions
– Therapeutic Focused Panels
– Online & Onsite Partnering
– Strategic partners presentations

View the full 2018 program and register at lifesciencessummit.org.

LIBH Innovator Awarded Alexandria LaunchLabs Seed Capital Prize

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Alex Vaughan was awarded the 2018 Alexandria LaunchLabs Seed Capital Prize for the CSHL spinoff company MapNeuro Inc. during the NYC Life Science Innovation Showcase, held in New York City on June 14, 2018. Valued at $100,000, the prize, meant to fund early-stage development companies, includes a scholarship to Alexandria LaunchLabs, a cash award, and an investment from the Alexandria Seed Capital Platform, an innovative funding model catalyzing seed-stage life science investment.

MapNeuro Inc. commercializes “molecular connectomics” technology developed in the laboratory of CSHL Professor Anthony Zador. MapNeuro uses this platform to understand brain-wide patterns of neuronal connectivity, and is specifically targeting neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Read the full article here.

Long Island Bioscience Hub (LIBH) Technology Development RFP

Two specific funding programs have been designed to help faculty, physicians, surgeons, medical fellows, and post-docs develop their academic innovations toward commercial goals: Feasibility – up $50k/12 months (director costs) and Proof of Concept- up to $100k/12 months (direct cost) . Full details and application materials can be found here.

Faculty members, physicians, post-doctoral associates, and BEIRs who are considering the submission of an application are strongly encouraged to discuss the proposal with
Anton Xavier (anton.xavier@stonybrook.edu); William Hanes (william.hanes@stonybrook.edu) and/or Emily Kao (Emily.Kao@stonybrook.edu) at the LIBH prior to writing a full proposal..

Deadline for submission is September 19th, 2018. All proposal should be submitted through the online portal. Please note an approval from your Sponsored Programs Office is NOT required prior to the submission but will be required if the project is selected for NIH secondary review. Eligible applicants will be notified if their application is selected to move forward.

The LIBH is supported by the National Institutes of Health REACH initiative (Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub), our four partner institutions, The Research Foundation for SUNY, and Empire State Development.

Long Island Bioscience Hub Appoints Additional BioEntrepreneurs-In-Residence

Seasoned Industry Veterans Join Long Island Bioscience Hub’s BioEntrepreneur-in Residence Initiative

The Long Island Bioscience Hub, a collaboration between Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and the Feinstein Institute at Northwell Health, announced the appointment of Dr. Boris Shor and Mr. Peter Young as its newest BioEntrepreneurs-In-Residence (BEIRs). Dr. Shor and Mr. Young have extensive bioscience industry experience affording them unique perspectives in the role of Bio Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Each will work with the Center for Biotechnology to identify commercially promising academic technologies that have the potential to support company formation.

Dr. Shor has nearly 15 years of experience in leading oncology programs and external R&D partnerships at the large pharmas and biotech companies, with specific focus on preclinical development of small molecule kinase inhibitors and biologics. Previously at Pfizer, Dr. Shor led internal and external collaboration project teams to develop novel antibody-drug conjugates and supported BLA filing for Inotuzumab, which was approved for the treatment of leukemia in 2017. Prior to that, he was a project team leader at the Oncology Unit of Wyeth, managing the discovery of novel kinase inhibitors for the treatment of cancer. He currently serves on the executive management team of early-stage biotech companies and is a founder of BioIDEA, a biotech pitch event in New York City. Dr. Shor received a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center and performed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Inflammation Research team at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical R&D prior to joining Pfizer.

Mr. Young is an experienced life science industry consultant with over thirty-five years experience and currently serves as an executive-in-residence with Pappas Capital, where he leads the firm’s initiatives in translational research. He also serves on the Oversight Committee for the University of Miami Wallace H. Coulter Center for Translational Research and the Long Island Bioscience Hub External Review Board. He is a past member of the BIO board and chairman of NCBIO, the North Carolina industry trade association. Mr. Young earned a BA in History and an MBA from Indiana University.

“We couldn’t be more delighted to add Boris and Peter to the Center for Biotechnology’s roster of BioEntrepreneurs-in-Residence. The ongoing expansion of the BioEntrepreneur-in-Residence program is critical for the continued development of the bioscience industry in the region” Diane Fabel, Director of Operations at the Center for Biotechnology said. “The attraction and retention of skilled bioscience management talent is an important component of ensuring companies can be launched and also grow here.”

“I am thrilled to join the Center for Biotechnology as a BioEntrepreneur-in-Residence” Dr. Shor stated, “and I have already begun the work of assessing technologies and building a company. I appreciate the resources the Center for Biotechnology offers through their many programs not only to me, but to emerging companies throughout New York.”

“Having worked with the Center for Biotechnology as an advisor for several years, I am pleased to formally join the Center as BioEntrepreneur-in-Residence” Peter Young stated. “There is an incredible amount of activity related to bioscience development currently taking place right now in the region, and the Center’s many entrepreneurial programs provide a great springboard for significant industry expansion – I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”

In their roles as BEIRs, Dr. Shor and Mr. Young will work to identify a technology or technologies from within partner institutions that will create the foundation for licensing and company formation. They will have the support of the Center for Biotechnology business and technology development staff, as well as the support of external industry advisors to develop successful commercialization strategies. Ultimately, the goal is to help the company position itself prepare for SBIR/STTR grant opportunities, and Angel and VC investment.

Dr. Shor and Mr. Young join the eight BEIRs already working with the Center for Biotechnology who collectively have launched ten new companies in the last five years.