Utah Innovation Fund’s Post

A huge part of my job & Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI)'s mission is centered around growing the region's #lifesciences industry through #advocacy and #workforcedevelopment. After working with countless partners, we have developed a Regional Biomanufacturing Strategy that outlines the steps we need to take to continue that growth. The success of the life sciences in Central MA directly impacts the success of our region. While it is less than an hour away, #Boston alone cannot contain the industry's exponential growth. Central MA has the space, workforce #talent, and other resources vital to growing companies of all sizes (plus it is WAY more cost effective to life and operate a business here). Please take a second to read through our strategy and see what my team at MBI envisions for the future of #CentralMA... we are on our way to do some really great things for our region! #BiomanufacturingCentralMA #CentralMABioCluster

Resurfacing this fascinating masterclass on biomimicry with Jared Yarnall-Schane from the Biomimicry Institute for The Wilful Group. What do you need to know about biomimicry? For a start, what it means... 🦠Biomimetics – defined as the study of the formation, structure, or function of biologically produced substances and materials (such as enzymes or silk). 🐝Biomimicry is the design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are modelled on biological entities and processes. 🍄Biodesign - is the intersection between biology and design that integrates organic processes, materials, and chemistry into the creation of our built environment And why do we need it? You'll have to read more to find that out: https://lnkd.in/e46tCdyh #sustainability #ESG #biomimicry

“Worcester has a once in a generation opportunity to establish itself as a global #BiomanufacturingHub. Located less than an hour west of #Boston, the region has become a magnet for top #talent, has #land available, can offer a #lowercost of doing business, and is home to a multitude of #highereducation and #hospital institutions to support the #industry. Massachusetts is the global leader in #biotechnology #researchanddevelopment. Now is the time to capture the emerging #biomanufacturing market in the Central part of the state.” – Jon Weaver, President & CEO, MBI. MBI has just released a Regional Biomanufacturing Strategy which calls upon the Commonwealth to designate #CentralMA as a #BiomanufacturingHub and outlines specific programs and strategies that will allow Central MA to successfully compete for this emerging #industry. Thank you to the Boston Business Journal for covering our release. Read the full release at: https://lnkd.in/eB9Wyi8D

Nature-inspired Innovation + what we can learn from nature. Thank you to Dan Simons for the invite to talk about all things inspired by nature to teachers and further education providers during the Industry Insights session from the Education and Training Foundation. "In nature there are no rules, only exceptions." I delighted the audience with about: - Early examples - Schmitt Trigger (it's everywhere!) - Where to find insights - Need to understand evolutionary biology and ecology - Why we look to nature? - Biomimicry Innovation Lab's approach - Case Studies: Sharklet Technologies, Opteran, Aquaporin A/S - Skills, knowledge and expertise - Jobs of the future ...and where possible biofutures could lead. 🚀 Want to know more about our 2024 presentation portfolio, you can download a copy from here - https://lnkd.in/eQYz2_h5 #natureinspiredinnovation #biomimicry #biomimetics #deeptech #investment #startups ++ "Hi, I'm Richard James MacCowan, the mind behind Biomimicry Innovation Lab. We partner with founders and leaders to transform ideas into reality, drawing inspiration from transformative solutions found in nature. Our approach? Harnessing the latest scientific research with innovative tools to delver solutions to complex challenges. Follow me to explore the power of nature-inspired innovation or reach out to dive deeper!"

PSA----> VCs: You should be actively discouraging (if not outright prohibiting) your portfolio companies from building out private lab space UNLESS they've raised significant capital in a series B round. I am seeing companies, founded by scientists, who have raised < $10 million in capital, trying to become quasi real estate developers. They become enamored with the idea of seeing their logo on the wall and the falsehood of needing some incredibly specialized space, tailored specifically to their technology. They don't need any of this. They need a path to a product people will pay for. Should these nascent portfolios companies be signing 3,5 and 10 year liabilities? paying the vig on millions of dollars of lab equipment? installing a half-a-million dollar air handler? consultants? architects?venting chemical hoods to the roof? and burning 50% of their cash reserves on a 6 month security deposit and build out costs? It's INSANE that boards don't put their foot down on this topic! For synthetic biology to hit escape velocity, there needs to be less glossy and expensive science experiments and more commercially viable companies. I can honestly say that the brain damage of building out lab space for Aanika Biosciences, Inc. has not been worth it at all. In fact, it's such a complex undertaking (and one I ignorantly entered into), that I converted a large portion of our new 27,000 sqft facility into a lab co-working space called Cultured Colonies - simply to solve this issue for other startups. My goal through Aanika's insurance platform and Cultured Colonies, is to significantly reduce the frictional costs and headaches of launching a biotech company. VC dollars are more valuable than ever, and LPs (of biotech funds) are unwittingly getting exposure to the complexities and nuances of lab construction and equipment procurement. I would be livid if I backed a team of protein biochemists and microbiologists only to learn they were wasting their time negotiating TIs and breakpoints. Industrious removes the pain point of negotiating, leasing, and building out office soace. Cultured Colonies is doing this for wetlab space. Biotechnology should not be a proxy for commercial real estate. DM me to hear more about Aanika or our co-working space. #labspace #syntheticbiology #brooklyn #venturecapital #biotechnology Cultured Colonies Aanika Biosciences, Inc.

Nature-inspired Innovation + what we can learn from nature. Thank you to Dan Simons for the invite to talk our founder Richard James MacCowan to talk about all things inspired by nature to teachers and further education providers during the Industry Insights session from the Education and Training Foundation. "In nature there are no rules, only exceptions." I delighted the audience with about: - Early examples - Schmitt Trigger (it's everywhere!) - Where to find insights - Need to understand evolutionary biology and ecology - Why we look to nature? - Biomimicry Innovation Lab's approach - Case Studies: Sharklet Technologies, Opteran, Aquaporin A/S - Skills, knowledge and expertise - Jobs of the future ...and where possible biofutures could lead. 🚀 Want to know more about our 2024 presentation portfolio, you can download a copy from here - https://lnkd.in/eQYz2_h5 #natureinspiredinnovation #biomimicry #biomimetics #deeptech #investment #startups ++ "Hi, we're Biomimicry Innovation Lab. We partner with founders and leaders to transform ideas into reality, drawing inspiration from transformative solutions found in nature. Our approach? Harnessing the latest scientific research with innovative tools to delver solutions to complex challenges. Follow us to explore the power of nature-inspired innovation or reach out to dive deeper!"

It’s been a big few weeks to kick of the fall at Elysia!    🍂We spent a week at the SOSV Climate Matchup including expert panels and one-on-one meetings with 20+ value-driven investors interested in our current fundraising round.   🍂Elysia's founder Dr. Eli Hornstein gave a talk to 80+ investors and executives at the NC AgTech Investor Forum (https://t.ly/Rrm_6) on October 2nd about Elysia's unique approach to system-wide methane elimination.   🍂Immediately following, Eli jetted off to LA to pitch at the BioVenture Nexus conference and meet with our current backers at the Celsius Synbio Accelerator powered by LA-based VC firm Braid Theory. Shoutout to our friends Jim Cooper and fellow NC natives Eva Garland Consulting, LLC who showed up in force! 🍂We welcomed Jacqueline Olich, PhD as a new strategic advisor. Dr. Olich will use her extraordinary connections in the Triangle innovation sector to help Elysia build its team, develop its international business strategy, and attract investment. Dr. Olich is an advisory board member and university research and innovation partner at mesur.io, as well as a member of xElle Ventures, a women-led angel investment group. Previously, Dr. Olich co-founded the biomedical startup Diba Industries and led it through a successful acquisition, before going on to serve as the founding director of RTI International's University Collaboration Office, which she led for 9 years. At RTI, she led large-scale seed-funding programs to stimulate the growth of interdisciplinary research, including the NC State-RTI Game-Changing Research Incentive Program (GRIP).   🍂We received funding from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBiotech) through its SRL program. This funding will support the generation of elite crop germplasm carrying our proprietary traits, as well as the development of our regulatory strategy and R&D into methane-elimination mechanisms in our pipeline. We're especially grateful to our NCBC diligence team Jen Greenstein, Ph.D., Paul Ulanch, Mike Carnes, and Kathy Meserve, who validated the strength of our technology and provided useful feedback and deep experience at all stages.   #elysiabio #climate #biotech #innovation #plantscience #methane #sustainability #cleantech

These days, you can engineer microbes to produce pretty much anything, although it doesn’t always make commercial sense, says Berkeley-based startup Pow.Bio. But could a continuous, rather than a batch approach, change that equation? We caught up with cofounder and CEO Shannon Hall at the recent SynBioBeta conference to find out more... Watch the full interview at AgFunder News: https://lnkd.in/gEFhcTKK #syntheticbiology #bioeconomy #biomanufacturing #continuousfermentation #microbialfermentation #fermentation

The Office of Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey's #MassLeadsAct would mean more #jobs, reduced #drug costs, and strengthened #infrastructure for Central Massachusetts. MBI is working tirelessly to ensure that Central Massachusetts is designated a #global #bioindustrial and #biomanufacturing hub. #Startupfounders like Lina M. González ♻️, founder of SpadXTech, "credits MBI with affording her a financially feasible way to launch her own startup ...The availability of physical space to turn #research into #manufacturing facilities distinguishes Central MA from other tech-heavy #hubs of the state, such as #Boston & #Cambridge." Our dedication to building up the #CentralMABioCluster is helping the #lifesciences grow within our region and the Mass Leads Act Bill will help the #cluster continue to grow & positively impact our greater #community. #Woomentum #STEM #legislation #Governor #TeamMassachusetts #workforcedevelopment #clusterdevelopment #economicdevelopment

🧬 New Episode Alert of #BioBlast with Devin Zitelman! 🚀 Venture capital funding within Maryland’s scientific market doesn’t just fuel innovation – it’s impacting the core facilities where science happens. Discover the transformative role that investments in early-stage life science companies play in the demand for research and lab space. View the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/ezvGzHW9 👇 Do you have thoughts on how venture capital is shaping the industry? Drop a comment below – let’s get the conversation started! 👇 #LifeSciences #VentureCapital #Startup #RealEstate #Innovation #MarketTrends #Networking #LabSpaces