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Source: NC BIOTECH CENTER, 11/9/21
The North Carolina Biotechnology Center awarded 11 grants and loans totaling
$779,300 to bioscience companies, universities and non-profit organizations in
the first quarter of its fiscal year.The awards, made in
July, August and September, will support life science research, technology
commercialization and entrepreneurship throughout North Carolina. The funding
will also help companies attract follow-on funding from other sources. Company loansThree bioscience
companies received Small Business Research Loans totaling
$750,000 to advance their research, product development and commercial
viability. Gusto Global of Morrisville received
$250,000 to test a novel live bacterial therapy designed to overcome immune
dormancy (non-response) found in up to 60 percent of melanoma patients
undergoing anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Valanbio Therapeutics
of Raleigh received $250,000 to complete formulation optimization, stability
and solubility studies for its lead drug candidate, a novel antibiotic against
Gram-negative pathogens.
Innatrix of Research Triangle Park
received $250,000 to develop the manufacturing process, establish the
regulatory pathway, and perform field efficacy trials for protein-based
biopesticides to treat late blight fungal disease in potatoes and tomatoes
caused by the pathogen Phytophthora infestans.
Portfolio companies raise $269 million Twenty-three bioscience companies that previously received loans from the Biotech Center raised $269 million in follow-on funding from other sources in the first quarter, according to research by the Biotech Center’s Life Science Intelligence staff. Accounting for most of
that total was Durham-based Humacyte, which raised about $245 million in a
business combination with Alpha Healthcare Acquisition Corp., a special purpose
acquisition company. The proceeds included $175 million from a PIPE (private
investment in public equity) financing and $70 million of cash held in the
former Alpha Healthcare trust account. Participating PIPE investors included Fresenius Medical Care, OrbiMed, Monashee Investment Management, Alexandria Venture Investments, UBS O’Connor, Morgan Creek Capital and other healthcare-focused funds. Humacyte, now publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol HUMA, is a clinical-stage biotechnology platform company developing universally implantable bioengineered human tissue at commercial scale. The company’s Human Acellular Vessels are engineered, off-the-shelf replacement vessels initially being developed for vascular repair, reconstruction and replacement. Event and meeting grantsFour universities and
two nonprofit organizations received eight grants totaling $29,300 to sponsor
regional events or national meetings in the life sciences.
- UNC-Chapel
Hill received $3,000 to sponsor the 2021 Triangle Cytoskeleton Meeting, a
conference featuring networking, a keynote address and presentations by
graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty.
- North
Carolina State University received $1,300 for the Center for Integrated
Pest Management (CIPM) Showcase, an event to introduce CIPM to
stakeholders across the Triangle region.
- NC State
received $3,000 to host the 2021 Molecular Biotechnology Research
Symposium, which allows graduate students, research scientists and
engineers to present current research in fields related to molecular
biotechnology. The topic this year is Molecular Sensing, Diagnostics and
Surveillance.
- NC State
received $10,000 for the Nutrition, Health and Precision Animal Farming
Conference, a three-day event organized by the Animal Health and Nutrition
Consortium in collaboration with the Carolina Feed Industry Association
and the College of Agriculture Food Animal Initiative. The conference will
feature topics about nutrition, feed quality gut health and precision
animal farming for commercial food production animals.
- The North
Carolina Association for Biomedical Research received $3,000 for the 10th
annual conference, Bridging the Gap: Uniting North Carolina K-16 STEM
Education. The Raleigh-based virtual conference will bring together
educators, business leaders, government officials and others who play a
role in STEM education to share ideas and resources in an effort to
strengthen K-16 STEM education throughout North Carolina.
- Elon
University received $3,000 for the State of North Carolina Undergraduate
Research and Creativity Symposium 2021 for students and scientists at Elon
University, Catawba College and Livingston College to present topics in
biology, biotechnology, bioengineering, molecular and cellular biology and
biochemistry.
- East Carolina University received $3,000 for the Voyages of Discovery Premier Lecture, a lecture series for ECU students, faculty and the public. Dr. Moogega Cooper, a planetary protection scientist with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will speak on “Diversity in STEAM from a Real-Life Guardian of the Galaxy.”
The Triangle Global Health
Consortium received $3,000 for the Eighth Annual Triangle Global Health
Conference: Reframing Global Health in a Changing World. Program sessions will
include a mix of speakers, panels, workshops, and poster presentations that
showcase innovative and adaptive approaches to global health challenges.
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