The Newsletter of the MTTC for the Massachusetts
entrepreneur & tech transfer community
January 9, 2015
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Welcome
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Dear All,
Welcome to our first newsletter of 2015.
As the new year starts we are busy planning our programs and activities for 2015, please mark your calendars for our Early Stage Life Sciences Conference on April 8.
The MTTC continues to run the Platform program which supports entrepreneurs and inventors with their first business pitch and with their strategy for launching the company. If you are starting a company and need this type of support - or know of a company founder who does - please contact Michele Bernier - [email protected]
The MTTC Team - Abi, Julia, Michele and Barbara 
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MTTC Update
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MTTC's Early-Stage Life Sciences Conference XI When: Wednesday, April 8, 2015 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Where: Merck Research Laboratories, 33 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115 The Early-Stage Life Sciences Conference XI is a showcase for life sciences technologies developed at the universities, research institutions, and hospitals of New England and for recently formed companies. The Forum is an opportunity for these companies and researchers to present to an audience of angel investors, venture capitalists and corporate investors. Companies that have presented at our first ten Early Stage Life Sciences Conferences have raised over $250 million in new investments. Registration: - MATTO members, academics/staff at MATTO member institutions, Presenters and Exhibitors - $100.00
- Non-member - $150.00
To apply to present please download the Presenter Application Form 2015
All applications must be submitted by February 27, 2015.
For more information about the event please Click here
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Funding Opportunities
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Massachusetts Life Sciences Center funding:
Life Sciences Milestone Achievement Program - MAP
The Life Sciences Milestone Achievement Program (MAP) is a program from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center for early-stage companies, providing funding to perform and complete essential value-creating milestones. The grant awards range from $50,000 to $200,000 and will move technologies and companies forward.
Applications will be accepted via the MLSC application portal from December 8 up until the deadline of February 2, 2015 at 12:00 noon EST.
For more information visit http://www.masslifesciences.com/programs/map
Attend an information session to learn more about this program:
January 14, 2015 3:00 - 4:15 pm. at Lab Central, 700 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
January 22, 2015 8:30 - 9:45 am at Bay Colony, 1000 Winter Street North Entrance, 1st fl., Waltham, MA 02451
Please RSVP by email to [email protected]
Accelerator Loan Program info session will immediately follow the MAP info session.
You must RSVP for the info session by sending an email to [email protected]
The Accelerator Loan Program reflects the Center's ongoing commitment to supporting early-stage life sciences companies that will grow employment opportunities and stimulate innovation across the Commonwealth. The primary objective of the Accelerator Loan Program is to provide working capital to early stage life sciences companies with a high potential for technology commercialization, rapid growth, and private equity financing.
Accelerator Program Loans are capped at $1 million per company.
Applications will be accepted via the MLSC application portal up until the deadline of February 2, 2015 at 12:00 noon EST.
For more information visit http://www.masslifesciences.com/programs/accelerator/
Galactic Grant Competition
The Galactic Grant Competition is collaboration between the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. It has been established to provide access to a unique zero-gravity environment, that's only available on the International Space Station lab, to Massachusetts based life sciences companies.
Attend an information session to learn more about this competition on January 15th, 2015 at 9 - 11 am at 1000 Winter St, North Entrance, 1st fl., Waltham, MA 02451
You must RSVP for the info session by sending an email to [email protected] and provide a number to reach you in case of any changes. Proposals will be accepted until noon EST on April 30th, 2015.To begin the application process, please contact Cynthia Bouthot at CASIS at [email protected].
For more information visit http://www.masslifesciences.com/programs/galactic
M2D2 $100,000 4th Annual New Venture Competition 2015 Companies will compete for $100,000 of services from M2D2, Boston Scientific, Mintz Levin, Omni Components, Smith & Nephew and Massachusetts Life Science Center. All medical device technologies and inventions welcome!Last year, this event was attended by more than 200 representatives from local venture capital firms, angel investors and service firms, allowing attendees to network and receive informal feedback and develop relationships with key supports for early stage companies. For more information and important dates please visit the Event website Entry Fees - Apply early to receive discounted application fees: First (20) Applications - Free / By Jan 16, 2015: $25 / By Jan 30, 2015: $50 Click here to APPLY If you have any questions please contact Mary Ann Picard at [email protected] or 978-934-3403
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Assistance The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a highly competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization. The MSBDC Government Sales Advisory Program assists Massachusetts advanced technology and life sciences companies develop successful application(s) for SBIR funding. The services are provided at no charge. The team will assist with identifying potential sources of funding, strategies for preparing to apply for funding, commercialization plan creation and proposal review. This comprehensive assistance can help researchers create and submit winning proposals. For more information or to request assistance, visit http://www.msbdc.org/sbir
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Spin-off and Start-up News
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Northeastern discovers new antiobiotic and the technology to discover more The global media has covered in extensive detail the discovery by Northeastern's Prof Kim Lewis of Teixobactin which has the potential to treat a variety of menacing superbugs and infections, among them MRSA. They also revealed details of the iChip, a small, plastic device designed by Northeastern Professor of Biology Slava Epstein and Professor Lewis, without which, the discovery of Teixobactin would not be possible. Read more
Funding from MIT's Deshpande center. Catalyst Award winners T. Alan Hatton with Aly El-Tayeb have received additional funding from MIT's Deshpande center to further the development of their electrochemically-mediated carbon dioxide capture technology. For more information on this award and other Deshpand awards Click here.
ImmuneXcite's progress covered in In Vivo
Former MTTC Award winner Ifat Rubin-Bejerano and the company she founded, ImmuneXcite were featured in In Vivo. The company, which is developing the next generation of cancer immunotherapies, has raised over $8 million (including a loan for the Mass Life Sciences Center) and currently has 11 employees. http://immunexcite.com/ |
| Events of Interest |
Tech Transfer in Life Sciences
When: January 12, 2015, 5:30 pm - 8:15 pm
Where: TechSandBox, 105B South Street, Hopkinton, MA,
There's insourcing, outsourcing, in licensing, outlicensing and other models of partnerships that can be useful, especially in the research intensive fields within life sciences. The panel will offer ideas, advice and tips on avoiding pitfalls from the industry side and the university side.
Panelists:
- Todd Keiller, WPI, Tech Transfer Office
- David Sossen, MIT Tech Licensing Office
- Richard Gill, CEO, ActiveCyte Holdings and Investor with LaunchPad
For more information and to register please visit the Event website
North Shore InnoVentures :Grantsmanship 201: Think Like a Reviewer
When: January 15, 2015, 12- 2:00pm
Where: 100 Cummings Center, Beverly; Conference Room 221-E
This novel program will give fresh insight into the grants application process through the lens of an NIH Grant Review Panel. Although specific for SBIRs, the lessons learned can be applied to any competitive, peer-reviewed grant application. Learn a more strategic approach to grantsmanship, which will save time, effort, and increase your chances for success. Panelists:
- Dr. Ann Sluder, Biology Research and Alliance Director
- Dr. Donald Kirsch, Biopharma Consultant
- Dr. Janice Kranz, Consultant, JK Consulting
- Dr. Joan Brooks, COO, Garbrook Inc.
Moderator: Dr. Sue Long, Advisor, North Shore InnoVentures
For more information and to register for this FREE please visit the Event website
MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge: The VC/Founder Newlywed Game When: January 20, 2015: 5:30pm - 8:00pm
Where: MIT Stata Center, Room 32-123, 32 Vassar Street Cambridge, MA 02139 The process of seeking and securing funding can easily be compared to dating and when the money comes in, the real commitment begins. But how well do VC's know the startups they invest in? How well do the company founders know their VC? Join MITEF as Dan Sally, Inbound Marketing Manager at Hubspot, channels his inner Bob Eubanks to ask our players probing questions about their "marriage".
For more information and to register please visit the Event website
The EntreTech Forum: Terminator 5? Smart Machines and Robotics When: January 20, 2015 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Where: Constant Contact, Reservoir Place, 1601 Trapelo Road, Waltham, MA 02451 The January 20th, 2015 panel, Terminator 5? Smart Machines and Robotics: Part 1: Is the Skynet Falling? , and our April 14th, 2015 panel, Machine to Machine Technology = M2M and IoT: Part 2: Is the Skynet Falling? will attempt to answer this same question.
Given the magnitude of robotics, the two part series on robotics will be our first emerging technologies series, with Part 1 focused on hardware and Part 2 focused on software. While robotic hardware is non-functional without software, our Part 2 panel will expand on robotic software to include M2M, IoT and robotic process automation (RPA). Panelists: - Daniel Theobald, CTO, Vecna
- Tom Green, Editor in Chief, Robotics Business Review
Moderator: Gates Ouimette, Co-Founder/Principal, ITconnecter, a CrossWaves Ventures LLC company For more information and to register please visit the Event website
The LearnLaunch Annual Conference: Across Boundaries: Delivering on Edtech's Promise When: January 23-24, 2015
Where: Harvard Business School, Soldiers Field, Boston, MA 02163 The purpose of Across Boundaries is to promote dialogue about digital learning. The 3rd annual conference will examine how the most promising digital tools are being implemented in educational settings to increase student learning. The conference brings together a diverse set of voices to discuss the most challenging questions facing the edtech industry today. The expected 600 attendees are passionate about edtech, and include entrepreneurs, educators, investors, students, and industry experts. This year's focus will be on empowering the edtech community to build, use, and deliver effective and engaging digital tools and learning experiences. For more information, agenda, and to register please visit the Event website
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MTTC is based at UMass and facilitates technology transfer from all research institutions, public and private, in the Commonwealth. The Center is financially supported by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and MTDC. www.mattcenter.org
MATTO is the Massachusetts Association of Technology Transfer Offices www.masstechtransfer.org
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