The Newsletter of the MTTC for the Massachusetts
entrepreneur & tech transfer community
February 3, 2016
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Welcome
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Dear MATTO Members and Friends,
As noted below, in early January the Governor announced the Commonwealth's Digital Health Initiative. As part of this initiative the MTTC and several MATTO members worked with a Massachusetts Competitive Partnership committee led by Jeff Leiden of Vertex and Kerry Healey of Babson College to develop template licensing and sponsored research agreements for digital health. To access these templates please visit http://massehealth.org/industry/agreement-templates.
The MTTC is working on a number of events. We hope that you will be able to attend one or more of them - and we ask you to encourage your researchers and entrepreneurs to apply to present or exhibit. There are more details on the events below- make sure to add them to your calendar.
For MATTO Members we have a full calendar of MATTO Seminars over the next few months. We hope to see you at one of our seminars or at the AUTM conference in San Diego.
Best wishes,
The MTTC Team - Abi, Julia, Michele and Barbara 
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MTTC Update
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MTTC is pleased to announce the Innovation Commercialization Seed Fund Winners
MTTC has granted $360,000 to nine innovative projects across the Commonwealth. This program is funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and provides grants to university researchers to help them demonstrate the commercial viability of their technologies.
Organizations and researchers each receiving $40,000 in funding under the MA Seed Fund program are:
- Boston University, Prof. Mark Grinstaff, "The HydroGlide Coating"
- Brandeis University, KC Hayes, "Dried Carrot Pomace as an Antidiabetic Food Ingredient"
- Harvard University, Gu-Yeon Wei, Gordon McKay Professor of EE and CS, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, "Chip Design for Touch-Based Interface in Mobile Electronics"
- MIT and MGH Cancer Center, Elazer Edelman, Laura Indolfi, David Ting, "Optimization of Industrial Sterilization Protocol of a Drug Eluting Device for Locally Treating Pancreatic Cancer"
- Northeastern University, Tommaso Melodia, Ph.D. and Enrico Santagati (Ph.D. Student), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, "Toward Connected Health for Implants Through an Ultrasonic Internet-of-Medical Things Platform"
- Northeastern University, Jose Martinez-Lorenzo, "Preliminary Clinical Data Collection of a Fused Multimodal DBT, NRI and Ultrasonic System for Early Breast Cancer Detection"
- Northeastern University and Tavana LLC, Sheng-Che Yen, PT, PhD, Department of Physical Therapy, Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences and Amir Farjadian, PhD, "Virtually-interfaced Robotic Ankle and Balance Trainer (vi-RABT)"
- Tufts University School of Medicine, Abraham L. Sonenshein, PhD, Professor Emeritus and Yoav Golan, MD, Associate Professor, Co-PIs Departments of Molecular Biology and Microbiology and Medicine, "Novel Anti-Infectives for Clostridium difficile"
- WPI, Diran Apelian; Aaron Birt, "Kinetic Batteries"
MTTC events:
Early-Stage Life Sciences Technology Conference XII
Date: April 12, 2016, 1:00-7:00 pm
Location: Merck Research Laboratories, 33 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115
The Early-Stage Life Sciences Technology Conference XII will showcase about 20 life sciences technologies developed at the universities, research institutions, and hospitals of Massachusetts and recently formed Massachusetts companies to an audience of angel investors, venture capitalists and corporate investors. Companies that have presented at our first eleven Early Stage Life Sciences Conferences have raised over $250 million in new investments.
The New England Food Technology Forum 2016
Date: May 5, 2016 11:30am-7pm
Location: The University of Massachusetts Club, One Beacon Street, 32nd Floor, Boston MA, 02108
New England is well known for its cod, lobster, clam chowder and Fluff... but the labs of the universities and hospitals of New England have always undertaken significant research into the creation of new foods, as well as food processing, storage and safety technologies. This Forum will showcase research discoveries and newly formed companies that are working on food and food related technologies.
In order to present and exhibit, you must complete the Food Forum_Presenter_Application 2016 and submit it to the MTTC to [email protected] by April 4, 2016.
Save the Date for Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation Day 2016
Date: June 2, 2016 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Location:Harvard Club of Boston, 374 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
The 9th Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation (MALSI) Day
is the biggest day for life sciences startups and innovation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This is a high-energy, hands-on event which brings together scientific leaders and business experts to mingle with scientists, post-docs, professors, entrepreneurs, innovators, and venture capitalists. The conference will feature Keynotes, Panels, Innovators' Marketplace, Networking Reception with leading life sciences CEO's , and Poster Competition.
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Funding Opportunities
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Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Accelerator Loan Program
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 $750,000 per company.
Applications must be submitted through Massachusetts Life Sciences Center online portal by 12 pm on February 5th.
If you have any questions about the program, the application process, eligibility or anything else, please refer visit the website
M2D2 $100K Challenge
When: February 7, 2016, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Where: UMass Lowell, 220 Pawtucket St, Lowell, MA
The University of Massachusetts' Medical Device Development Center (M2D2) is pleased to launch the 5th Annual M2D2 $100K Challenge, an opportunity designed to showcase the innovative ideas and entrepreneurial spirit of seed and early-stage medical device companies. .
The M2D2 $100K Challenge will award up to $100,000 in service or grant awards provided by the program sponsors. Applicants from across the nation and beyond are invited to participate, but should clearly indicate their intent to leverage the resources provided as awards in the competition.
For more information and to register please visit the website
New TechBridge Challenge on Advanced Industrial Surfaces
Teams working on advanced surface technologies are encouraged to apply, and selected teams will receive up to $100,000 in prototyping, demonstration, or validation services from the world-renowned Fraunhofer R&D network.
Applications close February 17th.
The TechBridge Challenge on Advanced Industrial Surfaces, in collaboration with ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, seeks novel engineered surfaces and coatings-or technologies that enable the scalable deployment of such surfaces and coatings-to improve energy efficiency in the petroleum and chemical processing industries. The areas of interest broadly include: new material formulations, manufacturing methods, deposition techniques, and other innovations that can achieve significant improvements in energy efficiency. The full topic description can be downloaded at FhTechBridgeChallenge.org/surfaces
Nominate an Immigrant Entrepreneur
The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) is accepting nominations for the fifth annual ILC Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. The deadline for nominations is March 4, 2016.
Awards will be given in four categories:
- Business Growth
- Neighborhood Business
- High-Tech Business
- Life Science Business
The winner and nominator in each category will receive a free ticket to the Awards Dinner on April 28, 2016, at 6 p.m. at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, MA.
Nomination forms can be found on The ILC website.
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Spin-off and Start-up News
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SolidEnergy Raises $12 Million in Second Round
SolidEnergy, a Waltham-based developer of advanced battery technology and a recipient of an MTTC and MassCEC Catalyst Award, announced that they have raised a second venture capital round of $12 million. The round was led by an undisclosed major U.S. auto company. Founded in 2012, "during the turmoil of the lithium battery industry meltdown," according to the company, SolidEnergy is developing an "anode-free" lithium metal battery for drones, watches & wearables, smart phones, and electric cars. Other investors in SolidEnergy include SAIC and Applied Ventures. Read more
SLIPS Technologies Expands Commercial Deployment after Successful 2015 Product Rollouts
SLIPS Technologies, Inc., manufacturer of the SLIPS™ family of fully-slippery materials and coatings that repel virtually all fluids and biological fouling agents, concluded its first year of operations with alpha products deployed to solve sticky surface problems in industrial, medical, and consumer applications. The patented SLIPS portfolio of pioneering and award-winning technologies was created at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. Read more
Anterios is acquired by Allergan Medical Dermatology to Expand Neurotoxin Pipeline
Allergan a leading global pharmaceutical company has acquired Anterios, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a next generation delivery system and botulinum toxin-based prescription products. Allergan acquired Anterios for an upfront payment of $90 million and potential development and commercialization milestone payments related to NDS™, Anterios' proprietary platform delivery technology that enables local, targeted delivery of neurotoxins through the skin without the need for injections. Anterios was a presenter at the MTTC's Early Stage life Sciences Conference and licensed technology from UMass Lowell and Dartmouth. Read more
University of Massachusetts Amherst improves access to millions of US patents recordsAs a result of the work of computer science researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the online database of the country's millions of inventors and patents will be much better to navigate for innovators, business and policy makers.
A team of UMass Amherst computer scientists took the top prize in an international competition sponsored by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and U.S. Department of Commerce. They designed a computer algorithm that rapidly removes inventor ambiguity from patent records, which will provide users more efficient and effective searches. Their winning approach will be incorporated into the USPTO's new online platform, PatentsView. Read more
The Massachusetts Digital Health Cluster On January 7th, 2016, Governor Charlie Baker announced the launch of the Commonwealth's Digital Health Initiative, marking the establishment of a public-private partnership to build a stronger and more connected digital health ecosystem across Massachusetts. Digital Health, or eHealth, is among the fastest growing industry sectors in the country, encompassing products and services that use information technology to improve healthcare delivery, efficiency and quality. According to a 2015 Goldman Sachs research report, digital health represents a $32 billion market over the coming decade. Massachusetts is positioned at the forefront of this growth and has one of the strongest digital health clusters of any state in the U.S., offering unparalleled opportunities for startups and large firms alike. As part of this initiative, MeHI was designated as the digital health convener for Massachusetts. Through our Cluster website, events, and programs, MeHI engages with key stakeholders to bring together the Commonwealth's strongest assets, including startups, large HIT firms, talent, investors, and healthcare providers, with the aim to accelerate the growth of the Massachusetts digital health ecosystem. Read more
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| Events of Interest |
TCN: Funding 101 - Pathways for Funding Food & Beverage Startups
When: Monday, February 8th 6:30 - 8:30pm
Where: CIC Boston, 50 Milk Street, Floor 17, Milky Way Conference Room, Boston
From products to services, marketplaces to mobile apps, the food space is HOT. Join Branchfood and The Capital Network for an evening with a veteran panel of investors, advisors, and entrepreneurs, who will compare and contrast the many ways you can fund your food and beverage startup.
For more information and to register please visit the Event Website
MassBio Forum: Industry Postdoc Programs
When: Tuesday, February 9, 2016 8:00 am - 10:00 am
Where: MassBio, 300 Technology Square, 8th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139
Learn how industry postdoc programs bridge the gap between industry & academia and bolster the talent pool of the biotech ecosystem by providing essential training and development for Ph.D. scientists entering the workforce! Large, established companies as well as growing, mid-sized biotechs will share their experiences and best practices for implementing a postdoc program.
Speakers:
- Dave Collins, PhD, Research Fellow, Drug Delivery and Devices R&D, Eli Lilly and Company
- David Glass, MD, Executive Director, Muscle Diseases and Aging Initiative, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR)
- Deborah C. Molrine, MD, Deputy Director for Clinical Affairs, MassBiologics and Professor of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School
- Lauren Celano, MBA, Co-founder & CEO, Propel Careers (Moderator)
For more information and to register please visit the Event website
French-American Innovation Days (FAID) 2016
When: February 9, 2016 - February 10, 2016, 12:00 am
Where: MIT Media Lab, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge, MA
Symposium will showcase French and American science-and-technology innovations and foster transatlantic collaborations in the life sciences. Co-sponsored by The Office for Science and Technology of the Embassy of France in the US, and Global Care Initiative
For more information and to register please visit the Event website
Meet Institut Pasteur to foster partnerships
When: February 11, 2016, 8:00 am - 12:00 am
Where: LabCentral, Cambridge, MA, 700 Main Street Cambridge, MA 02139Institut
Pasteur and the Office of Science & Technology of the Embassy of France in the United States are pleased to organize the Academic-Private Partnerships Breakfast Meeting. The meeting will highlight the huge potential of Bilateral Industrial Partnerships with the cooperation of 9000 scientists located in Institut Pasteur Paris and in the network of 33 Institut Pasteur throughout the world. It will outline strengths and talents around an ambitious strategic plan focusing on human health challenges through Research, Education, Incentive Grants and Technology Transfer for the well being of the patients.
The Capital Network's Life Science Venture Fast Track
When: February 25, 2016 9:00 am - 4:30pm
Where: Nutter McClennen & Fish, 155 Seaport Boulevard, Boston, MA 02210
Life Science Fast Track is an intensive, interactive full-day seminar designed to provide entrepreneurs, physicians and innovators an in-depth understanding of what it takes to raise early stage capital specifically for life science startups. You will spend the day learning from and interacting with New England's leading life science investors, entrepreneurs, and early-stage experts through workshops, panels and discussions. You will leave the Life Science Fast Track with concrete materials and knowledge that will help you move your company forward through the various stages of the fundraising process.
For more information and to register please visit the Event website
Meet with Angel Investors
When: February 25, 2016 10:30am-4:30pm
Where: JLABS @ LabCentral, Cambridge, MA
JLABS is bringing together a cohort of angel investors to speak with the early-stage life sciences community to help you get ahead when it comes to angel money.
Angel investors will offer insights, lessons learned, and best practices for seeking angel money. You'll also learn about the differences between these networks, as well as the key differences between angel investing and traditional venture funding.
Participating Investors:
- Mass Medical Angels
- Sky Ventures
- Golden Seeds
- Mid Atlantic BioAngels
For those companies who apply online and receive advance approval, one-on-one meetings with angel investors will provide a private forum to discuss your company.
For more information and to register please visit the Event website
MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Winter Start Smart Class
When: Meets for 8 classes, Monday &Thursday , February 29 - March 31, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Where: MIT Tang Center, E51-335, 70 Memorial Drive, Cambridge,02139
Start Smart is a hands-on workshop for new and seasoned entrepreneurs alike who are serious about launching a new business venture. The Start Smart program provides entrepreneurs with the information and contacts necessary to help start a new start-up venture in as successful a way as possible.
For more information and to register please visit the Event website
VentureWell: Open 2016 When: March 4-5 Where: Portland Downtown Marriott Waterfront, Portland, OR Are you exploring new approaches to stimulating invention, innovation and entrepreneurship on your campus? Come to Open 2016 in Portland, OR to learn the latest methods and models to inspire students to create and move their ideas forward. Don't miss out on the chance to access the people and ideas that matter most in collegiate innovation! For more information and to register please visit the Event website
Breakout Labs Comes to Boston When: Tuesday, March 8, 6pm Where: Catalyst Restaurant, 300 Technology Square Cambridge, MA
Please join Breakout Labs for cocktails and conversation as we bring together members of Boston's vibrant science startup ecosystem with an update on our unique model for funding early stage companies as well as introductions to a selection of our portfolio companies: 3Scan, C2Sense, Cytegen, Entopsis, EpiBone, Longevity Biotech, nanoGriptech and Neumitra.
MassBio Annual Meeting 2016 When: March 31, 2016 - April 1, 2016
Where: Royal Sonesta Hotel, 40 Edwin Land Blvd, Cambridge, MA The MassBio Annual Meeting focuses on the most critical challenges facing the Massachusetts life sciences industry. The meeting program is designed by a steering committee of industry leaders and the agenda encompasses keynote presentations, panel discussions, interactive working sessions and extensive networking opportunities. The MassBio Annual Meeting also includes the Innovative Leadership Award Luncheon, which honors an industry leader for his or her contribution to moving the life sciences industry forward. For more information and to register please visit the Event website
Xconomy Forum Robo Madness: The A.I. Explosion When: Thursday, March 31, 2016 1:30 - 5:30 PM
Where: Google, 355 Main Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142 Major advances are happening in robotics and the driving force behind it-artificial intelligence. Now companies of all sizes are using emerging A.I. technologies from deep learning to computer vision to natural language processing to build their businesses---and impact our daily lives. Think Google, Facebook, iRobot, and a whole new generation of startups: the technologies are already starting to transform retail, advertising, social media, transportation, connected homes, and other industries.
At this special Xconomy conference, we'll address these questions---and much more---in a series of interactive talks, chats, and demos.
For more information and to register please visit the Event website
WPI Launches Advanced Industrial Biomanufacturing Symposium When: April 4, 2016
Where: PI's Gateway Park campus, WPI Gateway Park 2, 50 Prescott Street, Suite 2400, Worcester MA Leaders from AbbVie, Amgen, GE Healthcare, and Shire will keynote the inaugural session set for April 4 - 5, 2016.
The two-day event, organized by WPI life sciences and biomedical engineering faculty and hosted at the university's Biomanufacturing Education & Training Center (BETC), will feature topics including continuous biomanufacturing; alternatives for filtration and chromatography; new expression systems and cell culture platforms; the growing importance of supply chain management; and advanced IT systems to reduce risk in biomanufacturing.
For more information and to register please visit the Event website
When: April 11, 2016
Where: Texas Medical Center Accelerator, 2450 Holcombe Boulevard, Suite X, Houston, TX 77021
Life Science Nation will be bringing together hundreds of senior level executives from investment firms, corporate strategics, and emerging biotech, medtech and digital health companies to the TMCx accelerator space at the Texas Medical Center in Houston.
In addition to the firepower that LSN brings to the table, TMCx will be showcasing their second class of digital health and medical device technologies, and JLABS will be bringing senior executives from Johnson & Johnson and a number of entrepreneurs from the JLABS incubators.
The early bird special until February 16, you can also save an additional $100 discount if you use the promo code JAN100.
For more details about the Innovation Challenge, Registration 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.mttc.org
MATTO is the Massachusetts Association of Technology Transfer Offices www.masstechtransfer.org
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