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Two local organizations, AgLaunch and Epicenter, have received significant grants from the Kauffman Foundation and the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Regional Innovation Strategies program to grow their entrepreneurial ecosystems. AgLaunch, which recruits, creates and grows agricultural technology startup companies, received $750,000 from the EDA. They partner with farmers to test the validity of how new technology will work and how to scale it. The grant will allow farmers to share their data and collect yield information on different types of fertilizer and seed they are using, said Pete Nelson, executive director of AgLaunch.
Surface Dynamics LLC will invest nearly $10 million and create approximately 110 jobs in West Tennessee over the next five years. The Bartlett, TN-based company is part of the medical division of UnitedCoatings Group, a worldwide leader in providing coatings, 3D printing and solutions to orthopedic original equipment manufacturers. As part of its expansion in Bartlett, Surface Dynamics plans to hire office, engineering and production jobs.
"Superbugs"—those bacteria and fungi that are resistant to antimicrobials—kill as many as 162,000 Americans each year, making antimicrobial resistance the third-leading cause of death in the country. Absent new, more effective antibiotics, that death toll could rise to 10 million annually worldwide by 2050. Leading scientists, public policy experts and biotech industry leaders joined forces today to launch "Working to Fight AMR," a coalition working to raise public awareness of the growing threat posed by antimicrobial resistance. Working to Fight AMR will also advocate for policies that catalyze the creation of new medicines.
Medtech firms couldn’t convince the US Medicare agency to propose additional temporary payments under Medicare for non-opioid pain management device alternatives in its proposed rule for outpatient hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. In response, industry advocacy group AdvaMed plans to gather more data in support of payment incentives before a mid-September deadline comes for comments on the rule.
