May 1, 2019

May Beer & Biotechs

Tomorrow night, we'll kick off our May Beer & Biotechs in Memphis at Wiseacre Brewing Co. Life Science Tennessee board members will present on recent activities and the strategic direction of our organization.

These events, convened by Life Science Tennessee in partnership with our Academic Alliance chapters, are a great opportunity to meet industry peers and hear about the latest technology and developments in markets across Tennessee. RSVP for a Beer & Biotech in a city near you:

May 2, Memphis
May 9, Nashville with State Senator Jeff Yarbro
May 16, Knoxville
May 21, Chattanooga

Early Bird Tickets Soon

We're gearing up to open registration for our 2019 conference with special discounted pricing. LSTCON is the largest gathering of life science leaders in the state. Check back to make sure you don't miss the chance to save money.

Scipreneur Challenge & Tech Venture Challenge Winners

Earlier this year, Life Science Tennessee's Academic Alliance chapters in Memphis and Nashville held their annual competitions designed to give students from a variety of disciplines experience to build mock companies and present investment and commercialization plans. The Memphis Scipreneur Challenge is an initiative of LST's Mid-South Academic Alliance in collaboration with Memphis Bioworks, University of Memphis (UofM), University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (SJCRH). The Tech Venture Challenge is hosted by Vanderbilt University's Center for Technology Transfer & Commercialization. The technologies and inventions from which students build companies are developed by researchers at these universities.

Team Chito-Armor

The winner of this year's Memphis Scipreneur Challenge is Chito-Armor. Chito-Armor is a novel drug delivery system that is a biodegradable shield against infection.

Team members include Kavya Annu, UT Health Science Center and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital; Purnima Singh, UT Health Science Center; Surabhi Naik, University of Memphis; Akram Mohammed, UT Health Science Center; and Prady Baviskar, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Advisory members from the University of Memphis include scientific mentor Dr. J. Amber Jenning; student liaison Leslie Pace; and business mentor Bryan Barringer.

Team Cryo-Cath

The winner of last month's Tech Venture Challenge is Cryo-Cath. Cryo-Cath is a novel catheter that can be primarily used as a better alternative to treat mitral valve prolapse (MVP) than the current standards of open-heart surgery or the MitraClip. The catheter is capable of reaching -20o C which allows the catheter to adhere to the dynamic tissues of the heart, providing a stable tip needed to perform radio-frequency (RF) ablations.

Team members include Jasmine Greer, MBA Candidate/Operations and Biomedical Engineering; Andrew Naclerio, Chemical Engineering Ph.D. student; Amelia Taylor, Chemical Sciences B.S. student; and Joshua Passantino, Chemical Engineering Ph.D. student all at Vanderbilt University. Advisory board members are Shawn Glinter, Founder and CEO of Pendant Biosciences; David Merryman, Ph.D. and Inventor; and James Obershouser, Ph.D. and Former R&D Lead for Abbott Vascular.

Congratulations to the winners!

We're also excited to announce that our Knoxville Academic Alliance chapter will host its first-ever Scipreneur Challenge this fall. Stay tuned for updates. And look forward to hearing from this year's Scipreneur and Tech Venture Challenge winners in person at LSTCON 2019!

LST Member Opportunities

Apply

AgLaunch365 Bootcamps: AgLaunch365 is AgLaunch's flagship accelerator program that runs in three phases starting in October and finishing in early March, with field trials running through the summer. AgLaunch will be supporting three bootcamps in 2019 for Tennessee companies. Applications for the Knoxville Bootcamp are due by May 15. Apply here.

Attend

Nashville Entrepreneur Week: Nashville Entrepreneur Week (NEW) is Nashville’s only FREE event dedicated to bring entrepreneurs of all kinds together for a week of education, collaboration and connection. NEW runs May 6-9. Click here to see a full list of events. Register for individual events in advance as spots are limited.
SBIR/STTR Workshops: Launch Tennessee is hosting a series of workshops covering the full portfolio of resources available to early-stage companies commercializing technology in Tennessee. These workshops will provide an in-depth look at SBIR/STTR federal grant opportunities, plus an abbreviated version of the Resource Overview content. The last workshop will be May 13 in Chattanooga. RSVP here.
2019 BIO International Convention: The BIO International Convention (BIO) attracts 16,000+ biotechnology and pharma leaders for one week of intensive networking to discover new opportunities and promising partnerships. We bring together a wide spectrum of life science and application areas including drug discovery, biomanufacturing, genomics, biofuels, nanotechnology and cell therapy. BIO will be held June 3-6 in Philadelphia. Register now.
Genetic Technologies for All Classrooms (GTAC): GTAC is a five-day national professional development academy at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology that prepares science educators to address high school level genetics, genomics, and biotech content such as cancer and clinical genomics, common complex disease, and agricultural genomics. The 2019 GTAC: National will be held July 22-26. Register now.
36|86 Entrepreneurship Festival: 36|86 Entrepreneurship Festival brings together the best innovators and difference-makers for two days of networking, programming, and entertainment on the latest in technology and entrepreneurship. By design, 36|86 is a launching point to greater things for you and your business. Join us in downtown Nashville, Aug. 28-29, and make your next move. Get your ticket today.

Save Money with LST

One of LST's most popular member benefits is our BIO Business Solutions program offering valuable cost savings and purchasing discounts from more than two dozen industry-leading vendors like VWR and Office Depot.

Are you a member but not using these savings? Contact LST staff to learn how you can take advantage of the program.

Not a member but want to start saving money? Become a member today!

LST News

Remedichain LLC in blockchain drug transfer pilot closely watched by FDA

REMEDICHAIN LLC, a tech startup headquartered close to the Memphis Medical District, plays a pivotal role in a closely watched pharmaceutical supply-chain safety and security pilot project that was recently sanctioned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. According to Co-Founder and CEO Phil Baker, Remedichain recently joined with industry allies to form a consortium that has been invited by the FDA into a voluntary program that the Feds hope will encourage piloting of innovative technologies and processes for tracing, verifying and transferring pharmaceuticals, to help ensure that suspect and illegitimate products do not enter the U.S. supply chain.

Key Takeaways from the Small Business Administration’s Revised Policy Directives for the SBIR and STTR Programs

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has statutory authority to establish federal Government-wide policies to implement the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. SBA recently issued a significantly revised final SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, which is effective May 2, 2019. See 84 FR 12794. Check out the major changes implemented in the revised policy directive.

NIST Releases Findings on Increasing the Innovation Impacts of Federally Funded R&D

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology announced 15 key findings from a final version of a new “green paper” on maximizing U.S. innovation from government-funded research. The green paper serves as a discussion document that informs, but does not prescribe, policy decisions by the federal government. No findings in this final green paper would require legislative changes to the Bayh-Dole Act.

AdvaMed Code of Ethics Revisions Effective January 2020: Implications for Health Care Provider Interactions with Vendors

The Advanced Medical Technology Association (“AdvaMed”), a trade association of medical technology companies, has announced an update to its Code of Ethics on Interactions with U.S. Health Care Professionals (“HCPs”), effective January 01, 2020. While the Code is not legally binding and does not replace laws or regulations, it is intended to establish a foundation for compliance with health care fraud and abuse laws and regulations, such as the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”). AdvaMed strongly encourages Companies to adopt the Code as part of an overall culture of compliance and to “avoid interactions [with HCPs] designed to circumvent the Code.”

Become an LST Member

If you have company news or events to share with us, please send to:

Sara at spruneski@lifesciencetn.org

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