Welcome to another monthly AVX newsletter - notice anything different? After more than 3 years and over 5000 connections, we are beginning to synthesize your feedback further improve AVX in 2020. Keep your eyes open for more to come!
Once again, thank you for being a valuable part of AVX. In this newsletter, we will tell you a bit about our newest statistics and give you some news and events from around the network.
During this transition, you can continue to see all AVX opportunities at the Feed.
Conversation Statistics: We are up to 5017 total connections and conversations on the AVX network - 353 more over the last month. We are currently tracking 10 potential match negotiations and another 77 with multi-month long discussions heading toward possible matches.
NEWS
Lucky Dog at the Super Bowl: While we just started the year of the Metal Rat, I'd like to provide a shout out to the University of Wisconsin helping save a very lucky dog named Scout! The ad spot was purchased as a thank you and is helping raise funds for the Veterinary School at University of Wisconsin for their treatment of canine oncology.
The biotech living and the walking dead is a detailed look by Profs. Godfrey, Allen & Benson at the economic impact of university-licensed life science startups across the United States. They report vast differences in the effectiveness of different regions to create ventures and sustain them as viable entities. Interesting reading for those with access to Nature Biotechnology.
EVENTS
Y Combinator at BioVenture eLab (Feb 10, NYC): Join us for a fireside chat with Y Combinator partner Jared Friedman, Visiting Partner Dr. Uri Lopatin, and YC alum Shara Ticku of C16 Biosciences. Since 2014, YC has funded over 250 bio companies, which makes them one of the largest seed stage biotech funders in the world. Learn what it takes to launch and scale a life sciences company and hear how and why biotech startup funding will change in the next 10 years.
Columbia-Deep Tech Startups Pitch Night (Mar 12, East Palo Alto): Steve Blank and Orin Herskowitz will illustrate and underscore the importance of university-based innovation programs and how deep-tech startups are driving solutions that define our future. They will also discuss the challenges commonly faced by early-stage deep-tech startups, and some of the strategies emerging across the country to address these issues. After the talk, CEOs from Columbia-founded deep-tech startups will pitch to a panel of active Bay Area angels and VCs.
NJ Bio Foundry Launch (Mar 18, Newark): Explore early stage cell & gene therapy startups from around the country along with big pharma, investors, and other biotech leaders. Biotech insiders will share their insights on how to get funded, challenges and opportunities in this evolving sector, and how to get that first meeting with big pharma. Our keynote speaker is Dr. Hari Pujar, Chief Technology Officer at Spark Therapeutics, who has a wealth of experience in the Biotech industry with time at Merck and Moderna Therapeutics.
Yale Innovation Summit (May 13, New Haven): Yale’s premier tech and biotech event, with over 1000 attendees, 100 investment opportunities, 160 investors, and dozens of leading corporations. Hear from Katie Rae, CEO and Managing Partner The Engine, and Susan Hockfield, President Emerita of MIT, as well as a number of emerging start-ups from Yale!
Los Angeles Bioscience Ecosystem Summit 2020 (May 21, Los Angeles): the premier showcase for bioscience innovation in Los Angeles County. The event is hosted by UCLA Technology Development Group, the tech transfer office for the University, with participation by UCLA, Caltech, Cedars-Sinai and City of Hope institutions. LA BEST’s mission is to promote Los Angeles as a center of excellence for biotech innovation and to foster partnerships between academic institutions, the investment community and the biopharma industry.
Equalize 2020 (June 24-25, St. Louis): Equalize 2020 is a pitch competition and symposium designed to take national action around the disparity of women academic inventors forming university startups.
So long for now! – Hamdi