BIOTECH Cluster is Big and Getting Bigger in Indiana… BioCrossroads
August 12th, 2016 by Greg Moheban
Within our own daily endeavors we think of companies and competitions for customers, clients, and new business initiatives. Indiana has the benefit of a tremendous resource engine that connects like companies organizations, and people, for the bigger benefit for all involved:
BioCrossroads is Indiana’s initiative to grow, advance and invest in the life sciences, a public-private collaboration that supports the region’s existing research and corporate strengths while encouraging new business development. BioCrossroads provides money and support to life sciences businesses, launches new life sciences enterprises (Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, Indiana Health Information Exchange, Fairbanks Institute for Healthy Communities, BioCrossroadsLINX, OrthoWorx and Datalys Center), expands collaboration and partnerships among Indiana’s life science institutions, promotes science education and markets Indiana’s life sciences industry.
Sponsoring the Upcoming New Venture Competition
The BioCrossroads New Venture Competition, an early stage business competition designed to encourage entrepreneurial activity of Indiana life sciences and health information technology companies, is now accepting applications at https://biocrossroads.com/. Since 2012, the competition has awarded more than $240,000 to 16 start-up companies, which have been able to secure $21 million in follow-on funding. Early-stage biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic, ag-biotech and health information technology companies developing innovative products and platforms based in Indiana are eligible to apply for the New Venture Competition.
The winner receives a cash prize of $25,000 and receives access to the Indiana Seed Fund II staff and the fund’s network of resources that provide business planning and early-stage strategic support. They will also have the opportunity to make a presentation to the ISFII investment committee, which has committed funding to several previous finalists.
Previous winners are making their marks in the life sciences community. For example, Animated Dynamics recently announced a $1.7 million venture round to further develop a medical imaging technology to help doctors get a better view of cancer tissues. In addition, Auricyte continues to develop stem cell technology that will allow scientists to better study the inner ear, the development of hearing loss, and the subsequent drugs and devices used for treatment.
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