Leadership and deal structure continue to be some of the key issues for emerging companies trying to raise capital and other revenue sources in today’s economy according to venture panelists speaking at the NCBIO Emerging Companies Forum.
“Investors are looking at companies with an experienced CEO who can demonstrate milestone achievements in a 12 to 18 month period,” Clay Thorp of Hatteras Venture Partners told the more than 60 individuals who turned out for the event November 18th. He added, “Investors with high-priced committed investments are still putting capital in to existing arrangements to maintain perceived value.”
Barry Meyers of Pappas Ventures noted, “The environment is a wait and see attitude, especially when the investment is felt to be over priced. Companies have to realize that you have to play the long game – you can’t buy high in the current environment and hope to sell higher later on.”
Thorp, Gupton, Meyers, Kong, Schotzinger and Barber
“Several factors are part of the investment decision, not just how promising it looks. Timelines, portfolio fit and other factors are evaluated,” stated Garheng Kong of Intersouth Partners.
Tim Gupton speaking
The speakers suggested that companies look for grants, angel investors, and other options in the current market, although they stated grants can be more restrictive in scope than other financing. They noted that the IPO market continues to evolve, but that large measure exits continue to be dominated by big pharmaceutical companies.
The event was sponsored by Hughes Pittman & Gupton, LLP. This was the third NCBIO Emerging Companies Forum for 2009. Plans are under way for 2010, and the annual Legislative breakfast is scheduled for May 26th.
Please contact Brenda Summers if you have topic suggestions for 2010 forums.
CEO Daniel Vasella, Governor Beverly Perdue, state and local officials and industry representatives turned out for the opening of the new Novartis flu vaccine facility in Holly Springs November 24th. The 430,000 square-foot facility represents and investment of $1 billion and will employ 350 people when it is fully operational. FDA approval of the facility is expected in 2010.
“We are proud to have this state-of-the-art facility joining our North Carolina life science community,” said Sam Taylor, president of NCBIO. The facility will be the first U.S. plant to produce flu vaccines using cell cultures instead of egg-based methods.
"It's going to run 24/7, (and) within a couple of years, we will have plenty of doses coming out of this plant for the whole United States," U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said. "Cell-based technology is a real step forward." Novartis received $487 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help build the facility. Construction has been underway for nearly two years.
Holly Springs officials offered an economic incentive package estimated to be worth about $40 million to attract the plant. Mayor Dick Sears stated, "I think, in this day and age, with the economy the way it is, anybody that can bring 300 or 400 jobs to a town is doing very well. As of this year, they are paying us in taxes more than (what) we're paying out on the loan. So we're ahead of the game. We're very happy campers."
"This is going to be much better, much more reliable for future pandemics or preparing for the possibility for the future pandemics," said 4th District Congressman David Price, who also attended the dedication.
Governor Beverly Perdue
Talecris Biotherapeutics is expanding its manufacturing facilities near Clayton, creating 259 new jobs over the next seven years and investing $268.7 million. Governor Beverly Perdue, state, local and company officials were on hand for the announcement in November.
“The competition for these types of jobs is fierce,” Perdue said. “The fact that Talecris has found the tools it needs to succeed in North Carolina shows why this state’s business climate is consistently named as the best in the nation.”
“We’re extremely pleased to be investing in our company’s growth while at the same time contributing to the economic prosperity of Johnston County, a region that has been a historic partner in the development of our industry,” said Mary Kuhn, executive vice president of operations. “Our manufacturing capabilities have grown exponentially in recent years, creating more jobs and local opportunities. We’re excited to continue expanding in a region that has been so supportive of the biotechnology industry.”
Talecris Biotherapeutics discovers, develops and produces critical-care treatments for people with life-threatening disorders in the areas of immunology, neurology, pulmonology and hemostasis. The company employs about 4,700 worldwide with headquarters in the biotech hub of Research Triangle Park. With more than 1,800 full-time workers currently employed in Johnston County, Talecris is one of the county’s largest employers and a Top 10 employer in RTP.
Talecris has remained committed to North Carolina as it has grown, adding more than 200 jobs in the state in 2009 alone. The 259 new jobs that will be created in Johnston County will pay an overall average annual salary of $51,066, not including benefits, which is higher than the Johnston County average of $33,800.
 The 2009 Triad BioNight on November 19th was an evening of celebration of the accomplishments, leadership and growing recognition of the Piedmont Triad as a fast-growing center of biotechnology. “Biotechnology and Our Future” was the focus of the keynote speech by David King, CEO and Chairman of Laboratory Corporation of American. King said that information coming through biotechnology will drive growth in infomatics. He predicted that imaging will fundamentally change in a few years, and that will be an opportunity for the United States.
Dr. Anthony Atala, Director of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine Institute for Regenerative Medicine, focused on “Regenerative Medicine: New Approaches to Health Care.”
U. S. Senator Kay Hagan was among the more than 300 people turned out for the bi-annual event that recognizes and celebrates the Piedmont Triad as an emerging center of biotechnology enterprise development.
In addition to the two keynote speeches, the event honored five business and community leaders with the announcement of the Biotechnology Excellence Awards.
Janke, Dean, Johnson (accepting for Hepler),
Shore (accepting for Mjalli), Cameron
The Piedmont Triad Excellence Awards were presented to:
Tim Janke, Service and Support Excellence
Bill Dean, Community Leadership Excellence
Doug Hepler, Excellence in Research and Development
Dr. Adnan Mjalli, Entrepreneurial Excellence
Donald Cameron, Academic Development Excellence
“We were so pleased with the turn out, the sponsorships and the quality of the presenters - David King and Dr. Tony Atala,” said Russ Read, a co-chair of the event. “It was truly a great evening thanks to the effort of Gwyn Riddick, Regional Director for the NCBC and his team of volunteers. We are very pleased to see that our community was able to recognize its bioscience growth and talent in an evening full of spirit and goodwill. We hope to see an even larger event in 2011."
 Sign up early for Biotech 2010, February 22-23 at the Raleigh Convention Center and save up to $100. The annual event is sponsored by CED and co-sponsored by NCBIO and the NC Biotechnology Center.
Speakers for the event include: Steven Krognes, Chief Financial Officer of Genetech, Inc.; Ernest Mario, Chairman and CEO of Capina; and Allen D. Roses, MD, Jefferson-Pilot Professor of Neurobiology and Neurology, Director of the Deane Drug Discovery Institute, and Senior Scholar at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business
Sponsorships for the event are still available.
The North Carolina Board of Science and Technology has announced the release of the FY 2010 Solicitation for the One North Carolina Small Business Matching Funds Program. The Program awards matching funds to North Carolina small businesses that have been awarded a SBIR or STTR Phase I award.
The solicitation is available at the Board’s website. There are changes this year, necessitated by funding limitations: The maximum Matching Grant award size is 50% of the Federal SBIR/STTR Program award, not to exceed $50,000. Companies that have previously received a match award under this program are ineligible to apply for a match award during the FY 2010 solicitation.
The solicitation period is July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010. Applicants must have received official notification of Phase I awards by a Federal SBIR/STTR agency during the solicitation period to be eligible. Applications for funding under this program must be received no later than 45 days from the date of notification of Phase I award by the federal SBIR/STTR agency. For companies whose federal notification occurred between the start date (July 1, 2009) and release date (November 15, 2009) of the solicitation, applications must be received within 45 days from the release date of the solicitation.
The Fox School of Business at Temple University and the National Association of Seed Venture Funds (NASVF) have released a new survey of the American risk investment marketplace. Jim Jaffe, president and CEO of NASVF, was pleased with the results. “Although pension funds and individual investors were pummeled in the last year,” Jaffe said, “early-stage investors still believe in the development of commercially viable enterprises that could deliver long-term value and rewards to those who invested in a turbulent time.”
Dr. Raj Chaganti, professor of Strategic Management at the Fox School of Business, said the survey results “seem to reflect the fragile state of the economy and the climate for risk capital in the country. The overall outlook for the industry was relatively pessimistic, and the confidence level of the investing organizations was even lower,” Chaganti said. “However, as one might expect, there were significant differences between regions in the country.”
For example:
- Southeast funds were leading the way in securing follow-on funds;
- They had the highest expectation of exiting their investments; and
- They had the highest expectation of returns on their exits – at four times their investment compared to the lowest in the group, the Southwest, with two times their investment.
Please have your organization’s media/marketing coordinator send news about your company to Brenda Summers - bsummers@ncbioscience.org
Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced patient enrollment is complete in three of its late-stage clinical trials. "We are pleased to be executing on our strategic plan with the achievement of these patient enrollment milestones in the clinical development programs for denufosol, PROLACRIA(TM) and AZASITE(R), as this places us in a position to have top-line results from all our late-stage clinical programs within 18 months. We would like to thank the dedicated clinical investigators, study coordinators and patients who participated in our trials as well as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and its affiliates for raising awareness of the importance of participating in clinical trials," stated Benjamin R. Yerxa, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief, Research and Development.
nspire Pharmaceuticals released financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009, reporting a net loss of $8.5 million or ($0.12) per common share. Total revenue for the third quarter of 2009 was $25.2 million, as compared to $20.0 million for the third quarter of 2008, reflecting an increase of 26%.
Quintiles and Eisai Co., Ltd. have announced a strategic alliance to develop six potential oncology products in Eisai’s R&D pipeline. Under the terms of the agreement, Quintiles’ oncology experts will conduct Phase II proof-of-concept studies for 11 solid tumor indications. A key goal of the alliance is to determine the efficacy of the products in the shortest possible time in order to bring therapies to market faster for the benefit of cancer patients worldwide.
The strategic alliance will be structured on a risk-sharing basis, with Quintiles funding, in part, the design and conduct of the clinical studies in exchange for success milestone payments. Other financial terms were not disclosed. The agreement is designed to enable Eisai to extend its oncology program, increasing the number of indications investigated for the six potential products, including eribulin (E7389), E7080, Ontak® (denileukin diftitox), E7820, E6201 and E7050.
“Quintiles and Eisai are using the power of partnerships to manage risk and enable transformation in a rapidly evolving industry where the rules are changing on all fronts,” said Ron Wooten, Executive Vice President, Quintiles Corporate Development. “Quintiles has first-hand experience in working with partners to rebalance operational, portfolio and resource risk. This goes beyond the traditional boundaries of the pharma business model, offering a more nimble, modular and variable way of leveraging resources to increase the value of assets.”
“This is a significant business model and new strategy for development,” said Mr. Hideki Hayashi, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Creation Officer for Eisai. “We are maximizing the potential of Eisai’s oncology compounds. I am pleased that Quintiles and Eisai share the same goals and our incentives are aligned for speed, quality and efficiency. We will explore multiple indications in parallel so that we can deliver our compounds as fast, widely and appropriately as possible for cancer patients’ benefit.”
Targacept, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of drugs known as NNR Therapeutics™, reported net income of $1.3 million for the third quarter of 2009, compared to a net loss of $7.6 million for the third quarter of 2008. “The third quarter was unquestionably significant for Targacept, with the announcements of our successful Phase 2b trial of TC-5214 in MDD and AstraZeneca’s decision to conduct further development of AZD3480 for ADHD. These outcomes highlight the breadth of our pipeline of NNR Therapeutics and reinforce our leadership position in the NNR space,” said J. Donald deBethizy, Ph.D., Targacept's President and Chief Executive Officer.
Targacept, Inc. has been selected for addition to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NASDAQ: NBI) effective, November 23. “We are pleased to have earned selection to join the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, which further validates the tremendous progress Targacept has made during 2009,” said deBethizy.
 Two Former U.S. Presidents Will Speak at BIO 2010
Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, the 42nd and 43rd Presidents of the United States, will appear together for a moderated discussion at the 2010 BIO International Convention, which will be held May 3-6 in Chicago, Ill. at McCormick Place.
Presidents Clinton and Bush, who served in the White House for 16 years, will discuss a wide variety of issues relating to both domestic and foreign policy. Jim Greenwood, BIO's President and CEO, will moderate the discussion between the two former Presidents on Tuesday, May 4th at 11:30 a.m. "We are honored to have the rare opportunity to host two such influential and experienced global thought leaders as they share the same stage at the same time as headliners at our Convention," said BIO President & CEO James Greenwood.
"We look forward to a thoughtful and informative discussion between Presidents Bush and Clinton as they discuss top issues and explore how biotechnology can create a better tomorrow by healing, fueling and feeding the world. I’m sure this keynote discussion will inspire and engage the global industry leaders in attendance."
BIO Speaks Against New Report on Genetically Engineered Crops
American farmers have adopted genetically engineered (GE) crops widely since their introduction in 1996 because of the tangible benefits that biotech varieties deliver. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. farmers have embraced biotech varieties of soybeans, cotton and corn at the rate of 91%, 88% and 85% respectively. This is because agricultural biotechnology allows farmers to grow more food on less land using farming practices that are more cost effective and environmentally sustainable.
Despite these convincing statistics, a report titled Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the United States: The First Thirteen Years, claims “farmers are increasingly critical of GE crops.”
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, Executive Vice President, Food and Agriculture for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), issued the following statement in response: “There’s no doubt that farmers continue to embrace biotechnology because of the benefits these products deliver, specifically crops that yield more per acre with lower production costs while using farming practices that better protect the land and environment.
“This is especially true for American farmers, four out of five of whom choose biotech crop varieties over conventional crops that require more production inputs such as sprays to control insect pests and tilling to control weeds. Thanks to biotechnology, farmers have adopted no- and reduced-tillage systems which utilize herbicidal weed control rather than plowing. This is delivering important benefits in the form of improved soil health and water retention, reduced runoff, fuel conservation, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and more efficient carbon storage in the soil.”
February 22-23, 2009
CED's Biotech Conference - Fusing Science, Technology and Industry Leadership CED's annual Biotech Conference unites the Southeast life science community to celebrate one of the biotech industry's most dynamic regions. This two-day conference includes world-class speakers, a variety of panels on industry topics and trends, and networking opportunities with life science leaders. Join industry executives, including the region's most innovative biotech entrepreneurs, major pharmaceutical companies, research leaders, policy makers and nationally prominent investors at the Southeast's premier life science event - CED's Biotech 2010 Conference,
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