UNC Commercialization Team Ventures West, Promotes Carolina Technologies at BIO Conference

Walk into any of the world’s most inventive laboratories, and you’ll find the sharpest scientific minds searching for the right combinations of chemicals, compounds and molecules. When researchers bring together just the right mix of these and other elements under the right conditions, new possibilities emerge.

This past summer, the exploration of new possibilities was precisely what some of UNC-Chapel Hill’s staff had in mind when they headed to San Diego. Except this time, the interactions at play didn’t involve chemicals, gases or compounds, but conversations. Indeed, for a week in June, Carolina staff from the Office of Commercialization and Economic Development (OCED) attended the annual BIO International Conference and treated the event as a laboratory for business development and collaboration with scientists and potential partners in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

The conference, held by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, brings together global biotech and pharma companies, foundations, investors, medical centers and universities to meet and share opportunities and best practices with the hope of developing new partnerships that can advance promising treatments, devices and technologies. As one of the largest meetings of its kind, the goal of BIO is to find ways to work together to move these innovations to market, and into the hands of doctors, medical professionals and patients, faster.

UNC commercialization team hosts 80 one-one-one industry partner discussions on Carolina technologies 

Carolina’s OCED delegation wasted no time sparking productive discussions. The team made connections with innovative leaders through more than 80 one-on-one partnering meetings with entrepreneurs, investors, and leaders at pharma and biotech companies. The Carolina contingent included Kelly Parsons and Champ Gupton with technology commercialization, Don Rose with KickStart Venture Services, Michael Kline with outreach and technology development, and Bryant Moore with strategic partnerships. Attending as part of the conference’s “Academic Campus,” the OCED team hosted the one-on-one discussions in a dedicated partner meeting space. Their conversations were both focused and fruitful as they worked to identify investors and partners for UNC technologies, collaborators for researchers, and management experts to get involved with UNC’s homegrown companies.

“The BIO International Conference is a significant opportunity for meaningful networking and engagement with key industry and investment partners,” says Michael Kline, Ph.D., Outreach and Technology Development, OCED. “We discuss innovations and discoveries developed at UNC-Chapel Hill and gather market intelligence as broadly as possible. A number of discussions are yet ongoing as a result of these efforts.”

Michael Kline, UNC OCED
“We discuss innovations and discoveries developed at UNC-Chapel Hill and gather market intelligence as broadly as possible. A number of discusion are yet ongoing as a result of these efforts."

Effective data gathering on entrepreneurship and startup activities helps along numerous fronts: from the submission of data to ranking agencies to the information provided to leaders and decision-makers regarding the impact of their investment in innovation and entrepreneurship. In fact, the startups database is one of the primary sources of data that will feed into a new dashboard report that the Innovate Carolina team will use to share the economic and social value of innovation and entrepreneurship programs for the University, state and region.

More than 16,000 biotech leaders attended the event, which featured innovative technologies and more than 150 education sessions. Keynotes included former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron as well as Ann Romney, a staunch patient advocate. Both keynotes addressed challenges in the political and health arenas.

Promising Carolina startups connect with investors, partners

Raising awareness of UNC-Chapel Hill research and its IP-based ventures on the global stage, UNC startups had a deliberate presence at the event; Ward Peterson, CEO of UNC startup Symberix, was selected to present to a group of potential investors as part of the BIO Startup Stadium. Representatives from other Carolina startups included those from Capture Pharmaceuticals and Spyryx Biosciences.

To help accelerate the translation of important ideas into meaningful products and services, OCED also sponsored four CEOs of UNC-affiliated startups to attend the conference.

• Altis Biosystems: Developing next-generation stem cell technologies to test the effects of medicines, diseases, and more on human biology.

• Dualogics: Creating bispecific antibody products that remain greater than 99 percent identical to natural human antibodies.

• NeuroNano Pharma: Developing nanoparticle-based medicines to treat rare neurodegenerative diseases.

• Symberix: Selectively targeting bacteria to improve human health.

In addition, OCED was a sponsor of a North Carolina reception organized by the NC Biotech Center that had 184 guests, and Roy Zwahlen represented the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, coordinating with OCED on meetings of mutual interest.

The OCED team plans to attend the conference next year, which will celebrate 25 years of innovation. For questions or more information about OCED’s participation and goals around the event and how you can get involved, contact Michael Kline.