Xconomy: 'Colorado Biotech Searches for a Few More Investors, Anchor Tenants'

Xconomy Boulder/Denver reporter Michael Davidson reports on the status of our area's biotech cluster...including standouts Array BioPharma and Clovis Oncology, Colorado's two “major league companies” with at least $100 million in cash and short-term investments...and thoughts from his interviews with Pat Mahaffy, Ron Squarer and Kyle Lefkoff at the recent Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference in Denver.

Quoting from the article about the local pipeline:

"the numbers show Colorado is doing fairly well in its weight class, to use a boxing analogy. According to the Colorado BioScience Association, there are 600 bioscience companies in the state, which include biotechnology, medical device, diagnostic, agricultural-bio, and pharmaceutical companies. Together they employ about 27,000 people.

Investors also know their way to Colorado. Over the past five years, venture capital firms have invested $1.63 billion in Colorado companies, and during that time larger companies have spent $10.17 billion to acquire companies based in Colorado.

Colorado also recently invested heavily in upgrading research facilities. Major projects are underway at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Fitzsimons Life Science District near the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. They are intended to create institutes or facilities that catalyze the growth of companies in the area."

Link to the full article at Xconomy Boulder/Denver

Video Profiles: Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference

Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference video profiles are now posted - produced by Robin Bond Media - http://robinbondmedia.com

Sharklet Technologies - Mark Spiecker, CEO

http://youtu.be/stnrKX5hZ9U

Sharklet Technologies - Elisa Dannemiller, Chief Medical Officer
http://youtu.be/lSPxD_D9iaI

Vet DC - Steven Roy, President and CEO

http://youtu.be/9I2VjhP5P80

Xalud Theraputics - Linda Watkins, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer
http://youtu.be/ASzlz9LlbUU

Ventria Bioscience - Scott Deeter, President and CEO
http://youtu.be/GQ3YbhtS-I4

Rocky Mountain Biologicals - Suresh K. Daniel, Director and CEO
http://youtu.be/3Pi17v7Zohw

MSDx - Marie Wesselhoft, President and Co-Founder
http://youtu.be/v-LqKL9U5ZE

DiscGenics - Flagg Flannagan, CEO and Chairman of the Board
http://youtu.be/Ucr57pBEJCU

Nasseo, Inc. - Garrett Cale Smith, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO
http://youtu.be/Ya4CZBxIZuM

Prima-Temp - Wade W. Webster, MD FACEP

http://youtu.be/5iehMkSAxR4

For more information about the conference, visit: http://www.RockyMtnBioInvest.com. RMLIPC will return in 2015.

Video First Look: 2013 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference

Clovis Oncology CEO Pat Mahaffy: 'We're In A Good Cycle Now'
http://youtu.be/staaQJiKQOI

Array BioPharma CEO Ron Squarer: 'Advantages of Colorado'
http://youtu.be/DQHF0GXEvm8

Jeff Calcagno, MD, with J&J Development Corp: 'I'll Tell You What We're Looking For'

http://youtu.be/zoZcoJaAEsQ

A video selection of the thirty regional presenting companies:

Ventria Bioscience, Fort Collins, CO: http://youtu.be/TH9piHw6OVw
AmideBio, Louisville, CO: http://youtu.be/KzxEK4b81rk
Renaptys Vaccines, Aurora, CO: http://youtu.be/If9tda2AD_Q
Sinopsys Surgical, Boulder, CO: http://youtu.be/9MQIl5BiRqI
FitBionic, Boulder, CO: http://youtu.be/vIuWVZPdtB0
Xenograft, Missoula, MT: http://youtu.be/jndn0pk1gPw
Wasatch Microfluidics, Salt Lake City, UT: http://youtu.be/-6QQGzmRuU8
Neuro Assessment Systems, Littleton, CO: http://youtu.be/3oC8a_LdAF4
NASSEO, Peoria, AZ: http://youtu.be/rx4WcCJ9HXY

CBSA Pres/CEO April Giles - Thanks to the RMLIPC Regional Sponsoring Organizations

http://youtu.be/_UNh2aDFKs8

Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority Pres/CEO Steve VanNurden Welcoming Remarks RMLIPC Opening Reception

http://youtu.be/KhW6vgfLsZI

Link to the conference webpage

Coverage: CBSA's Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference 2013

Quoting: "The vetted companies came from Colorado, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Montana with hopes of attracting investment to move their products – focused on cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, Lyme disease, wound repair and a host of other bioscience challenges – toward commercialization and profitability.

The day-long conference kicked off with a breakfast keynote “fireside chat” featuring Kyle Lefkoff, founder of Boulder Ventures, moderating a discussion with the leaders of two of Colorado’s premier publicly traded life science companies – Patrick Mahaffy, CEO and co-founder of Clovis Oncology and Ron Squarer, CEO of Array BioPharma, who shared their views on the state of Colorado’s bioscience industry"

Link to the posting

Quoting: "Executives of two Boulder-based biopharmaceutical companies said Thursday that early-stage pharma business in Colorado is hampered by the lack of a stable core that can be built around. Speaking at the Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference at the Ritz-Carlton, the two said they do their best in an environment that can be at once frustrating and invigorating."

Link to the posting

Coverage: 30+ Life Science Investors & Strategic Partners Convene in Denver This Week

Link to Yahoo! Finance

Link to BioPortfolio

30+ Life Science Investors & Strategic Partners Convene In Denver This Week For 2013 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor & Partnering Conference

More than thirty of the industry’s leading investors and strategic partners will attend presentations by the region’s most innovative life science companies at the 2013 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference (RMLIPC), September 18-19 at the The Ritz-Carlton, Denver.

The announcement is made by April Giles, President & CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) who says, “Leading biotech, medical device, diagnostic and pharmaceutical investors from across the country will be coming to Denver to connect and invest in the regions emerging life science companies. Each company will make a 10-minute presentation to an audience of their peers, investors and partners, followed by a 5-minute period of questions—this type of high-pressure pitching is typical in vying for highly coveted VC funding.”

“The RMLIPC really showcases the best companies from the region and provides investors an opportunity to evaluate these fresh investment opportunities and meet one-on-one with their founders and executive team,” said Giles. “It’s important to note, the Rocky Mountain region is a key player in the life science industry. There has been over $1 billion in investment in the region over the past five years.”

The following investors and strategic partners will be attending RMLIPC 2013: 

Amgen Ventures, Thousand Oaks, CA - http://www.amgen.com/partners/amgen_ventures

Aphelion Capital, Mill Valley, CA - http://www.aphelioncapital.net  

Bay City Capital, San Francisco, CA - http://www.baycitycapital.com

BioGenerator, St. Louis, MO - http://www.biogenerator.org  

Boulder Ventures, Boulder, CO - http://www.boulderventures.com  

Charter Life Sciences, Santa Clara, CA - http://www.charterls.com  

Covidien, Mansfield, MA - http://www.covidien.com

Epic Ventures, Albuquerque, NM - http://www.epicvc.com

GE Healthcare Financial Services, Chicago, IL - http://www.gehealthcarefinance.com

Goodworks Ventures, MT - http://www.goodworksventures.com

High Country Venture, Boulder, CO - http://highcountryventure.com  

Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, New Brunswick, NJ - http://www.jjdevcorp.com  

KMG Capital Partners, Denver CO

Level 5 Partners, Fort Collins, CO - http://l5partners.com  

Lightstone Ventures, Boulder, CO - http://lightstonevc.com  

Mercury Fund, Houston, TX - http://www.mercuryfund.com  

Mile High Fund, Denver, CO - http://www.comilehighfund.com  

Morgenthaler Ventures, Menlo Park, CA  - http://www.morgenthaler.com  

New Enterprise Associates, Menlo Park, CA - http://www.nea.com  

Novartis Venture Funds, Cambridge, MA - http://www.venturefund.novartis.com  

Red Script Ventures, New Brunswick, NJ - http://www.jjdevcorp.com

Remeditex, Dallas, TX - http://remeditex.com  

Salt Lake Life Science Angels, Salt Lake City, UT - http://www.sllsa.com 

Sanderling Ventures, San Mateo, CA - http://www.sanderling.com  

Signal Peak Ventures, Salt Lake City, UT - http://signalpeakvc.com     

Silicon Valley Bank, Broomfield, CO - http://www.svb.com

Split Rock Partners, Menlo Park, CA - http://www.splitrock.com  

SR One, Corporate VC Arm of GlaxoSmithKline, San Francisco, CA - http://www.srone.com

Volcano Capital, New York, NY - http://www.volcanocap.com  

Wayne Brown Institute, Salt Lake City, UT - http://www.waynebrowninstitute.org  

Wexford Capital LP, Greenwich, CT - http://www.wexford.com  

About the Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor & Partnering Conference 

The 2013 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor & Partnering Conference – spearheaded by the Colorado BioScience Association in collaboration with associations in Arizona, Montana, New Mexico and Utah — will open with a reception at the Colorado Governor’s Mansion September 18th and follow with a full day of company pitch presentations September 19th. The keynote breakfast will include Kyle Lefkoff, founder and General Partner of Boulder Ventures, leading a conversation with the CEOs of Colorado's two premier publicly-traded pharmaceutical companies-Patrick Mahaffy, Founder and CEO of Clovis Oncology and Ron Squarer, CEO of Array BioPharma. The keynote lunch titled “New Approaches to Healthcare Innovation” will be a presentation from Jeff Calcagno, M.D., Venture Investments with Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation. For more information and registration details, visit http://www.RockyMtnBioInvest.com.

On Twitter, please use the hashtag #RockyMtnBioInvest for your tweets.

CompanyWeek: 'Attracting Capital Is Key for Start-Up Bioscience Companies'

Quoting from today's CompanyWeek, column by Colorado BioScience Association President/CEO April Giles:

"Every other year the Colorado Bioscience Association, in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, brings investors and funding partners to our home turf with the Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference (RMLIPC). We work hard to vet 30 fantastic presenting companies and intrigue 50 out of state investors – angel, VC, venture funds and business development arms to strategic partners – to Colorado to look at an undermined, yet highly valuable bioscience community."

Link to CompanyWeek

Coverage Recap: Leading CEOs Keynote 2013 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor & Partnering Conference in Denver

Leading CEOs Keynote 2013 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor & Partnering Conference in Denver:

Link to Yahoo! Finance

Link to iStockAnalyst

Link to Reuters.com

Link to MetroDenver

Link to InnovatioNews

Leading CEOs Keynote 2013 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference in Denver

The 2013 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference keynote breakfast will include Kyle Lefkoff, founder and General Partner of Boulder Ventures, leading a conversation with the CEOs of Colorado's two premier publicly-traded pharmaceutical companies – Patrick Mahaffy, Founder and CEO of Clovis Oncology and Ron Squarer, CEO of Array BioPharma. The announcement is made by April Giles, President and CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) who says the regional conference will also feature a keynote luncheon presentation by Jeff Calcagno, M.D., Principal, Venture Investments, Johnson and Johnson Development Corporation.

2013 forward to in the future.”

Link to the Business Wire release

Link to the PitchEngine Social Media Release

Viewpoint from OEDIT's Ken Lund: 'Building more investors is vital to Colorado’s economy'

Quoting from today's posting in the Denver Business Journal:

"Since January 2011, we’ve created 97,000 jobs and now have 2.4 million jobs in the state — prerecession levels. And we have the fourth-fastest job growth in the nation. We are continuing to successfully woo a number of industries and we’re enhancing our advanced industries with a 10-year, $150 million investment.

We are just missing one key piece of the economic pie: investors. Venture-capital investment is critical to the growth of successful startup companies...

...We’re working on creating more funding opportunities. OEDIT, in partnership with the Colorado BioScience Association and Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., established the Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference (RMLIPC) in 2009. Celebrating the third biennial conference on Sept. 19, RMLIPC will bring together more than 50 investors to Denver to showcase 30 regional startup companies in the biotech, diagnostic, medical device and pharmaceutical industries. The Rockies Venture Club, along with the Impact Angel Group, are working their connections with local angel investors and entrepreneurs."

Link to the OpEd piece authored by Ken Lund

About Ken Lund: Ken joined Gov. Hickenlooper as Chief Legal Counsel before taking the helm at the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade in August 2011. Ken is focused on driving the state's economic recovery, ensuring that Colorado is the most pro-business state in the country and that Colorado remains competitive in the global marketplace.

Coverage Overview: Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor & Partnering Conference Announces Thirty Regional Companies for 2013 Presentation Lineup

Link to CNBC.com

Link to Yahoo! Finance

Link to Metro Denver News Center

Link to VancouverSun.com

Link to Silobreaker

Bioscience: '17 Colorado companies to present at 2013 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference in Denver'

Quoting from today's InnovatioNews posting:

"Seventeen Colorado-based companies are among 30 selected from the region to present at the 2013 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference next month.

The companies – from Colorado, Arizona, Montana and Utah — will make their presentations to a targeted audience of biotech, device, diagnostic and pharma investors and strategic partners during the biannual conference this year being held Sept. 18-19 at The Ritz-Carlton in Denver and hosted by the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA)."

Link to InnovatioNews.com

NCBR: '3 Fort Collins companies to present at life science conference'

Quoting from today's posting:

"Three Fort Collins-based companies will present at the 2013 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference in Denver next month.

The conference is hosted by the Colorado BioScience Association and brings together investors and partners in the biotech, device, diagnostic and pharma industries."

Link to the Northern Colorado Business Report

Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference Announces Thirty Regional Companies for 2013 Presentation Lineup

Denver, CO, August 12, 2013 – Thirty companies from Arizona, Colorado, Montana and Utah have been chosen to present at the 2013 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference (RMLIPC), September 18-19, at The Ritz-Carlton in Denver, Colorado. The announcement is made by April Giles, President & CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA), on behalf of the RMLIPC Selection Committee, who says the presenting companies were selected from more than 60 applicants by a committee of investors and industry experts. 

2013 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference Presenting Companies:

AmideBio, LLC - Boulder, CO - http://www.amidebio.com
Biodesix - Boulder, CO - http://www.biodesix.com
BioFusionary - Wheat Ridge, CO - http://biofusionary.com
Boulder Diagnostics - Boulder, CO - http://www.boulderdiagnostics.com
Convoy Therapeutics - Oro Valley, AZ - http://www.convoytx.com
DiscGenics - Salt Lake City, UT - http://discgenics.com
EndoShape - Boulder, CO - http://endoshape.com
ENDURX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Oro Valley, AZ - http://www.endurxpharma.com
FitBionic - Boulder, CO - http://www.fitbionic.com
Lazarus Medical Technologies - Salt Lake City, UT - http://www.lazarusmedtech.com
Lineagen - Salt Lake City, UT - http://www.lineagen.com
MBio Diagnostics - Boulder, CO - http://mbiodx.com
MSDx - Tucson, AZ - http://www.msdx.co
Nasseo, Inc. - Peoria, AZ - http://www.nasseo.com
Neuro Assessment Systems - Littleton, CO - http://www.neuroassessments.com
Prima-Temp, Inc. - Boulder, CO - http://prima-temp.com
Regenesis Biomedical - Scottsdale, AZ - http://www.regenesisbio.com
Renaptys Vaccines, LLC - Aurora, CO - http://www.renaptys.com
Rocky Mountain Biologicals - Missoula, MT - http://rmbio.com
Sharklet Technologies, Inc. - Aurora, CO - http://sharklet.com
Sinopsys Surgical - Boulder, CO  - http://www.sinopsyssurgical.com
Surefire Medical - Westminster, CO - http://surefiremedical.com
SuviCa - Boulder, CO - http://suvica.com
Transverse Medical - Evergreen, CO - http://www.transversemedical.com
Ventria Bioscience - Fort Collins, CO - http://ventria.com
VetDC Inc. - Fort Collins, CO - http://www.vet-dc.com
Vivaldi Biosciences - Fort Collins, CO - http://www.vivaldibiosciences.com
Wasatch - Salt Lake City, UT - http://www.microfl.com
Xalud Therapeutics, Inc. Boulder, CO - http://www.xaludthera.com
Xenograft Corporation - Missoula, MT - http://www.ihimontanafoundation.org

The 2013 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference – spearheaded by the Colorado BioScience Association in collaboration with associations in Arizona, Montana, New Mexico and Utah — will open with a reception at the Colorado Governor’s Mansion September 18th and follow with a full day of company pitch presentations September 19th. The keynote breakfast will include Kyle Lefkoff, founder and General Partner of Boulder Ventures, leading a conversation with the CEOs of Colorado's two premier publicly-traded pharmaceutical companies-Patrick Mahaffy, Founder and CEO of Clovis Oncology and Ron Squarer, CEO of Array BioPharma. The keynote lunch will be a presentation from Johnson and Johnson Development Corporation executive leadership. For more information and registration details, visit http://www.RockyMtnBioInvest.com

On Twitter, please use the hashtag #RockyMtnBioInvest for your tweets.

Link to the PitchEngine social media release