Kate Kraft

Cote Orphan, LLC
Business Development & Strategic Partnering 

Kelly Krajnik

Mayo Clinic Ventures serves to commercialize Mayo Clinic technologies for the benefit of patients worldwide while generating revenue to support clinical practice, research and education at Mayo Clinic. The office has licensed hundreds of technologies in the fields of medical devices, diagnostics, therapeutics, and healthcare IT, and has focused efforts in technology-based ventures and start-ups.  Mayo Clinic Ventures also has a $20M venture capital fund which is used to spin out companies that are developing products based on Mayo Clinic research.

Mayo Clinic Ventures
Business Development Manager 

Melissa Krauth

2M Biotech is a family office investment vehicle founded in 29 and based in Dallas Texas. The firm manages an evergreen structure and is looking to make equity investments into companies ranging from $.5 ? $5 million with a preference for the middle of that range. The firm is also willing to co-invest with investors they either know well or are able to get a strong reference for. The firm looks to invest in Seed and Series A rounds and looks to take a significant stake in the company?s equity. The firm prefers to invest in companies that are not located in an areas highly saturated with venture capital. The firm plans to make 3-4 new investments over the next 12 months.
2M BioTech (Claria Bioscience)
Principal 

Gary Kurtzman

Safeguard Scientifics is a publicly traded capital deployment firm founded in 1953 and is based in Wayne PA. The firm makes deployments from an evergreen fund and is actively seeking new investments in the healthcare sector. Initial equity placements are typically of $5-1m with the potential for a total allocation of $2-25m over the life of an investment. The firm focuses on North America with a concentration in the Mid-Atlantic and San Francisco Bay Area regions. Deployments are made at a range of stages from early-stage to growth expansion and recapitalization. Safeguard Scientifics prefers to be a sizable minority investor.
Safeguard Scientifics
Managing Director 

Myoung-Ok Kwon United States

Arcus Ventures was founded in 2007 and is based in New York City. Arcus Ventures is currently investing from its second fund, which had a first close of $36m in 2014 and is targeting a raise of $100m. The firm typically invests $2-5 million. Arcus invests primarily in the USA but is also open to considering opportunities in Canada.

Arcus Ventures
Venture Partner 

Timothy LaCroix

PharPoint Research Inc.
Vice President 

Gwen Lamar

Life Science Nation (LSN) is the premier sourcing platform for market intelligence and prospect pipeline development in the life science arena. LSN enables life science professionals to generate a list of qualified global targets that are a fit for their company’s products, services, and fundraising efforts. The ability to generate these Global Target Lists (GTLs) makes life science professionals more effective and efficient. 

Biotech Phase of Development
Medtech Phase of Development
Unique Capabilities

Life Science Investor Profiles, LSN has sourced validated and maintains the largest global database of investor profiles. LSN defined 10 categories of Life Science Investor;

·         Private Equity

·         Venture capital

·         Family Offices

·         Corporate VC

·         Angel Groups

·         Large Pharma/ Biotech

·         Alternative Institutional Investors: Pensions, Endowments

·         Endowments/Foundations

·         Hedge Funds

·         Government Grants

Marketing Services, LSN consults on branding, messaging, and outbound marketing strategies. This includes developing a tagline, elevator pitch, executive summary, corporate power point presentation, and new or updated website design to fit your brand and message. LSN will develop a Global Target List of prequalified candidates to target for marketing initiatives.

Life Science Nation

Tomas Landh

Novo Nordisk was founded in 1923 and is based in Bagsvaerd Denmark with additional R&D sites in Seattle WA Beijing China and Bangalore India. The firm is actively seeking to in-license assets and also forms research collaborations and co-marketing and distribution partnerships with other biotech companies. Novo Nordisk is focused on developing protein and peptide therapeutics and protein delivery devices. The firm has also in-licensed antibodies. Indications of interest include metabolic disorders blood and immune disorders growth disorders and inflammatory disorders. Within the inflammation fieldthe firm is particularly targeting therapies based on cytokines and on molecules on the surface of cells involved in immune regulation. The firm is interested in certain orphan conditions. In addition to partnering and in-licensing Novo Nordisk has a corporate venture fund Novo AS. The firm also offers research grants and resources for studies into Novo Nordisk's products.
Novo Nordisk
Director 

David Larwood United States

We are focused on Valley Fever, an orphan disease that kills 150 people a year. Thousands are taking drugs for life, and many others have no effective drug therapy options. Nikkomycin-Z is a new, first in class antifungal ready for Phase II testing. Teliable animal models suggest NikZ will be effective. 

With our guidance, the NIH is funding two Phase II trials starting about late 2015. We would like to run a third, sweet-spot-of-market trial as soon as we secure funding. Our Chief Medical Officer is lead author on an NIH study on standard of care drugs for this disease. We plan to try NikZ under a simlar protocol as soon as we secure support. 

Valley Fever Solutions has made our API at pilot scale. The process is robust and repeatable. We are ready to make a large batch as soon as we secure funding. We expect the proof of concept trial can reach at least early readout within 18 months of funding. This can be achieved for less than $10M.

Year Founded
2007
Biotech Subsector
Biotech Phase of Development
Technology Overview
Nikkomycin-Z is a Nucleoside Peptide, first in class new anti fungal.
Alliance & Collaborations
Extensive NIH support
Supporting Metrics or Evidence
NikZ is fungicidal in mice, the best current drugs only limit further fungal growth (fungistatic). We have promising results in some dogs.
Current Financing Needs
$10M for Phase II proof of concept
Current Timeline
Ready to make API (8-12 months) for Phase II trials (following 8-12 months)
Current Investors
Founders
IP Status
12 years market exclusivity - OOPD, QIDP; new patents pending
Recent Milestones
RC3 grant brought our process to pilot scale API; NIH grants funded for Phase II trial, second parallel trial waiting for API (NIH sourcing)
Management Team Highlights
David Larwood (CEO) did early work on two $1B drugs, VP at two pre-Nasdaq companies (took one public, the other later reached $2B valuation); John Galgiani (CMO) is one of the most respected and well known clinicians in Valley Fever
David Larwood
Valley Fever Solutions
LinkedIn logo CEO 
BIO

David Larwood has been a chemist for decades, most recently leading Valley Fever Solutions as CEO since it was founded in 2007. From 1997 to 2005 he was VP at two pre-NASDAQ companies, taking the second one public for four years until it was sold. The first later went public and reached $2B valuation.

His PhD research at UCSF supported the foundations for PEGylated liposomes, including Doxil. He was the first to make suitable PEGylated lipids and made some of the earliest of these novel liposomes.

He was the first to make Iotrolan, still produced by 12 companies decades later.