AFH Holding & Advisory
Amir Heshmatpour
Founder & Managing DirectorAmerican Heart Association
Ross Tonkens
Director Science and Technology AcceleratorAntibody Solutions
Antibody Solutions is a premier developer of therapeutic, diagnostic and critical reagent antibodies. Our platforms include human antibodies from transgenic OmniRats™, Hybridoma Libraries™, and high-throughput flow-cytometry screening of cell-associated targets. We provide full technical support and project management with all services performed in the USA.
John Kenney
PresidentArcus Ventures
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.
Myoung-Ok Kwon
Venture PartnerArtiman Ventures
Akhil Saklecha
Managing DirectorAscendia Pharmaceuticals, LLC
Ascendia is a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing enhanced formulations of existing drug products, and enabling formulations for pre-clinical and clinical stage drug candidates. We use our nano-particle technologies and expertise to improve the bioavailability of poorly water soluble compounds.
At Ascendia, our core business is to develop proprietary product formulations for poorly water soluble drugs in order to bring value to our pharmaceutical company partners. We provide practical, customized formulation solutions that enable advancement of compounds from discovery to clinical testing. We offer rapid and cost-effective formulation technology screening services for poorly water soluble drugs through the utilization of our multiple nano-particle technologies. We provide trial formulations suitable for initial animal studies, toxicology studies and Phase I clinical trials using nano-emulsion, amorphous solid dispersion, and particle size reduction approaches. We conduct development program support for novel life-cycle management products based on these technology platforms.
Asset Management Ventures
Richard Simoni
Managing PartnerAZ Commerce Authority
Arizona’s bioscience and health care industry benefits from strong relationships with major institutions, hospitals, private firms and the state's public universities. CNBC ranks the state second nationwide in availability of skilled workforce, and biomedical jobs are growing three times faster than the national average. In addition to our aggressive incentive programs, Arizona is committed to attracting and supporting quality companies through competitive tax policies and has demonstrated a continued trend of reducing property, individual sales and corporate income tax rates. An example of some of the key programs and incentives for the biosciences includes:
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AZ Innovation Challenge – $3 million ($1.5 million twice yearly) for technology commercialization to the world’s most promising technology ventures. Awards range from $100,000 to $250,000 per company.
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Angel Investment Tax Credit - provides tax credits up to 35% for investors who make capital investment in small businesses certified by the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA).
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Arizona Innovation Accelerator Fund - an $18.2 million loan participation program to stimulate financing of small businesses and manufacturers by providing debt financing up to $2 million. Recognized by the US Treasury as a Best Practice model of its kind
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R&D Tax Credit/Refund – refundable and non-refundable programs for increased R&D activities. Income tax credits up to 34% for qualified expenses. Up to 75% of the excess tax credit can be refunded.