Ten Maryland- and Virginia-based companies will get the chance next month to pitch potential investors at the second annual Mid-Atlantic Bio conference, a two-day event that connects biotech entrepreneurs with venture capitalists.
The conference, which is organized by the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association, the Virginia Biotechnology Association and MdBio, was conceived in 2005 as a way to bring together key players in the region’s blossoming biotech industry. In addition to biotech firms from the Washington/Baltimore region, startups from Charlottesville, Va.; N.C.’s Research Triangle; and Pennsylvania will also have the opportunity to pitch a host of established investment firms.
“We wanted to create a platform where private equity and venture investors felt they could do business around the growing industry of life sciences,” said Julia Spicer, president of the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association.
MAVA launched a similar fair, Capital Connection, 20 years ago when the region’s technology industry was finding its footing. Today, the technology industry is one of the strongest sectors for the Washington region and Capital Connection is one of the most sought after opportunities among local entrepreneurs.
Each of the 15 companies gets the chance to present before investors, as well as two days of workshops and networking opportunities. But unlike Capital Connection, where the turnaround time on investment deals can be fairly quick, the process takes longer for biotech firms, said Kathy O’Laughlin, director of MAVA’s life science initiative. Tech companies generally require less start up capital than biotech companies, which can require millions to finance expensive clinical trials and cutting-edge research and development.
“Life science companies typically don’t get funding right away,” O’Laughlin said. Mid-Atlantic Bio is an opportunity to “make connections with venture capitalists. The VCs need to be courted a little bit more.”
The Washington region’s biotech industry is showing signs of expansion. Last quarter, biotech venture investments overtook long-standing frontrunners telecom and software. Venture capitalists invested $144.9 million in local biotech companies, edging out telecom at $144.7 million, in the second quarter of 2006, according to data from PricewaterhouseCoopers.
If you go
Mid-Atlantic Bio will take place Oct. 10 and 11 at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center in the District.
Fifteen biotechnology companies were chosen from a field of 45 candidates to present:
» ACell Inc. (Jessup, Md.)
» Adenosine Therapeutics (Charlottesville, Va.)
» ALIGN Pharmaceuticals (Cary, N.C.)
» Capricor Inc. (Lutherville, Md.)
» Correlogic Systems Inc. (Rockville, Md.)
» Immune Control Inc. (W. Conshohocken, Pa.)
» ION Healthcare (Midlothian, Va.)
» Jenken Biosciences Inc. (Research Triangle Park, N.C.)
» Lentigen Corporation (Baltimore, Md.)
» MaxCyte Inc. (Gaithersburg, Md.)
» Neotropix Inc. (Malvern, Pa.)
» PluroGen Therapeutics, Inc. (Charlottesville, Va.)
» StageMark Inc. (Pittsburgh)
» Traxion Therapeutics Inc. (Baltimore)
» Vital Sensors Inc. (Richmond)
