Catapult Bio to inject biotechnology market with development grants
Phoenix Business Journal - by Angela Gonzales
Catapult Bio is opening its doors with $14 million in the bank to help bring bioscience technologies to market.
The nonprofit organization was born at the Translational Genomics Research Institute and is becoming a stand-alone entity to help turn research discoveries into business opportunities in the biomedical field.
“If you’re talking about biotech economic development, this is going to be the biggest announcement over the next two years,” said Barry Broome, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, which had a role in launching Catapult.
“Here we are in this economy where we can’t raise money, there’s no investment, there’s no credit, and we’re launching a $14 million granted biotech economic development strategy,” he said. “That really speaks to the sustainability issues in the Valley.”
Calling Catapult a “virtual biotech accelerator,” Broome said the organization is searching the Valley for headquarters space.
“One of the things we’re looking at is housing them at GPEC,” he said.
GPEC’s offices are at 2 N. Central Ave. in downtown Phoenix.
More important than its physical space is the nonprofit’s ability to fund bioscience ideas and help commercialize them.
Co-founder MaryAnn Guerra, who also is president of TGen Accelerator, said Catapult was designed to help advance crucial late-stage research and form new biotech companies.
“We need to give out these grants for late-stage discovery research,” she said, estimating Catapult will give out at least $1.5 million in the first year to scientists who need help getting their technologies to market.
The money would go only to scientists at universities and other research organizations in Arizona, including nonprofit hospital research arms such as the Sun Health Research Institute.
Biotech companies would not be eligible, but TGen scientists would.
“One of the dilemmas research organizations struggle with is how to take early-stage technology and move it far enough along ... when they try to license it so it actually has a viable chance of success,” Guerra said.
Ron King, co-founder and president of Catapult and vice president of new ventures and commercialization for TGen, said the new organization would help universities’ technology-transfer arms, rather than compete directly with them.
Catapult received its funding from Los Angeles-based Abraxis BioScience and Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the company’s CEO.
Abraxis recently bought a lab at 630 N. 55th Ave., Phoenix, to establish a presence in the Valley. The biotech firm researches cancer treatments.
King said additional funding would come from donations from large pharmaceutical or biotech companies. Eventually, he would like to be able to charge for the services provided by Catapult.
Those services will include creating business models, helping to protect intellectual property and marketing products.
“Over time, what we’re hoping is to be viewed as a resource to organizations that have a technology they want developed,” he said.
Bob Eaton, president and CEO of the Arizona BioIndustry Association, welcomed Abraxis’ investment in Arizona.
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