Buffalo’s Global Business Plan Competition

43North, which began on Feb. 1, is the latest in a series of economic development initiatives aimed at encouraging private sector investments in the immediate Buffalo Niagara region. While $1 million is the top cash prize, the competition is also offering six additional awards of $500,000 and four $250,000 awards. Winners also get free incubator space in downtown Buffalo, guidance from area mentors and access to other public-sector incentives like Start-Up NY.

The competition will be broken down into three rounds, with each round being judged independently.

• Round 1 (February 5 – May 31): applications from prospective businesses will be accepted via the competition’s website, 43North.org. The purpose of Round 1 is for applicants to provide a vision for their venture, including their business concept, target customers, industry overview, competitive landscape and revenue potential. This submission is not intended to be as comprehensive as a detailed business plan, but should provide the judges with a summary of the major elements of the venture. Applications will be vetted over the summer months.

• Round 2 (September 15 – September 20): the semifinalists will present further detail on their plan, along with a 10-minute online presentation to 43North’s judging panel, followed by 10 minutes of questions. The plans put forward in Round 2 will include the venture’s business concept, value proposition, competitive analysis, communication and distribution channels, client relationships, key stakeholders, resources and activities, cost structure, revenue streams and financial considerations.

• Round 3 (October 27 – October 31): the final stage of the competition is for finalist teams to pitch their business in person to a panel of judges in Buffalo. Each team will have 10 minutes to sell their business idea, followed by 10 minutes of questions. Teams will be assessed on overall organization of the presentation; the team’s ability to ‘sell’ the idea and need for the company; the team’s ability to defend the plan and be responsive to questions; and the quality of the overall plan. The competition concludes with the selection of winners and celebrations.

The objective of this competition is to position Upstate New York and the Buffalo Niagara region squarely on the map of America’s newest innovation and entrepreneurship hotbed. 43North is open to applicants ages 18 and over from anywhere in the world in any industry, with the exception of retail and hospitality. Winners agree to operate their business in Buffalo, New York for a minimum of one year.

43North is hitting the road to spread the word about this ambitious competition.  National and international stops include 12 U.S. cities, Southern Ontario, India, China and Israel. Find out when 43North will be in a city near you!

ENTER THE COMPETITION NOW!

VOLUNTEER TO BE A JUDGE

Q&A with For-Robin on cancer therapeutic development

Dr. Kate Rittenhouse-Olson is Director of University at Buffalo’s (UB) Biotechnology Undergraduate Program and Founding President of For-Robin Inc.

Kate Rittenhouse-Olson, Professor of Biochemistry Photographer: Douglas Levere

For-Robin is a company developing a promising drug: an antibody that stops breast cancer tumors from metastasizing to other parts of the body. The product, called JAA-F11, binds to the Thomsen-Friedenreich glycoantigen (TF-Ag), which is a unique target expressed on the surface of about 80% of breast, colon, bladder, prostate and other carcinomas. The key is that JAA-F11 is highly selective and is not expected to bind on normal tissues. JAA-F11 was discovered in Dr. Rittenhouse-Olson’s UB laboratory and she then spun off the company with the mission of translating the product from the laboratory to commercial/clinical use.

Dr. Rittenhouse-Olson was a post-doctoral fellow at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) wherein she gained clinical tumor immunology experience with Dr. T. Ming Chu, (the discoverer of Prostate Specific Antigen for diagnosis) and then carbohydrate experience with Dr. Khushi Matta. For over 25 years, her UB laboratory has been involved in studying carbohydrate tumor associated antigens, and primarily TF-Ag. Last year, she and her colleague Ernesto De Nardin published a textbook, “Contemporary Clinical Immunology and Serology,” for which she drew the original diagrams for many of its illustrations of molecules.

Dr. Rittenhouse-Olson is also interested in exploring JAA-F11’s utility as a cancer imaging agent and tumor killer. The antibody is only expected to bind with cancer cells, which means doctors could use it to locate tumors, or to deliver cancer-fighting compounds straight to cancer cells. In addition, the alterations that researchers are making to the antibody may make it possible for the antibody to directly kill tumor cells.

Q. What is the significance of the name of your company, For-Robin?

Robin

A. For-Robin is named in memory of my sister, Robin, who died in 1986 due to breast cancer at the age of 31. My sister Robin was a special person, a mix of many things funny and serious. She was a hard worker and also an entrepreneur. She was a leader and was in charge of a group of counselors in Fairport, NY. She told the teenagers she counseled that there would be people in their lives that would say mean or hurtful things to them, sometimes even under the guise of a normal conversation. She taught them to answer not with their fists or with mean words, but with the simple and controlled sentence “How do you expect me to feel now that you have said that?”. This was a great way to turn around a situation without escalating it. She had teenage foster children, children that had drug or criminal records and would have been difficult to place anywhere else. She loved them and they loved her.

Q. What assistance has For Robin received in its early stages, both monetary and otherwise?

A. For-Robin, established in 2012 and renting laboratory space at University at Buffalo, has received the following assistance:

• A Phase I STTR grant from the National Cancer Institute Grant #: 1R41CA176951, in the amount of $282K for the project period 5/1/2013 to 4/30/2014. The Grant was awarded based on a peer review of the science and its promise as a future therapeutic for the treatment of breast cancer.
• A matching University at Buffalo Bruce Holm Catalyst grant in the amount of $50K.
• A matching University at Buffalo Center for Advanced Biomedical and Bioengineering Technology (UB CAT) grant in the amount of $30K.
• Business development help from UB-STOR in the form of an entrepreneur-in-residence, Robert Redd, and innovation interns Connor Flynn, John D. Fraczek and David Huoh.
• Development guidance from the pre-seed workshop sponsored by the Center of Excellence (COE), prior to business formation and set-up

Q. Did you consider other areas for start-up beside Buffalo Niagara, if so why did you choose Western NY?

A. I choose Buffalo, and will choose to remain in Buffalo because of the

Lab of Kate Rittenhouse-Olson, Professor of Biochemistry Photographer: Douglas Levere

support network here, including UB STOR, the COE, and the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences faculty and students.

Q. What were the first steps you took in your process of starting up?

A. I began by talking to area biotech entrepreneurs who were very generous with their time and advice. Buffalo’s greatest asset is the collegiality of the members of the biotech sector. Even a year later, attracting talent from this area and specifically from UB is easy. I recently recruited an excellent post-doctoral fellow, Loukia Karacosta.

Q. At what stage of development is JAA-F11? What are the next steps?

A. We are in our first year of funded support from the NCI STTR. Our most recent data is moving us rapidly forward and the next step is to ready the antibody for human clinical trials by replacing some mouse parts with human parts. The alterations, which are underway, will decrease the chance of patients’ immune systems rejecting the antibody. My husband, James Olson a toxicologist who is also at UB is deeply involved in supporting this venture, and my good friend Sally Quataert, Director of the Human Immunology Center (HIC) Core Laboratory, at the University of Rochester, is facilitating our business efforts as well. Through a subcontract to my lab at UB, Susan Morey at lab manager at UB, Julia Abdullah, a Ph.D. student in the Microbiology Department at UB, Jing Ying Eng a master’s student in Biotechnical and Clinical Laboratory Science at UB, Bethany Cross and Ashley Rohl, undergraduates at UB are involved in the development of the JAA-F11 antibody.

My life works in Buffalo Niagara because of the support of the scientific, business and academic communities in the Buffalo Niagara region.

Read interviews with other Life Sciences professionals in Buffalo Niagara

by Alan Rosenhoch, Business Development Manager

Co-working Space To Open at BNMC

by Alan Rosenhoch, Business Development Manager, Buffalo Niagara Enterprise

The concept that environments can invite and facilitate creative and innovative ideas is not new, but some communities taking active steps to create these environments.  Buffalo should certainly be considered in this game, particularly with phenomenal development of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) over the past ten or so years.  Some people have felt that access to this exciting spatial area in downtown Buffalo was limited to high-end researchers and PhD’s, but the BNMC is determined to open the doors to as many innovative thinkers as possible.  Hence the introduction of ‘dig’, a new co-working space and community that will be located inside the Thomas R. Beecher, Jr. Innovation Center, at the heart of the medical campus.

dig – which stands for design innovation garage – provides the answer to an entrepreneur who wants to be in the thick of an innovative community, but whose resources may not permit leasing office space just yet.  The name is a double-play on the space’s location and its purpose: the space has been specifically designed in a manner that fosters an entrepreneurial and innovative culture, while its location is truly a garage, a former loading dock in the former Trico windshield wiper factory that is now the Innovation Center.  It even has a glass garage door overlooking the campus.

“One of our goals at the BNMC is to build a community of change-makers. We believe that happens through collaboration and innovation, and what better way to do that than creating a co-working space for people who work on the Medical Campus or those who want to be a part of what’s happening here,” said Patrick J. Whalen, chief operating officer of the BNMC. “dig will not only be a space to work from, but also a hub of information to help cultivate this community – hosting networking events, seminars, and community activities.”

Expertise on the design of the dig space came from faculty and graduate students of the University at Buffalo’s Department of Architecture, led by Omar Khan, chair of the department.  “To me, Buffalo is full of creative people but it lacks exciting workspaces where they can mingle and share ideas,” Khan said. “dig provides such an alternative workspace that is visually exciting and socially dynamic. It is the type of design environment where young and old can collaborate on innovative solutions to globally pressing problems.”

dig will have “entrepreneurs-in-residence” on hand during the day to help members working on various projects, as well as a dig Curator on staff to help facilitate networking among members and develop programming for the space. dig members will be “announced” when they arrive on a large screen with details about what they are working on and/or their expertise to encourage networking. The space will be outfitted with large tables and chairs, lounge-type seating with couches and chairs, space for private calls and meetings, lockers and mailboxes, and a café.

There will be an application process to join the co-work space. Anyone is eligible to apply, although membership preference will be given to those working toward social innovation. The introductory rates will range from a daily rate of $15 to all-access monthly rates of $100.

Click here to learn more about the life science industry in the Buffalo Niagara region.

Buffalo Niagara : Cultivating relationships between entrepreneurs and investors

by Megan Rasbeck, Marketing Specialist

In 2009, Buffalo Niagara Enterprise (BNE) joined an advisory board of community leaders made up of academic, public, private, and nonprofit sectors from both Canada and the United States who came together to form what is known today as Bright Buffalo Niagara or “Bright” for short.

The purpose of Bright is to provide programming to help connect entrepreneurs and investors, with the end goal of bringing start-up companies of all stages to commercialization.  Bright focuses its efforts on the energy, life sciences, IT, and advanced manufacturing industry sectors. The geographic reach of this initiative extends further than Buffalo Niagara, as Bright works to make connections across New York State, Southern Ontario, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Bright believes that working to make connections as a super- region provides a larger pool of entrepreneurs and investors, bringing more benefit to Buffalo Niagara and all other regions involved.

The success of this effort relies on several key partners:

• Inventors who bring innovation
• Entrepreneurs who merge ideas into business opportunities
• Investors, both Angel and Venture Capital, who financially propel      commercialization forward
• Professionals who support the operations of these new companies
• Others in the public and private sectors

Bright Buffalo Niagara’s primary focus is the annual Bright Buffalo Niagara Venture Forum. This year’s 2013 forum is just around the corner, taking place September 30-October 1.

The event will include: an investor dinner, Angel and Venture capitalist breakfast, 10-minute and 1- minute entrepreneur presentations, panel discussions, networking time, and remarks from keynote speaker Victor Hwang, CEO of Silicon Valley venture firm T2 Venture Capital and primary author of The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley.

A new, exciting twist on this year’s venture forum is Bright’s partnership with Launch NY’s business plan competition, a global contest with $5 million in prizes that opens for applications this fall and culminates in spring 2014. All 10 -minute company presenters in the Bright Buffalo Forum automatically make it past the first round of “cuts” when applying to Launch NY’s business plan competition. 

 So how can you get involved in the Forum?  Start by visiting www.brightbuffaloniagara.com, get involved with the Bright Buffalo Niagara committee, register to attend the forum in the fall, and consider sponsoring and joining the Bright Buffalo Niagara committee. To learn more about all of these opportunities, contact Suzanne Chamberlain at the University at Buffalo at 716.881.1706 or chamberl@buffalo.edu.

Private Sector Investment on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus

By Alan Rosenhoch, Business Development Manager

Conventus redering by Kideney Architects

Conventus (Latin for “coming together”) is a brand new seven-story medical building being developed by Ciminelli Real Estate Corporation at the northern gateway of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC). Designed to be a center for collaborative medicine, it will be anchored by Kaleida Health and UBMD. Ciminelli expects to open the building in the spring of 2015.

I had the opportunity to ask the President and CEO of Ciminelli Real Estate Corporation, Paul F. Ciminelli, a few questions:

Q: You recently began site preparation work on the Conventus project; what does this project represent for the BNMC and the region’s life sciences industry?

A: There are two aspects of this project that represent major milestones in the development of the Medical Campus. First of all, Conventus is the first significant private investment on the campus, which is indicative of our strong commitment to the BNMC and our belief in its vision. Private dollars send a strong message to our community and to other markets that the Campus is a viable initiative and worth the investment.

Secondly, Conventus’ adjacency and physical connections to the new Children’s Hospital and the new UB School of Medicine, is groundbreaking in its collaborative approach to the needs of the patients, physicians, researchers and students. Coupled with its location at the northern gateway to the Campus, Conventus facilitates a seamless connection among all of the major medical-related facilities at the northern end.

Q: How much space will be taken by the two anchor tenants, Kaleida and UBMD, and how much space will remain for future tenants?

A: Kaleida will occupy approximately 85,000 sq. ft. on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors, which are the floors where connections will be made to Children’s and the Medical School, as well space on the ground floor for their Blood Draw and Pharmacy. UBMD will occupy 60,000 sq. ft. on the 4^th floor and a portion of the 5^th floor. A major regional bank will occupy a portion of the ground floor as well. Based on the inquiries we have had to date, we expect to have tremendous interest in the remaining square footage, and that full occupancy will be achieved quickly.

Q: What types of tenants are you seeking for the balance of space? For what type of company would you consider Conventus to be ideal space?

A: As with all of our projects, we will identify potential tenants that are synchronous with the existing tenant base and with the overall vision of the Campus. We refer to Conventus as a “center for collaborative medicine” because of the multiple disciplines that will be housed in and facilitated by our physical connections to the Hospital and UB’s School of Medicine. We look forward to accommodating clinical, educational, practical and research components at Conventus, as well as other healthcare-related tenants.

Q: You are targeting LEED Gold Certification for this project; why is sustainable design, building elements and operation so important to Ciminelli?

A: In 2008, Ciminelli made a commitment to pursue LEED certification with all of our projects going forward because of our commitment to minimizing our environmental footprint and to developing high-performing buildings. From an ownership standpoint, it has a definite positive impact on the long-term operating efficiencies of the building. From a tenant’s perspective, LEED certification translates to a healthier, more efficiently run environment in which to work. It’s a win-win.

Q: Conventus is not planned to be a one-shot project for Ciminelli on the BNMC; what else do you have on the drawing board for the near and long-term future?

A: The core of our business is being able to see the big picture; the ability to put pieces of a puzzle together and create synergies within every development project we undertake. This is what our company does best, and why we are committed to supporting the BNMC’s vision. We have purchased additional property at 33 High Street directly across from Conventus and Children’s Hospital and adjacent to UB’s site for the Medical School in anticipation of continued growth. As things continue to evolve on the Campus and we see possibilities for future needs there, we will pursue strategic developments to support those needs.

Q: Plans call for Conventus to connect to the Allen Street NFTA Metro Rail station; how does this fit into your overall plan to connect different parts of the region?

A: Ciminelli is a strong proponent of transit-oriented development, as evidenced by our two current projects under construction: Bethune Lofts (Main Street and Hertel Avenue), and Conventus. Developing along our transit lines facilitates connectivity among vibrant areas of Buffalo Niagara such as the UB South Campus University District, the Hertel Avenue district, the Medical Campus and Canalside. As it stands today, the NFTA Metro Rail station will be connected to the new UB School of Medicine at Allen Street. It should be noted that, while there is a connection from that building to Conventus, its use will be somewhat restricted.

Q: Conventus represents the first significant for-profit private sector-led development on the BNMC; what makes your company so bullish on the future of the campus?

A: Ciminelli has owned property on the Campus for 20 years, so we’ve been a part of it since its early stages. We saw things begin to evolve as the plan was rolled out. We’ve seen similar models succeed in cities of comparable size and demographics to Buffalo, so we knew it could work here, especially with it being so close to our Central Business District and being on a main transit line. All of the components were there; all it needed to take it to the next level was significant private sector investment. We were the first, but we know we won’t be the only ones. Additional private sector support will happen on and around the Campus.

“My life works in Buffalo Niagara because of the tremendous quality of life we have in a relatively low-cost environment, the great educational institutions that supply a talented workforce, and because of the friendliness of its people. I love it here!”

– Paul F. Ciminelli

The Cost of Conformity: Patent Reform for Small Business Entrepreneurs

For many early stage life science, biotech and other tech companies, intellectual property is the entity’s most valuable asset and protecting that asset is tantamount to success. U.S. Federal patent law is set to change dramatically in the coming months and a clear understanding of how this affects your company is critical. The following offers a snapshot of the key changes upcoming through patent law reform. – Alan Rosenhoch, BNE Business Development Manager

The Cost of Conformity:

Patent Reform for Small Business Entrepreneurs

By Randolph V. Clower, J.D., Ph.D., Associate, Phillips Lytle LLP

Considered by many to be the most comprehensive revision to the United States patent system in over 50 years, the America Invents Act (“AIA”) represents progressive legislative reform intended to align U.S. patent policy with global precepts, i.e., systems which reward the “first to file” a patent application. Many AIA provisions modify–or completely change–the current patent system, but the most immediate and conspicuous AIA component establishes a filing-based system in the U.S. as of March 16, 2013.

The U.S. patent system currently operates under the rubric of “first to invent,” awarding priority to the first in time to invent. On March 16, 2013 (the transition date), however, U.S. patent law will transition away from the strictures of a first to invent system in favor of rules similar to the prevailing international model, albeit not in toto. This new patent regime, termed the “first inventor to file,” affords priority to the first inventor (or assignee) to file for patent protection. While the implications ascribed to this paradigm shift are considerable, the recurring theme for small business entrepreneurs concerns the cost of conformity.

The first inventor to file system has no retroactive effect. Thus, obligatory exceptions to the rule notwithstanding, U.S. patent applications having a priority date prior to the transition date will be examined under the current rules, while applications with priority dates on or after the transition date will be covered by the new provisions of the AIA. In this regard, general consensus within the patent community holds that the new rules afford less protection for small business entrepreneurs. While the reasons for this are nuanced in many respects, the overarching consideration relates to the cost of applying for a patent, which can run anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 or more.

To this end, current U.S. patent law provides for a “grace period” which allows an inventor to file a patent application for up to one year after his or her invention is publicly disclosed, e.g., published, thereby providing a “patent cost deferral” option until it is absolutely necessary to file. Moreover, this one year window allows small entities such as universities and sole inventors to disseminate their research and discoveries without fear of another party–who invented second, but filed first–securing an earlier priority date. This is no longer the case under the AIA, which contains a significantly diluted version of the current grace period.

Consequently, with respect to obtaining the earliest possible priority date, filing early and often is the key to minimizing risk while optimizing patent protection under the AIA. This new regime therefore appears to favor business enterprises with unlimited patent budgets at least insofar as prompt and frequent patent filings are status quo for larger corporations. While such reform may not stymie innovation per se, it is likely to exacerbate the cost-related obstacles associated with patent procurement for smaller business concerns and individuals. Time will tell.

Other Notable AIA Provisions
Post Grant Review Proceedings
False Marking Statutes
Prioritized Examination
Supplemental Examination
Third Party Pre-Issuance Submission
Prior Commercial Use Defense
Inter Partes Reexamination