Fourth Quarterly Newsletter Oct. 30, 2017

MTEC Receives Grant

MTEC Receives Grant from The Allergan Foundation The Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) is the recent recipient of a community grant from The Allergan Foundation, made in support of optic nerve regeneration research. This grant is an important milestone for MTEC, which received its nonprofit status last year. As the first philanthropic grant MTEC has received, it represents a significant step in MTEC’s vision of teaming philanthropic dollars with government dollars to further accelerate promising medical research. The grant funds will contribute to the development of technologies that can improve – or even restore – lost vision.

From Left to right: Greg Brand, MTEC Outreach Member; Gwyn Grenrock, Executive Director of The Allergan Foundation; Skip Auch, MTEC Board Member ;and Susan Stone, Foundation Board Member and Executive Director, Alliance Advocacy.

On September 27, MTEC Board Member Skip Auch and MTEC Outreach Member Greg Brand attended The Allergan Foundation’s Community Grant Reception in Morristown, New Jersey, where they met with other Allergan Foundation grantees, as well as leadership from the Foundation.    Read more HERE .

Awards

In partnership with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) is pleased to announce that Humacyte, Inc. has been awarded funds to develop products that can serve as permanent arterial and/or venous grafts for reconstruction and repair of traumatic injuries. This research project is issued under MTEC’s Permanent Vascular Repair Request for Project Proposals.  Entitled “Human Tissue Engineered Blood Vessels for Vascular Reconstruction in the Injured Warfighter,” Humactye Inc.’s project will receive funding in the amount of $649,898 from USAMRMC. Funding will support advanced clinical development of the Human Acellular Vessel (HAV), with possible future-year support based on achievement of initial milestones.  To learn more about this award, click HERE . Additional Award Notices: An awardee has been selected for MTEC’s Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) Solicitation. MTEC will make an announcement soon. Awards will be announced soon for the Request for Project Proposal for Prototype Acceleration Awards solicitation.

Welcome to Our New Program Manager!

Kathy Zolman MTEC is pleased to welcome Ms. Kathy Zolman as the new MTEC Program Manager. Previously she was the Senior Project Manager for the Copper Touch Surfaces Program, managing a $7 million DoD sponsored multi-phase clinical trial, assessing the ability of antimicrobial copper to reduce the amount of bacteria on surfaces commonly found in hospital rooms. She was responsible for overall project management of the clinical trial and for facilitating collaboration between the Medical University of SC, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and the Ralph Johnson VA hospitals. Ms. Zolman has been instrumental in the startup, business management, day-to-day management, and planning for several collaborative initiatives at Advanced Technology International. She has nearly 20 years of progressive management experience in program and project management, business development, market research, and financial management.   Kathy’s responsibilities as MTEC Program Manager will include budgeting, forecasting, schedule management, funding allocation, milestone, deliverable, invoice tracking, and reporting program status to the government.  Ms. Polly Graham, MTEC’s current Program Manager, will be transitioning to a new role within MTEC’s Consortium Management firm, ATI. “Polly has made a significant contribution in helping establish MTEC’s initial solicitation processes and operating procedures, and guiding MTEC through a high-paced series of solicitations that has awarded 17 projects in its first 20 months of operation, “stated Lester Martinez, MD, MPH, Major General (Retired), U.S. Army, President and Chairman of MTEC Board. “On behalf of the entire MTEC team, I thank Polly for her outstanding groundbreaking efforts on behalf of the consortium as our first program manager.”

New Board of Directors

MTEC recently elected two new members to serve on the Consortium's Board of Directors.

Walter "Skip" E. Auch, Jr.  - is the owner of Auch Company, LLC, a search practice with a focus in securities analysis, investment banking, capital markets, investment management, and private banking. Prior to entering the search industry, Mr. Auch gained thirty years of occupational experience in the securities industry encompassing capital markets, investment banking, alternative investments, and wealth management with both Paine Webber Inc. and Kidder Peabody & Co. Inc. Edward Steiner  - is a Partner in the Global Corporate Practice Group of Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP. The focus of his practice is corporate, securities, and financing law, where he has extensive experience in mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures, representing both public and closely-held corporations and other entities. He also regularly represents investment- limited partnerships in venture capital and private equity investment transactions. Mr. Steiner has significant experience in initial and follow-on public offerings of securities, and in representing issuers and investors in private placement of securities.

MTEC Board Nomination Period Open Now

Nomination Policy & Election Procedure

Nominations for the MTEC Board of Directors are being accepted from the membership through November 22nd, 2017. Please complete a Director Nomination Form (includes Nomination Policy & Election Procedure) and submit to: Stacey Lindbergh, MTEC Executive Director at execdirect@mtec-sc.org .   The Nomination Committee will compile the nominations received and develop a slate of no more than 5 nominees for each seat. The MTEC Board of Directors will vote on the nominees at the annual MTEC Board meeting in January 2018. In accordance with the MTEC Bylaws, the elected member’s three-year term will commence immediately. Board members are permitted to serve two terms.

MHSRS 2017 Recap

MTEC had a very high profile at the Military Health System Research Symposium (MHSRS) in Orlando in August 2017. These include conducting one-on-one meetings with members, potential members, and government sponsors, multiple presentations, the annual board meeting, and providing an exhibitor's booth.

MTEC Board Member – Dr. Gautam Ghatnekar presenting: “Skin Regeneration & Scare Reduction – A Connexin43 Mimetic Peptide in the Prevention of Cutaneous Scarring." MTEC Member Becky Cap, COO of BioBridge Global served on the panel discussion at the “Innovate. Connect. Accelerate” session which discussed innovations in government/private partnerships. Ms. Cap shared BioBridge Global’s positive experience as a receipient of the first round of MTEC awards for the project, “Bone Marrow Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine.” MTEC Board members and Officers met to discuss outreach to private investment groups as potential MTEC members, and to possibly fund MTEC projects.

SAVE THE DATE: April 10 and 11, 2018 3rd Annual Membership Meeting

MTEC is pleased to announce the Third Annual MTEC Membership meeting which will be held at the Mayo Clinic.   What: Third Annual MTEC Membership Meeting When: Tuesday and Wednesday, April 10 & 11, 2018 Where: Mayo Clinic and the Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau, Rochester, Minnesota The meeting will focus on delivering VALUE to the attendee. It will provide a forum for gaining insight in to near-term R&D requirements, promoting idea exchange and enhancing networking opportunities. Invited attendees will include MTEC members, industry thought leaders, government research sponsors, and philanthropic leaders. Non-members are welcome to attend portions of the event.  Information regarding the agenda, hotel blocks, side field trips, and networking events will be forthcoming. Mark your calendar, and join the leading biomedical research & development community!

Make Time For Your MTEC Minute

An MTEC Minute is a recorded, minute-long synopsis of your company to be posted, per your approval, on MTEC's internal and external websites and social platforms. To schedule your MTEC Minute interview, please contact Executive Director Stacey Lindbergh at execdirect@mtec-sc.org.