As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. The most common proposals I hear are for yet another social networking site (200 on Wikipedia), or another dating site/app (over 1500 in the USA). Startups which display real innovation, such as alternative energy sources and new medical treatments, are still rare.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com

Darryl Sampey co-founded BioFactura in 2004 and has guided the venture over the past 15 years from start-up through incubator stages to become a significant biopharmaceutical product development and clinical manufacturing company. As President and CEO, Dr. Sampey manages all strategic and scientific endeavors of the Company. Before BioFactura, he led both process development and manufacturing teams at Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGS) honing his skills in developing and scaling up new biologics processes and control strategies. During his tenure with HGS, Dr. Sampey played key roles in the start-up, commissioning, and validation of the company’s first cGMP manufacturing facility and associated development laboratories. Prior to his work at HGS, Dr. Sampey gained industrial experience in the commercial research laboratory designing and optimizing fermentation and product recovery processes for novel vaccines at North American Vaccine, Inc. His work in vaccine research has since progressed to internationally-approved vaccines for whooping cough in infants and meningitis in adults. Darryl Sampey began his career in biotechnology at the University of Maryland graduating first in his class with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, Magna Cum Laude, and, subsequently earned a Ph.D. in Bioengineering.

BENGALURU: More women are being admitted into the rarefied world of venture capital, especially by smaller investment firms, although their presence in leadership and decision-making roles remains in the single digits, particularly at the top-tier funds, an ET analysis has revealed.

The overall number of global coronavirus cases was nearing the 16 million mark, while the deaths have increased to over 643,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University

Florida has reported more confirmed coronavirus cases than New York state, as the epicenter of the pandemic has shifted from the Northeast to the Sunbelt region across the American South and West. 

Florida has confirmed at least 414,511 total cases since the pandemic began, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, and is seeing record daily coronavirus deaths based on a seven-day moving average, along with other states like Texas and California. Florida recorded at least 12,444 new daily cases on Friday. 

Many founders went into 2020 with optimistic growth projections—and ambitious fundraising plans to scale operations. The COVID-19 pandemic rewrote those plans in a matter of weeks, upending what for many had been a strong start to the year. 

Startups and funders alike have spent the last few months reassessing their strategies and feeling out the path to a new normal.

Declining antibody levels do not mean less immunity, experts say. Besides, two widely used tests may detect the wrong antibodies.

When businesses began reopening from the coronavirus shutdown across the US, Arizona-based epidemiologist Saskia Popescu started fielding a whole series of new questions from colleagues, friends, and worriers on the internet.

Government-backed IP initiatives have had plenty of ups and downs over the last decade. In the early 2010s, we saw a flurry of sovereign patent funds launched in Japan, Korea and France. These may have differed in their approaches but all had the same idea of helping to protect and ultimately monetise locally produced IP.

Although much remains unknown about COVID-19, scientists have established that the coronavirus is highly contagious and transmitted via air. Studies suggest that it primarily spreads when infected people cough, sneeze, or talk—actions that expel respiratory droplets containing particles of coronavirus in combination with mucus or saliva.

Local startups iTeos Therapeutics and Inozyme Pharma took advantage of the healthy biotech investment market Friday

It wasn’t greed, or curiosity, that made Li Rusheng grab his shotgun and enter Shitou Cave. It was about survival. During Mao-era collectivization of the early 1970s, food was so scarce in the emerald valleys of southwestern China’s Yunnan province that farmers like Li could expect to eat meat only once a year–if they were lucky. So, craving protein, Li and his friends would sneak into the cave to hunt the creatures they could hear squeaking and fluttering inside: bats.

Alberta is launching new financial programs targeted at its innovation and technology sector less than one year after startups said that slashed tax credits and grants caused investment to leave the province.

The United Conservative Party government used its first budget in 2019 to outline more than $1-billion in spending cuts, including eliminating incentives for the technology industry. The government reversed course this week as it outlined research-and-development grants, as well as a $175-million program designed to help startups access venture capital.

Massachusetts should do more to retain students in tech-related fields after graduation, especially in light of the diversity issues that plague the tech industry. That's what tech and educational leaders are saying after this week's publication of a report that notes how Boston produced more tech graduates than jobs last year, leading to a "brain drain" that tops nearly every other major U.S. city.

This year you may take on a side job for a number of reasons. Whether you're doing it to pay off your student loans or pursue an unfulfilled passion and eventually become your own boss, you may be able to turn your side hustle into a high-paying career.

Over the previous couple of years, Canada’s technology sector has been experiencing a renaissance. Increased venture funding has been helping to create a robust tech ecosystem with major hubs in Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto. Here’s how public venture funding might help build Canada’s tech talent.

Despite this noticeable growth, however, Canadian tech companies still face significant challenges in terms of attracting and retaining top-quality talent — but that’s needs to change.

With the United States grappling with the worst coronavirus outbreak in the world, Florida hit a grim milestone Sunday, shattering the national record for a state's largest single-day increase in positive cases.

Deaths from the virus have also been rising in the U.S., especially in the South and West, though still well below the heights hit in April, according to a recent Associated Press analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. Some state and local leaders are at odds over what to do next.

Providence Ventures was founded in 2014 and manages $300 million of venture capital in two funds.

The company is affiliated with Providence, a 51-hospital health system that has more than 800 clinics in five states. The fund makes direct investments in healthcare companies with the goal of improving outcomes and convenience while lowering costs.

NEW YORK, July 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Global venture capital investment showed continued resilience in the second quarter of 2020, reaching $62.9 billion across 4,502 deals - almost equalling total investment from the first quarter of the year and only slightly off the pace seen in 2019's second quarter, which registered $69.8 billion invested, according to KPMG Private Enterprise's Venture Pulse report. 

Venture investors continued to pour money into their existing portfolio– particularly late-stage companies. This focus on late-stage deals continued a trend toward investing in supposedly safer bets seen in the quarters prior to COVID-19.  The top 10 deals globally accounted for well over $9 billion of investment. US autonomous driving company Waymo raised a $3 billion funding round in the quarter's largest deal, while China-based MGI Tech and Didi Bike both raised $1 billion rounds.  Meanwhile, the number of early-stage deals, and first-time deals fell.

Time is too precious to waste trying to close a deal with the wrong investors at the wrong time. Luckily, not all investors are looking for the same thing, so it pays to know what type of investors are most interested in what your startup brings to the table.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com