As it preps for the opening of its planned biotech hub, Pegasus Park is partnering with a new accelerator program made up of potential new tenants.
TechFW and the UT Southwestern Office of Technology Development teamed up with national life sciences nonprofit network LaunchBio to put out a call for its newest ThinkLab accelerator program late last year. Now, it has revealed the eight DFW-based startups that make up its first cohort.
“We are strengthening the support network for scientists in Dallas who want to take a game-changing idea from the research lab to the marketplace for the benefit of human health,” said Becky Beattie, CEO of LaunchBio, in a statement.
The 12-week accelerator program, which kicks off today, focuses on helping companies commercialize biotech, medtech and digital health technologies. The accelerator said the startups were chosen through a competitive process, requiring companies to working on proprietary tech or tech they license or own the rights to.
Five of the startups selected, which are working on things ranging from drug discovery to device development, are affiliated with the UT Southwestern Medical Center. And based on the fact that three remain stealth, it seems likely some are likely working on commercializing research projects started at the center.
“This will be the first TechFW ThinkLab cohort uniquely designed for biotech and life science companies, allowing the teams to learn from the curriculum and each other,” said Hayden Blackburn, executive director at TechFW, in a statement. “ThinkLab is designed to help founders stay focused on long-term strategy while also doing the tough day-to-day work of getting a company off the ground.”
ThinkLab plans to open a second cohort in the fall.
For its part, the 23-acre Biotech Hub at Pegasus Park, a development led by J. Small Investments in partnership with Lyda Hill Philanthropies, is hoping members of the cohort see its offices and wet labs as a potential site for relocation.
Already, a number of biotech companies have plans to take up space in the development, with is expected to open in mid-2021. The first was biotech-focused coworking operator BioLabs. Local biotech giant Taysha Gene Therapies also announced plans to invest $1.1 million in a 36,000 square-foot space in the development, followed by UT Southwestern announcing similar plans.
Check out the eight startups in the cohort below (descriptions provided by ThinkLab).
AllergenIQ: Offering one of the first nationwide services providing in-home diagnosis and treatment for allergy patients. The business will offer a variety of services, including testing kits, online telemedicine consulting and an online platform designed for allergists.
Cytolytics: An investigational gene therapy to treat fatty liver disease. The technology has the potential to end metabolic dysregulation associated with the disease and protect the patient from further metabolic disruptions.
Element Lab: Developing a process to reduce the time - once epitopes have been identified from a patient’s tumor cells - to derive and synthesize peptides used for personalized cancer immunotherapy. The prototype peptide synthesizer may lead to dramatic time savings in bio-manufacturing to treat cancer.
SiD Technologies: Developing a biochemical approach to advance drug discovery by improving the identification of small molecule targets. This approach may be applied to finding new therapies and improving existing treatments.
SO!O: Developing an ultrasound probe holder that allows a physician to install the required ultrasound probe cover to perform guided procedures under sterile conditions.
Unnamed company: Licensing technology to develop vascular trapping sheaths and guide catheters for use in endovascular interventions and diagnostic angiography.
Unnamed company: Licensing technology to develop a novel nanoparticle formulation for targeted gene therapy of lung disease to promote faster patient recovery through stimulation of lung tissue, leading to regeneration and re-growth.
Unnamed company: Licensing technology to improve the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric patients, with the goal of integrating cutting-edge biomarkers into clinical trials to develop new therapeutics.
