Kerentech

Calithera Biosciences, a company developing novel oncology therapeutics, today announced the completion of a Series A financing totaling $40 million. The capital will be used to support the company’s pioneering efforts to develop activators of caspases, the proteases that promote apoptotic cell death, for the treatment of cancer and other proliferative diseases.

“Promoting apoptosis in cancer cells is a validated approach to the treatment of cancer, as many oncology drugs on the market today are known to kill tumor cells by activating apoptotic pathways, albeit through indirect means,” said Susan Molineaux, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Calithera.  “By targeting caspases directly, we hope to develop agents that have broad utility across many types of cancer, with greater specificity than current treatments and the potential to overcome chemoresistance.”

Calithera’s technology was developed by and licensed from the laboratory of co-founder James Wells, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry in the University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy.  Dr. Wells’s laboratory has successfully identified several novel compounds that selectively activate procaspases and trigger apoptosis in cancer cells.  Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance one or more caspase activators through preclinical development and into Phase 1 clinical trials in cancer patients.  In parallel, the company will expand its technology for targeting allosteric activating sites to other enzymes with therapeutic potential in cancer.

“Most drug discovery efforts are focused on identifying drugs that inhibit enzyme function,” said Dr. Wells.  “But, interestingly, many cellular enzymes remain dormant until activated.  In the case of caspases, they can be activated on demand by mimicking the natural process with small molecules.”

Expert Leadership Team in Place

The management team of Calithera brings to the company both deep scientific expertise and extensive experience in drug development.

Susan Molineaux, Ph.D., was most recently a founder and Chief Executive Officer of Proteolix, a company that developed proteasome inhibitors.  Proteolix was in late-stage clinical trials with carfilzomib in multiple myeloma when Onyx Pharmaceuticals acquired the company in 2009 for $851 million.  Prior to forming Proteolix, Dr. Molineaux held leadership positions at Rigel Pharmaceuticals and Praecis Pharmaceuticals.  Dr. Molineaux began her career as a scientist in the Immunology group at Merck.

Mark Bennett, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research at Calithera, was Vice President of Research at Proteolix.  Previously, he was Director of Cell Biology at Rigel Pharmaceuticals.  Prior to that, Dr. Bennett served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at University of California, Berkeley.

Eric Sjogren, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Drug Discovery at Calithera, was most recently the Vice President and Head of Medicinal Chemistry at Roche, Palo Alto.  He held a series of positions during his 15-year tenure at Roche.  Prior to that, Dr. Sjogren was at Syntex for eight years.

About Caspases in Cancer

The direct activation and targeting of caspases represents a novel approach to inducing apoptosis in cancer cells and may have utility across a broad range of cancer types while avoiding chemoresistance.  Caspases are the proteases responsible for initiating apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in cancer cells.  Cancer cells grow in an uncontrolled manner in part through their ability to develop mechanisms to resist apoptosis.  Many classic cancer therapies (cytotoxic drugs and radiation therapy) work by inducing upstream pro-apoptotic pathways that then activate caspases to overcome this resistance.

About Calithera Biosciences

Calithera Biosciences was founded in 2010, with core technologies licensed from the University of California, San Francisco, to develop novel therapeutic approaches to the treatment of cancer.  The company is developing small molecules that directly activate caspases, the proteases responsible for initiating programmed cell death, or apoptosis, in cancer cells.  Calithera plans to develop activators of additional enzymes as therapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer and other proliferative diseases.  Located in South San Francisco, CA, Calithera Biosciences is privately held.

Two years ago, Shire launched a $394 million expansion in Lexington, including building a new manufacturing plant and headquarters for its Human Genetic Therapies unit, which develops drugs to treat rare medical disorders, such as Fabry disease. The company, which received $48 million in incentives to expand in Massachusetts instead of in another state vying for the project, has 1,300 employees and expects to add as many as 300 more by 2015. Shire recently inked a $165 million deal to buy several of the buildings it was leasing in Lexington.

Scott Minick, CEO of BIND Biosciences

BIND Biosciences, Inc. (BIND), a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing best in class therapeutics based on its proprietary targeted nanotechnology platform, announced today that it has secured a $12.4 Million Series C-1 financing.

This financing included all of BIND’s current investors as well as a new venture investor, and private investors. BIND’s Medicinal NanoengineeringTM approach enables the development of targeted polymeric nanoparticle-based therapeutics that deliver high drug concentrations to diseased cells and tissues, resulting in increased efficacy and reduced toxicity of existing and new drug compounds. The proceeds of this financing will be used to conduct initial clinical trials on BIND’s lead product candidate, BIND-014, a nanoparticle cancer therapeutic targeted to a clinically-validated solid tumor antigen, and to advance a second product candidate toward the clinic.

“The support from new and existing investors to take our lead product, BIND-014, into the clinic this year and move our second product towards the clinic next year is a significant step forward for BIND,” said Scott Minick, President and Chief Executive Officer of BIND. “We are pleased that investors recognize BIND’s achievements and the value of our platform and products. We look forward to translating this investment into therapeutics that will benefit patients, with a particular focus on nanoparticle-based cancer drugs in the near term.”

About BIND Biosciences

BIND Biosciences, Inc., is a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary Medicinal Nanoengineering platform to produce best in class drugs to provide significant improvement in the treatment of patients with serious diseases. BIND’s platform enables the design, engineering and manufacturing of therapeutic targeted nanoparticles with unprecedented control over drug pharmacokinetics, biodistribution and cell- or tissue-specific targeting. Medicinal Nanoengineering complements medicinal chemistry to enable predictable, cost effective and rapid development of breakthrough products with superior efficacy and safety profiles. Product opportunities include enabling or expediting the development of pipeline molecules as well as improving performance, expanding indications or life cycle extension for mid- and late-stage products. BIND’s initial product development efforts are in the areas of oncology, cardiovascular disorders, inflammatory disease and RNAi therapeutics. BIND’s lead program, BIND-014, targets a surface protein upregulated in solid tumors and is planned to enter clinical development in 2H 2010.

BIND was founded in 2006 by two pioneers in the field of therapeutic targeted nanoparticles, Dr. Robert Langer, MIT David H. Koch Institute Professor, and Dr. Omid Farokhzad, Harvard Medical School Associate Professor.

University of Maryland, Baltimore BioPark Building II

University of Maryland Baltimore leaders are asking the city’s architecture review board to approve a $675 million expansion of the UMB BioPark–a move that would triple the size of the planned project. At the moment the site has two research buildings with 470,000 square feet of space, and a third building will open its doors later this year. The BioPark already counts Alba Therapeutics, Gliknik, FASgen, Biomere, and Fyodor Biotechnologies among its tenants, according to the Baltimore Business Journal.

Two years ago, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley announced plans to invest $1.3 billion in the state’s bioscience industry by the year 2020. The state’s biotech leaders hope the massive expansion will help it compete with biotech powerhouses like San Francisco and Boston for tenants.

Construction of yet another multi-tenant building is expected to begin later this year, and BioPark planners are on the hunt for tenants for the new space. “If I said we were putting every ounce of energy into finding tenants for that building, it would be an understatement,” Jane Shaab, the biopark’s senior vice president, told the Journal. “That is the focus right now.” The BioPark expansion will boast 11 research buildings upon completion in 2020.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE), Landlord of Choice to the Life Science Industry®, today announced that the Cambridge Planning Board has granted final zoning approval for its transformative life science development, known as the Binney Street Project.

This development, with its crucial adjacency location near Kendall Square, in the heart of East Cambridge, is positioned to be the epicenter of Cambridge’s life science industry.

The Binney Street Project is an 11.3-acre development that will consist of approximately 1.72 million square feet of office/laboratory space and other mixed uses.  It will include a mixed mode transportation center and more than two acres of public open space for the East Cambridge community.  Once completed, the Project will have five highly sustainable state-of-the-art life science facilities in addition to the preservation of existing historic buildings.  All buildings will be LEED certifiable, employing state-of-the-art design and technology featuring sustainable operations including high-efficiency mechanical systems, rooftop storm water management and water-efficient landscaping.  This innovative development, in the heart of the renowned Kendall Square district, will provide convenient access to leading research and academic institutions including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, the Broad Institute and Harvard University.

“The Binney Street Project is one of the most important developments of its kind and will further enhance Cambridge’s position as a world leading center for life science research and development,” said Tom Andrews, Senior Vice President and Regional Market Director, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.  “We have worked closely with the City of Cambridge on this project and look forward to moving forward with the development of a truly unique, world-class life science cluster that will attract leading research organizations, pharmaceutical and emerging biopharmaceutical companies to an already vibrant broad and diverse life science community.”

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. has a dominant presence in the Cambridge market, with more than 2.1 million square feet of office/laboratory space and more than 60 client-tenants.  Alexandria’s Technology Square life science cluster is one of the world’s leading destinations for the industry.  Within the Cambridge market, Alexandria includes among its client tenants such industry leaders as GlaxoSmithKline, Inc., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc., Biogen Idec, Dyax Corp., Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Four  biotech funds have met the threshold conditions of the government biotechnology fund tender.

The government originally planned to support three biotechnology funds from among the funds that met the threshold conditions, but has now decided to allow all four of the funds to receive the $24 million support, provided that each fund raises the $76 million supplementary financing. The decision will increase the government’s commitment to about $100 million from the originally planned $80 million, and will boost the program’s total funding to $400 million.

The government added that the fund that brings the largest amount of funding will win an additional special $8 million incentive funding.

The decision to allow each of the four funds that meets the tender’s terms to set up a biotech fund, provided that it raises the supplementary funding, prevents the problematic outcome of companies seeking to raise capital from their investors without knowing whether they will obtain government funding. The decision also indicates that the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor believe that all the funds that meet the threshold conditions are successful and worthy funds for establishing a biotechnology fund.

Luke Timmerman

Seattle experts in computer science and immunology are rallying around a new spinoff company from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Seattle-based Adaptive TCR has nailed down a $4.5 million round of angel investment to get up and running, Xconomy has learned. The basic concept is to provide scientists with a high-speed, high-resolution look into the vast diversity of T-cells of the adaptive immune system that we all produce to ward off infections, and which sometimes go awry and cause disease.

This company wasn’t backed by the usual venture capital suspects in Seattle biotech, and it has an unusual backstory. Adaptive’s scientific co-founders are a pair of Hutch researchers who are first-time entrepreneurs in their 30s: Harlan Robins, a particle physicist who turned to genomics a decade ago to tackle its daunting math, and Chris Carlson, a geneticist and molecular biologist. Chad Robins, Harlan’s brother, has signed on as the founding president and CEO. Chad, who has a Wharton School business degree and experience with investment banking and hedge funds, wrote the original business plan and tapped his Rolodex to raise the company’s seed capital.

The founding scientific advisory board includes some big names. They include Arnold Levine of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ; Gerald Nepom, the director of the Benaroya Research Institute in Seattle; Edus Houston Warren of the University of Washington and Fred Hutch, as well as two other prominent genetic researchers from the UW who aren’t being named yet.

“I’ve been talking to my brother for 20 years, and saying ‘You’re a smart guy, when are we going to do a business together?’” Chad Robins says. “He’s never been interested before. Then he called me last February.”

That was a little over a year ago. Now the business is taking shape with a founding team of four employees who have subleased some office space in South Lake Union from VLST.

Adaptive TCR is built on using high-speed gene sequencing instruments that capture data from biological samples, and combining it with some pretty heavy duty math that’s executed by proprietary software.

The problem is certainly complicated enough to excite a string theorist like Harlan Robins. While scientists know that the 3 billion letters of DNA that make up a genome are consistent in every human cell, that’s not a fixed number that applies to immune system T-cells. The DNA in T-cells gets shuffled as they mature, allowing the cells to recognize a foreign invader like a virus. Humans have evolved an ability to adapt to these invaders, by building up a vast repertoire of T-cells with memory for a certain pathogen. This vast array of T-cell variation is something that scientists haven’t been able to look at in a high-volume, systematic way ever before. It creates a staggering diversity of possible ways humans respond to infection. For scientists trying to pinpoint the cause of, say, autoimmune disease, this also creates a classic needle-in-a-haystack problem.

Adaptive TCR hopes that by sequencing lots of blood samples from different individuals, and using its proprietary software, they can find some commonalities in the kinds of T-cell receptors that people form in certain situations, whether it is responding to a foreign pathogen like flu, or turning the immune system’s natural firepower on healthy tissue, like it does with rheumatoid arthritis. If scientists could find signature proteins on T-cells at the root of these immune system irregularities, then they could incorporate that knowledge into diagnostic products or use it to identify drug targets, Adaptive TCR says.

Few scientists have tried to look at these T-cell receptors in a high-output fashion before. Fewer than 30,000 T-cell receptors had been sequenced with conventional methods before the Adaptive TCR technique came along, Chad Robins says. The Adaptive TCR method claims to be able to identify 100 million T-cell receptor sequences over a four-day period.

The high-volume screening technology from Adaptive TCR “provides a sensitive and specific tool” for measuring patterns of T-cell variation, with “more resolution compared to techniques that we’ve used in the past,” says Nepom, the director of the Benaroya Research Institute. Chad Robins described it with an analogy: “These guys have invented the Hubble telescope compared to what we used to have, a pair of binoculars.”

So how is this supposed to become a business? It is starting out as a fee-for-service provider to academic and industrial customers who want to look at the diversity of T-cells. People ship their samples to Adaptive TCR’s offices, and get back a result on the T-cell diversity and repertoire from the sample. Adaptive isn’t spending big money on its own servers to host this data—those gigabytes are being stored on secure remote servers operated by Amazon Web Services.

The fee-for-service model can certainly generate revenue early on to sustain the company, but that’s not the end of the story.

Adaptive TCR has some other ideas on how to capture more of the future value that this data on T-cells might create for diagnostics and drug discovery. Autoimmune diseases—in which the immune system goes haywire and starts attacking healthy tissues like a virus—affect an estimated one out of every 12 people in the U.S. with more than 80 different conditions, according to the National Institutes of Health. They are notoriously hard to diagnose, because there’s not a good molecular tool for that, Robins says. By getting high-resolution looks at T-cell receptors, Adaptive TCR hopes to find some of the basic immune system malfunctioning at a molecular level that hasn’t been seen before, which could provide for much earlier diagnosis.

While there is a huge amount of variation in the genetics of T-cell receptors in one individual, Adaptive TCR also thinks it’s possible that there are overlapping stretches of DNA in these T-cell receptors shared between patients with an autoimmune disease like Type 1 diabetes or multiple sclerosis, Robins says. The company has a collaboration with Nepom’s team at the Benaroya Research Institute to look for those overlapping stretches, which could become valuable new drug targets.

Of course, these are still early days at the company. Harlan Robins and Chris Carlson are keeping their faculty positions at the Hutch. Much will depend on whether the early customers think they are getting their money’s worth by getting all this data on T-cell diversity over the coming year. Proof to show the value of the method will take time to emerge in peer-reviewed literature. The founders, whom I met a few weeks ago during a visit to the Hutch, didn’t sound like they are getting too carried away with themselves yet.

“These guys came up with this, and it’s my job not to screw it up,” Chad Robins says. “They’ve invented something extraordinary, but the invention still needs to be brought to the market.”

Joanna Glasner

SAN FRANCISCO (Private Equity Week) – Startups focused on treatments for metabolic disorders – one of the key contributing factors in obesity – have raised significant sums of venture capital in recent months.

A competitor stands before judges at a casting call for the second season of the reality television programme ''Dance Your Ass Off'', during which overweight or obese contestants hope to lose weight by dancing, in New York, December 18, 2009.

For these startups, developing treatments for weight disorders is less about controlling the calories consumed and more about focusing on the metabolic systems that regulate how the body uses food.

Last week, Boston-based Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, another new entrant to the obesity field, announced that it has raised $21 million in a Series A funding round from MPM Capital and New Enterprise Associates.

Rhythm is developing treatments for metabolic diseases based on peptide hormones, protein compounds instrumental in introducing changes to a cell’s metabolism. President Bart Henderson said that the company plans to begin clinical trials of two peptide-based treatments in the next two years.

“The obesity pipeline has been relatively thin,” said Henderson, who incubated the company while he was an entrepreneur-in-residence at MPM. “Since obesity and diabetes together are such important health priorities, the clinical development pipeline is in dire need of new approaches.”

Rhythm also announced last week that it licensed compounds and intellectual property related to two peptide hormones from Paris-based biotech company Ipsen. The compounds, ghrelin and melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH), are involved in regulating food intake, energy levels, and gastrointestinal function. Henderson said MSH-related therapeutics, linked to signaling systems in the body that regulate appetite and energy, will be targeted to patients suffering from both obesity and diabetes.

Pharmaceuticals tied to ghrelin, which is involved in regulating nutrient uptake and gastrointestinal activity, will focus on potential treatments for gastrointestinal disorders, including diabetic gastroparesis, a condition in which food remains in the stomach for longer than normal, according to Henderson.

Under the terms of the license agreement, Ipsen will receive up to $80 million in payments upon achievement of certain clinical milestones and in royalties on future products. Ipsen will also acquire 17 percent of equity in Rhythm and have a seat on its board of directors.

Given the high and growing global incidence of obesity, it’s no surprise that startups developing new treatments are seeing interest growing from investors.

GROSS STATISTICS

The World Health Organization projects that by 2015, about 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese. As of 2005, the WHO estimated that at least 400 million adults worldwide were obese, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30. (BMI equals weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters.)

In addition to Rhythm, other companies that have raised sizeable venture rounds in the past several months for obesity treatments include:

* GI Dynamics, based in Lexington, Massachusetts, raised $15 million in late stage funding in January, according to a securities filing. The company, which develops devices for treatment of obesity and diabetes that can be delivered into the gastrointestinal tract using minimally invasive techniques, has raised $76 million since 2003. Backers include Advanced Technology Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., Domain Associates, Medtronic Inc., Polaris Venture Partners, Catalyst Health and Technology Partners and Technology Partners and Cutlass Capital.

* Satiety, based in Palo Alto, California, raised $25 million in late stage funding in September, according to a regulatory filing. The company, which develops minimally invasive treatments for obesity and tools used in weight loss surgery, has raised $86 million since 2001 from Morgenthaler Ventures, Venrock Associates, HLM Venture Partners, Three Arch Partners, Skyline Ventures and Pinnacle Ventures.

* Elixir Pharmaceuticals, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, raised $12 million in late stage funding in May to develop pharmaceuticals for the treatment of metabolic diseases based on compounds that stimulate interactions between genes and enzymes. Backers in the last round include MPM, ARCH Venture Partners, Oxford Bioscience Partners, the Omega Fund and Physic Ventures. The company has raised $115 million since 2000.

* ValenTX, based in Carpinteria, California, raised $22 million in September to develop an implantable medical device to treat morbid obesity. The company has raised $28 million since 2002 from SV Life Sciences Advisors, EDF Ventures, Affinity Capital Management, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Sapient Capital Management, TGap Ventures and Covidien Ventures.

ROCKVILLE, Md., –  OriGene Technologies, Inc., a leading gene-centric life sciences company, announced the completion of a $16 million Series B financing. OriGene’s previous investors also participated in this round.  The proceeds from the funding will be used to continue to build OriGene’s TrueMABTM monoclonal antibody collection.

“We are delighted by this vote of confidence from our existing and new investors and share their enthusiasm for our growth strategy and execution.  The funding will propel us closer to meeting our goal of building the largest monoclonal antibody collection in the world covering the entire human genome of approximately 20,000 genes,” said Wei-Wu He, OriGene’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

The TrueMABTM Collection of monoclonal antibodies will be developed with the most up-to-date antibody technologies and will be significantly different from many antibodies on the market, as OriGene will be using authentic human full-length proteins as immunogens during the manufacturing process. OriGene has dedicated the last decade to build the largest collection of human full-length cDNA clones in the world. The collection has enabled OriGene to manufacture human full-length proteins directly from human cells for producing monoclonal antibodies. TrueMABTM monoclonal antibodies generated by authentic human antigen, have been proven far superior in quality than traditional small peptide generated monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, especially in applications such as flow cytomery and multiplex ELISA assays. Many of these monoclonal antibodies are currently available and will be utilized by multiple commercial partners for various applications.

About OriGene Technologies

OriGene Technologies, Inc., is a gene centric life sciences tool company dedicated to support academic, pharmaceutical and biotech companies in their research of gene functions and drug discovery.  OriGene’s novel product line includes the world’s largest cDNA and shRNA clone collections, over 5,000 purified human proteins, high quality monoclonal antibodies (TrueMABTM), 100,000 highly validated human tissues, and Luminex Multiplex Assay Products.  OriGene also provides a broad range of antibody validation products including genome-wide tagged antigen standards and extensive IHC slides derived from our tissue collection. OriGene is committed to its mission to be “Your Gene Company;” in supplying everything a researcher would need for gene based research.

By JON VAN

Dr. Boris Pasche had worked for years with a battery-operated device to treat insomnia, but as he followed his

Dan Benier, left, and Thomas L. Flynn III of Therapeutic Proteins Inc., which is opening a manufacturing plant in Chicago.

research, he discovered that electromagnetic radiation from the apparatus might slow or stop tumor growth in some cancer patients, and he thought he could perhaps build a business around the idea.

Like most other academic researchers, Dr. Pasche knows little about starting a business or courting investors, but he is getting help for the Chicago-based biotechnology company he founded, TheraBionic.

The small-business development office at Northwestern University, where Dr. Pasche was affiliated, referred him to the Illinois biotechnology trade organization, iBIO, which linked him to local biotechnology volunteers offering guidance. They advised him on possible investors and coached him on making his pitch.

“I submitted a grant proposal to the National Institutes of Health, as this is a novel, potentially transformational, technology,” Dr. Pasche said. “This is my baby. I’d really like to see it succeed.”

TheraBionic is the sort of risky but high-potential company that might be a candidate for money under a federal program to promote commercial medical breakthroughs.

Universities and laboratories in the Chicago area have long been a source of innovations in the life sciences, but for decades inventors and entrepreneurs have often lacked the money and business savvy to bring their ideas to market. The story of TheraBionic and dozens of similar start-ups over the past few years indicates the serious effort to raise Chicago’s standing as a commercial biotech center.

The main obstacle that start-ups face is the absence of a critical mass of daring investors like those who fuel biotechnology development on the coasts, said Michael Rosen, senior vice president for Forest City Enterprises and the Illinois Science + Technology Park in Skokie.

“The problem is very few early-stage capital investment funds,” Mr. Rosen said.

What the area does have are drug and medical products companies like Abbott Laboratories and Baxter International and the North American headquarters of such major players as Takeda and

An assistant testing proteins at Therapeutic Proteins.

Astellas, Japan’s top two pharmaceutical companies. In recent years, executives at those companies have begun helping fledgling entrepreneurs with the managerial, legal and other business expertise they need to commercialize their research.

The turnaround started at a trade show of BIO, the world’s largest biotechnology organization. Chicago hosted the international BIO show in 2006, the first time the event was held outside the biotech centers on the East and West Coasts. The event attracted 20,000 participants, a record, and the process of organizing it helped bring together the area’s often diffuse biotechnology community.

It began to focus on supporting struggling newcomers and raising their profile nationally.

“We learned a lot of people who attended the convention didn’t know much about Chicago at all,” said Dr. Norbert Riedl, Baxter’s chief scientific officer and corporate vice president. “They didn’t know Baxter was here, Abbott, Takeda, Astellas — and world-class universities were here. It was clear we had to do more to promote those aspects of Chicago.”

Among the accomplishments after the trade show was a statewide program called Propel, modeled after an effort that helped turn San Diego into a biotechnology powerhouse.

“Propel is to train and educate entrepreneurs, to take innovation out of academic centers and place it into tech parks and allow it to flourish,” Dr. Riedel said.

Therapeutic Proteins Inc., a Deerfield company that is opening a manufacturing plant on Chicago’s South Side this spring, is one of the small local companies benefiting from Propel’s efforts. It plans to add 30 employees to the 6 it has now when operations begin at the new plant, said Thomas L. Flynn III, its chief executive. The company will make proteins used in generic biologic therapies that regulate blood sugar, produce blood cells and stimulate the immune system.

Propel helped Mr. Flynn by identifying contractors who could build specialized manufacturing facilities, locating a site within a technology park and steering him toward loan and grant programs that would enable his company to hire new employees. The company settled at the tech park at the Illinois Institute of Technology, where it constructed a 12,000-square-foot production plant.

While iBio, Propel and other efforts have built a sense of momentum among business people and others in the state, the timing has proven to be a challenge. Total venture investment in biotechnology in the state had reached $100 million a year in 2006 and 2007, according to the Illinois Venture Capital Association, but the amount fell over the last two years to around $40 million, as the recession and tight credit markets caused a pullback on all venture investment.

Biotechnology’s share of total venture investment hit a low of 8 percent in 2008, but climbed to 21 percent last year, close to the level in 2006, the year the trade show was in Chicago.

“This suggests the resilience of biotech in Illinois,” said Maura O’Hara, executive director of the Illinois Venture Capital Association. “Bouncing back to get about one-fifth of the state’s venture investment is an accomplishment.”

Another iBIO gathering is scheduled for McCormick Place in May, and Mr. Flynn hopes to use it to show off his company’s capabilities to buyers from around the world. The show promotes such deal-making by, among other things, arranging computerized match-ups between vendors and potential customers.

In the past few years, Propel has helped about 50 companies file for patents on their technology and secure increased financing, said David Miller, executive director of iBIO. Several have advanced enough to expand their work force, he said

Still, Mr. Miller said, Illinois has not seen its biotech start-up companies prosper as much as those based in Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan. iBIO plans to change Propel’s legal status to that of a philanthropic entity that can receive federal grants and foundation money, something a trade organization like iBIO cannot do.

Mr. Miller’s organization is also seeking state legislation to provide tax breaks to those who invest in early-stage start-up companies. Twenty-five other states have such tax breaks, he said, and most have seen a marked increase in new technology companies.

Getting Illinois lawmakers to pass a tax break at a time when the state is desperate for more revenue may be difficult, though Mr. Miller said that iBIO’s proposed legislation passed the Senate last year with no opposition and that this year a quarter of the membership of the House had agreed to sponsor the measure.

Providing tax breaks to early-stage investors “would be a good step in the right direction,” said Thomas Churchwell, managing partner of Chicago-based Midwest Venture Partners. Early-stage investors, or “angels,” help start-up companies stay in business through a period known as “the valley of death” when development costs are high and clinical trials must be conducted. Venture capitalists typically come in when the product is nearly ready for market.

“You start with angel funding and some combination of venture capital and corporate strategic relationships,” Mr. Churchwell said. “It takes so much money to get a company off the ground, it’s unlikely that angels alone will get you there.”

Hosting the iBIO show in 2006 was significant in lifting confidence among Midwestern biotech players, Mr. Churchwell said, and the May gathering will represent a kind of progress report for the community.

“As time goes on, folks are going to prove this is going to work,” he said. “You have to convince yourself it can happen, and it does.”