Founded with the support of UI Ventures and housed in the University of Iowa Research Park's BioVentures Center, Viewpoint Molecular Targeting was one of 35 companies representing universities around the country to be selected as “Best University Startups 2016” and to present to an audience of corporations, venture capitalists, angel investors and members of Congress. NCET2 estimates over 800 university startups are launched each year and roughly 200 companies were considered for selection.
“Viewpoint clearly stands out as having an exceptional blend of innovative biomedical technology and business leadership that will take the company to the next level,” says NCET2 Associate Director Ria Ancheta-Adrias. “The team was an obvious choice for a Best University Startup 2016 designation.”
Viewpoint Molecular Targeting is developing pharmaceutical drugs for diagnostic imagining and therapy for cancer, with a focus on metastatic melanoma, and is located in the UI BioVentures Center. To date, Viewpoint has successfully secured over $1.2 million through NIH Small Business Innovation Research grants, Iowa Economic Development Authority Demonstration Funds, Innovation Iowa Corporation Matching Funds, and contracts to pharmaceutical industry partners. The company is aiming to begin clinical trials for its lead product and has other products in the development pipeline.
“Our technology has the potential to save lives” says Viewpoint Molecular Targeting co-founder and Chief Medical Officer Frances L. Johnson. “The selection by NCET2 to present at Demo Day gives us another great opportunity to make that a reality and we’re excited.”
The NCET2 University Startups Demo Day was founded to highlight the role of universities in advancing “innovation ecosystems” that boost the nation’s competitiveness, economic growth and prosperity.
"To lead the world in the 21st Century, our nation must have a sustained commitment to education, scientific research, and startups," says Tony Stanco, NCET2 executive director, in a press release. "American universities are uniquely positioned to deliver on all three to ensure the U.S. continues to lead socially and economically in this century, as it did in the last."
UI Ventures, part of the University of Iowa Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development (OVPR&ED), offers information and resources to help companies find funding they qualify for, including federal grants, state funding, the UI commercialization GAP fund, loans, angel investment, and venture capital. For more information, visit http://uiventures.uiowa.edu/.
The Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development provides resources and support to researchers and scholars at the University of Iowa and to businesses across Iowa with the goal of forging new frontiers of discovery and innovation and promoting a culture of creativity that benefits the campus, the state, and the world. More at http://research.uiowa.edu, and on Twitter: @DaretoDiscover.