UALR small business center offers biotech industry webinars

by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) 194 views 

The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will host a series of live webinars designed to biotechnology commercialization, the center announced on Tuesday (Jan. 31).

The series, which is geared toward bio-life science researchers and entrepreneurs, according to the center, will kick off Feb. 7, with a webinar hosted by Rob Vinson, program director at the National Institutes of Health. The program will focus on access to federal funding through the NIH’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, according to the center.

In a webinar scheduled for Feb. 9, Dr. Nancy Gray, director of bioventures at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, will share best practices for university researchers looking to start their own spin-off companies.

In a two-part series scheduled for Feb. 14 and Feb. 16, Dr. Lenka Fedorkova, former SBIR/STTR program manager at the agency and now CEO of bioPrime, provide deeper insight on the SBIR/STTR application process, according to the center.

The webinar run will conclude with a four-part series hosted by Jeff Skiba, a professional medical device and business consultant, on Feb. 21 and 28 and then March 7 and 14. Skiba will speak on navigating the Food & Drug Administration approval process, identifying the strategic steps to consider during new research and development to ensure a company’s processes effectively align with FDA’s approved standards, according to the center.

The biotech commercialization webinar series was paid for by a $200,000 grant the center received last year from the U.S. Small Business Administration through the Federal and State Technology Partnership Program to support programs for tech startups.

More information and registration for a webinar or classroom training event are available by contacting Rebecca Norman at 501-683-7700 or by visiting the event page on the center’s website: http://asbtdc.org/training.