Category: Montana Bioscience Enterprises in the News

On January 12, 2023, the Montana High Tech Business Alliance and the Montana Bioscience Cluster Initiative co-hosted the webinar “Scaling Biotech Companies in Montana.” Panelists shared their insights into how companies can effectively plan for growth and how Montana can scale its biotech ecosystem.

A University of Montana research center recently was awarded a $480,000 grant to support the purchase of a three-dimensional bioprinter, which will allow nanofabrication of tiny structures.

Five UM public health master’s students working on projects that tackle some of the largest health issues facing the state and region recently earned the regional Student Leaders in Public Health Award from the Rocky Mountain Public Health Training Center in the Colorado School of Public Health. The award provides $3,500 to each project. 

Microbion Corporation today announced that a Phase 2, randomized, controlled study has been initiated to assess the safety and efficacy of topical pravibismane for the treatment of subjects with moderate infections of chronic diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). 

Montana State University Billings alumnus Jon Laurent, Ph.D., was recently inducted into the Montana Bioscience Alliance Hall of Fame for his critical role in COVID-19 testing research during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Four public health master’s students at the University of Montana are working on projects that tackle some of the largest health issues facing the state and region. The students recently earned the regional Student Leaders in Public Health Award from the Rocky Mountain Public Health Training Center in the Colorado School of Public Health. The award provides $3,500 to each project. 

The new, three-year project aims at improving access throughout Montana to often life-saving treatments available through clinical trials. Funded with nearly $750,000 from biotechnology company Genentech through a grant aimed at advancing equitable access to health care, the project seeks to optimize portions of Billings Clinic’s electronic health record systems for clinical trials and engage underserved communities to let more people in the state receive clinical trial care.

MSU will host a free one-day workshop for biotechnology entrepreneurs and others interested in business ventures involving the life-sciences. The event will present practical information about starting a company, securing intellectual property, fundraising and licensing technology. The event is co-sponsored by the Montana Bioscience Alliance and the Montana Innovation Partnership.

Awards will be offered by the National Institutes of Health and will be linked to grants currently held by the Institute of Translational Health Services and are open to: (1) students enrolled in doctoral programs at institutions of higher education in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho meeting T32/TL1 eligibility criteria, who can request 2 to 3 years of support for stipend and tuition, and (2) early career faculty and postdoctoral investigators meeting KL2 eligibility criteria, who can request support for 3 years of protected research time including salary and other support.

Gaize, Inc. has announced the launch of their impairment screening solution for cannabis and other drugs. The product is a first-of-its-kind fully automated, non-invasive and portable eye movement test. It’s an objective way to detect the involuntary eye movement changes associated with impairment. Gaize recently completed the world’s largest cannabis impairment clinical trial, which validated the effectiveness of the product.