Halia Therapeutics, Inc.

Selected biotechs will receive 12 months of lab and office space at Altitude Lab’s “rapidly-expanding life science hub in Salt Lake City.”\n Salt Lake City-based accelerator Altitude Lab is hoping it can entice biotechs impacted by the uncertainty surrounding federal grants.Altitude has secured a fund of “at least” $2.5 million sourced from private individuals, which the accelerator is planning to dole out to “promising” biotechs in parcels of between $100,000 and $250,000 of pre-seed investment capital. Selected companies will also get access to mentorship and 12 months of lab and office space at Altitude’s “rapidly-expanding life science hub in Salt Lake City.”The accelerator is designed to be a \"stopgap\" for companies needing immediate assistance, an Altitude spokesperson told Fierce Biotech over email. To take advantage of the opportunity, biotechs will need to have previously requested funding under the National Institutes of Health\'s (NIH’s) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and received an impact score of 20 or less.SBIR and the NIH’s Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTT) program account for a total of around $4.5 billion in annual funding obligations, making them “a cornerstone for biotech innovation,” Altitude said in a Feb. 19 release.Salt Lake City-based biotech Recursion founded Altitude in 2020, and Chris Gibson, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Recursion and chair of Altitude’s board, is one of the private individuals contributing to the fund. He\'s joined by Halia Therapeutics CEO and co-founder David Bearss, Ph.D. “Earning our early SBIRs was a pivotal moment for Recursion,” Gibson said in a statement. “The few million dollars that came in via the SBIR mechanism in our early years allowed us to build the fundamentals of our platform.” However, Altitude alluded to recent SIBR-related policy changes as placing “an estimated 1,500 health-related startups in limbo, jeopardizing critical advancements in medicine, drug development and diagnostics.”The fund announced today is designed to “help bridge this gap, while continuing to grow the rapidly-expanding life science hub in Salt Lake City by offering capital and infrastructure to high-potential startups currently at risk,” Altitude explained.“Federal funding disruptions are stalling groundbreaking biotech research,” Altitude’s executive director Chandana Haque said in the same release. “With this fund, we are doing our small part to help secure the future of biotech innovation in America, to build the ecosystem of life science companies around Recursion in Salt Lake City, and also ensuring that the best female and underrepresented founders—who receive only 15% of SBIR funding and 3% of venture capital—have an opportunity to build the next great biotech,” Haque added.Fierce Biotech asked the NIH for clarity on the future of SIBR and SBTT funding but had not received a response at time of publication.

Dive Brief:Altitude Labs, a biotechnology accelerator backed by Recursion Pharmaceuticals, on Wednesday said it is launching a new fund to give pre-seed grants to life sciences researchers and startups disrupted by cuts to federal funding provided through the National Institutes of Health.The fund will offer $100,000 to $250,000 in capital, as well as a 12 months of lab and office space, to early-stage biotechnology companies that qualified for funding through the federal Small Business Innovation Research program.Earning our early SBIRs was a pivotal moment for Recursion, CEO Chris Gibson said in a statement. The few million dollars that came in via the SBIR mechanism in our early years allowed us to build the fundamentals of our platform upon which we have now raised over $1 billion in private investment to turn Recursion into a $4 billion publicly traded company with eight therapeutics in clinical development.Dive Insight:Policies put in place by the Trump administration have roiled the scientific research community, causing widespread concerns among the academic laboratories that furnish much of the basic science biotechs eventually license.Most consequentially, the administration is seeking to substantially cut indirect funding provided by the National Institutes of Health, which helps academic institutions pay for the overhead costs associated with federal research grants.Before pitching venture capital firms, biotech entrepreneurs can also turn to federal grants for help getting their startups off the ground.Young companies rely on these grants for non-dilutive capital, or cash that doesnt require them to hand over an ownership stake.These grants can be crucial to startups survival,helping pay for lab space or materials before a company has generated the research needed to convince venture capital firms to invest.Agencies like the NIH have provided these grants for decades. According to federal data, the NIH funded nearly $1.3 billion in small business grants in 2023.In having Recursion launch an early research fund, Gibson says he hopes to support young biotechs that are at risk of stalling out without federal grants.The fund will operate under the umbrella of Altitude Labs, an accelerator Gibson debuted in 2020 in Salt Lake City.Gibson will lead the fund alongside David Bearss, the co-founder of several therapeutics companies including Halia Therapeutics, and Altitude Lab's executive director, Chandana Haque.Federal funding disruptions are stalling groundbreaking biotech research, said Haque. With this fund, we are doing our small part to help secure the future of biotech innovation in America.Any SBIR-reviewed company can apply for funding, but, if accepted, they would need to relocate to Salt Lake Cite to access the lab space and community that Altitude touts as part of its offering.Recursions response to the Trump administrations new policies is particularly noteworthy, as much of the biopharmaceutical sector has publicly stayed quiet on the changes underway at the NIH and Food and Drug Administration. '

Before biopharmaceutical companies raise money from venture capital firms, their early funding often comes from the U.S. government in the form National Institutes of Health grants. That was the case for Recursion Pharmaceuticals, a now publicly traded company that applies artificial intelligence to drug discovery and development. With layoffs at the NIH underway and its grant funding programs in limbo, Recursion is stepping in to fill in some of the funding gap for biotech startups. Altitude Lab, a biotech accelerator formed by Recursion, on Wednesday announced the launch of a pre-seed venture fund to support early-stage startups affected by the changes in federal funding policy. Altitude Lab Fund will provide pre-seed investments of $100,000 to $250,000 as well as 12 months of lab and office space at the Altitude Lab facility in Salt Lake City. Funding awards also come with admission to the Altitude accelerator program, which provides mentorship from industry executives and connections to national funds that could be sources of future investment. According to Altitude Labs, startups incubating there have collectively raised $154 million in early-stage funding since the accelerator’s launch. Healthcare Using Data to Help Healthcare Practices Succeed A new report from Relatient, A Data-Driven Guide to Patient Access Succes, highlights how focusing on data accuracy and relevance can enhance the performance of healthcare practices. By Relatient “Recursion founded Altitude Lab in 2020 to fuel more founders and enable more audacious companies in our industry,” Chris Gibson, Recursion CEO and Altitude Lab board chairperson said in a prepared statement. “This fund is Altitude Lab’s way of supporting and accelerating the science on which our industry stands.” Recursion Pharmaceuticals formed in 2013, co-founded by Gibson. Three years later, the young company raised its Series A round of funding. Gibson said NIH small business innovation research (SBIR) grants in Recursion’s early years allowed the young company to build the fundamentals of its technology platform. The company was able to go on to raise more than $1 billion in private investment. Recursion currently has eight drug candidates in clinical development. In 2019, Recursion established the Recursion Foundation, a vehicle for charitable and philanthropic efforts. Altitude Lab was the first effort of the foundation. According to Recursion regulatory filings, the biotech’s board of directors has committed to putting 1% of the company’s equity into the foundation “to help demonstrate the strong commitment we have to social responsibility and to ensure a sustainable future for our work in this arena.” Altitude Lab was conceived with an emphasis on working with underrepresented founders. One key goal is for their startups to grow permanently in Utah. The accelerator has since become part of a larger regional economic development vision in partnership with the University of Utah. presented by Health IT Transforming Patient Care: The Role of AI-Powered Assistants The progress in artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping patient care, across various dimensions, from facilitating faster discharge to curating treatment plans and suggesting lifestyle changes. By IT Medical The Altitude Lab Fund will be led by Gibson alongside David Bearss, the CEO of Lehi, Utah-based Halia Therapeutics, and Altitude Executive Director Chandana Haque. Startups seeking NIH funding have their applications go through two levels of review. Applications are scored on a scale that assesses the potential impact of a technology. The scale ranges from 10 to 90, with 10 being the best score. Altitude Lab said its new fund is open to startups that have received an impact score of 20 or less. Applications may be submitted here.