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Technology Commercialization Proof-of -Concept Grants Available

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VENTURE CATALYST PROOF-OF-CONCEPT PROGRAMS

Venture Catalyst manages three proof-of-concept programs, which provide funding and resources to translate basic UC Davis research with commercial potential by demonstrating proof-of-concept and establishing market viability. These programs also help develop an innovative and entrepreneurial culture that extends the benefits of UC Davis research activities beyond the boundaries of the university.

  1. Science Translation & Innovative Research (STAIR™) Grant
  2. Food Systems Innovation Grant
  3. Data, Informatics & Application Launch (DIAL™) Grant

Key features of the proof-of-concept programs include:

  1. targeted funding to bridge the gap between basic research and early-stage commercialization efforts,
  2. project work conducted over a 12-month period,
  3. Review Committee consisting of industry representatives with corporate, investor, and entrepreneurial expertise,
  4. feedback and guidance on commercialization from members of the Review Committee and the Venture Catalyst team, and
  5. structured entrepreneurial training.

Over the past seven cycles, the proof-of-concept programs have awarded over $2.2 million of funding to 49 projects. These projects have resulted in 22 intellectual property agreements, including 16 startups launched around foundational technologies, and have been able to attract roughly $33 million of follow-on funding. See the list of previous awardees here and view the executive summary for the 2019-20 cycle here.

Venture Catalyst will begin accepting application for the eighth cycle of the proof-of-concept programs on January 19, 2021 with an application deadline of March 3, 2021 at 5:00 pm PST. Applications for all proof-of-concept programs can be submitted through Office of Research’s InfoReady grant application platform (Kerberos login required). The direct links to each grant are as follows:

Potential applicants can view a recorded information session for the 2020-21 cycle. If you would like to request an overview presentation and/or a Q&A session for your department or unit, please email [email protected].

For the STAIR and DIAL Grant programs, Venture Catalyst has engaged campus and industry partners to expand potential funding available to particular technologies and projects through the program. Partners include Elanco, the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences, the UC Davis College of Letters & Science, the UC Davis School of Medicine, and the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. See additional details on types of funding and areas of interest in the program materials below.

Aspect

Technology Focus

IP Consideration

Project Budget

Funding Available for 2020-21 Cycle

Download Program Materials for 2020-21 Cycle


STAIR Grant

Broad

Patent potential

Up to $50,000

$250,000*

STAIR Grant Program Announcement

STAIR Grant RFP

STAIR Grant Application Form

STAIR Grant Application Instructions

Funding Partner Information

STAIR Grant Invitation to Self-Identify Form


Food Systems Innovation Grant

Global nutrition and food systems

Patent potential

Up to $50,000

$50,000**

Food Systems Innovation Grant Program Announcement

Food Systems Innovation Grant RFP

Food Systems Innovation Grant Application Form

Food Systems Grant Application Instructions

Food Systems Innovation Grant Invitation to Self-Identify Form


DIAL Grant

Data, information science, and software

Copyright or patent potential

Up to $20,000

$40,000

DIAL Grant Program Announcement

DIAL Grant RFP

DIAL Grant Application Form

DIAL Grant Application Instructions

Funding Partner Information

DIAL Grant Invitation to Self-Identify Form


*Supplemental funding available from campus and industry partners
**All eligible Food Systems Innovation Grant applicants will also be reviewed through the STAIR Grant program

Email questions about any of the proof-of-concept grant programs to [email protected].

UC Davis Licenses Novel COVID-19 Lung Treatment Using Inhaled Statins to InVixa, Inc

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Amir Zeki, associate professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at UC Davis and co-founder of InVixa Inc.

Amir Zeki, associate professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at UC Davis and co-founder of InVixa Inc.

The University of California, Davis and InVixa Inc., a biopharmaceutical startup, have executed a licensing agreement for a novel method using inhaled statins to treat the severe respiratory disease known as COVID-19. The license, negotiated by the InnovationAccess team within the UC Davis Office of Research, provides exclusive access for InVixa to commercialize the technology developed at the university for COVID-19.

While statins are one of the most prescribed drugs on the market, typically used to treat cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease and stroke by lowering cholesterol levels in the blood, some studies have demonstrated a potential link to improved outcomes in some lung diseases due to statins’ immune-modulatory properties.

Dr. Amir Zeki, associate professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at UC Davis and co-founder of InVixa, began investigating the potential use of statins to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 2007. At the time, pre-clinical studies showed a clear positive effect; however, subsequent human clinical trials using oral statins yielded mixed findings.

“While some people started to discount the potential and effectiveness of using statins to treat respiratory disease, I suspected it might have to do with the delivery method, and that with the oral route not enough of the drug was reaching the lung tissue,” said Zeki. “Scientific understanding of statins’ pharmacokinetic properties certainly supports this theory in principle, and ongoing work is testing this idea in humans.”

Zeki began researching an alternative approach by delivering the statins directly into the airways via inhalation using animal models. The use of inhaled drugs is common in clinical practice to treat airway diseases such as asthma and COPD, albeit using different FDA-approved drugs.

Zeki tested the idea on rodents, followed by non-human primates at the California National Primate Research Center at UC Davis. “Depending on the statin tested, we found we could give appropriate statin doses via the airways which were well-tolerated, and with beneficial effects,” he noted. “That is when we pivoted to seeing this as a large opportunity to develop better treatments for our patients.”

A ‘Pandemic’ Pivot

Working in the Intensive Care Units with his physician colleagues, Zeki was on the front lines when the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States. He quickly learned about the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 and the severe respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. In response, he pivoted with his team to explore the use of inhaled statins to protect the lungs against the virus’s damaging effects.

Existing observational research has shown that patients taking oral statins regularly prior to and during their illness had faster recovery from the flu, along with lower mortality rates. A recent study by researchers at UC San Diego Health established a similar effect in COVID-19 patients, where patients taking oral statins had a reduced risk of developing severe COVID-19 disease, as well as faster recovery times. Another retrospective clinical study in China on nearly 14,000 patients showed that statin use was associated with a significant reduction in mortality among patients with COVID-19.

“These results shed some light and revealed the potential role statins could play in the treatment of COVID-19. However, these were limited to the conventional oral application,” said Zeki. “Our research is looking at the impact of using an aerosolized delivery mechanism to explore the full potential of these drugs.”

He added, “The inhaled delivery approach allows for statin doses with a potentially greater local airway therapeutic effect. Given what we know of statin pharmacokinetics, their physiochemical properties, and generally low oral bioavailability, as well as prior negative, or equivocal, clinical trials using oral statins to treat other respiratory conditions, we believe our approach has a strong chance of achieving a beneficial clinical effect in COVID-19.”

In collaboration with UC Davis virologists, the team began pre-clinical cell culture studies in 2020 and will begin experiments using COVID-19 rodent models in early 2021 to evaluate the statins’ efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Zeki’s lab is using primary human airway epithelial cells grown in air-liquid interface to elucidate governing mechanisms. The lab is working in collaboration with Professor Stefan Rothenburg in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology. In parallel, Zeki is also preparing to conduct animal studies to address inhaled statin efficacy in two COVID-19 rodent models with Professor Lark Coffey in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at the School of Veterinary Medicine.

Supported by the campus’ Venture Catalyst program, Zeki and colleagues launched the new company, InVixa, to commercialize the novel application. UC Davis’ Venture Catalyst unit offers several innovative programs that bridge the gap between early-stage research and commercialization. InVixa participated in Venture Catalyst’s START program, which provides training, resources, and networking opportunities to help university-affiliated startups succeed.

“The UC Davis Venture Catalyst unit played a pivotal role getting us off the ground,” said Zeki. “I can’t imagine getting to this point without their guidance and supporting programs.”

David Lubarsky, Vice Chancellor for Human Health Sciences and CEO of UC Davis Health, said, “This is another excellent example of leveraging UC Davis Health’s scientific resources and entrepreneurial spirit to explore solutions for crucial health care needs. I applaud Dr. Zeki and his team for pursuing novel approaches based on their direct clinical experiences and research. There is a tremendous need to help patients facing respiratory failure, which has been the leading cause of mortality for patients with COVID-19.”

InVixa is continuing its pre-clinical testing, which includes pharmacokinetic studies, to identify a lead candidate for formulation. Thereafter, the company plans to pursue human clinical trials later in 2021.

Contact

AJ Cheline, UC Davis Office of Research
530-752-1101
[email protected]

Sierra Biopharma is Developing Antigen-Specific Therapy Targeting Autoimmune Diseases

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Robert Fairclough and Vu Trinh

Sierra Biopharma, a biotechnology startup founded on intellectual property developed by researchers at the University of California, Davis, is developing a new therapeutic approach to treat autoimmune diseases.

Inventors and co-founders Robert Fairclough and Vu Trinh have set an initial focus on treating myasthenia gravis, a chronic autoimmune disease that affects 1.4 million people globally. Myasthenia gravis causes use-induced muscle fatigue and generalized muscle weakness that can result in life-altering difficulties with seeing, swallowing, talking and walking. The disease stems from a mistake made by the immune system in producing antibodies that bind to neurotransmitter receptors, triggering the immune system to destroy the folded post-synaptic muscle fiber membranes that are vital for repeated muscle contractions.

Sierra Biopharma is taking a new approach to treat the disease with an antigen-specific therapy that attacks the cause of the disease without suppressing the entire immune system. To accomplish this, the company is developing a biologic compound that not only binds to, neutralizes and clears the pathogenic antibodies, but also binds to and eliminates the memory B-cells responsible for producing more of the pathogenic antibodies.

Fairclough and Trinh recently completed the Biotech Innovation Gallery (BIG) Accelerator program led by UC Davis Venture Catalyst. The program provides leaders of UC Davis-associated biotech startups with training on how to develop an effective business model, strategies to protect intellectual property and guidance on how to pitch to potential strategic partners and investors.. The year’s program concluded with a showcase event where 22 startups, including Sierra Biopharma, pitched their value proposition to venture capitalists and biotech companies attending the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.

“It was amazing to be surrounded by so many fantastic biotech startups from UC Davis,” said Fairclough, an emeritus associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Neurology. “We were able to pitch our research to so many VCs and companies and they provided us with great insight and guidance in how best to proceed with the company’s development.”

Sierra Biopharma is now scaling up production of the therapeutic biologic and plans to complete the proof of concept and preclinical work in the next six months. The company has accepted an invitation to participate in the 2020 Science2Startup showcase event — a forum for top scientists from around the world to present their ideas and interact with leading investors and executives in the Boston biotechnology hub.

Pioneering a New Coffee Industry in California

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Juan Medrano and Marta Matvienko

Juan Medrano, co-founder, and Marta Matvienko, lab operations and bioinformatics, breed coffee plants suitable for growth in California at the UC Davis-HM.CLAUSE Life Science Innovation Center in Davis, California.

In 2017, geneticists from UC Davis sequenced the genome of Coffea arabica —a species responsible for 70% of global coffee production—with the goal of developing new high-yielding and high-quality varieties adapted to the stresses caused by climate change.

Progress from the research enabled the formation of a new company, Frinj Coffee, founded by Jay Ruskey, a farmer, and Juan Medrano, a professor and geneticist from the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, along with Andy Mullins and Lindsey Mesta. The company is pioneering the coffee growing industry in California, well outside the traditional tropical geographic belt closer to the equator.

In 2018, Frinj Coffee joined the UC Davis-HM.CLAUSE Life Science Innovation Center—part of Venture Catalyst’s DRIVE network of incubators—to further develop novel coffee varietals that are adapted to grow within the specific soil and climate conditions of the state.

Frinj Coffee is providing coffee plants, consulting and post-harvest resources to over 40 new farms across Southern California—and has marketed coffee through Oakland-based roaster Blue Bottle Coffee, San Diego–based Bird Rock and premium international buyers.

Bill Tucker Appointed Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Technology Commercialization at UC Davis

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Bill Tucker, vice chancellor for Innovation and Technology Commercialization within the UC Davis Office of Research

William (Bill) Tucker has been appointed interim associate vice chancellor for Innovation and Technology Commercialization within the UC Davis Office of Research.

In his interim role, Tucker will assume responsibility of Venture Catalyst, which facilitates the creation of new ventures and technology startups enabled by university innovations. He will continue to oversee the operations of InnovationAccess, which manages the university’s intellectual property.

Tucker has served as executive director of InnovationAccess since March 2017. Prior to his appointment at UC Davis, Tucker was interim vice president of Research and Graduate Studies (RGS) at the University of California Office of the President. RGS serves as a resource for UC researchers and administrators in research policy, funding for systemwide programs, technology transfer, and graduate education. In that role, Tucker led a team that worked to build UC-wide partnerships, shape effective policies and provide a strong voice nationally for UC research and graduate education.

Before that, he served as executive director of Innovation Alliances and Services where he led a team that reviewed, analyzed and recommended policies, programs and tools that helped UC campuses achieve their efforts to build alliances that transfer discoveries from research enterprise to industry in order to create public benefit. Tucker has also previously held private industry leadership roles in business development, licensing and intellectual property. He received a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Queensland, Australia, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California.

A national search has been initiated to fill the position vacated by Dushyant Pathak, former associate vice chancellor for Innovation and Technology Commercialization who stepped down  to pursue an opportunity in industry.

Contact

Resources

UC Davis STAIR Grant Awards Over $400K to Advance Innovations Towards Commercialization

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Jamie Peyton, chief of integrated medicine at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, fits a biologic bandages made from tilapia skin onto the badly burned paws of a bear.

Jamie Peyton, chief of integrated medicine at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, fits a biologic bandages made from tilapia skin onto the badly burned paws of a bear. Peyton and her team have developed a tilapia skin xenograft for use in burn patients to alleviate pain and encourage rapid healing. (UC Davis)

Original post: research.ucdavis.edu/2019-stair-grants

DAVIS, Calif. — Innovators at the University of California, Davis, are receiving financial support to advance their research and technologies toward commercialization.

The Science Translation and Innovative Research (STAIR™) Grant program, managed by Venture Catalyst and funded by the UC Davis Office of Research, provides funding to support translational science and innovative research performed by UC Davis researchers. The goal of the program is to demonstrate early proof-of-concept and commercial potential or feasibility for technologies being developed with the intent of commercial translation.

Award recipients this year include campus investigators developing technologies that could have a significant impact on pressing human and animal health issues as well as creating efficiencies to nourish and feed the world.

“It is exciting to see how the award recipients are addressing a wide range of unmet challenges in nutrition and health,” said Prasant Mohapatra, vice chancellor for research at UC Davis. “With the STAIR Grant program, we are able to support the creativity and ingenuity of our researchers in these programs to translate their innovations into commercial applications that help bolster our economy and improve quality of life.”

Read more…

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiatives Enabled by AB 2664 Funding Show Impact

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Abhijit Chaudhari, an associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Radiology, has received a DIAL grant to help commercialize a software plugin for medical imaging that can perform texture analysis and integrate seamlessly with OsiriX, one of the most widely-used medical image viewers in the world.

Abhijit Chaudhari, an associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Radiology, has received a DIAL grant to help commercialize a software plugin for medical imaging that can perform texture analysis and integrate seamlessly with OsiriX, one of the most widely-used medical image viewers in the world

Original post: research.ucdavis.edu/innovation-and-entrepreneurship-initiatives-enabled-by-ab-2664-funding-show-impact

A one-time $2.2 million investment from the State of California under Assembly Bill 2664 is propelling new and expanded innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives at the University of California, Davis, through enhancements to its related infrastructure, resources and business training programs.

The programs represent a coordinated and collaborative effort among several campus entities including the Office of Research, Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Student Startup Center, Biomedical Engineering, Office of the Provost, Office of Graduate Studies and Internship and Career Center.

Almost two years into the initiatives, new and expanded programs have directly enabled 19 startups, accelerated 47 companies, led to 37 products, delivered 1,900 hours of mentoring and trained over 950 aspiring entrepreneurs.

Notable new and expanded programs

Proof-of-concept grants developed and managed by Venture Catalyst in the Office of Research: Launched the second cycle of the both the Data, Informatics and Application Launch (DIAL™) Grants, which provide targeted funding for software and data informatics projects with commercial potential, and the STAIR-Plus™ Grant program that provides additional support to Science Translation and Innovative Research (STAIR™) Grant recipients who have successfully achieved project milestones and are poised for commercial impact pending specific additional targeted results. Since the launch of the DIAL and STAIR-Plus programs, 12 grants and a total of $218,586 have been awarded to campus innovators to advance their projects toward commercialization.

Distributed Research Incubation and Venture Engine (DRIVE™) Network: Expanded research and development capabilities for entrepreneurs and startups within the Venture Catalyst DRIVE Network of incubators and the campus Translating Engineering Advances to Medicine (TEAM) Lab prototyping facility, including the deployment of 39 pieces of equipment and instrumentation. The newly available equipment has helped to catalyze Inventopia’s move to a new facility last year, a new partnership with The Urban Hive, and an expanded partnership with HM.CLAUSE at the UC Davis-HM.CLAUSE Life Science Innovation Center.

Discounted Access to Research Translation Services (DARTS™) Program: Provided startups participating in Venture Catalyst’s Smart Toolkit for Accelerated Research Translation (START™) program access to state-of-the-art services and equipment at partner UC Davis core research facilities at competitive rates designed to address the capital constraints of startups. A complementary program was also launched for participants in the DRIVE network with access to credits to be used at DARTS core facilities.

Cross campus collaborative engagement

Venture Catalyst has been working in close collaboration with university partners in a wide range of coordinated efforts throughout campus. These activities include input on program design and candidate selection in the Advanced Student Career Enablement and Development (ADVANCE) business training and internship programs with implementations through the Leaders for the Future and the Entrepreneurship Quest: Undergraduate Internship Program (EQUIP) in collaboration with Graduate Studies, the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Internship and Career Center.

In addition, Venture Catalyst has engaged with judging of the Little Bang! poster competitions organized by the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, participated in the planning committee for the Aggie Innovation and Startup Symposium in a cross-campus collaboration led by the Office of the Provost, and supported the Creator Challenge Series and Prototyping Labs and Startup Mentorship Accelerator (PLASMA) program participants with early-stage startup resources to help form and grow successful companies and technologies.

Media Contacts

AJ Cheline, Office of Research, (530) 752-1101, [email protected]

Resources

Record Number of UC Davis Startups for 2017–18

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ara Ann Niendam, an associate professor in residence and the executive director of the UC Davis Early Psychosis Programs, and Laura Tully, an assistant professor of psychiatry, are the co-founders of Safari Health, a digital health technology company focused on evidence-based care for young people experiencing serious mental illness.

Tara Ann Niendam, an associate professor in residence and the executive director of the UC Davis Early Psychosis Programs, and Laura Tully, an assistant professor of psychiatry, are the co-founders of Safari Health, a digital health technology company focused on evidence-based care for young people experiencing serious mental illness. (Lisa Howard/UC Davis)

Original post: research.ucdavis.edu/record-number-of-uc-davis-startups-for-2017-18

The University of California, Davis, enabled the foundation of 16 commercial companies during the fiscal year ending June 30, an all-time high for the university. This brings the total number of startups made possible by UC Davis technologies during the past 10 years to 137.

“Our commitment to supporting innovative faculty, students and staff — with the coordinated suite of resources we offer through Venture Catalyst — is accelerating societal benefit and regional economic impact through a robust pipeline of university spinoffs,” said Dushyant Pathak, associate vice chancellor of research and executive director of UC Davis Venture Catalyst.

“Not only are we seeing an uptick in the number of exciting new technology ventures from the university, but we are also seeing the achievement of significant commercialization milestones by prior years’ startups,” Pathak said.

Many of the startups are targeting unmet needs in human health, with new tests, technology platforms and therapeutics for diagnosing, monitoring and treating a wide variety of conditions and diseases.

Four of the new companies have innovations focused on cancer. Others are developing therapeutics aimed at treating obesity, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and optic neuropathy.

Safari Health, co-founded by Laura Tully, an assistant professor of psychiatry, and Tara Ann Niendam, an associate professor in residence and the executive director of the UC Davis Early Psychosis Programs, is a digital health technology company focused on evidence-based care for young people experiencing serious mental illness. The company’s first product, Mobi, is an app-based technology for psychosis clinics to monitor how patients are faring in between caregiver visits.

“In a traditional mental health treatment setting, patients can often go weeks in between seeing a therapist or doctor,” said Tully. “A lot can happen in that time. Mobi closes that loop and allows the provider to monitor how things are going. If there is something predictive of a bad outcome, the provider is notified and can make a care decision.”

“We are using technology to get data in order to improve care,” said Niendam. “With this platform we can connect people to appropriate care and also improve the care that’s provided.”

Petr Janata, a professor in the Department of Psychology and a faculty member in the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain, is developing a different type of software platform — one that lets people preserve and share memories and stories associated with specific music.

Read more…

UC Davis STAIR and DIAL Grant Recipients Developing Breakthrough Innovations

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Anne Britt, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Biology, is developing a novel method of rapid and efficient gene editing in tomato.

Anne Britt, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Biology, is developing a novel method of rapid and efficient gene editing in tomato. (José Luis Villegas/UC Davis photo)

Original post: research.ucdavis.edu/2018-stair-dial

DAVIS, Calif. — Innovators at the University of California, Davis, are receiving financial support to advance their research and technologies toward commercialization.

Managed by Venture Catalyst, the Science Translation and Innovative Research (STAIR™) and the Data, Informatics & Application Launch (DIAL™) grant programs are designed to provide funding to support translational science and innovative research performed by UC Davis researchers. The goal of the programs is to demonstrate early proof-of-concept and commercial potential or feasibility for technologies being developed with the intent of commercial translation.

Six of the eight total 2017–18 award recipients are advancing innovative projects in health that address unmet needs. The additional two grant recipients are developing innovations in agriculture and poultry safety.

“The STAIR Grant Program highlights the cross-disciplinary investigative strengths of UC Davis and how our innovative researchers are harnessing life science research and the convergence of health, agriculture and engineering technologies to make a translational impact in the areas of human health, nutrition and food safety,” said Dushyant Pathak, associate vice chancellor of research and executive director of Venture Catalyst at UC Davis.

Read more…

Bayer Collaborates with UC Davis Venture Catalyst to Support Regional Innovation and Entrepreneurship

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Bayer Collaborates with UC Davis Venture Catalyst to Support Regional Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The University of California, Davis announced today a strategic collaboration agreement with Bayer Crop Science to foster innovation and economic development in the Sacramento region by providing dedicated facility support for university-affiliated startups — particularly those in the areas of agriculture and food-related technologies.

Located within Bayer’s West Sacramento Innovation Hub for Crop Science, the 3,000 square-foot CoLaborator is designed to house and foster innovative new ventures to transform modern agriculture.  It consists of a flexible floor plan that has the capacity for eight to ten researchers and provides basic equipment for agtech startups to quickly begin putting their ideas to the test.  San Francisco-bred Biome Makers, Inc., a rising startup in the field of microbiomes, is the CoLaborator’s first tenant and chose West Sacramento over the Bay Area as their headquarters

“Working with Bayer provides our campus entrepreneurs with another tremendous resource and further strengthens the growing regional innovation ecosystem,” said Dushyant Pathak, associate vice chancellor of Research and executive director of Venture Catalyst at UC Davis. “The value of this effort extends much further than addressing the need for appropriate facilities, it creates an opportunity for entrepreneurs to engage with other experts in and outside their field and build relationships critical for their success.”

As part of the agreement, Bayer joins the university’s Distributed Research Incubation and Venture Engine (DRIVETM) network of startup incubators. The DRIVE network is part of a platform of resources offered by UC Davis Venture Catalyst to support the successful translation of research and new technologies emerging from the university into new commercial ventures. Venture Catalyst is part of the Technology Management and Corporate Relations division of the UC Davis Office of Research.

“We are thrilled to be working with the University of California, Davis to help grow new ventures with the possibility to transform modern agriculture,” said Jon Margolis, Head of Research and Technologies BLX.  “While we at Bayer are proud of the advances in our own laboratories, we recognize that the challenges today’s growers face will require an open innovation strategy that taps into the larger scientific community.”

About UC Davis

UC Davis is a global community of individuals united to better humanity and our natural world while seeking solutions to some of our most pressing challenges. Located near the California state capital, UC Davis has more than 35,000 students, an annual research budget of over $780 million and a comprehensive health system. The university offers 102 undergraduate majors and 99 graduate programs through four colleges and six professional schools.

About Venture Catalyst

Venture Catalyst is one of three units within the Technology Management and Corporate Relations division of the UC Davis Office of Research. Venture Catalyst furthers the university’s educational, research and public mission by supporting UC Davis students, faculty and researchers in translating science, engineering and innovative research, through well-resourced startups, into societal impact.

About Bayer

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2017, the Group employed around 99,800 people and had sales of EUR 35.0 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.4 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.5 billion. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.