On February 16 – 18, an online event called Destination Startup took place to showcase some of the best research-based startups in the Rocky Mountain region. Venture Partners, the University of Colorado Boulder’s commercialization arm, hosted this virtual event which showcased 25 startups from 10 different universities. Three of those startups were based on technologies developed right here at the University of New Mexico, including GPER G-1 Development Group, Nob Hill Therapeutics, and Osazda Energy.
Leading research universities and federal laboratories collaborated on this event with the goal of helping startups secure capital funds, develop industry connections and encourage collaboration in the innovation ecosystem. This year was Venture Partner’s biggest Destination Startup yet and the online format allowed them to engage more out-of-state investors and difference university partners, including the University of New Mexico.
Read more about the local startups that presented at the showcase below:
GPER G-1 Development Group:
GPER G-1 is a drug discovery and development company with the primary goal of advancing pre-clinical development of novel drug candidates that modulate the G-Protein Coupled Estrogen Receptor (GPER). The lead drug candidate is G-1 (Tespria™), a GPER agonist, to treat obesity through weight loss, and to reverse diabetes and pre-diabetes. Visit their website at: http://gperg1.com/.
Nob Hill Therapeutics
This New Mexico based company is developing the first dry powder nebulizer called DryNeb for the treatment of severe respiratory diseases, including non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis and lung infections. Visit their website at: https://nobhilltherapeutics.com/.
Osazda Energy
Osazda Energy provides materials engineering solutions to improve solar cell and solar module reliability with specialized metal matrix composites that have been proven to electrically bridge stress-induced cracks that appear in solar cells over time. Visit their website at: http://www.osazda.com/.
See also Mallory Richardson’s February 2nd article, “Third annual Destination Startup® event expands across the Mountain-West, connecting top research-based startups with investors,” on the Venture Partners at CU Boulder website at https://www.colorado.edu/venturepartners/2021/02/02/third-annual-destination-startupr-event-expands-across-mountain-west-connecting-top.