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Virginia Tech, Old Dominion Uni- versity, the College of William & Mary and Eastern Virginia Medical School. To qualify for grants of


$200,000 to $800,000, projects must truly be collaborative. They are required to include partnerships with two of the seven participating Virginia research institutions and at least one industry partner. In addition, each project must have matching funds. “All we’re able to do is put enough money up to really catalyze things where they can hit meaningful milestones to attract additional outside capital from either the [National Institutes of Health], or the Department of Defense, or venture capitalists or from Big Pharma,” says Grisham. Data show the relatively young


program is having an impact. In four years, the Catalyst has spent $10.4 million on 24 projects, which had just over $20 million in match- ing funds. Those projects have gone on to raise $80 million in outside funding. “That’s really a 10-to-1 return on taxpayer dollars,” says Grisham. “For every dollar we’ve put in, we’ve attracted 10 times that to really drive commercialization and get our innovations from our universities into the marketplace and thereby creating jobs.” Historically, about 30 percent


of the projects that have applied for the grants have been funded. But demand is getting stronger, and competition is more intense. In the sixth round of funding, 30 projects submitted plans, and seven were selected. In the seventh round, which focused on neurosciences, three of 12 projects were selected to receive funding. The money for these projects


isn’t guaranteed. To receive the full funding, research partners must hit major milestones, which are included in their contracts. Money for Catalyst grants


includes funds from the General Assembly as well as $50,000 a year from each of the participating


“A big part of what we are trying to do is achieve this competitive mass through collaboration,” says Mike Grisham, CEO of Virginia Catalyst.


universities. In the current fiscal year, the program will receive $3.5 million from the state. All projects are reviewed and


vetted by the Catalyst’s Project Management and Oversight Panel, which includes scientists, venture capitalists and CEOs from life sci- ences companies. The panel members evaluate


projects on the capability of their management teams, the probability of their obtaining follow-on fund- ing, the quality of their science and the likelihood of their research being commercialized. The panel then makes recommendations to the Catalyst’s board of directors, which selects the projects. In addition to fueling growth for early-stage companies, the program


www.VirginiaBusiness.com


has improved relationships among Virginia’s researchers. “Somebody accused me early on of being the eHarmony of life sciences in Vir- ginia,” says Grisham. “We’ve really changed the culture from one of being fiercely independent to highly collaborative — focused on taking our innovations out of universities and getting them commercialized.” A breakthrough facilitated


by the Catalyst was an agreement among the research institutions to share core facilities. All seven agreed this summer to share special- ized equipment and laboratories, charging the same rate that their own researchers would pay. “Rather than each university having to replicate each of these major invest- ments in research tools, we’re able


VIRGINIA BUSINESS 67


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