iBIO Institute's PROPEL Center Awards 25 Grants to Early-Stage Life Sciences Companies

CHICAGO --(Business Wire)--

The PROPEL Center of the iBIO Institute, dedicated to increasing the number and success rate of early-stage life sciences companies in Illinois, announced today that it has awarded 25 grants to help local entrepreneurs attend the 2013 BIO International Convention in Chicago. The BIO convention is the world's largest gathering of biotechnology companies, research institutions and governmental organizations.

PROPEL awarded nine full or partial grants to enable more Illinois early-stage life sciences companies to participate in the convention's BIO Business Forum^® Partnering. The PROPEL grant recipients included Advanced Cooling Therapy, ArborVita Associates, Inspirotec, Kim Laboratories, Microfluidic Innovations, Ohmx, Shamrock Structures, TheraBionic and Vidasym.

"This award will provide us with a great opportunity to meet one-on-one with potential partners at the BIO International Convention," said Nancy Tyrrell, vice president, Business Development of Shamrock Structures.

PROPEL distributed a total of 25 grants to 21 companies to support their presence at BIO 2013, including the BIO Entrepreneurship Boot Camp and the BIO Exhibition.

"So many of our early-stage life sciences companies can benefit from attending the BIO International Convention, but in some cases financial constraints hamper their ability to participate," said Barbara Goodman, senior vice president of PROPEL. "With these awards, and with the convention returning to Chicago for the third time, Illinois can showcase our outstanding technologies and entrepreneurs and our thriving startup community."

The PROPEL Center awarded the 25 grants in partnership with the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO). Ten members of the BIO 2013 Community Relations Committee reviewed the applications and selected the recipients.

"PROPEL is such a fantastic resource. It has been instrumental in helping us become more credible, more believable and even more appealing to our investors," said Dimitra Georganopoulou, Ph.D., vice president, Research and Development of Ohmx. "We can't thank PROPEL enough for choosing Ohmx for this award."

For more information on PROPEL or the iBIO Institute, visit www.ibioinstitute.org.

For more information on the 2013 BIO International Convention, returning to Chicago April 22 - 25, visit www.convention.bio.org.

About PROPEL

PROPEL is a group of programs aimed at increasing the number and success rate of early-stage life sciences companies in Illinois. PROPEL helps guide the development of formation-stage and early-stage life sciences companies by providing entrepreneurs with access to specialized resources and expertise to prepare them for early-stage funding. PROPEL is a Center of the iBIO Institute. To learn more about PROPEL and its programs, visit www.ibiopropel.org.

About iBIO Institute

The mission of the iBIO Institute is to orchestrate business leadership in delivery of world-class educational programs and job-creating new technology ventures. The Institute's EDUCATE Center delivers science and math programs for teachers and students, thereby inspiring the next generation of innovators and helping restore America's leadership in technology education. The Institute's PROPEL Center increases the number and success rate of early-stage life sciences companies in Illinois. To learn more about iBIO Institute and its programs, visit www.ibioinstitute.org.