Breaking News
Save the date!! The Venture Forum - Life Sciences 2009 will take place at Fairmont San Jose on June 25, 2009. Speakers, agenda and application details coming soon.
Larta Institute has been awarded a contract from the National Institutes of Health to develop and manage a Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP) for its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grantees. This is the second such contract awarded to Larta by NIH. The first CAP "cycle", which also was the first full cycle of this program for NIH, ran from June 2004 to June 2008. The second Larta-run “cycle” of the CAP will continue to accelerate the transition of NIH-funded innovations into the marketplace and will involve a wide range of breakthrough biomedical and health care technologies, including the development of clinical technologies, basic research tools, and healthcare/IT type products. 75 companies are competitively chosen to participate in the CAP from across the U.S.
Los Angeles, CA — October 13, 2008 Larta Institute has been awarded a three-year contract from the US Department of Agriculture to develop and manage a commercialization assistance program for its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grantees. This award builds on a pilot program awarded to Larta in 2007.
The program is geared to provide support services to Phase II grantees to develop and transition their research into a commercial and marketable product, process, technology, or service to further the economic goals of the small company, while satisfying the short and long-term goals of the USDA.
"Research in the agricultural sciences shows great promise....innovation expressed through entrepreneurs meeting opportunities head-on has great potential in resolving some fundamental concerns: food and water supply, infectious diseases, chemical and chem-alternatives in treating pests, new strains of crops, etc." says Rohit Shukla, Larta Institute's CEO.
The USDA SBIR program supports companies across various topic areas, including biofuels and biobased products, plant production and protection - biology, animal production and protection, soil and water resources, food science and nutrition, aquaculture, plant production and protection - Engineering, and others.
Digital Family Reunion
Collective Inspiration - Connecting 1.0 and 2.0
On Thursday, December 11th from 5:00pm to 10:00pm, the Digital Family Reunion (DFR) is bringing the Southern California technology and business communities together for the holidays at the Skirball Cultural Center. In association with some of the region’s top trade associations and social networking groups, the DFR is throwing the holiday party of the millennium… so far! The DFR will reignite old relationships, spark new ones, and set the stage to kick off 2009 with a bright new start.
Inviting early adopters and legacy participants of the Internet 1.0 and today’s digitally apt Internet 2.0 tube dwellers, the DFR will create the optimum conditions for these generations to synergize with one another and inspire opportunities that will serve our industries, our region, and our society at large. Attendees will include leaders from all the major industry sectors such as media, entertainment, finance, publishing, venture funding, software, commerce, education, and many more.
The DFR is helping to set an engagement platform to advance the conversation between these like-minded, yet diverse communities by asking the question: “If we knew how connected we all are, how would that change everything?”
Join us for this unique business networking event, which includes a leadership panel forecasting 2009, a conversation with the recipient of the DFR “Outstanding Achievement Honor”, promotion of an important non-profit initiative, showcase tables from over 20 technology associations and networking groups, entertainment and much more.
Visit www.digitalfamilyreunion.net and join the collective conversation.