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If you are in a decision-making position in an Oklahoma company, is there any reason you wouldn’t want to consider doing business with a startup? You might think that there’s too much risk with a startup. Personally, I like optimism and passion. I favor businesses that stretch, that run lean, and that focus on cashflow. And I like to be part of helping a new business grow. I bet when you think about it, you do too.

A global pharmaceutical company will pay up to $665 million for an Oklahoma City research firm that recently completed a large trial of a drug that treats pain among those with sickle cell disease.

A global pharmaceutical company will pay up to $665 million for an Oklahoma City research firm that recently completed a large trial of a drug that treats pain among those with sickle cell disease.

An Emerging Tech Center: Oklahoma City notable home-grown startups in Innovation Magazine Copyright © 2016 | Innovation America Accele BioPharma (founded in 2011) — Biotechnology business accelerator located in the University Research Park, formed to create a capital-efficient mechanism to identify, finance and manage groundbreaking early stage life science technologies. http://accelebio.com Analytical Research Laboratories/DNA Solutions/The KupiecRead more

Oklahoma City has hit its share of biotech home runs.

Alexion, the biotech giant with a market capitalization of almost $40 billion, grew out of discoveries made at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Likewise, work at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center gave birth to Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, which Genzyme purchased for more than $200 million in 2001. And Myriad Genetics acquired OMRF spin-off Crescendo Biosciences in 2014 for $270 million.

Foreign investment in Oklahoma should help the state’s biotech industry expand, said patent attorney Mike LaBrie.

The loss of the state’s EDGE Fund has meant less funding opportunities for the state’s bioscience companies such as Caisson Biotech and Selexys Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Russell Rother’s plan to return to Oklahoma in the 1990s to work in academia was sidetracked by his success in helping build Connecticut-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals into a $26 billion company.

Oklahoma City-based Selexys Pharmaceuticals Corp. is enrolling patients in a Phase 2 trial of a drug designed to treat sickle cell disease.

Cytovance Biologics Inc. has an agreement with Selexys Pharmaceuticals Corp. to produce the SelG1 monoclonal antibody for a clinical study.