Here are a few of the latest headlines in Wisconsin’s tech and innovation community:
—Madison-based edtech startup StudyBlue tacked on about $438,000 to a funding round reported in June, bringing the total amount raised to more than $2.1 million, SEC filings show. The money came from previous investors, including Great Oaks Venture Capital, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, and Steve Wallman, a company spokeswoman says.
—The FDA designated one of Madison-based Cellectar Biosciences’ (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLRB]]) early-stage cancer treatments as an orphan drug. The drug, dubbed I-131-CLR1404, received orphan status for the treatment of multiple myeloma, a plasma cell cancer. The compound is a small-molecule radiopharmaceutical meant to deliver a cancer-killing payload directly to the site of malignant tumors.
Getting the orphan drug designation—an incentive for companies to develop drugs for diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 Americans—means Cellectar is eligible, among other benefits, for tax credits to help cover clinical trial expenses, and seven years of market exclusivity if the treatment eventually gets FDA approval. Cellectar is planning a proof-of-concept trial in multiple myeloma.
—Manitowoc lighting technology company Energy Bank received a $250,000 state loan and a certification that makes angel investors eligible for a 25 percent state tax credit on what they put into the company. Energy Bank intends to hire more than 60 people in the next three years, according to a Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. press release.
—Madison is starting a chapter of 1 Million Cups, the national program that features weekly chats among entrepreneurs over coffee. Madison is the second Wisconsin city to start a local version of the program, following Milwaukee’s launch in August. 1 Million Cups was founded a couple of years ago in Kansas City, MO, by the Kauffman Foundation, which is based there.
Click here for more information on the Madison program. The first event will be held at 9 a.m. on Dec. 17 at 100state’s offices.
—BizStarts Milwaukee, the nonprofit that connects local startups to business resources, has named entrepreneur director Jacquin Davidson as the group’s executive director and chief operating officer, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. BizStarts hired Davidson in June. She is a Wisconsin native who has worked in California for much of her life, including starting two businesses and working at L.A. ad agency J. Walter Thompson.
