It’s always a tough act to follow Howard Root, the sometimes volatile, always interesting CEO of Vascular Solutions Inc. But when you’re one of a gazillion candidates running for the governor of Minnesota, the challenge becomes even more daunting.Which makes me wonder why organizers of the first annual Minnesota BIO forum, including LifeScience Alley, Minnesota [...]

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the state’s top research university are not exactly close allies.At The Collaborative’s annual venture capital conference last year, Pawlenty criticized the University of Minnesota for being unfriendly to business just minutes before university spin-outs were to pitch investors. University sources say Dan McElroy, commissioner for the Department of Employment and [...]

Another day, another new local early stage fund.Upwind Medical Partners is launching a $6 million to $8 million early stage fund that will focus on commercializing intellectual property from health care/research institutions like the University of Minnesota, Wisconsin Alumni Research Fund (WARF), Allina Hospitals & Clinics, and John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.Founded by Jim O’Reilly, [...]

The park should be Minnesota’s answer to Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, a place where academics, scientists, investors and entrepreneurs converge to create breakthrough innovations developed and sold by homegrown companies, said Peter Bianco, director of lifescience business development of Halleland Health Consulting in Minneapolis. Bianco is spearheading the project.