People waiting for construction to start at the much-touted Elk Run biobusiness park are getting used to the idea of delayed gratification as yet another construction deadline has come and gone. Elk Run of course is that 2,000-plus acres, mixed-use real estate development in rural southeastern Minnesota whose grand plans once called for the construction […]
Biotech industry observer G. Steven Burrill says he will soon have $350 million to invest in a broad range of companies. Burrill late last week filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission on his $500 million Burrill Capital Fund IV. Burrill, in an e-mail Monday, said he’ll close $350 million of that fund by […]
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
One thing the interminably delayed Elk Run biotech/real estate development in southeastern Minnesota demands is patience. And that’s exactly what the Minnesota Department of Transportation has displayed in great abundance. Last week, even though no building stands on the proposed Elk Run bioscience park, MnDOT gave the green signal to a contractor to go ahead […]
Fund founder Jim O'Reilly says it was "fairly impossible" to raise money. For O'Reilly, explaining Upwind to potential investors proved to be a challenge in itself. For one thing, O'Reilly insisted Upwind was not a "fund" but rather a "new model" for developing startups.
As you've probably read, Steven Burrill's predictions regarding the biotech industry go over at MedCity News the way former Detroit Lions President Matt Millen's football forecasts go over in Michigan. Nonetheless, it's notable when the renowned biotech specialist, venture capitalist, author and keynote speaker offers his thoughts on currents events in life sciences and the future of the industry next year (even if it is to promote his upcoming book: Biotech 2011-Life Sciences: Looking Back to See Ahead).
When you're the president and CEO of a major national real estate development firm, it's best to develop a thick skin. It's also probably not a good idea to post public comments to a news website when you're pissed off at 1 o'clock in the morning. Yet that's exactly what Steve Marks, CEO of Tower Investments in California did upon reading my story Tuesday on the troubled Elk Run BioBusiness Park his company is developing in Pine Island, Minnesota.
"There are two things that we know about the universe," Abraham Algadi said. "We can only control the things we can control. The rest, we leave to a higher power." Algadi is not a priest or philosopher, at least professionally. Algadi, the city administrator for Pine Island, Minnesota, was referring to the fate of the much maligned, often delayed Elk Run BioBusiness Park.
The incoming Republican leadership in the Minnesota state legislature already is making good on its promises to streamline government. Last month, GOP officials unveiled a significantly slimmer committees structure, designed to eliminate redundancy and speed the notoriously slow business of making policy and passing laws. One casualty of the slimmer structure will be The House Committee on Biosciences and Workforce Development.
Burrill & Co. and the Infinity Group are joining forces to pursue investments in Chinese life science companies. San Francisco-based Burrill, a venture capital/private equity player that's also trying to launch a $1 billion investment fund in Minnesota, and Israel- and China-based Infinity will co-invest in U.S. dollars and Chinese renminbi as equal partners, according to a press release.
Is it my imagination or does the Elk Run development project in Pine Island, Minnesota, seem a little... what's the word I'm looking for?... oh, yeah... cursed? Don't believe me? Well, let's examine events from the past 12 months or so.
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Steve Burrill may have trouble keeping quiet about the proposed $1 billion fund to back the Elk Run BioBusiness Park, but at least one Burrill-related fund in Minnesota has largely remained silent on its plans. Coordinate Capital LLC has been trying to raise a $25 million local fund to invest in biomass, energy and life science startups. Ten months later, CEO and managing partner Andrew Pulkrabek has stuck to its guns -- by not saying anything. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.
Pop quiz time: when did Steven Burrill say he hopes to complete a $1 billion deal to finance the Elk Run BioBusiness Park in Pine Island, Minnesota? A. End of September B. End of the year C. Neither of the above
Fairly or not, Steve Burrill's reputation in Minnesota will rest a great deal on whether he can deliver the $1 billion investment fund to back the Elk Run BioBusiness Park in Pine Island. He says he's close. But fund or no fund, Burrill said Minnesota already has benefited from his interest and his checkbook.
The man responsible for finding cash to support the Elk Run BioBusiness Park says he's in final negotiations with a foreign investor for the long-promised $1 billion investment fund. In an interview with MedCity News, Steven Burrill says he is working out the details of a limited partnership agreement with a sovereign wealth fund. He hopes to close the deal by the end of the month.
Steve Burrill is searching for money, this time among rich vacation-goers in northern Wisconsin. The San Francisco-based biotech investor who is trying to create a $250 million investment fund to back the Elk Run BioBusiness Park in Pine Island, Minnesota, also is forming a new angel investment group in the Badger State. Burrill is joining forces with former Wisconsin commerce secretary Dick Leinenkugel to target wealthy individuals and families inhabiting vacation homes in the well-to-do resort area of Vilas County in northern Wisconsin.
