Venture Center, UAMS BioVentures launch healthcare accelerator

KUAR | By Talk Business & Politics Staff

From Talk Business & Politics:

UAMS’ BioVentures has launched the ACTIVE Program in partnership with Little Rock-based The Venture Center to give socially and economically disadvantaged innovators (SEDI) in healthcare and technology opportunities to develop businesses.

Interested entrepreneurs are invited to apply at bioventures.tech/active before April 15.

This initiative aims to enhance health outcomes throughout Arkansas, creating an environment for the growth of innovative ideas and entrepreneurs. It aims to position Arkansas as a key center for healthcare solutions, backing early-stage companies with the potential to influence markets both locally and globally.

Venture Center, UAMS BioVentures launch healthcare accelerator

UAMS.Edu/UAMS

UAMS BioVentures Awarded Nearly $3 Million for Health Tech Entrepreneurship Program, Invited to White House

By David Robinson

LITTLE ROCK — BioVentures LLC at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has secured a nearly $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to support entrepreneurs from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds who are looking to develop health technology and health care businesses in Arkansas.

The four-year $2,999,997 grant comes from the Minority Business Development Agency’s Capital Readiness Program, which chose BioVentures and 42 other recipients from more than 1,000 applicants. UAMS is providing $750,000 in matching funds, bringing the total funding to $3.75 million.

The Capital Readiness Program is a $125 million technical assistance program to help underserved entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses. Grant recipients from across the United States, including BioVentures President Kevin Sexton, M.D., were invited to the White House on Aug. 4 to celebrate the Capital Readiness Program with a roundtable discussion and ceremony that included remarks from Vice President Kamala Harris.

UAMS BioVentures Awarded Nearly $3 Million for Health Tech Entrepreneurship Program, Invited to White House

UAMS' Kevin Sexton, M.D. (left), president of BioVentures, chats with Donald “Don” Cravens Jr., under secretary of Commerce for the Minority Business Development Agency, during a ceremony at the White House to celebrate the Capital Readiness Program.

UAMS’ Kevin Sexton, M.D., Named BioVentures President

By David Robinson

LITTLE ROCK — Kevin Sexton, M.D., a surgeon and entrepreneur, has been named president of BioVentures LLC, the technology licensing office and business incubator based at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

Sexton, an associate professor in the College of Medicine Department of Surgery, became interim director in 2021 following the death of Nancy Gray, Ph.D., who had led BioVentures since 2015. BioVentures helps equip researchers with technology licensing, patent protection, and other resources that are required for company startups.

https://news.uams.edu/2022/04/28/uams-kevin-sexton-m-d-named-bioventures-president/

Kevin Sexton, M.D., has been named president of BioVentures LLC, based at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Image by Evan Lewis