Hartford as Soccer Hotbed: Surprisingly, Yes

If you are wondering why there is optimism for the success of the Hartford Athletic, the city’s new professional soccer team planning to begin its inaugural season later this month, a peek back at ratings for televised international soccer in the U.S. provides some hints. In March 2016, the Washington Post reported on the U.S. cities with the highest viewership for the Manchester derby between City and United in the English Premier League the previous week.  Topping the ratings was Baltimore, followed by Kansas City, Hartford, Seattle, Columbus, the San Francisco Bay area, West Palm Beach, and Philadelphia.  Yes, Hartford ranked third that week.  The match was the highest-rated Manchester Derby telecast in U.S. history at that time, attracting 1.17 million TV viewers.

Two years later, when NBC Sports reported on the cities with the highest average season-long ratings on Premier League telecast for the 2017-18 season, Hartford was ranked in the top 10.  Connecticut’s Capitol region was outranked only by Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Providence, Austin, Norfolk and Dallas.

This past Sunday, the top rated U.S. television markets for Manchester United vs. Liverpool, broadcast on NBC Sports Network, once again included the Hartford/New Haven market, at number six.  Leading the way once again was Baltimore, followed by Norfolk, Washington D.C., Milwaukee and Jacksonville.  Boston was seventh, just behind Hartford/New Haven.

Coincidentally, the telecasts are coordinated not in the U.K., but in Stamford, Connecticut, at the massive NBC facility there, which also serves as the command center for NBC’s Olympic coverage.  Approximately 60 work on each match day at NBC Sports’ headquarters, located at 1 Blachley Road on the city’s East Side, the Stamford Advocate reported last summer, just prior to the current season. On NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, a record 4 million unique viewers watched during the past season, the Advocate reported.

Hartford Athletic, a USL expansion franchise, will kick off its inaugural season with a game in Atlanta on March 9.  The team's home opener is set for May 4. The club announced this week that Trinity Health of New England will be Title Partner and Official Healthcare Provider of Hartford Athletic and featured on both Hartford Athletic’s home and away jerseys.  Dillon Stadium, currently undergoing renovation in Hartford, is slated to be the club’s home turf.

https://youtu.be/CYSdgVN_V18

Hartford Foundation’s Record-Breaking Grantmaking Topped $38 Million in 2018

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, the community foundation for 29 communities in Greater Hartford, awarded more than $38 million in grants to the region’s nonprofit agencies and educational institutions in 2018. “At a time when our state and many of our communities face significant fiscal challenges, the Hartford Foundation was able to award a record breaking number of grants this past year,” said Hartford Foundation president Jay Williams. “We continue to look for ways to work together with our donors, nonprofits, and community partners to ensure Greater Hartford residents have access to opportunities that enrich their lives and secure a better future for our region.”

According to the latest estimated, unaudited numbers, the Foundation ended 2018 with total assets of $933 million in 1,230 funds. The Foundation received gifts totaling $13.1 million and opened 22 new funds.

“Greater Hartford is fortunate to have so many generous residents who truly want to make a lasting difference in their community,” Williams said. “The historic amount of resources we have been able to provide to hardworking and dedicated nonprofit organizations is a testament to our donors’ level of commitment to the region and the work the Hartford Foundation supports.”

Officials noted that the Foundation’s 2018 grantmaking - with a total of 2,708 individual grants made - was based on the recognition that "a vibrant and strong Greater Hartford region requires that all residents, especially those with the greatest need, have equitable access to opportunities to achieve and flourish." The largest percentage of grants were in education (33%), followed by family & social services (25%), communication and economic development (13%), and arts & culture (11%).

Among the grants, in each program area:

Education

• Hartford Student Internship Program - The Foundation awarded a $200,000 grant to Capital Workforce Partners to provide 150 Hartford rising high school juniors and seniors with internships and other work-based learning opportunities. The Foundation’s support extends opportunities to students with a variety of backgrounds, including students who have become disconnected from school.
• Summer Learning Programs - In an effort to enhance summer learning and youth development, the Foundation provided $805,300 to support 34 campership, nine tutorial, nine Counselor-in-Training and five enrichment summer programs. Foundation funding supported free and reduced-cost access to summer programming, as well as targeted support for literacy, parent engagement and other enhancements for nearly 11,000 youth from across the region.
• Early Development Instrument - The Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to East Hartford Public Schools to support projects based upon the findings of the 2018 Early Development Instrument (EDI), a population-based measurement tool that assessed the school readiness of East Hartford kindergarten students. Foundation funds will pay for the Transition to Kindergarten Campaign; an EDI Olympics for 8 elementary schools; capacity building of community and home day care providers; and project materials.

Family and Social Services

• Community Safety Coalition - With a $160,000 grant from the Foundation, five local nonprofit agencies have created the Hartford Community Safety Coalition (CSC) as an organic response to the rising incidence of violent crime in Hartford. The coalition’s mission is to create healthy communities by collaborating on strategies to reduce urban violence and trauma in Hartford.
• Center for Children’s Advocacy -  With the support of a three-year $260,000 grant, the Center for Children’s Advocacy is expanding its services to adolescents and young adults from Greater Hartford transitioning out of justice-system confinement or Department of Children and Families involvement. Foundation funds support a portion of the salaries for two project attorneys and a case manager. A portion of the grant can be used to support the Center’s administrative advocacy work with state agencies including the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Education and the justice system.

Community and Economic Development

• Get Out the Vote - This past August, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving awarded thirteen grants totaling $116,565 to area nonprofits dedicated to informing and engaging underrepresented voters in Greater Hartford. This nonpartisan effort focused primarily on young adults, Latinos and Black residents and people living in high poverty neighborhoods. Over a three-month period, these organizations reached out to several thousand Greater Hartford residents, registering over 1,000 new voters and receiving 1,500 pledges to participate in the November 6 elections.
• LISC Hartford - The Building for Health Project is focused on coordinating housing quality improvements (including lead remediation, energy efficiency, asthma triggers and others), providing technical assistance and grants to affordable housing builders/managers to help implement healthy practices in the buildings they manage. The Foundation provided a three-year, $313,000 grant to support Building for Health, which is a collaborative effort that came out of one of the Foundation’s 2017 innovation planning grants. The project involves a partnership between utilities, hospitals, community development corporations and nonprofit lenders to build the connections between health and housing.

Arts and Culture

• TheaterWorks - TheaterWorks strives to bring in a more diverse audience, one that is more representative of the community at large and more inclusive of Hartford residents. TheaterWorks commissioned a market study in 2017 that found gaps in the arts programming available in the Hartford area, specifically in the areas of music, dance, film and spoken word. To support its ongoing strategic planning process, TheaterWorks was awarded a planning grant to develop, test and evaluate new pilot programs that would help diversify its audience while also filling these gaps.
• Hartford Stage Company - The Hartford Stage Company’s Breakdancing Shakespeare program provides students between the ages of 14 and 18 with the opportunity to be part of a unique program that combines the text of a classic Shakespearean play with the language of hip-hop, rap and breakdancing. With the support of a $15,000 grant from the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation, students participated in a six-week rehearsal process, taking master classes with guest artists, developing skills related to the program’s first-ever production of Twelfth Night.
• Connecticut Historical Society - The Cheney Family Fund at the Hartford Foundation provided a $3,000 grant to the Connecticut Historical Society to support “Facing War: Connecticut in World War I.” The exhibit displays hundreds of photographs from 1917-1919, many displayed for the first time and many in life-size, as well as letters, diaries, propaganda posters, clothing, uniforms and equipment. The exhibit focuses on the personal stories of 12 Connecticut individuals, including George W. Cheney, who served on the front lines in France for nine months.

Health

• Newton C. and Elsie B. Brainard Fund - For more than 50 years, families have been able to avoid financial ruin caused by medical bills with support from the Newton C. and Elsie B. Brainard Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. The Brainard Fund benefits residents of Greater Hartford who have assets to preserve, but who face medical and health care costs that would otherwise have devastating financial consequences.  In 2018, 21 families’ medical cases were supported by grants totaling nearly $224,328.
• Hockanum Valley Community Council - In response to a growing demand for substance abuse treatment, the Foundation awarded a three-year, $127,752 grant to the Hockanum Valley Community Council (HVCC).  HVCC established a Medication Assisted Treatment program (MAT) in 2013 for residents of Vernon and nearby towns with opioid addiction. As one of the few providers offering this service regardless of a patients’ ability to pay, HVCC’s program has reached full capacity, growing from 32 to 52 clients in the past year alone. This grant is being used to support the hiring of an advanced practice clinician, which will allow HVCC to increase the number of clients served while increasing the quality of care and improving patient outcomes.

Nonprofit Capacity Building

• The Nonprofit Support Program (NSP) - The Foundation’s Nonprofit Support Program helps strengthen nonprofit organizations in our region by providing tools and knowledge for agencies to build strong boards, plan for their futures, evaluate programs, improve finances and update technology. In 2018, 49 staff and board teams participated in the Social Enterprise Accelerator, 15 agency teams took part in the Fundraising Training Program, 13 teams completed the Financial Management Training Program, 23 nonprofit teams received strategic technology training, 17 agency teams completed the Building Evaluation Capacity Program, and 39 executive directors and staff leaders participated in leadership development programs. In addition, 73 grants totaling $2 million were awarded to support technical assistance (such as strategic planning and board development), strategic technology, financial management, and evaluation within our local nonprofits.  Eight nonprofits successfully transitioned to new leaders with support from the Executive Transition Program.  In total, NSP provided services to over 1,000 individuals representing over 450 nonprofits during the year.
• Small Agency Grant Program - In 2018, the Foundation expanded grants to small and minority-led organizations through its Small Agency Grant Program. Eleven organizations successfully completed the Building on Success program that helps smaller nonprofit organizations grow to their next strategic level. Through the Small Agency Community Partners component, the Foundation has worked with 14 other nonprofit support organizations to increase the number and access to resources available to help strengthen small organizations.  Highlights include a new “Board Member Bootcamp” with Leadership Greater Hartford and Hartford Public Library, and a “QuickBooks Basics for Nonprofits” with the Small Business Administration and Hartford Public Library. 

Since its founding in 1925, the Foundation has awarded more than $758 million in grants.

The Green Book Has Hartford Debut - Documentary Tells Real Story of Guide to Freedom Through Segregated America

Little known by most people - regardless of race - until recently, the Green Book has recently exploded into the public consciousness. Described as "the essential travel guide for a segregated America," within just the past two days a popular movie by that name won the Academy Award for best picture, and a documentary relating the story of  real people and places that inspired the popular motion picture debuted on the Smithsonian Channel.

The documentary, "The Green Book: Guide to Freedom," was shown at a special preview at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, in a showing coordinated by the Amistad Center for Art and Culture, Comcast, and the Smithsonian Channel.  It marked the third year that Comcast has joined with the Amistad Center and Smithsonian Channel to bring a special presentation to Hartford during Black History month.

Nearly 100 people were on hand for the local premiere of the documentary, which was followed by a panel discussion including Kelli Herod, Vice President of Post Production at Smithsonian Channel, and Stacey Close, Associate Vice President for Equity and Diversity at Eastern Connecticut State University, moderated by Kara Sundlun of WFSB.  Amistad Center Executive Director & Curator at Large Wm. Frank Mitchell, Brad Palazzo, Comcast Director of Community Impact and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin also spoke briefly, with Bronin saluting the "resiliance, ingenuity and determination" of those who traveled through dangerous times.

The documentary was produced by award-winning filmmaker Yoruba Richen.  It premieres this week on Smithsonian Channel, telling the story of the Green Book, launched in the 1930's by Victor Green, a black postal carrier from Harlem who created a volume that was "part travel guide and part survival guide."  It helped African-Americans navigate safe passage across a dangerously segregated nation, identifying towns, hotels, restaurants and businesses that would be hospitable to African-Americans, sometimes few and far between.

The challenges were not only in the South.  In fact, a page in the 1948 Green Book, lists locations in Connecticut - and the list does not fill the page.  The locations were in Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, New London, Stamford, Waterbury and West Haven.  Included are restaurants, hotels, tourist homes, beauty parlors, barber shops, and night clubs.  The 1967 edition also includes five Hartford locations, including one - the former Bond Hotel - that is still standing to this day.

"We are proud to tell the true story behind this remarkable guide and to shine new light on this disturbing yet important period in Amerian history," said David Royle, Smithsonian Channel's Chief Programming officer.

The documentary tells the story of the rise of the African American middle class in Detroit, and the iconic A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham, Alabama - a pivotal location in the civil rights movement. It also recalls that during its 1950s heyday, the Idlewild Resort in Michigan was a magnet for black culture and entertainment, with a booming nightlife featuring famous performers like Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington.  In the Q&A in Hartford following the advance showing, one audience member recalled her family owning property at the Idlewild - a local connection that the panel did not expect, but was clearly pleased to learn.

"At Comcast NBC Universal diversity and inclusion is a fundamental part of our company culture and are crucial components to all of our efforts to create and deliver the best and boldest technology and entertainment for our customers," noted Palazzo. "The Green Book: Guide to Freedom screening is another way for us to bring diverse entertainment and story-telling locally to Hartford-area residents."  Comcast, with Connecticut offices in Berlin, has partnered with the Amistad on a number of initiatives over the years and "are proud to play a small role in helping them to tell their cultural story."

The Amistad Center for Art & Culture, located in the Wadsworth Atheneum, celebrates art and culture influenced by people of African descent through education, scholarship  and social experiences.

Victor Green looked forward to the day people wouldn't need the Green Book. In the 1949 edition he wrote,

There will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published. That is when we as a race will have equal opportunities and privileges in the United States. It will be a great day for us to suspend this publication for then we can go wherever we please, and without embarrassment. But until that time comes we shall continue to publish this information for your convenience each year.

The year the Civil Rights Act passed, in 1964, was the Green Book’s last.  As the panelists in Hartford noted, more than 50 years later, the struggle for equality continues.

Amidst Economic Recovery in New England, Poverty Rate Remains Highest in CT

Between 2007 and 2017, the poverty rate increased more in Connecticut than any of the New England states.  According to data analyzed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Connecticut’s poverty rate increased from 7.9 percent to 9.6 percent, and increase of 1.7 percentage points, or about a 20 percent increase. Four of the six New England states saw increases: New Hampshire (.6%), Massachusetts (.6%), Vermont (1.2%) and Connecticut.  The other two New England states, Maine and Rhode Island, saw decreases, of .9 and .4 percent respectively.

The analysis found “a regional economic picture with some surprises and plenty of complexity,” the Boston Fed website points out.

It found that across New England, compared with 2007, fewer New Englanders are unemployed but the unemployed are more likely to be poor than in 2007, and those still out of work face diverse barriers to employment. New England’s unemployed are disproportionately young, non-white, and less educated, according to the data.

Among the other findings:

• Long-term unemployment, defined as 27 weeks or longer, is down nationally since 2010, but less so in New England.
• Among 25-54 year olds, the male employment rate is down since 2007, while the female employment rate has gone up.
• Two industries accounted for more than half of job gains in the region between 2016 and 2018: Professional & Business Services and Education & Health Services.  Among the other categories, Construction, Leisure & Hospitality and Manufacturing saw the largest gains.

Although poverty rates declined in all New England states between 2014 and 2017, as of 2017 four out of the six states exhibit higher poverty rates than they did in 2007. Among the region’s unemployed workers, the poverty rate as of 2017 is higher than it was in 2007, and it’s also higher than it was in 2010, after the recession had officially ended, the Boston Fed points out.

Mary Burke, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, views the delayed and incomplete recovery in poverty rates as both surprising and troubling, as it could indicate an erosion of the safety net.

CT is 24th in U.S., 2nd in New England in International Students; Numbers Rising

There were 15,278 international students enrolled at Connecticut collegiate institutions during the 2017-18 academic year, which represents an increase of 4 percent over the previous year and a 63 percent increase since 2012. In academic year 2017-18, Connecticut ranked second in New England and 24th in the U.S. in international student enrollment, according to the 2018 Open Doors report released by the nonprofit Institute of International Education (IIE) and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).

Between AY 2012-13 and AY 2017-18, Yale University and the University of Connecticut took the top spots as the universities with the largest share of international students in Connecticut.

International students represent a big economic injection for New England, the report points out. In academic year 2017-18, international students contributed $39.4 billion to the overall U.S. economy, with $4.2 billion added to the New England economy alone. Between 2012 and 2018, international students contributed a total of $21.3 billion to the New England economy. Foreign students contributed an estimated $584 million to Connecticut’s economy in the past year, according to the report, which was highlighted recently by the New England Board of Higher Education.

The number of international students in New England has increased every year since 2012 and the region’s growth on this measure now outpaces the nation. In the 2017-18 academic year, the region enrolled 6.3 percent more international students than the previous academic year (AY).  This figure compares to a national increase of only 1.5 percent during the same period.

Both public and private nonprofit institutions in New England saw a 61 percent rise in the number of foreign students over a five-year period from AY 2012-13 to AY 2017-18, which is comparable to the national growth in the international student population over the same period.

International students have helped forestall a nationwide enrollment crisis. The total higher education population in the U.S. topped out in 2010 at about 21 million students and has been slowly declining since then. The decline in New England is especially acute. This has been countered to some extent by growth of the foreign student population, coupled with a rise in online enrollment, which together comprise almost a quarter of the nation’s students.

The data indicates that there were 9,350 international students enrolled in Connecticut colleges and universities in 2012; 14,711 in 2017 and 15,278 in 2018.  The number of international students increased from 2017 to 2018 in every New England state with the exception of New Hampshire, which saw a slight decrease.  Only Massachusetts has more international students than Connecticut, among the six New England states.

Craft Brewers Look to Continue CT Growth with Legislative Support

After two ill-fated legislative proposals that would have been detrimental to the state’s burgeoning craft brewery industry disintegrated within days amidst a public outcry, the Connecticut Brewers Guild is conveying its eagerness to work closely with state lawmakers.  Their aim: to help the booming industry create even more good-paying jobs, bolster local craft beer production, and to increase direct-to-consumer sales. “In 2012, when the Connecticut Brewers Guild was founded, there were around 12 craft breweries statewide,” said Phil Pappas, the executive director of the Connecticut Brewers Guild. “Now, our state’s booming craft brewery scene has more than 85 operational breweries with many more in the planning stages. These craft breweries -- all of which are independently owned -- employ over 4,600 people statewide, produce more than 166,000 barrels of locally brewed craft beer, and contribute to an overall economic impact of $746 million annually.”

It is those numbers, and the degree of progress in recent years, that drive the conversation, although Pappas points out that although a lot of progress has been made, there is more work to be done to ensure the industry continues to grow and thrive statewide.  On doesn't need to look further than the map of the COnnecicut Beer Trail to see the impact of the industry all across the sate.

“Connecticut’s growing craft beer industry has been helped by state lawmakers providing a relatively healthy regulatory environment,” Pappas said.  “We thank state lawmakers for their support to date, and now more than ever -- in an increasingly competitive state-by-state landscape -- we need a renewed commitment to strengthen our industry, which is a bright spot in Connecticut’s economy.

“Moving forward,” he added, “we hope to work with state lawmakers and others to create even more local jobs, increase local craft beer production, and drive additional direct-to-consumer sales.”

In 2015, MarketWatch—a financial information website—ranked Hartford/New Haven as one of 10 cities that love craft beer the most. Other cities included Portland (Oregon), Cleveland and Washington, D.C. A year ago, Innovation Hartford reported that 2016 data indicated the craft beer industry in Connecticut contributed $718 million to the economy. That year there were 49 breweries that produced a combined 129,825 barrels of craft beer per year.  A year ago, there were 65 breweries operating throughout the state and another 49 breweries are either in the planning and construction phases or set to open shortly.

“We also look forward to working with representatives from the wholesaler, distributor, retailer, brewpub, and restaurant communities, to positively impact our state’s small businesses and economy both today and tomorrow,” Pappas said. “Our Connecticut Brewers Guild members strive every single day to produce the highest quality, best-tasting craft beer in the market. We consistently seek out ways to improve our product, utilize locally sourced ingredients, generate jobs, support local businesses while cultivating fun experiences for customers on-premise and off-premise.”

CT Start-Ups Receive Financial Assist to Spur Development

Six early-stage Connecticut companies now have additional funds to help fuel their growth, after participating in the Entrepreneur Innovation Awards (EIA) provided by CTNext, the state’s resource organization for entrepreneurial support. Following presentations from 10 finalists at the recent event, the judges awarded $10,000 grand prizes to the following Connecticut-based companies:

• Payball (Norwalk): Developing an easier, digital way for amateur sport organizations to pay officials, event staff and coaches.
• Peak Performance Leadership (Killingworth): Creating a variation on a rope protection system for military and first responders to increase product lifespan.
• Raise Green (New Haven): Creating a crowdfunding portal to finance renewable energy and climate solution projects; developed by students at Yale.
• YouCOMM (Farmington): Developing a patient-caregiver communication system that will replace antiquated call bell systems.

“At its core, Raise Green is a two-sided marketplace that provides people who want to build solar or other types of climate-solution projects with the tools they need to do that and to get it financed,” said Franz Hochstrasser, chief executive officer and co-founder of the start-up. 

According to the University of Connecticut Technology Incubation Program website, YouCOMM is a novel low-cost tablet based communication device to provide effective patient-caregiver communication. The device has 20 need buttons that allow patients to send specific needs to a nurse’s on-call phone.

Two additional companies also received recognition, and funds:

• Lactation Innovations, a Canterbury company developing a non-invasive sensor that detects the volume of milk a baby ingests and provides feedback to the mother, won the $2,000 Crowd Favorite award.
• Secure Election Systems of Westport, a startup developing an iPad-sized electronic absentee voting booth, took home the $2,000 Judges’ Favorite prize.

“The EIA Awards continue to showcase some of the most innovative and promising young companies across the state,” said Glendowlyn Thames, CTNext’s executive director. “We are looking forward to following the progress of the companies and wish all the competitors the best as they work to advance their ideas and visions.”

The six Connecticut companies were among 10 startups that presented their project ideas to a panel of judges for an opportunity to secure $10,000 awards to help support business growth.

Last fall, CTNext awarded $54,000 in grants to six Connecticut-based startups.  Receiving $10,000 were:

• Actively AI – Creating an automated assistant for wellness businesses that handles customer experience and streamlines operations for staff
• Dualflo – Creating a self-seal technology to eliminate the need for open surgery in cardiopulmonary bypass procedures
• Encapsulate– Producing an effective chemotherapy solution with a fully automated tumor-on-a-chip pre-prescription analysis
• Encaptiv– Developing a web-based presentation, sales and marketing software that integrates AI and machine learning
• Kolb Consultants– Developing a process to manufacture “Ray-Board,” a kickboard with a new shape that distributes the body weight evenly when swimming

In addition, Kolb Consultants won the $2,000 crowd favorite award, while VigorSential took home the $2,000 award for judges’ favorite. VigorSential is developing and testing “MycoZaps,” a low-dose vaccine to control Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis), a bacterium mainly affecting cattle that is resistant to common antibiotics.

CTNext’s goal is to build a more robust community of entrepreneurs and to accelerate startup growth by providing access to talent, space, industry expertise, services, skill development and capital to foster innovation and create jobs for people in Connecticut.

CTNext (www.ctnext.com) has more than 2,500 members in its network.

Connecticut Innovations Among Nation's Top Venture Capital Firms in Healthcare in 2018

Connecticut Innovations (CI) has landed on Forbes magazine’s list of the ten top venture capital firms making the most investments in healthcare start-ups during 2018.  With 20 deals done during the year, CI ranked at number seven. CI is Connecticut’s strategic venture capital arm and the state’s leading source of financing and ongoing support for innovative, growing companies. The two largest CI deals were with locally headquartered Arvinas, a $56 million investment, and Rallybio, a $37 million investment. 

Leading the way among venture capital firms in the U.S. were California-headquartered Alexandria Venture Investments (38 deals), Maryland-based New Enterprise Associates (28), Keiretsu Forum of California (27), OrbiMed, headquartered in New York (24), and ARCH Venture Partners (22) of Illinois.  Just ahead of CI was SV Health Investors, with 21 deals.  The venture capital firm is based in Massachusetts.

Nationally, startups in the sector have raised more money in 2018 than any previous year in the past decade.

Rallybio, based in Farmington at the University of Connecticut’s Technology Incubation Program, was co-founded in January 2018 by Martin Mackay, PhD, Stephen Uden MD, and Jeffrey Fryer, CPA, recognized leaders from the biopharma industry.  The company’s focus: identifying and accelerating the development of transformative breakthrough therapies for patients with severe and rare disorders.  They aim to develop innovative drug candidates against mechanisms that have strong biological rationales.  Rallybio’s focus is on antibodies, small molecules and engineered proteins.

Last month, the company was named by FierceBiotech as one of 2018’s Fierce 15 biotechnology companies, designating it as one of the most promising private biotechnology companies in the industry.

Arvinas, headquartered in New Haven, is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the lives of patients suffering from debilitating and life-threatening diseases through the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapies to degrade disease-causing proteins.

Building on groundbreaking research at Yale University by Craig Crews, Ph.D., Arvinas’ Founder and Chief Scientific Advisor, Arvinas has developed a broad technology platform “focused on high-value targets, with the potential to deliver safer, more potent treatment than small molecule inhibitors, and to address up to 80% of proteins that evade inhibition and are currently undruggable.”  Among the company’s Board members is Ted Kennedy, Jr., a health care policy and disability activist, regulatory attorney, and former Connecticut state senator.

Connecticut Innovations is located in Rocky Hill.