June 5, 2015
BioSTL, which in 2004 established the St. Louis-Israel Innovation Connection (SLIIC), created to attract Israeli tech companies to St. Louis, announced on June 5 that Israeli agtech company, Forrest Innovations, which is developing technologies to combat a bacteria threatening the citrus industry among other technological developments, is relocating to St. Louis.
“St. Louis is renowned for its leadership in plant science and top notch scientific personnel, offering us a wonderful opportunity for recruiting highly qualified employees. St. Louis also provides a great platform for promoting innovation and collaboration. We are very happy to become the latest members of this promising community,” Forrest Innovations CEO, NItzan Paldi said in a statement.
Begun with an investment of $300,000 by Vijay Chauhan and Uri Attir, SLIIC is working to attract Israeli tech companies particularly in the agritech, health care, cyber, and medical technologies sectors to St. Louis. Two other companies have already relocated – Kaiima Bio-Agritech in November 2014, and Evogene in February 2015. Once a company relocates, SLIIC works to connect them with investors such as St. Louis Arch Angels, Cultivation Capital, and strategic partners including Monsanto, KWS, Enterprise Holdings and Boeing.
Because of a five-year, $30 million commitment from Washington University, BJC HealthCare, and other supporters of bioscience advancement, BioSTL has an annual budget of $7 million, of which the bulk is allocated to its subsidiary, BioGenerator for investment in companies.
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