Des Moines venture capital firm Next Level Ventures announced it has raised more than $15 million so far for Next Level Ventures Fund 3 and completed its first investment from the fund. The fund is NLV’s third Iowa-focused investment fund and fifth overall. The fund’s first investment is in Ames-based Genvax Technologies, which is developing mRNA + nanoparticle animal vaccines. “Genvax is excited to welcome Next Level Ventures to our
Genvax Technologies
September 21, 2023
Hank Harris receives national biotech leadership award
Hank Harris, co-founder of Genvax Technologies, and professor emeritus at Iowa State University, is the 2023 recipient of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s (BIO) George Washington Carver Award for Leadership in Agriculture and Environmental Biotechnology. The George Washington Carver Award recognizes individuals who have advanced biotech innovation to make supply chains greener and have worked successfully toward that goal in the private sector or government. Harris has worked to reduce the
August 11, 2022
Animal health startup Genvax heads for vaccine approval with $6.5M raise
Ames-based Genvax Technologies, a startup bringing advances in self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA) for animal vaccines, will move toward getting regulatory approval of its vaccines with $6.5 million in new series seed funding. According to a press release, the company is seeking U.S. Department of Agriculture and international approval “in anticipation of any foreign animal disease outbreak in order to increase health and profitability in livestock production.” The company’s saRNA platform allows for rapid vaccine
