Dept. of Commerce: Governor Doyle announces StableBody Technologies, LLC, as Qualified New Business Venture

Contacts: Tony Hozeny, Department of Commerce, 608-267-9661

Laura Smith, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162

MADISON—Governor Jim Doyle announced today that StableBody Technologies, LLC, Middleton, Dane County, has received the Qualified New Business Venture (QNBV) certification from the Department of Commerce (Commerce). Commerce certified the company as eligible for up to $4 million in investment, which makes its investors eligible for a 25-percent tax credit on the amount they invest in the company.

“My administration is committed to helping businesses with their efforts to support new economic development opportunities,” Governor Doyle said. “StableBody Technologies is built on a foundation of innovative technology and strong leadership. I am very excited to support a company that represents the future of Wisconsin’s economy.”

“StableBody Technologies, LLC is excited to license this breakthrough technology from Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois and bring it to Wisconsin.” said H. Rossiter Horn, Founder and COO. “We feel fortunate to be associated with many of the founders of the biotechnology industry of Wisconsin and a supportive, proactive Wisconsin Department of Commerce. SBT plan to make antibodies and proteins more robust so they may be adapted to more molecular uses in therapeutics and diagnostics.”

StableBody Technologies, LLC, formed in 2009, will commercialize a new technology in antibody research, development, and manufacturing. Antibodies are an important tool in biomedical research. The innate stability of a candidate antibody is a major contributor to its eventual success. StableBody Technologies, LLC will use new technology to promote the stabilization of target antibodies. The company relocated from Argonne, IL, to Middleton, WI.

When Governor Doyle took office, he understood that Wisconsin’s research institutions were generating ideas and research that could give rise to successful companies and exciting new products—if our state could find a way to help researchers access capital and commercialize those products. The Governor developed a program now called Accelerate Wisconsin that provided angel and early stage fund investors with a 25-percent tax credit for investing in small and start-up Wisconsin technology firms.

When the program began in 2005, up to $3 million was available annually in angel investor tax credits and up to $3.5 million annually in early stage fund tax credits. The Governor has since signed legislation to raise these levels to $6 million annually for angel investors and $8 million annually for early stage fund investors in 2010, and $20 million and $20.5 million annually, respectively, in 2011 and beyond.

For additional information about the Qualified New Business Venture program, please visit http://www.commerce.state.wi.us/bd/BD-Act255-QNBV.htm