WED AM News: Manufacturer approved for up to $5.85M in state tax credits by WEDC; Elephas raises $55M as it develops cancer diagnostics platform

January 24, 2024

— A.Y. McDonald Mfg. Co. has been approved for up to $5.85 million in state tax credits, which it can earn through a planned expansion in Grant County.

That’s according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., which yesterday announced the WEDC Board of Directors had approved the performance-based tax credits. The Iowa-based company can earn them by hitting certain job creation and investment targets, WEDC notes.

The 167-year-old manufacturing business is building a new brass foundry in Dickeyville and expanding an existing facility in Kieler, according to the release. Those plans involve investing at least $340 million and creating 173 jobs over a five-year period. Construction on the project has begun, and it’s expected to be operational in 2026.

“A.Y. McDonald’s decision to expand in Wisconsin is a win for the communities of Kieler and Dickeyville, for the workers and families in those communities, and for state-of-the-art manufacturing in Wisconsin,” WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes said in a statement.

The village of Dickeyville last year established a tax incremental financing district for the project, according to WEDC. Grant County Economic Development Director Ron Brisbois says the economic impact of the development “goes well beyond” the foundry alone.

“This project has forged a pathway for future economic growth for the entire county,” Brisbois said in a statement.

See more project details in the release.

— A Madison-based startup called Elephas Biosciences Corporation has closed on a $55 million investment round.

The company yesterday announced the Series C funding round was led by Venture Investors Health Fund in Madison and State of Wisconsin Investment Board. Other investors that took part include Northpond Ventures of Maryland, ARCH Ventures in Illinois, Sands Capital in Virginia, Moore Strategic Ventures of New York, Tao Invest of California, and WARF Ventures.

“We remain intensely focused on our mission to improve care for cancer patients,” Elephas founder and CEO Maneesh Arora said in a statement. “Supported by world class venture firms we are committed to building a platform that can help guide clinicians and enhance access to life-changing immunotherapies.”

The company is developing a cancer treatment diagnostics platform that can predict patient responses to immunotherapy using metabolic imaging, according to the release. The platform uses live patient biopsies containing tumor cells, treating them with possible therapies to see how they respond.

Elephas says it’s in the midst of observational clinical trials, aimed at showing patients’ clinical response to immunotherapy matches the response data from its diagnostics platform, “adding confidence the data generated from the platform can be used to predict response.”

Including the newly announced round, the business has now raised $116.5 million.

See the release.

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— With Dem Gov. Tony Evers expected to veto a different tax cut already on his desk, legislative Republicans have announced a new plan to reduce the state’s tax burden – this time by more than $2 billion in 2024-25 and with an expansion of the second tax bracket to target middle-class earners.

After that, it would be an annual tax break of $1.4 billion starting in 2025-26, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

The package would kick in for tax year 2024, meaning it would show up on the returns filed next year. The average decrease for the overall plan would be $781 in 2024-25, according to LFB.

Yesterday’s announcement comes a week after the state Senate signed off on a $3 billion tax cut that had earlier cleared the Assembly. That bill seeks to lower the rate on the third highest of Wisconsin’s four tax brackets and implement a new break on retirement income. Evers has pledged to veto the measure.

Republican lawmakers have pushed various tax proposals with the state projecting a $4 billion surplus at the end of the 2023-25 biennium, and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said the money should be returned to taxpayers.

“It’s important that we finally use our incredible surplus that we have from the taxpayers and give it back to the hardworking families in Wisconsin to make sure that our economy continues to grow, that people invest in Wisconsin and want to stay here, and that we can have a great state for everyone,” LeMahieu said.

Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback said the guv will review the proposals, but “doesn’t weigh in on legislation he has yet to see.”

See more on the proposal at WisPolitics.

— Qualifying graduates of four technical colleges in Wisconsin will be guaranteed admission to UW-Milwaukee starting this summer, the university announced.

The participating tech colleges are: Milwaukee Area Technical College, Waukesha County Technical College, Moraine Park Technical College and Gateway Technical College. Their graduates with an associate degree and at least a 2.0 grade point average will be guaranteed admission to UW-Milwaukee as a bachelor’s degree student.

These students will be “guaranteed a seamless transfer” of at least 60 credits toward a bachelor’s degree, according to the announcement. The university requires at least 120 credits for a bachelor’s degree.

“Our goal is to ensure that every student with an associate degree from one of our partner colleges has the opportunity to continue their educational journey at UWM,” Chancellor Mark Mone said in a statement.

See the release.

— Correction: An item in yesterday’s AM News report should have said Hospital Sisters Health System is closing hospitals in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls.

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