.tb-grid,.tb-grid>.block-editor-inner-blocks>.block-editor-block-list__layout{display:grid;grid-row-gap:25px;grid-column-gap:25px}.tb-grid-item{background:#d38a03;padding:30px}.tb-grid-column{flex-wrap:wrap}.tb-grid-column>*{width:100%}.tb-grid-column.tb-grid-align-top{width:100%;display:flex;align-content:flex-start}.tb-grid-column.tb-grid-align-center{width:100%;display:flex;align-content:center}.tb-grid-column.tb-grid-align-bottom{width:100%;display:flex;align-content:flex-end} .wpv-view-output[data-toolset-views-view-editor="9c897f50bede024d19d9a6beb2990d00"] > .tb-grid-column:nth-of-type(2n + 1) { grid-column: 1 } .wpv-view-output[data-toolset-views-view-editor="9c897f50bede024d19d9a6beb2990d00"] > .tb-grid-column:nth-of-type(2n + 2) { grid-column: 2 } .wpv-view-output[data-toolset-views-view-editor="9c897f50bede024d19d9a6beb2990d00"] .js-wpv-loop-wrapper > .tb-grid { grid-template-columns: minmax(0, 0.5fr) minmax(0, 0.5fr);grid-column-gap: 30px;grid-row-gap: 30px;grid-auto-flow: row } .tb-container .tb-container-inner{width:100%;margin:0 auto} .tb-image{position:relative;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.wp-block-image .tb-image.aligncenter{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto}.tb-image img{max-width:100%;height:auto;width:auto;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image{display:table}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image .tb-image-caption{display:table-caption;caption-side:bottom} .wp-block-image.tb-image[data-toolset-blocks-image="77ee5de81532b7fb0b64e37c1e93f01c"] { max-width: 100%; } .tb-field[data-toolset-blocks-field="6b5609d0b73b6998c4738c0d38ada6da"] { color: rgba( 255, 255, 255, 1 ); }  .tb-image{position:relative;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.wp-block-image .tb-image.aligncenter{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto}.tb-image img{max-width:100%;height:auto;width:auto;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image{display:table}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image .tb-image-caption{display:table-caption;caption-side:bottom} .wp-block-image.tb-image[data-toolset-blocks-image="5b55e4e765c08b1732909023d2676986"] { max-width: 100%; }    .tb-image{position:relative;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.wp-block-image .tb-image.aligncenter{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto}.tb-image img{max-width:100%;height:auto;width:auto;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image{display:table}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image .tb-image-caption{display:table-caption;caption-side:bottom} .wp-block-image.tb-image[data-toolset-blocks-image="f4b5988996b52f348bf74bb94e34a977"] { max-width: 100%; } h2.tb-heading[data-toolset-blocks-heading="b9445625db5c1959bf126680c6cd0d39"]  { color: rgba( 255, 255, 255, 1 ); }  @media only screen and (max-width: 781px) { .tb-grid,.tb-grid>.block-editor-inner-blocks>.block-editor-block-list__layout{display:grid;grid-row-gap:25px;grid-column-gap:25px}.tb-grid-item{background:#d38a03;padding:30px}.tb-grid-column{flex-wrap:wrap}.tb-grid-column>*{width:100%}.tb-grid-column.tb-grid-align-top{width:100%;display:flex;align-content:flex-start}.tb-grid-column.tb-grid-align-center{width:100%;display:flex;align-content:center}.tb-grid-column.tb-grid-align-bottom{width:100%;display:flex;align-content:flex-end} .wpv-view-output[data-toolset-views-view-editor="9c897f50bede024d19d9a6beb2990d00"] > .tb-grid-column:nth-of-type(2n + 1) { grid-column: 1 } .wpv-view-output[data-toolset-views-view-editor="9c897f50bede024d19d9a6beb2990d00"] > .tb-grid-column:nth-of-type(2n + 2) { grid-column: 2 } .wpv-view-output[data-toolset-views-view-editor="9c897f50bede024d19d9a6beb2990d00"] .js-wpv-loop-wrapper > .tb-grid { grid-template-columns: minmax(0, 0.5fr) minmax(0, 0.5fr);grid-auto-flow: row } .tb-container .tb-container-inner{width:100%;margin:0 auto} .tb-image{position:relative;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.wp-block-image .tb-image.aligncenter{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto}.tb-image img{max-width:100%;height:auto;width:auto;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image{display:table}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image .tb-image-caption{display:table-caption;caption-side:bottom} .tb-image{position:relative;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.wp-block-image .tb-image.aligncenter{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto}.tb-image img{max-width:100%;height:auto;width:auto;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image{display:table}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image .tb-image-caption{display:table-caption;caption-side:bottom}   .tb-image{position:relative;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.wp-block-image .tb-image.aligncenter{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto}.tb-image img{max-width:100%;height:auto;width:auto;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image{display:table}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image .tb-image-caption{display:table-caption;caption-side:bottom}  } @media only screen and (max-width: 599px) { .tb-grid,.tb-grid>.block-editor-inner-blocks>.block-editor-block-list__layout{display:grid;grid-row-gap:25px;grid-column-gap:25px}.tb-grid-item{background:#d38a03;padding:30px}.tb-grid-column{flex-wrap:wrap}.tb-grid-column>*{width:100%}.tb-grid-column.tb-grid-align-top{width:100%;display:flex;align-content:flex-start}.tb-grid-column.tb-grid-align-center{width:100%;display:flex;align-content:center}.tb-grid-column.tb-grid-align-bottom{width:100%;display:flex;align-content:flex-end} .wpv-view-output[data-toolset-views-view-editor="9c897f50bede024d19d9a6beb2990d00"]  > .tb-grid-column:nth-of-type(1n+1) { grid-column: 1 } .wpv-view-output[data-toolset-views-view-editor="9c897f50bede024d19d9a6beb2990d00"] .js-wpv-loop-wrapper > .tb-grid { grid-template-columns: minmax(0, 1fr);grid-auto-flow: row } .tb-container .tb-container-inner{width:100%;margin:0 auto} .tb-image{position:relative;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.wp-block-image .tb-image.aligncenter{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto}.tb-image img{max-width:100%;height:auto;width:auto;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image{display:table}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image .tb-image-caption{display:table-caption;caption-side:bottom} .tb-image{position:relative;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.wp-block-image .tb-image.aligncenter{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto}.tb-image img{max-width:100%;height:auto;width:auto;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image{display:table}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image .tb-image-caption{display:table-caption;caption-side:bottom}   .tb-image{position:relative;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.wp-block-image .tb-image.aligncenter{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto}.tb-image img{max-width:100%;height:auto;width:auto;transition:transform 0.25s ease}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image{display:table}.tb-image .tb-image-caption-fit-to-image .tb-image-caption{display:table-caption;caption-side:bottom}  } 

Innovator Partner

Fitzsimons Innovation Community

Founding Partner

At Fitzsimons Innovation Community, visionaries boldly transform science into the future of health and care. Our Community pushes boundaries in a unified pursuit of health breakthroughs. From concept through commercialization, organizations choose Fitzsimons for its entrepreneurial environment, leading-edge facilities, and campus-wide support. Visionaries discover, develop, and collaborate with direct access to the renowned clinicians and researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

Our Community is home to more than 80 companies in every stage of idea and product development. They’re all taking advantage of the ways we cater to diversity in our five buildings with 427,000 square feet of laboratory, office, manufacturing, and distribution space. Together, we are united to advance health.

Learn more at fitzsimonsinnovation.com

Fitzsimons Innovation Community

Kelly Jean Brough

President and CEO

303-618-9017
kbrough@fitzsimonsinnovation.com
LinkedIn Profile

Kelly Brough has worked in all three sectors (public, private, and non-profit) with specific expertise in economic development, workforce development, life sciences, healthcare, housing, public policy/regulation, and energy. She currently serves as President and CEO of Fitzsimons Innovation Community in Aurora, Colorado, a campus where innovative health and life sciences companies conduct research to cure diseases, save lives, and improve care.

Kelly served as President and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, supporting more than 3,000 members. Kelly was also Chief of Staff and Head of Human Resources to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper with responsibility for over 12,000 employees and $2 billion in budgets.

She currently serves as a director on the boards for History Colorado, The Denver Foundation, Colorado BioScience Association, and Intermountain Health for the Peaks Region. In her career, she has served on a number of additional boards including: Delta Dental of Colorado, the US Chamber of Commerce, Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, The Denver Zoo, and Colorado Mesa University board of trustees.

Kelly holds an MBA from the University of Colorado – Denver and a BS from Montana State University. She attended Harvard Business School programs on the Role of Directors on Public Traded Boards and Making Corporate Boards More Effective and is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and Women Corporate Directors.

At Fitzsimons Innovation Community, we’ve created a dynamic hub where innovators, entrepreneurs, medical experts, and researchers collaborate to transform health and save lives.

Kelly Jean Brough

Meet Fitzsimons Innovation Community

Partner News and Insights

Colorado Cures, Spotlight / Capital + Growth, Fitzsimons Innovation Community

RheumaGen Rewrites the Autoimmune Playbook

At Fitzsimons Innovation Community, RheumaGen is scaling an ambitious vision to cure autoimmune diseases at their genetic source. The company’s momentum is accelerating, fueled first by a 2023 grant from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, followed by a 2025 $15 million Series A financing that positions RheumaGen for its next phase of growth in Colorado’s life sciences ecosystem.

Founded by Richard Freed, M.B.A., Brian Freed, Ph.D., Brian Hart, J.D., and Ryan Hart, J.D., RheumaGen operates at the intersection of science and collaboration. Its work targets the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system, long considered a moonshot in immunology, to halt the body’s autoimmune response while preserving healthy immune function.

RheumaGen’s origin traces back to a conversation between cofounder and CEO Richard Freed and his uncle, Dr. Brian Freed, a leading immunologist at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Their shared vision built upon years of groundbreaking research in HLA gene editing through CU Anschutz’s ClinImmune, the university’s Center for Clinical Immunology. That relationship continues today, with RheumaGen collaborating with ClinImmune for clinical development and manufacturing.

“Everything starts with the science, and we’ve been really excited by the ecosystem that’s in place here,” Richard Freed said. “Fitzsimons Innovation Community has the infrastructure and available real estate that is the envy of most hubs across the nation.”

A new partnership with SiVEC Biotechnologies, based in Fort Collins, further strengthens RheumaGen’s foundation. “We are thrilled to be partnering with such an exceptional and scientifically rigorous company like SiVEC,” said Richard Freed. “From the start, both personally and professionally, we have always been focused on the patients.”

RheumaGen’s continued growth illustrates how Colorado’s right-sized ecosystem combines state support, investment, and collaboration to turn bold science into economic and patient impact.

Colorado Cures, Spotlight / Community + Infrastructure, Fitzsimons Innovation Community

EnteroTrack Founder Robin Shandas, Ph.D., Transforms GI Biopsies at Fitzsimons Innovation Community

For Robin Shandas, Ph.D., innovation begins with listening to physicians and patients who are frustrated by repeat biopsies and eager for relief. The bioengineer and entrepreneur, a Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering at University of Colorado Denver’s Department of Bioengineering, part of the College of Engineering, Design and Computing (CEDC) and uniquely co-located on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, designs tools to make diagnosing and monitoring gastrointestinal (GI) conditions easier and more comfortable.

Shandas wanted to reimagine how doctors and patients monitor chronic upper GI conditions, co-founding EnteroTrack through a collaboration at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus with pediatric gastroenterologist Glenn Furuta, M.D. Their goal was ambitious: help patients, especially children, avoid repeat endoscopies.

From its home at Fitzsimons Innovation Community adjacent to the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, EnteroTrack developed EnteroTracker®, a simple, affordable device that collects samples from the upper GI tract without the cost, invasiveness, and downtime of endoscopies. Hospitals including Children’s Hospital Colorado, Phoenix Children’s, and Scripps Clinic rely on EnteroTracker, while new clinical studies are underway at CU Anschutz, Mayo Clinic, Stanford, and GlaxoSmithKline.

The results speak for themselves. With more than 800 patients studied in eight clinical trials, EnteroTracker has matched the sensitivity and specificity of endoscopic biopsies, delivering answers at a fraction of the cost, risk, and hassle. The company’s flagship product, the Esophageal String Test (EST), recently secured Medicare coverage, a milestone that expands access for patients with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) and other chronic GI diseases.

For patients, the impact can be life changing. One 11-year-old boy with chronic EoE was once limited by slow, sedated endoscopies to test food triggers. With EnteroTracker, he could try new foods safely and quickly, including turkey, soy, and fish, and moved off a failure-to-thrive diagnosis. He gained weight, expanded his diet, and found a brighter outlook for his future.

“For the 100 million Americans living with or at risk for chronic upper GI diseases, the EnteroTracker shows promise for revolutionizing and democratizing upper GI medical care,” Shandas says.

Colorado’s collaborative environment powers this kind of innovation. Fitzsimons Innovation Community provides specialized lab space and supportive ecosystem where early-stage companies thrive, alongside world-class partners at CU Anschutz. From this base, EnteroTrack continues to grow, scale, and deliver breakthroughs that improve lives.

News / Fitzsimons Innovation Community

Fitzsimons Innovation Community Proudly Releases Fourth Annual Innovation Report

In 2024, Fitzsimons Innovation Community saw big changes, new Community members, and levels of innovation we’ve only dreamed of. In this year’s Innovation Report, our fourth annual publication, we are proud to share how these new organizations, innovative ideas, and extraordinary persistence have helped us reach new heights.

At Fitzsimons Innovation Community, innovation is at the heart of everything we do, but we strive to take it a little further. It’s innovation, but it’s also collaboration, intelligent decision making, mindful planning for the future, and a laser focus on patient care. It’s Innovation Elevated.

Read the full Fitzsimons Innovation Community 2024 Innovation Report below.

Click here for the full article.

Colorado Cures / Aurora EDC, Community + Infrastructure, Fitzsimons Innovation Community

Fitzsimons Innovation Community and CU Innovations: Partners in Progress

The relationships between Fitzsimons Innovation Community and the many partners on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus are a huge factor in what makes the Community so dynamic. One of the most prominent partners we work with is CU Innovations, offering investment funding, mentorship, and collaboration for organizations working on important health innovation technologies. CU Innovations has been a key partner for many Fitzsimons Innovation Community startups as they develop products and processes that change the trajectory of patient care.

CU Innovations oversees the new research and development happening on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, which allows them to pair clinicians and researchers with outside companies working on similar discoveries. This creates avenues for collaborations that lead to crucial developments that can mean improvements in patient care for the clinicians and hospitals involved, as well as success for the companies they’re paired with. These symbiotic relationships are the goal of CU Innovations, and the dollars and time they invest to harbor such collaborations have resulted in many successful products and patient improvements.

Read the full story about how CU Innovations works with Fitzsimons Innovation Community to create and fund the future of patient care on their neighboring campuses.

Click here for the full article.

News / Community + Infrastructure, Fitzsimons Innovation Community

Bringing Life Sciences Innovators Home to Colorado

Fitzsimons Innovation Community brings you a new tool, our just-released eBook, entitled Bringing Life Sciences Innovators Home to Colorado. This is a resource for life sciences companies who are considering building or relocating to Colorado. Consider this eBook a guide to help with site selection and gaining an understanding of the local lifestyle, amenities, and partnerships that make living, working, playing, and growing on the Fitzsimons Innovation Community campus so extraordinary.

Click here for the eBook.

News / Capital + Growth, Community + Infrastructure, Costs + Incentives, Fitzsimons Innovation Community, Lifestyle + Culture, Location + Real Estate, Talent + Inclusivity

Choosing an Innovation Community

For healthcare and life sciences companies beginning the search for a new facility to call home, innovation communities are often the most sought-after destinations. Providing the ability to grow and change with less friction, move-in ready or customized lab and office space, and collaboration with other like-minded organizations and leadership teams, innovation communities check off a list of extra benefits. Idea exchange opportunities, work-life balance, and prime local landscapes for economic and social development make doing business and enjoying life outside of work better for community member companies and their employees.

Fitzsimons Innovation Community is proud to present a new white paper, entitled Choosing an Innovation Community, from a group of thought leaders in the Colorado bioscience and economic development communities. This extensive report looks at the factors that go into choosing the right innovation community for life sciences companies of all sizes.

Whether you’re looking to put down roots in Colorado or at one of the other innovation communities across the country, this white paper helps you navigate the process with a focus on what means the most to you and your organization.

Click here for the full article.

Let us know!

Ready to Talk
Colorado?

Contact Our Economic Development and Relocation Experts.

The information submitted through this form will be used by Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) and Metro Denver Economic Corporation (MDEDC) for the purpose of evaluating and facilitating economic development opportunities. It will be handled with the utmost confidentiality and will not be disclosed to third parties without explicit consent.

"*" indicates required fields

Meet Our Partners

Colorado:
Hub for Health Impact

We love to collaborate with new arrivals. Our welcoming life sciences community is right-sized for high-growth companies. There’s more than a million square feet of lab space planned or in development critical infrastructure and state support for startups expansions and relocations. Our supportive partners are ready for every step of the journey.

Ready to TalkColorado?

Contact Our Economic Development and Relocation Experts.

Innovator Partner

Fitzsimons Innovation Community

Fitzsimons Innovation Community

Kelly Jean Brough

President and CEO

Meet Fitzsimons Innovation Community

Partner News and Insights

RheumaGen Rewrites the Autoimmune Playbook

EnteroTrack Founder Robin Shandas, Ph.D., Transforms GI Biopsies at Fitzsimons Innovation Community

Fitzsimons Innovation Community Proudly Releases Fourth Annual Innovation Report

Fitzsimons Innovation Community and CU Innovations: Partners in Progress

Bringing Life Sciences Innovators Home to Colorado

Choosing an Innovation Community

Ready to Talk Colorado?

Meet Our Partners

Colorado: Hub for Health Impact

Hub for Health Impact

Partners

Ready to Talk
Colorado?

Ready to Talk
Colorado?

Colorado:
Hub for Health Impact