News

Argutus Medical Ltd. of Dublin, Ireland has named CeeTox Inc., Kalamazoo, MI, a preferred reference laboratory for Argutus’ novel acute kidney injury (AKI) biomarker panel – the AKI Test®. In addition, CeeTox will also run Argutus’ assays for kidney toxicity of the proximal tubule, distal tubule collecting duct and loop of Henle.

University of Michigan Technology Transfer office wants to encourage more students to begin start-ups at the University with no fear that their technology will later be claimed by U-M.  Click here to read how they're changing their policies.

To read about new developments in the treatment of depression and the new, resulting, drug development company click here.

Velesco Pharmaceutical Services, a company providing analytical method development, drug formulation, stability testing and consulting services to biotech and pharmaceutical companies, opened a manufacturing facility and office in Kalamazoo, MI and has moved its Ann Arbor, MI laboratories to the Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center (MLSIC) in Plymouth, MI.

Read about AFID Therapeutic's new move and direction by clicking here.

To read about Jeff Mason and his new role click here.

Within weeks, the University of Michigan will take ownership of a 174-acre research campus that will provide a springboard for new discoveries, job creation and educational opportunity—and offer a wise investment for U-M’s future.

U-M’s purchase of the former Pfizer pharmaceutical research facility adjacent to the university's current North Campus will be completed on June 16, said Timothy Slottow, executive vice president and chief financial officer, at a U-M Board of Regents meeting today (May 14) in Dearborn.

GeneGo, Inc., the leading provider of pathway data mining & analysis solutions, and OmicSoft Corporation, the premiere visualization and analysis software for the interpretation of high dimensional data, today announced the integration of the MetaCoreTM pathway analysis platform with Array Studio.

Click here to read about the legislative announcement that was made pertaining to Michigan's biosciences industry, MichBio's Preferred Provider program and its translational benefits and the keynote address from Dr. Harry Stylli, president and CEO of San Diego, CA-based Sequenom, Inc.

The innovative partnership led by Southwest Michigan First resulting in 3,300 jobs and $330 million in private investment announced by MPI Research was named one of Site Selection magazine’s 2008 Top Deals in its May 2009 issue. The issue reminds its readership of senior-level corporate executives and plant location decision makers that even in a challenging economy major deals are taking place, creating hundreds and
thousands of jobs.

NSF International, a local not-for-profit, public health and safety organization, is sponsoring a fundraiser at bd's Mongolian Grill in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

WHEN: Members of NSF senior management team will be ‘Grilling for a Cause’ on Wednesday, May 6, 2009, from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST. A portion of the proceeds will go to the United Way’s “Dine for a Cause” fundraising drive, which will be held during the “Days of Caring” Week, May 2-8, 2009.

To read about the 82,500-square-foot Marvin I. Danto Engineering Development Center click here.

NanoBio Corp. announced that it will present compelling new data highlighting key milestones in the development of its novel non-inflammatory nanoemulsion adjuvant platform technology at the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) conference, April 27-29. The new data will be delivered in two presentations during the 12th Annual Conference on Vaccine Research in Baltimore, Maryland.

Following is the data presentation schedule:

Monday, April 27, 2009

    * Poster Presentation: #166, 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Pfizer Animal Health leaders and local dignitaries dedicated a newly renovated lab and office facility that serves as the global center for Pfizer's veterinary medicine research and development and the U.S. home of its animal genetics business.

"Today, we commemorate the science and innovation of Pfizer Animal Health, and dedicate this new global R&D headquarters to our Michigan scientists and their support teams," said Juan-Ramon Alaix, President, Pfizer Animal Health.

A Michigan State University researcher has developed a working vaccine for a strain of E. coli that kills 2 million to 3 million children each year in the developing world.

Enterotoxigenic E. Coli, which is responsible for 60 percent to 70 percent of all E. coli diarrheal disease, also causes health problems for U.S. troops serving overseas and is responsible for what is commonly called traveler’s diarrhea.

ThreeFold Sensors, an exciting new Michigan point-of-care diagnostic platform developer,
announced that it has been recognized as one of the 2009 “Michigan 50 Companies to Watch,” an awards program sponsored by the Edward Lowe Foundation
and presented by Michigan Celebrates Small Business.

Research by Michigan State University chemist Kevin Walker is paving the way for potentially cleaner, more efficient production of cancer-fighting paclitaxel – better known as the blockbuster drug Taxol.

First isolated from the bark of the Pacific yew in 1967, paclitaxel has since been made by synthetically modifying an intermediate substance isolated from yew needles using toxic solvents or by fermenting cell cultures.

Michael Harbut, M.D., MPH, co-director of the National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers (NCVAC) at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, MI, and chief of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine Wayne State University, announced the use of a new technology to aid in the diagnosis of asbestos-related lung disease. The announcement was made at the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization’s annual conference, Saturday, March 28, in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Researchers at Wayne State University have identified a new marker for prostate cancer progression that may one day lead to new treatments.

Prostate cancer, one of the most prevalent non-skin cancers in America, affects one in six men. In 2008, nearly two million Americans were being treated for prostate cancer; nearly 186,000 were newly diagnosed, and approximately 28,000 died from the disease.

Beaumont Hospitals announced today the formation of a new entity called the Beaumont Children's Hospital located at its Royal Oak (Mich.) hospital.

The Beaumont Children's Hospital offers 36 different pediatric medical and surgical subspecialties with 83 pediatric sub-specialists, a dedicated children's surgical team with board-certified pediatric anesthesiologists and more than 200 board-certified pediatricians.

To read about how this study will benefit the biosciences industry click here.

EXT Life Sciences, Inc., a biotechnology start-up company that develops proprietary, targeted antioxidant treatments to slow the aging process, announces the development of a treatment that stops hair from graying as it ages. EXT’s new treatment is the only
targeted antioxidant of its kind.

Kalamazoo’s Southwest Michigan Innovation Center celebrated its fifth anniversary on
March 5, with a ribbon cutting ceremony to announce the completion of its 11,000-
square-foot facility expansion.

The Innovation Center is located within Western Michigan University’s Business
Technology and Research Park. The building expansion, which includes HVAC
renovations, will add an additional nine laboratories and new multipurpose room to the
facility offering space for an additional 40 employees.

MichBio On The Road – President’s Report March 2009

The last month has seen a wide range of visits, meetings and activities.
Back in mid-February, I visited Cayman Chemical, where 3,361 different biochemicals
and research tools are manufactured and analyzed on site at a 66,000 square foot
facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Cayman hired several dozen former Pfizer chemists and
others in the aftermath of the latter company’s facility closure announcement.

How does human knowledge expand over time? Intriguing as the question is, it's not easy to investigate, due to the difficulty of measuring knowledge and its spread.

Enzo Biochem, Inc. (NYSE:ENZ - News) announced the acquisition of substantially all the assets of privately-owned Assay Designs, of Ann Arbor, MI, for a purchase price of approximately $12.2 million in cash, subject to post-closing purchase price adjustments based on Assay Design’s working capital as of the closing date. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to operating results.

The University of Michigan announced the formation of a consortium to create new embryonic stem cell lines that will aid the search for disease treatments and cures.

The A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies is the first major embryonic stem cell research program launched in Michigan since the Nov. 4 passage of a state constitutional amendment allowing scientists to create new stem cell lines using surplus embryos from fertility clinics.

March is National Colon Cancer Awareness month. The average person does not understand much of the medical information on websites today. But that problem is being corrected by a new Michigan medical information company, Cancer Information Center (CIC).

To learn more about the NanoTech Research and Development Institute click here.

To learn about the basis for this research and how the grant money will be used click here.

On March 5, 2009 at 2:00 pm, the ribbon will be cut to celebrate the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center’s fifth anniversary and 11,000-square-foot facility expansion.  The ceremony will be held at 4717 Campus Drive, Kalamazoo, MI 49008 in Western Michigan University’s Business Technology and Research Park.

On Demand ERP Solution Helps Manufacturers Operate Profitably in Challenging Market

Plex Systems, Inc., provider of Plex Online software for the manufacturing enterprise, announced the Software as a Service (SaaS) solution delivers Manufacturing Execution System (MES) functionally by tightly integrating data collection between shop floor systems and the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) suite.

To read more about this trip, where it will visit and how to register click here.

To learn more about Shanghai Bio and its areas of expertise click here.

A regulatory dossier in electronic format is now essential to increase your competitive edge in the global pharmaceutical marketplace. Learn more about eCTD submissions to global regulatory authorities. Visit www.aptuitconsulting.com and click the "Get ready for eCTD" button on right to replay Aptuit Consulting's recent webinar, Are You Ready For eCTD? Solving the eCTD Puzzle.

CeeTox, the Kalamazoo-based leader for in vitro toxicology testing, has named Timothy M. Mitchell President. Mr. Mitchell previously held sales, marketing and general management roles for companies including Covance Inc, DCL Medical Laboratories, ACM Medical Laboratories, and Corning Inc.

To read about the Wayne County Stem Cell Commercialization Center and the plans for its operation click here.

Velesco Pharmaceutical Services, located in a state-of-the-art former Pfizer facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is proud to announce enhanced scientific and leadership capabilities with the addition of Peter Angus, Pharm.D., Ph.D., and Lisa Crandall, MS. Dr. Angus and Ms. Crandall are a part of the core scientific team at Velesco, a contract research organization supporting early stage product development work for pharmaceutical companies.

MichBio on the Road - President’s Report

The last month or so has been a non-stop, diversity of visits, meetings and advocacy efforts.

The biotechnology industry is expected to rebound and outperform healthcare and the rest of the market this year, according to findings from an investor perception study released today by Thomson Reuters and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) at the 11th Annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference in New York. The perception study is an in-depth assessment of Wall Street’s views of the biotech industry, its current challenges, its relative valuation, and the outlook for 2009.

Seasoned Entrepreneurs Give Advice on Fundraising in Good Times and Bad

The February 11 meeting of BioArbor featured two of Michigan’s leading bioscience entrepreneurs discussing how they have positioned their companies and strategies they have used for fundraising in shifting economic conditions.  Robert Zerbe, M.D., President and CEO of QuatRx Pharmaceuticals, and Roger Newton, PhD, FAHA,

Scores of technologies developed by Michigan State University researchers are being actively marketed online by MSU Technologies, the university’s technology commercialization office.

BioSpace, the world’s leading life science career network and an onTargetjobs company, announced today that it will produce and manage the 2009 BIO Career Fair. This year's BIO Career Fair, powered by BioSpace, will be held on May 18, in conjunction with the 2009 BIO International Convention from May 18-21 in Atlanta. More information is at www.biocareerfair.org.

To read about the state of Michigan's biosciences industry and the potential for further growth click here.

Asterand plc (LSE: ATD), a leading provider of human tissue and services to pharmaceutical companies engaged in drug discovery research, and BioWisdom Ltd, a market leader in delivering healthcare intelligence to the pharmaceutical industry, announce that the Companies have entered into a data syndication agreement to provide value added delivery of Asterand’s human gene expression profiles through BioWisdom’s intelligence solutions. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Intellectual property based on breakthrough research from a team led by Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif at the Montreal Heart Institute Research Centre, Canada.
 

To read which companies received funding from the Grand Angels click here.

Biology exists in a physical world. That's a fact cancer researchers are beginning to recognize as they look to include concepts of physics and mathematics in their efforts to understand how cancer develops -- and how to stop it.

Primetime Special Airs Saturday, February 7 at 9pm
Following “Cold Case” on WWJ-TV, CBS in Detroit
 

LANSING, Mich., Jan. 27, 2009 — Neogen Corporation (Nasdaq: NEOG) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to become the distributor of Chr. Hansen’s innovative probiotic feed supplements for the North American swine and poultry markets.

To learn more about the stem cell research program of GeneGo and its newest team member click here.

To read about the new findings by University of Michigan that are linked to this autoimmune disease of the skin click here.

To learn how Beaumont Hospitals has found a way to treat a problem affecting more than 13 million people in the United States click here.

The Annual Collaboration for Entrepreneurship is an event that celebrates and promotes entrepreneurship in the Great Lakes region. ACE brings together entrepreneurs, service providers, investors, students, government agents, and other members of the business community to network, learn, and connect. In 2008, about 400 people participated in ACE.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – If you are a college student, it’s never too early to start thinking about your future plans.  Kalamazoo is a great place to live and work.  Our existing local companies already know this and want to share what they know with you - Kalamazoo’s bright, young talent.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Publications ranging from the journal Science to Time magazine have blasted biofuels for significantly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, calling into question the environmental benefits of making fuel from plant material. But a new analysis by Michigan State University scientists says these dire predictions are based on a set of assumptions that may not be correct.

The Southwest Michigan Innovation Center’s Board of Managing Directors has announced Robert De Wit, Ph. D., as its President and Chief Executive Officer.  As the leader of the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center, De Wit will be responsible for day-to-day operations of the 58,000-square-foot life science accelerator, the tenancy of its client companies and community relations. 

LANSING, Mich., Jan. 12, 2009 — Neogen Corporation (NASDAQ: NEOG) has received approval from the FDA and National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) for its quick and easy BetaStar®US test for dairy antibiotics in milk. This approval allows milk producers and processors in the United States to use Neogen’s new test to comply with FDA regulations that require the mandatory testing of milk for dairy antibiotics.  

Ann Arbor, Michigan - Jan. 7, 2009 - Velcura Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-phase biotechnology company developing therapies for bone disease, has completed its second successful Investigational New Drug application (IND) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its lead compound, VEL-0230.  The November 2008 IND filing enables Velcura to proceed with clinical trials in patients with stable Rheumatoid Arthritis.

A small, orally available molecule, VEL-0230 functions to both restore bone health and as a powerful anti-inflammatory agent in animal models.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Artificial bone marrow that can continuously make red and white blood cells has been created in a University of Michigan lab.

This development could lead to simpler pharmaceutical drug testing, closer study of immune system defects and a continuous supply of blood for transfusions.

To learn about this large investment in Metabolic Solutions Development Company click here.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Is obesity all in your head?

New research suggests that genes that predispose people to obesity act in the brain and that perhaps some people are simply hardwired to overeat.

An international research team co-led by the University of Michigan found six new genes that help explain body mass index and obesity, and all but one of the genes are tied to the brain rather than to metabolic functions, such as fat storage and sugar metabolism.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— A carbon nanotube-coated “smart yarn” that conducts electricity could be woven into soft fabrics that detect blood and monitor health, engineers at the University of Michigan have demonstrated.

To learn about these three companies and others click here.

Contact:  Mark Fellows, University Relations, Mark.Fellows@ur.msu.edu, Cell: (517) 819-5437, Office: (517) 884-0166; David Weliky, Chemistry, Office: (517) 355-9715, Ext. 281, weliky@chemistry.msu.edu

E-mail Editor

Published: Dec. 10, 2008
Story
Weliky and Curtis-Fisk

Chemistry professor David Weliky and Ph.d student Jaime Curtis-Fisk with a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscope used to probe the structure of protein inclusion bodies in E. coli. Photo by G.L. Kohuth.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jeff Weiss Jeff@TechTransferOnline.com Phone: 1.248.593.5926 www.TechTransferOnline.com Becomes Free to List Intellectual Property TROY, MICHIGAN, USA – December 4th, 2008 – www.TechTransferOnline.com, the largest intellectual property (IP) portal in the world, announced today that it has waived all fees to list technologies on its site, to any organization.

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The West Michigan Science & Technology Initiative and EDF Ventures today announced the incorporation and financing of a new medical device company, TransCorp, Inc.

Ann Arbor, MI - - MichBio, the association for Michigan’s biosciences industry, today announced the names of the winning applicants for its Emerging Biosciences Showcase

Ann Arbor, MI - - MichBio, the association for Michigan’s biosciences industry, announced that it has added the Michigan Biosciences Showcase to its program on day one o