News

OptiEnz Sensors Announces New CEO

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:23:00 GMT

Steve Witt named CEO of OptiEnz Sensors to Accelerate Company To Commercialization

Steve Witt has been named CEO of OptiEnz Sensors, LLC, a spinoff from Colorado State University and an Innosphere Client Company. OptiEnz Sensors is a local startup company developing biosensors for continuous monitoring of organic chemicals in food and beverage processing, industrial fermentations, and water supplies. OptiEnz already has a prototype for continuous monitoring that is being tested in a variety of settings, and with a new CEO onboard, the company is immediately focusing on customer trials.

“Steve brings an ideal blend of technical and business expertise, along with experience in large and small companies. With Steve on board, we can really accelerate our progress toward commercialization,” said Ken Reardon, CTO and co-founder of OptiEnz Sensors and a Colorado State professor of chemical and biological engineering. “Steve joins the company with extensive leadership experience and vast knowledge of the test and measurement industry.” OptiEnz’s prototype for continuous monitoring is in customer trials in two primary markets: industrial control processes and environmental water monitoring.

OptiEnz Sensors, LLC creates devices that allow users to continuously measure the concentration of organic chemicals in water, and the technology can be used in a wide range of applications such as monitoring for pollutants in a river, detecting contaminants in ground water, optimizing the production of pharmaceuticals, or tracking the level of sugar during fermentation processes. OptiEnz biosensors are placed directly in the stream or reaction vessel, so there is no need for someone to painstakingly remove samples, send them to a laboratory and wait hours or days for results. This allows their customers to get the information they need rapidly so they can optimize their process and quickly take corrective actions.

“OptiEnz is a great company and I’m excited to lead us toward commercialization,” said Witt. “CSU Ventures has been very supportive of the company. They’ve enabled us to put two patents in place and we have six more pending. Being a client company of the Innosphere has also set up a great ecosystem for us. There’s a lot of entrepreneurial energy that comes with being surrounded by other high-caliber startups. Working with the SAGE advisors and getting help from the Innosphere’s access to capital have been especially important for us.”

Witt has worked in several entrepreneurial roles including Vice President of Business Development for Constant Wave, an early stage company in Colorado Springs. Some of Witt’s other positions have included President of Compressor Controls Corporation, a global business which delivers solutions for turbo-machinery control applications in the oil and gas industry, and Vice President and General Manager for Agilent Technologies in Colorado Springs, developing and delivering telecommunication test equipment.

For more information, contact Steve Witt, OptiEnz Sensors CEO at Steve.Witt@OptiEnzSensors.com or 719-200-4722.

CBSA Applauds signing of The Colorado Advanced Industries Acceleration Act

Wed, 15 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Colorado BioScience Association Applauds signing of The Colorado Advanced Industries Acceleration Act (HB 1001) by Gov. John Hickenlooper

Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) applauds the signing of The Colorado Advanced Industries Acceleration Act by Gov. John Hickenlooper. The legislation is desiged to grow all the high-tech sectors in Colorado: Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace, Bioscience, Electronics, Energy & Natural Resources, Engineering and Information Technology.

Denver, CO – May 15, 2013 – The Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) applauds the signing of The Colorado Advanced Industries Acceleration Act (HB 1001) by Gov. John Hickenlooper today at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. The announcement is made by CBSA President & CEO April Giles who explains the bill was the first of the session in January 2013, sponsored by Senator Rollie Heath (D-Boulder) and President-designate John Morse (D-Colorado Springs).

“We need to build on areas in which we excel. Colorado is poised to grow in high-tech sectors. Our businesses, schools, and labs are already on the global forefront of technology. Investing in them is smart for our overall economy,” Senator Heath said about the legislation.

The Advanced Industries Acceleration Act is designed to grow all the high-tech sectors in Colorado including:
• Advanced manufacturing
• Aerospace
• Bioscience
• Electronics
• Energy and natural resources
• Engineering
• Information technology

This bipartisan legislation creates the Advanced Industries Acceleration Grant program in the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Colorado-based advanced-industry sectors would be eligible for proof-of-concept grants, capped at $150,000; early stage capital and retention grants, capped at $250,000, and infrastructure grants, capped at $500,000. This economic-development grant program builds upon the Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant Program (BDEGP) created in 2006 by the Colorado General Assembly to grow the bioscience industry in the state.

Further Giles says, “We are very supportive of the expansion of the bioscience grant program through this legislation, as it will fuel the state’s economy across six additional industries. We have seen the economic impact the BDEGP program has created for the bioscience industry and look forward to seeing the growth across the other sectors as well.”
The complete Bill is available at: http://www.billtrack50.com/BillDetail/299456

About Colorado BioScience Association
Celebrating ten years of supporting the Bioscience Industry in Colorado in 2013, the CBSA is a not-for-profit organization providing services and support for Colorado's bioscience industry. With more than 350 members, CBSA actively works to promote the growth of the industry by advocating for a better business environment, growing the state's biotech workforce, fighting for policies that support a strong bioscience industry in the state, and speaking with a single voice on behalf of the industry. For more information, visit http://www.cobioscience.com.

CBSA also is found on these social media sites:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/COBioscience
LinkedIn Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=98468&trk=anet_ug_grppro
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/ColoradoBioScienceAssociation
News Feed: http://coloradobio.blogspot.com
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/COBioscience
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/COBioscience
Tumblr: http://cobioscience.tumblr.com

Contacts:
Mae Desaire, Director of Marketing, Colorado BioScience Association - http://www.cobioscience.com –
720-382-5918, mdesaire@cobioscience.com

Maggie Chamberlin Holben, APR, Absolutely Public Relations - http://www.absolutelypr.com - 303-984-9801, maggie@absolutelypr.com

SomaLogic technology used to discover protein

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:51:00 GMT

SomaLogic® technology used to discover protein that reverses age-related cardiac hypertrophy in mice

Unbiased proteomic approach helps researchers identify blood-based factor that holds promise for treating human cardiac failure

In a scientific study published today in the journal Cell, a team of researchers led by
scientists from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and including scientists from SomaLogic,
describe the discovery of a circulating protein, called GDF-11 (Growth Differentiation Factor
11), that can reverse age-related cardiac hypertrophy in mice. The GDF-‐11 protein was
identified in collaboration with SomaLogic scientists, using a new proteomic technology developed
by SomaLogic.

Age-related cardiac hypertrophy is a major factor in diastolic heart failure, the most common
form of heart failure in the United States. The authors of the Cell paper found evidence
suggesting that a blood-‐based circulating factor that maintains normal cardiac size either is
diminished or loses its effectiveness as the body ages. The researchers demonstrated that such a
factor exists by using mouse models of cardiac hypertrophy, and subsequently identified a candidate
factor by combing through metabolites, lipids and proteins in the blood. Their protein analysis,
using SomaLogic’s SOMAscan™ assay, revealed several proteins whose levels of expression change with
age, and this led to the discovery of GDF-11. The researchers then demonstrated that treating
older mice with a recombinant version of the GDF-11 protein can rapidly reverse age-‐related
cardiac hypertrophy. Studies aimed at extending these observations to humans are underway.

“It has been technically challenging to identify specific proteins of interest out of the complex
mixture of proteins that circulate through the body, especially those that are associated with
diseases of aging,” said Prof. Richard T. Lee, an investigator at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute,
a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and one of the senior authors of the Cell paper.
“Working with SomaLogic scientists to deploy their new proteomic technology in this study allowed
us to do such screening rapidly and effectively.”

Alex Stewart and Britta Singer of SomaLogic are co-authors of the Cell paper, with
significant contributions provided by the SOMAscan assay and bioinformatics groups.
###

SomaLogic, Inc., is a privately held biomarker discovery and clinical diagnostics company
based in Boulder, Colorado. The company's mission is to use its proprietary proteomic technology to
develop enhanced protein analysis tools and reagents for the life sciences community, to facilitate
biomarker discovery and validation for diagnostic and therapeutic applications, and to develop and
commercialize clinical diagnostic products that will improve the delivery of healthcare by offering
timely and accurate diagnostic information to physicians and their patients. Further information
about SomaLogic can be found at http://www.somalogic.com.

About SOMAscan™/SOMAmer™ Reagents
SomaLogic's proprietary SOMAscan™ proteomic technology platform underlies a rapidly growing number of new diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities. The power of the SOMAscan platform comes from its use of a new generation of nucleic acid-‐based protein-‐ binding reagents, called SOMAmer™ (Slow Off-‐rate Modified Aptamer) modified aptamers. The unique physical properties of SOMAmer modified aptamers empower the accurate detection and measurement of thousands of proteins over a wide range of concentrations in just a few drops of blood (or other tissues), all in a single SOMAscan assay.

For further information please contact:

Fintan R. Steele, Ph.D.
Executive Director of Communications SomaLogic, Inc.
Email: fsteele@somalogic.com Phone: +1 720-‐214-‐3080
Web: http://www.somalogic.com

Not quite a myriad of gene patents

Wed, 08 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Nature Biotechnology- A new study assesses the impact of recent US Supreme Court rulings on the changing landscape of US patents claiming nucleic acids.

Gregory D Graff, Devon Phillips, Zhen Lei, Sooyoung Oh, Carol Nottenburg & Philip G Pardey

www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v31/n5/full/nbt.2568.html

Takeda to Acquire Inviragen

Tue, 07 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

OSAKA, Japan and DEERFIELD, Ill. and FORT COLLINS, Colo., May 7, 2013 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited ("Takeda") and Inviragen, Inc. ("Inviragen") jointly announced today that Takeda, its wholly owned subsidiary Takeda America Holdings, Inc., and Inviragen, Inc. have entered into a definitive agreement for Takeda to acquire Inviragen for an upfront payment of US$35 million, and future payments of up to US$215 million linked to the progress of clinical development and achievement of key commercial milestones. Headquartered in Fort Collins, CO, with facilities in Madison, WI and Singapore, Inviragen is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company specializing in research and development of innovative vaccines for emerging infectious diseases, including dengue and hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/takeda-to-acquire-inviragen-inc-2013-05-07?siteid=nbkh

Acertara Acoustic Labs Releases Aureon

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:56:00 GMT

Ultrasound Transducer Field Analysis and Acoustic Pressure-Mapping System

LONGMONT, CO May 6th, 2013. Acertara Acoustic Laboratories, the world’s only independent ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited medical ultrasound acoustic measurement and testing laboratory, announces that it has released for distribution the world’s first commercially available ultrasound acoustic dose-analysis and field mapping system. The Acertara Research and Development team, headed by Sonora Medical System Founders, G. Wayne Moore and James Gessert, is the same R&D Group that designed and developed the FirstCall™ probe testing system. Aureon is intended for use in the hospital Biomedical and Medical Physics environment as well as in ultrasound research labs, regulatory agency labs, and for ultrasound system Original Equipment Manufacturers. Through directly capturing and measuring the acoustic energy present at the aperture of the ultrasound probe under test, Aureon can detect variations in emitted acoustic power down to a single element even in a large multi-element array.

Commenting on the Aureon device, G. Wayne Moore President and CEO of Acertara said: “Ultrasound probe design is becoming increasingly more complex as evidenced by the recent introduction of 2D matrix arrays with as many as 9,000 elements or more. The need for a testing and analysis device that can detect flaws or early failures in these highly dense arrays, or detect variances in the performance of the ultrasound system itself, and potentially calculate the acoustic power load delivered to a patient during an ultrasound examination is apparent. Aureon can test virtually any commercially available diagnostic ultrasound transducer regardless of the manufacturer of the probe. Aureon is a highly portable and very easy to use device; key elements in a hospital-based biomedical environment. We are very excited about the game-changing, disruptive technology core to Aureon and its ability to enhance patient safety, the efficacy of the ultrasound examination, and lower the costs of maintaining ultrasound assets in the hospital.” Aureon will be formally introduced to the market at the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) meeting this June in Long Beach, California, at Booth Number 842.

About Acertara:
Acertara Acoustic Laboratories, located in Longmont, Colorado is an independent ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited ultrasound measurement and testing facility providing diagnostic and therapeutic acoustic power testing and measurement services to ultrasound and implantable device OEMs, researchers, and regulatory bodies around the world. Acertara also manufactures and sells a complete line of acoustic power testing products; including its industry standard Acoustic Power Lab Suite, AMS™ software, Artis™ Time-Delay-Spectrometry, and the Aureon™ acoustic direct-imaging device. Acertara also provides US FDA 510(k) submission and contract engineering services. Additionally, Acertara offers contract-based advanced ultrasound research and contract-engineering development services. Additional information for Acertara is available on its website at www.acertaralabs.com, or contact sales@acertaralabs.com. Acertara Acoustic Laboratories LLC is a Veteran owned and operated business.

Acertara Acoustic Laboratories, LLC
1860 Lefthand Circle, Suite H
Longmont, CO 80501
303.834.8413

Acertara Contact: G. Wayne Moore, President/CEO
gwmoore@acertaralabs.com
303.834.8413

Fluonic sees market opportunity with infusion therapy pump technology

Mon, 06 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

BOULDER – The delivery of drugs into the body through infusion therapy is one of the cornerstones of medicine, as most anyone who’s been hospitalized can attest.

It’s estimated that more than 90 percent of hospitalized patients get some kind of infusion – or intravenous – drug therapy.

But Fluonic, a new Rocky Mountain Innosphere client company based in Boulder, claims infusion therapy pumps now on the market are not as reliable as they should be and Fluonic has the technology to make drug delivery more precise and more effective than ever before.

http://innovationews.com/science/bioscience/fluonic-seesmrket-opportunity-with-infusion-therapy-pump-sensor-technology/

10th Anniversary Edition Bioscience Colorado

Sat, 04 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

We are proud to release our 10th anniversary edition of Bioscience Colorado. This publication is Colorado’s only in depth guide and directory to the bioscience industry. With a total audience of over 15,000, including online impressions, Bioscience Colorado is one of the industry’s greatest voices locally, nationally and internationally.

In honor of our 10 years of supporting the bioscience industry in Colorado, we are celebrating our successful history and looking ahead to the future. In this issue of Bioscience Colorado we look at the entire bioscience ecosystem in the State. The articles examine projects and research that will infuse scientific excitement, highlight the success of policy partnerships – both locally and nationally, and showcase the evolution of Colorado’s industry.

Download PDF

The Science
A Decade of Dramatic Developments: Bioscience in Colorado

The Industry
Colorado Bioscience: A Microcosm of Broader Industry Trends

The Public Policy
Partners for Progress: Three Colorado Governors & Their Commitment to Bioscience
Looking Back at 10 Years of Policy Milestones

The Economic Development
Building the Colorado Bioscience Industry Cluster: A Remarkable Success Story

The Future
The Next 10 Years: Peering into Bioscience’s Crystal Ball

The issue also includes:

Complete listing of every Colorado bioscience company
Annual industry financing and investment overview
Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant Program (BDEGP) update

This publication is an integral part of the Association’s mission to support the Colorado bioscience community through advocacy, resources and advancement of opportunities for collaboration. It reaches thousands of bioscience, economic development, legislative, university and industry leaders.

CBSA Names Derek Cole Board Chair and Appoints Six Industry Leaders to its Board of Directors

Fri, 03 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Colorado BioScience Association Names Derek Cole Board Chair and Appoints Six Industry Leaders to its Board of Directors at the 2013 Annual All-Member Meeting

Denver, CO – May 3, 2013 – Derek Cole, President of Investor Relations Advisory Solutions (http://iradvisory.com), was named Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) at its 2013 Annual All-Member meeting held at the Omni Interlocken Resort in Broomfield, CO, Wednesday. The announcement is made by April Giles, CBSA President & CEO, who says Cole assumes chairperson responsibilities from Steve Orndorff, Ph.D., CEO of Ariel Pharmaceuticals, Broomfield (http://arielpharma.com).

Cole is an Investor Relations/Finance/Corporate Communications Executive with 22 years of experience in the capital markets and corporate planning sectors. He has 16 years of dedicated investor relations, corporate communications and media relations experience focused on supporting the development of private, small- and mid-cap companies. Further, he has provided financial communications counsel to C-level executives and board members, and managed and contributed to a broad spectrum of financing transactions, including venture capital investments, initial public offerings (4), secondary offerings and institutional private placements, that combined raised approximately $850 million.

Contributing to the research, planning and execution of five M&A transactions, Cole has established initial investor relations functions at multiple companies and developed and executed multiple award winning strategic communications programs. A recognized leader in his profession, Cole was elected 2012 Chairman of the National Board of Directors of National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI); elected to the NIRI National Board of Directors in 2008; served as Chairman of the Working Group on Financial Disclosure for NIRI’s Standards of Practice for Investor Relations; and as Co-Chairman of the national steering committee for the NIRI BioPharma Roundtable

Joining Cole on the CBSA Board officer team will be newly appointed Vice Chairperson Mark Spiecker, CEO, Sharklet Technologies (http://www.sharklet.com); Jim Wilson, Board Treasurer, Partner, Ernst & Young (http://www.ey.com); and Lisa Drake, Board Secretary, Director, Government Affairs, Monsanto (http://www.monsanto.com). In other action, six new board members were appointed by the CBSA Board of Directors.

CBSA’s board is a prestigious group of industry leaders comprised of representatives of biotechnology, medical device, diagnostic, pharmaceutical, health care providers, research institutions and those businesses that provide critical services and products to bioscience companies. Board members commit to a three-year term to work in partnership with staff to support the drive and determination of over 600 Colorado bioscience companies that work to improve lives locally and around the world.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors we would like to thank the retiring seven members for their service and welcome the six new members,” Giles and Cole stated jointly. In addition, special recognition was given to CBSA’s 10-year members in honor of the Association’s 10th anniversary.

Newly appointed CBSA board members include:
Brenda Fielding, Executive Vice President, Regulatory and Strategic Development, Clinipace
Scott Larson, Senior Vice President, Legal and General Counsel, Terumo BCT
Brett Lund, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Gevo
Bill Marshall, Ph.D., President, CEO, Co-Founder and Director, miRagen
Chris Myatt, Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO, MBio Diagnostics, Inc.
Bob Reddy, Director of Global Marketing, Medtronic

Reappointments of CBSA board members include:
Derek Cole, President, Investor Relations Advisory Solutions
Betty Iverson, Director of State Government Affairs, Johnson & Johnson
Kevin Smith, President/CEO, CID4
Rick Silva, Tech Transfer Office Senior Director, University of Colorado
Sean Moriarty, Vice President, General Counsel, TOLMAR
Bruce Eaton, President & CEO, i2 Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

2013 Corporate Sponsors include:

Titanium – Boettcher Foundation - www.boettcherfoundation.org
Colorado State University - www.colostate.edu
Fisher Scientific - www.fishersci.com
Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority - www.fitzscience.com
Johnson & Johnson - www.jnj.com

Platinum –

Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade - www.advancecolorado.com
University of Colorado - www.colorado.edu
Cooley - www.cooley.com
Dorsey & Whitney - www.dorsey.com
Ernst & Young - www.ey.com
PhRMA - www.phrma.org

Gold –

Amgen - www.amgen.com
Merck - www.merck.com
Sheridan Ross - www.sheridanross.com
Snell & Wilmer - www.swlaw.com

Silver –

CBIZ - www.cbiz.com
EKS&H - www.eksh.com
Faegre Baker Daniels LLP - www.faegrebd.com
GlaxoSmithKline - www.gsk.com
Polsinelli Shughart - www.polsinelli.com
Terumo BCT - www.terumobct.com

Bronze –

DaVita Clinical Research - www.davitaclinicalresearch.com
Genentech - www.gene.com
Pfizer - www.pfizer.com
SomaLogic - www.somalogic.com
TOLMAR - tolmar.com
The Wright Group/Travelers - www.twgservices.com / www.travelers.com

About Colorado BioScience Association
Celebrating ten years of supporting the Bioscience Industry in Colorado in 2013, the CBSA is a not-for-profit organization providing services and support for Colorado's bioscience industry. With more than 350 members, CBSA actively works to promote the growth of the industry by advocating for a better business environment, growing the state's biotech workforce, fighting for policies that support a strong bioscience industry in the state, and speaking with a single voice on behalf of the industry. For more information, visit http://www.cobioscience.com.

Contacts:
Mae Desaire, Director of Marketing, Colorado BioScience Association - http://www.cobioscience.com –
720-382-5918, mdesaire@cobioscience.com

Maggie Chamberlin Holben, APR, Absolutely Public Relations - http://www.absolutelypr.com - 303-984-9801, maggie@absolutelypr.com

Cole picked to lead bioscience association

Fri, 03 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

BCBR: DENVER - Derek Cole was appointed chairman of the board of the Colorado BioScience Association at the trade group's annual meeting Wednesday.

Cole, president of Investor Relations Advisory Solutions LLC in Broomfield, takes over chairman duties from Steve Orndorff, chief executive of Broomfield-based Ariel Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Cole has 22 years of experience in the capital-markets and corporate-planning sectors. He has 16 years of dedicated investor relations, corporate communications and media relations experience focused on supporting the development of private, small- and mid-cap companies.

New officers on the board include vice chairman Mark Spiecker, CEO, Sharklet Technologies Inc. in Aurora; treasurer Jim Wilson, partner, Ernst & Young in Denver; and secretary Lisa Drake, director of government affairs for Monsanto Co. in Englewood.

http://www.bcbr.com/article/20130503/NEWS/130509965

Biotech generic drug bill dies quietly

Fri, 03 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

DBJ: A proposal that would’ve let pharmacists substitute generic biotech drugs for name-brand drugs prescribed to patients has died a quiet death in the state Legislature.

The bill, HB 1121, the legislation most closely watched by Colorado’s biotech industry, never made it out of its first Senate committee and was put off indefinitely without discussion Thursday.

The proposal would’ve required that pharmacists notify prescribing doctors when, while filling a prescription, they replaced a name-brand drug with a generic version. Notification was pushed by biotech drugmaker Amgen Inc. and supported by the Colorado BioScience Association.

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2013/05/03/biotech-generic-drug-bill-dies-quietly.html

Corgenix expands contract services business unit

Thu, 02 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

New dedicated website launched — highlights contract service capabilities, companion diagnostics

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Corgenix Medical Corporation (OTC BB: CONX), a worldwide developer and marketer of diagnostic test kits, and provider of contract services to the diagnostics, life sciences and pharmaceutical industries, today announced the expansion of its Contract Services business and the launch of its dedicated Contract Services website, www.corgenix.net. The new site complements the existing www.corgenix.com site and reflects the company’s strong growth and dedicated strategic approach to its Contract Services business unit for diagnostic products.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130502005321/en/Corgenix-Expands-Contract-Services-Business-Unit

Surefire Infusion System used in potential new hunger-reducing obesity treatment

Thu, 02 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

WESTMINSTER, Colo., May 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Surefire Medical, Inc., the developer of a new class of infusion systems designed to maximize targeted delivery of embolization agents without reflux, today announced that the company's Surefire Infusion System will be used in the development of the first clinically viable microcatheter-based, minimally invasive treatment for obesity as an alternative to bariatric surgery.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases-test/surefire-infusion-system-used-in-potential-new-hunger-reducing-obesity-treatment----nih-funds-johns-hopkins-study-205733821.html

Greffex to Build First Comprehensive H7N9 Vaccine

Wed, 01 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Greffex has completed the construction of the first comprehensive vaccine against the virulent strain of H7N9 avian influenza.

AURORA, Colorado, May 1, 2013/BusinessWire
Greffex scientists have created the first comprehensive vaccine for H7N9 avian
influenza. Spreading from Shanghai, and transmitted by birds, H7N9 avian influenza is
a highly pathological virus that kills nearly 20% of people it infects, making it more lethal
than the 1918 "Spanish Flu ." As infected birds display no symptoms, the spread of the
virus is difficult to control. While human-to-human transmission of H7N9 is rare, few
genetic changes in the virus could greatly enhance contagion and initiate a fast moving
pandemic. Keiji Fukuda, Assistant Director-General for health security at the WHO,
characterized H7N9 as an "unusually dangerous virus for humans."

In just one month after the virus had been characterized, Greffex scientists built an
H7N9 avian influenza vaccine using its proprietary GREVAX™ technology. Normally
development of such a vaccine takes many months. "We believe the world needs a
'plug-and-play'™ method of creating vaccines, " says Greffex Chief Scientific Officer Dr.
Uwe D. Staerz. "Speed as well as flexibility is needed for vaccine design to combat
emerged infectious threats. We had already shown with an Anthrax vaccine that we can
create ANY vaccine within one month."

The GREVAX™ vaccine platform has been purpose-built with support by the NIH and
NIST. It integrates short development times, with large payloads, carrying the H7N9
avian influenza hemagglutinin and neuramidase genes, and high levels of plasticity. It
focuses the potent immunogenicity of adenovirus-based engineered vaccines to vaccine
antigens, as it is fully deleted of adenoviral genes and devoid of helper viruses. Its
modules allow a flexible 'plug-and-play'™ design of vaccines for emerging infectious
diseases, including but not limited to the H7N9 avian influenza.

Greffex has a vibrant fj'eline of vaccines currently undergoing testing. "We originally
created the GREVAX system for H1N1 swine influenza, and now have a Dengue
vaccine, an Anthrax vaccine, an Ebata vaccine, and avian influenza vaccines, and we
have overcome major production and manufacturing obstacles." says John R. Price,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Greffex. "And we are working on a universal
influenza vaccine, the "holy grail" of vaccine science."

For more information about the Greffex and its GREVAX™ vaccines, please go to our
website: www.greffex.com or contact John R. Price at jprice@greffex.com /303-577-
0400.

BiO2 Medical IDE gets FDA approval

Wed, 01 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

GOLDEN – BiO2 Medical, a Texas-based medical device manufacturer with R&D and production operations in Golden, today announced it is among the first to receive FDA approval of an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) application to begin an Early Feasibility Pilot Study using the company’s Angel Catheter.

The Angel Catheter is the first to combine the functions of an Inferior Vena Cava filter and a multi-lumen Central Venus Catheter for the prevention of pulmonary embolism and for access to the central nervous system, the company said.

http://innovationews.com/science/bioscience/bio2-medicals-ide-application-for-angel-catheter-gets-fda-approval/