Biotechnology

TechTown Offers Tips On Securing Biotech Startup Funding September 10 DETROIT - Many a researcher starting a biotech company has been lost in a maze of bureaucracy when applying for federal appropriations to fund their great idea.

$1 Billion Tax Credit To Support Biomedical Research By Small Firms GRAND RAPIDS - Small biotechnology firms will be gaining new support in the state of Michigan. A New Therapeutic Discovery tax credit, created under the Affordable Care Act, will support research with potential to produce new therapies, create high-quality jobs for the state.

Wayne State Professor Gets $1.7 Million NIH Grant To Study Kidney Diseases DETROIT - Tej K. Mattoo, M.D., professor and chief of Pediatric Nephrology at Wayne State University's School of Medicine and Children's Hospital of Michigan, recently received more than $1.7 million from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health to continue the project, Primary Vesicoureteral Reflux in Children.

UM Chemist Wins $200K Award From McKnight Endowment Fund ANN ARBOR - University of Michigan analytical chemist Robert T. Kennedy is one of four scientists selected to receive the 2010 Technological Innovations in Neuroscience Award from the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience.

NanoBio Awarded Seventh U.S. Patent ANN ARBOR – NanoBio Corporation announced Tuesday that it has been awarded a seventh U.S. patent covering its novel nanoemulsion technology. The new claims encompass methods of treating Herpes Simplex I infections, including herpes labialis (commonly referred to as cold sores), using NanoBio's proprietary anti-infective nanoemulsion product candidates.

BoroPharm Becomes First Tenant Of Former Ann Arbor Pfizer R&D Center ANN ARBOR – The University of Michigan said Wednesday it plans to lease 4,300 square feet of lab space to a startup chemical products company that was developed up the road in East Lansing – making BoroPharm Inc. the first commercial tenant of the 174-acre ex-Pfizer campus that was acquired by the U-M in June 2009.

CMU Adds Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope For Genetics Research MOUNT PLEASANT - Central Michigan University students and faculty who conduct research in genetics, neuroscience or biology in labs across campus now have one more tool to advance their studies.

Pittsburgh Fund To Invest $20 Million In Life Sciences Startups In SE Michigan PITTSBURGH - A Pittsburgh-based investment firm, iNetworks Advisors Inc., has announced a $20 million fund to invest in startup and early-stage health and life science companies in Southeast Michigan and Windsor.

Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy Hires Vice President of Operations SWARTZ CREEK - Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, the nation's largest privately owned specialty pharmacy, announced Monday that Robert Fleckenstein will serve as the Vice President of Operations overseeing the day-to-day operations of Diplomat's National Distribution Center, Patient Service Operations, Call Center, Oncology Department and other patient facing services at Diplomat's Corporate headquarters.

Second Patient-Care Academy Booked For October At Kalamazoo Valley CC KALAMAZOO - A second edition of Kalamazoo Valley Community College's Patient Care Academy, which trains people for entry-level positions in the growing health-care industry while introducing them to the possibility of career enhancement in its various fields, is scheduled to begin on Oct. 2.

Perrigo Gets Exclusive Store Brand Rights To Allegra, Allegra D-12 ALLEGAN - Perrigo Tuesday announced that it has acquired the exclusive U.S. store brand rights to sell and distribute OTC versions of Fexofenadine HCl 180 mg and 60 mg tabs, plus Fexofenadine HCl 60 mg and Pseudoephedrine 120 mg tabs, the generic versions of Sanofi-Aventis' Allegra and Allegra D-12 products. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Angott Medical Products Wins $25,000 At GLEQ LANSING – Angott Medical Products won 2nd Place in the BioTech Awards, and $25,000, at the Great Lakes Entrepreneurs Quests awards contest. Bloomfield Hills-based Angott Medical is developing a multi-modality breast cancer test with higher sensitivity and positive predictive value than clinical breast exams. Paul Angott talks about his product in this Newsmaker interview.

Van Andel Research Institute Licenses XenoBase Software System GRAND RAPIDS - Van Andel Research Institute announced that it has reached a licensing agreement for its XenoBase software system with Intervention Insights, a Grand Rapids-based company formed in 2009 with investments from more than a dozen local investors. The company was created to compete in the emerging personalized medicine industry by supporting community oncologists with personalized treatment options for aggressive cancer patients.

U-M Selects Leader for North Campus BioResearch Complex ANN ARBOR - Exactly one year after purchasing a 174-acre research campus formerly used for advanced pharmaceutical development, the University of Michigan has selected the leader who will steer the site's transformation into a vibrant home for academic and private-sector research.

MitoStem Wins $5000 MEDC Biotech Award DETROIT – MitoStem, a Wayne State University TechTown tenant, which is developing its stem cell technology that can be used to grow many organs in the body, was awarded $5000 at the Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest awards ceremony by the MEDC for its excellence as a biotech entrepreneurial startup.

SanBio Wins $7,500 At GLEQ Awards EAST LANSING – SanoBio Therapeutics, an Ann Arbor-based biopharmaceutical company commercializing a therapeutic peptide for the treatment of diabetic ulcers, was runner up in the New Business Category at the Great Lakes Entrepreneurs Quest contest, winning $2,500. The company also picked up another $5000 from the MEDC as a biotech entrepreneur award winner.

FDA Device, Radiological Health Center To Keynote MichBio Expo YPSILANTI – MichBio announced that Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, Director of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will keynote the 2010 MichBio Expo & Conference this October at the Marriott at Eagle Crest in Ypsilanti.

Michigan Hurting Biotech Development Because State Lacks Plans MACKINAC ISLAND - Michigan has the infrastructure to see major progress in attracting biotechnology businesses, but the state is hurting itself by failing to develop and stick to a plan to promote the industry, top biotechnology executives said.

Report: Michigan Bioscience Jobs, Businesses Increased From 2008 MACKINAC ISLAND – A study released Thursday by MichBio shows total bioscience employment for Michigan increased by nearly 10 percent from 2008, while the number of bioscience businesses rose by nearly 8 percent.

MitoStem Gets NIH Grant DETROIT – MitoStem, a TechTown tenant, won a $200,000 grant from the National Institute of Health to further develop its stem cell technology that can be used to grow many organs in the body.