Algaeon Inc. Closes on $770,000 Investment Round

June 3, 2013 News Release

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Algaeon Inc., an Indianapolis-based biotech company that has developed algae cultivation technology for use in the nutraceutical and micronutrient markets, announced today that it has closed a $770,000 investment round of funding from early-stage growth company investors. The investment group included City Securities Corporation and multiple individual Angel investors. The funding will support the addition of capacity for sample qualification and animal testing for 3 prospective customers and the design of a commercial scale facility. This sets the ground work for the Company to expand operations and to produce products used as food supplements to promote health and disease prevention for humans and animals.
Algaeon is an early stage company entering its early growth phase. Founded in 2008, the company completed 2 rounds of funding in 2012 for $1.2 Million. The Company has currently completed technology scale-up and is working with 3 customers to secure long-term supply contracts. The company will be seeking additional funds for construction of commercial scale capacity. The first commercial scale capacity will begin operation in late 2013. Capacity will continue to be expanded thereafter to fulfill purchase contracts with industry leading companies. Algaeon’s patent-pending production technology sets a new standard in the industry for efficiency and overcomes the common industry challenges of contamination control and cost containment. Growing demand for over-the-counter health solutions is driving the need for innovative large volume supplies of nutritional supplements. Similarly, there is growing demand for improving animal production efficiency by improving survivability, health and weight gain without the use for antibiotics. Demands in these markets are growing and the industry is having difficulty obtaining sufficient supply. “The markets for our high-value algae derivative products have been growing at significant rates, and the investment will advance our entry into these high-demand areas,” said Paul DeLacey, President and CEO, Algaeon, Inc.

About Algaeon Inc.

Algaeon Inc. is an Indianapolis-based biotech company that has developed a breakthrough patent pending industrial scale microalgae cultivation technology. Unique high value products are currently being grown for leading companies in the Nutraceutical and Animal Micronutrient markets. Algaeon is developing its own cultivation capacity, as well as, licensing the technology for algae farms. For more information about Algaeon visit www.algaeon-inc.com Source: Algaeon Inc.

New Report Shows Over 3,200 Clinical Trials of Medicines Conducted by Indiana Research Institutions Since 1999

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Trewhitt
(202) 835-3460

Research Supported by Biopharmaceutical Companies Boosts Indiana Economy, Benefits Local Patients

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 4, 2013) – Working in collaboration with Indiana clinicians and research institutions, America’s biopharmaceutical research companies have conducted 3,266 clinical trials of new medicines in Indiana over the last 13 years, according to a new report by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). The report – “Research in Your Backyard: Pharmaceutical Clinical Trials in Indiana” – was released today at a news conference with Indiana Governor Mike Pence at Covance, a clinical research facility and biopharmaceutical services company in Greenfield.
Governor Pence, Chester “Chip” Davis, PhRMA Executive Vice President for Advocacy, and Andrew Dahlem, Ph.D., Lilly Research Laboratories Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, shared their perspectives on the importance of biopharmaceutical research and life sciences in the state.
“Indiana’s life sciences industry has tremendous potential for growth,” said Governor Pence. “We are actively working to expand the partnership among life sciences and biopharmaceutical companies and our state’s universities and hospitals to grow the economy, to attract and retain talent, and to address the critical health issues we face today.”
The economic impact of the biopharmaceutical sector extends far beyond direct jobs. Pharmaceuticals accounted for nearly $5 billion of the $7.4 billion in Indiana exports in 2009. A BioCrossroads report shows that the primary life sciences industries supported about 155,000 jobs in Indiana in 2009, including more than 64,000 pharmaceutical sector positions. Nearly 17,800 of the pharmaceutical jobs involved direct employment and about 46,500 were jobs supported by biopharmaceutical companies through statewide business arrangements. Life sciences product exports nearly tripled from $2.5 billion to $7.4 billion from 2002 to 2009, ranking Indiana as third-highest among the states, behind only California and Texas, according to BioCrossroads. Additionally, We Work for Health data released last fall revealed the businesses biopharmaceutical companies engage with in Indiana, showing that the 17 companies surveyed worked with over 3,500 vendors in 2011 alone, spending more than $1.8 billion.
“In addition to the economy, patients have been the beneficiaries of the research our companies have conducted in Indiana,” said Davis. “Working with local research institutions across the state, our companies have conducted over 1,750 clinical trials since 1999 just on the most debilitating chronic diseases – cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, mental illnesses and asthma.”
Increasingly, medicines clinically tested in Indiana and across the country are cutting-edge biotechnology treatments.
“Our growing understanding of the molecular underpinnings of disease, coupled with new scientific approaches to developing medicines, gives us the capacity to create safer and more effective medications and improves our ability to predict and even prevent disease,” said Davis. “It’s impressive that a great deal of that research is underway here in Indiana.”
The report highlights how clinical trials are addressing the serious challenges of chronic disease:
• In 2011, more than 10 percent of the state’s adults had diabetes, according to the state Department of Health. Currently, 33 clinical trials of potential new treatments for diabetes are recruiting patients in the Hoosier State.
• In 2010, nearly 13,000 residents died from some form of heart disease and 3,077 died from a stroke, according to the Indiana Department of Health. Twenty heart disease and seven stroke clinical trials are seeking Indiana patients.
• Nearly 227,000 adults live with serious mental illness in the state and about 71,000 children live with serious mental health conditions, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Thirty mental illness clinical trials are recruiting patients.
The findings also show that research institutions in Indiana are conducting clinical trials of new medicines in collaboration with biopharmaceutical companies, including:
• Cancer Care Center Inc., New Albany
• Central Indiana Cancer Centers, Carmel, Fishers, Indianapolis
• Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, Indianapolis
• Indiana University Hospital, Indianapolis
• Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis
• Oncology Hematology Associates of Southwest Indiana, Evansville, Newburgh
• Lafayette Regional Vein and Laser Center, Lafayette
• Deaconess Hospital-The Heart Group, Evansville
• Premier Healthcare, Bloomington

For a listing of all clinical trials recruiting patients and their locations in Indiana, consult the appendix of the “Research in Your Backyard” report, which can be found at http://www.phrma.org/innovation/research-in-your-backyard. Indiana clinical trial information can also be found at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov, the trials data base of the National Institutes of Health.

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The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country’s leading innovative biopharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, which are devoted to discovering and developing medicines that enable patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. Since 2000, PhRMA member companies have invested over $500 billion in the search for new treatments and cures, including an estimated $48.5 billion in 2012 alone.
Find PhRMA Online:
• Website – http://www.phrma.org
• Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/PhRMA
• Blog – http://www.phrma.org/catalyst
• Twitter – http://www.Twitter.com/PhRMA and http://www.Twitter.com/PhRMApress
• YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/PhRMApress
For information on how innovative medicines save lives, visit: http://www.innovation.org
For information on the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, visit: http://www.pparx.org
For information on ensuring the flow of medicines during public health emergencies, visit http://www.rxresponse.org

Thousands of Clinical Trials Boosting Hoosier Economy – Newsroom – Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick

Thousands of Clinical Trials Boosting Hoosier Economy – Newsroom – Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick.

A new report from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America suggests Indiana has hosted more than 3,200 clinical research trials over the last 13 years for biopharmaceutical companies throughout the country. Governor Mike Pence says the state is working to expand partnerships between life science companies and local universities to benefit patients and the Indiana economy.

Notre Dame to host international workshop on molecular and cellular biology of plasminogen activation

Posted: 24 May 2013 12:51 PM PDT

The University of Notre Dame will host the XIV International Workshop on Molecular and Cellular Biology of Plasminogen Activation June 4 to 8 (Tuesday to Saturday).

The co-chairs of the conference are Francis J. Castellino and Victoria A. Ploplis of Notre Dame’s W. M. Keck Center for Transgene Research. The conference is co-sponsored by the Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend and Memorial Hospital of South Bend.

The plasminogen activation system and related proteolytic systems are essential regulators of tissue remodeling events as well as of cell functions through activation of cell signaling pathways. Through early studies involving in vitro biochemical investigations and, more recently, in vivo biological studies involving gene modified technology, the plasminogen activation pathway has been identified as a major participant in the regulation and progression of a number of clinically relevant human diseases. These include cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurological pathologies and bacterial pathogenesis.

The conference’s keynote speaker will be Désiré Collen, director of the Molecular Cardiovascular Medicine Group (comprising the Center for Molecular and Vascular Biology of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Center for Transgene Technology and Gene Therapy of the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology) in Leuven, Belgium.

Collen has co-authored more than 620 research papers and has received four honorary degrees. He led the team that initially developed t-PA, currently the most effective drug for thrombolytic therapy of acute myocardial infarction.

Contact: Victoria Ploplis, 574-631-4017, vploplis@nd.edu

Microfluidic Innovations Publishes Article on AssayMark System

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Microfluidic Innovations team recently published a technical article on Software Programmable Lab on a Chip devices. The article describes the power of MI’s approach to assay design at microfluidic scale and how the flexibility of the AssayMark System can shorten assay design time, cost and effort. The article explains how you can quickly reap the benefits of scaling your assays to microfluidics, reducing sample volume, assay time and increasing your sensitivity and specificity, and demonstrates the flexibility on four diverse assays: glucose level detection, enzyme kinetics research, particle sorting and bacteria culturing and synchronization. Here is the abstract from the article:

Abstract
Current lab-on-a-chip (LoC) devices are assay-specific and are custom-built for each single experiment. Performing an experiment requires scientists or engineers to go through the time-consuming process of designing, fabricating, and testing a chip before conducting the actual experiment. This prolonged cycle can take months to complete, increasing effort and cost and reducing productivity. Similarly, minor modifications to an assay protocol re-incur the overheads of the design cycle. In this paper, we develop a multi-purpose, software-programmable Lab-on-a-Chip(SPLoC), where the user simply writes or downloads a program for each experiment. We describe the components necessary to realize the SPLoC, which include a high-level programming language, an abstract instruction set, a runtime and control system, and a microfluidic device. We describe two key features of our high-level language compiler, and describe a novel variable-volume variable-ratio mixer. Finally, we demonstrate our SPLoC on four diverse, real-world assays.

Click here to access the story on Microfluidic Innovations’ website or click on the link below for the full article.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10404-013-1180-2

For more information on Microfluidic Innovations’ technology, or to learn more about how we can help you with your assay development at microfluidic scale, call 765-421-6350 or visit http://www.microfluidicinnovations.com

Microfluidic Innovations aims to provide a flexible, automated, software-programmable, multi-purpose lab-on-a-chip platform for scientists and researchers who are developing new microfluidic assays in drug discovery, genomics, proteomics and cell-based research.

Welcome Eight Medical to Bloomington

Eight Medical Corporation, a medical device distributor, has chosen to relocate their U.S. offices to Bloomington, Indiana. Quality of life, a positive business climate and access to industry resources were key players in the decision by Eight Medical, which was originally located in St. Paul, Minnesota.

“These are the stories we like to hear,” said Ron Walker, President of the BEDC.  “A company that is driven to Bloomington because of the quality of life for its employees and a diverse medical device cluster from which to gain resources and knowledge to foster further success for the company,” explained Walker.

Eight Medical sells and distributes a product called the Recirculator 8.0, a compact, portable control console used in the treatment of late stage cancers. The company currently employees one full time staff and one part time office administrator, with plans to grow and hire more in the future.

Source: Bloomington Life Sciences Partnership - http://www.bloomingtonlifesciences.com/

Angel Fund Aims to Boost Bloomington Business – Newsroom – Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick

Angel Fund Aims to Boost Bloomington Business – Newsroom – Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick.

Bloomington Economic Development Corp. President Ron Walker hopes a new angel fund chapter will help connect the city’s “very thriving entrepreneurial community” with much-needed resources. Indianapolis-based StepStone Business Partners LLC has formed a new chapter in Bloomington. The organization is planning to launch up to three more chapters during the year and currently includes a network of more than 50 investors interested in early-stage companies.

Interplex Sunbelt Introduces Family of IDC Terminals

Interplex Sunbelt, a world-class supplier of precision components and a division of Interplex Industries, has introduced a new family of IDC (Insulation Displacement Connector) terminals, designed to support high-power and harsh environmental applications.

 

Interplex’s new IDC terminals cover a wide range of wire diameters, from 0.050mm (23AWG) up to 1.20mm (17 AWG). They feature an integrated heavy-duty wire insulation stripper that exposes a large surface area of raw wire and allows a separate high normal force beam to have full surface contact creating a low contact resistance electrical interface.

 

The terminals are made from a highly conductive, spring-based alloy to support high-power applications like motors, transformers, generators and pumpsand are rated for applications up to 150 °C.

 

“At Interplex, we continue to leverage our design and manufacturing expertise to solve customer problems,” said Joe Lynch, Interplex Industries’ Director of Advanced Product Engineering. “With our new line of IDC terminals with flexible tooling, customers can create a variety of application interfaces, like blades, sockets, jumpers as well as solder free options such as Interplex’s ‘eye-of-the-needle’ press fit interface.”

 

Free demonstration modules and samples of the IDC terminals are available to support design validations and testing. Parts can be provided in loose piece or on a reel in continuous format to facilitate automation. Custom quick-turn prototypes can be made for applications as needed.

Click here for more info

IU Researchers Receive Cancer Treatment Grant – Newsroom – Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick

Two Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center researchers have secured a $3.2 million grant. They will use the funding from the National Cancer Institute to support the development of pancreatic cancer therapies.

via IU Researchers Receive Cancer Treatment Grant – Newsroom – Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick.

Research Park Company Receives Big Grant – Newsroom – Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick

Research Park Company Receives Big Grant – Newsroom – Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick.

February 28, 2013

News Release

West Lafayette, Ind. — The National Science Foundation has awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to a life sciences company to develop a technology called pIMAGO that promotes the discovery of new disease targets in laboratory settings.
Tymora Analytical Operations received a two-year grant worth $500,000 that is a continuation of the Phase I grant it received in 2011.

The company was founded by W. Andy Tao and Anton Iliuk. Tao is an associate professor in the Purdue University Department of Biochemistry, and Iliuk, the president and chief technology officer, is a former Purdue Realization and Entrepreneurship Postdoctoral Fellow.