MassBio Member Company News

Blue Stream Laboratories recently appointed Dr. Uditha deAlwis as Senior Director of the Laboratory

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Blue Stream Laboratories recently appointed Dr. Uditha deAlwis as Senior Director of the Laboratory.

In his new role, Uditha will provide leadership for all of our analytical laboratory programs. He will report to Dr. Mario DiPaola, CSO/COO.

Dr. deAlwis has over 20 years of experience managing and directing protein-based biopharmaceutical product characterization and development in the areas of analytical and bioanalytical assay development, validation, quality control, product release, stability and formulation. Most recently, he was Senior Director Analytical Sciences at Altus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where he managed a staff of 25 scientists to deliver protein characterization assays for a lead commercial product presently being developed by Eli Lilly & Co. Previously, Dr. deAlwis was Director of Analytical R & D at GlaxoSmithKline Bio where he managed a large group overseeing a number of functions including analytical chemistry, bioanalytical chemistry, quality control, facility and safety.

Dr. deAlwis holds a Ph.D. in Bioanalytical Chemistry from the University of Arizona. His background includes considerable experience in FDA, EMEA, and ICH requirements for programs from Phase 1 to Phase 3 as well as regulatory submissions spanning from IND to NDA.

With this key personnel addition, Blue Stream will expand both its depth and breadth in providing timely, cutting-edge analytical services to its clients.

BioScale, Mastering Acoustics for Molecular Detection, Gets Nod from Millennium Pharma

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT

BioScale, Mastering Acoustics for Molecular Detection, Gets Nod from Millennium Pharma

Ryan McBride 7/28/10

Until recently, BioScale had operated out of the public eye for some eight years as it engineered a new way of measuring biological samples with sound wave technology. Now the Cambridge, MA-based startup has garnered some validation for its acoustic technology from a very visible player in biotech—Millennium, The Takeda Oncology Company.

Cambridge-based Millennium has used BioScale’s technology to measure cancer-related proteins for its drug research. While the results of the research have not been published, Millennium revealed in two posters at a recent science meeting that BioScale’s analyzers bested in a few ways the traditional Western blot method and Waltham, MA-based PerkinElmer’s (NYSE:PKI) AlphaScreen system in detecting specific proteins in tumor samples from cell cultures and mice. Millennium is the first group outside of BioScale to report such findings, says Mark Lundstrom, founder and chief executive of the startup.

The firm’s analyzers are designed to detect proteins in multiple types of samples, including blood, urine, and tissue, among others. In pharmaceutical research, measuring the presence of proteins in a sample can show whether a drug is hitting its molecular target. In diagnostics, the technology can be applied to tell whether a person has a virus or other molecular indicators of disease in their system.

The startup—which made its first public announcement last month about the closing of a $25 million Series C funding round—has made its technology available to Millennium and other top corporate and academic research groups as part of a beta release, Lundstrom says. The CEO says expects more studies involving the firm’s technology to be revealed in the coming months, though he wouldn’t say yet who else is using the technology.

At Millennium, researchers found that BioScale’s “Vibe” analyzers required fewer steps than a protein-measuring technique known as Western blot. Also, the acoustic analyzers provided measurements from complex tumor samples, which can often skew results when measured with optical systems. Millennium, which is a subsidiary of Japanese drug giant Takeda Pharmaceutical, tested the BioScale analyzers to measure two specific molecules: a DNA damage protein and a protein that helps tumors grow. In the DNA damage protein tests, Millennium found that BioScale’s results were devoid of the chemical and optical interferences it found in PerkinElmer’s optical system.

“When you look at the data that Millennium has put out, it basically concludes that the more complex the [sample] is, the better we do against the competition,” Lundstrom says.

BioScale’s analyzers consist of tried and true technologies that together advance protein detection and quantification, according to Lundstrom. Its system uses a combination of magnetic microparticles and acoustic membranes to capture and measure specific proteins by detecting frequency changes of a vibrating membrane.

BioScale, formed in 2002, is the second company to be co-founded by Lundstrom and MIT engineering professor Ed Crawley. (Lundstrom, 41, is one of Crawley’s former students in MIT’s department of aeronautics and astronautics.) The first of their companies was Cambridge-based Active Control Experts (ACX), a developer of sensor systems to control vibrations, perhaps most notably in K2 skis during the late-1990s. In 2000, San Diego-based Cymer, a maker of laser devices for the semiconductor industry, acquired ACX in an all-stock deal.

Lundstrom and Crawley have received plenty of financial support for their latest venture. China’s Morningside Venture led the firm’s latest round of funding, which included return investor F2 Ventures from London, as well as a pair of New York-based venture firms that previously backed the company, New Science Ventures and WFD Ventures. Lundstrom says his firm raised “tens of millions” of dollars in its two previous venture rounds, but he declined to provide specific figures. The company has also garnered research grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Navy, and U.S. Army for various application of its technology.

With its latest round of financing, BioScale is expanding its sales and marketing team and investing in manufacturing. This includes finding a larger facility to house manufacturing as well as research and operations, Lundstrom says, which will likely require the company to move later this year to a new facility that can put all those elements of its business under one roof. The manufacturing will include final assembly and testing of its instruments and test cartridges. The 40-person firm is now considering multiple sites in the Boston area, the CEO says.

Asked why his company has kept quiet for so long, Lundstrom said: “I believe that when you start to communicate to the science community, the financial community, and the press, you want to make sure that your publicity does not get ahead of your capability. So I wanted to make sure that we had a product worked in complex samples and was doing great things in the hands of prestigious customers before we told the world what we’re doing.”

Pharmarama International is Named One of Britain’s Leading Private Companies in International Sales Growth

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Pharmaceutical Firm Ranks Eighth Among The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 100

Boston and London, July 21, 2010 – Pharmarama International, a leader in strategically sourcing comparator medicines for clinical trials worldwide, today announced that it has been ranked as Britain’s eighth fastest-growing private company for overseas sales in a 2010 survey published by the country’s leading business newspaper, The Sunday Times.

Companies were ranked on their compound annual growth rate (CAGR) based in international sales on the most recent two years of available data from 2006-2010. Pharmarama’s international sales grew at a CAGR of 131 percent between 2007 and 2009, increasing to £10.4 million for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2009. International sales for the base period were almost £2.0 million.

“Our prestigious recognition in the inaugural International Track 100 reflects the success Pharmarama has achieved in building and growing its U.S. business,” said company Managing Director Rosemary Bensley. “Since launching Pharmarama in the US in 2007, we have established our U.S. office and warehouse in Boston, Massachusetts to serve the clinical supply needs of pharmaceutical companies across North America. Our ranking among Britain’s top private companies in international sales is a significant accomplishment. It underscores the outstanding work of our employees on both sides of the Atlantic and reinforces the strong relationships we have with our customers.”

About Pharmarama and GlobalBatch™
Pharmarama is engaged in developing cost-effective strategies that enable both leading pharmaceutical and emerging biotech companies to single-source comparator medicines for worldwide clinical trials, including the United States. Through its proprietary GlobalBatch™ program, Pharmarama provides on-site client education and training, bioequivalence testing, A-Z project management and truly global sourcing for comparator studies, thereby significantly lowering procurement costs and improving trial efficiency. Pharmarama has sourced medicines for more than 417 trials since 1996. The company, a preferred supplier to many of the world’s leading pharma companies, is based in the United Kingdom and the United States with partnerships in Germany and China. More information is available at www.pharmarama.com

Joule Names John Ward Senior Vice President of Production

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Cambridge, Mass. – July 20, 2010 – Joule Unlimited, Inc., pioneer of Liquid Fuel from the Sun™, today announced the appointment of John Ward as Senior Vice President of Production, overseeing the company's scale-up planning, direction and construction as it advances towards commercial production of solar-derived, renewable fuels and chemicals. This will include management of Joule’s site selection and related partnerships with CO₂ emitters to drive Joule's process, as well as assisting in the deployment of commercialization partners' production facilities.

Mr. Ward brings substantial experience to the role, having led the design, construction, validation and operations of biopharmaceutical facilities for more than 20 years. This includes the successful management of billion dollar construction programs and the proven ability to take emerging technologies from testing stages to commercialization. He most recently served as Vice President of Engineering and Facilities at Biogen Idec, a $4 billion biotechnology company where he held global responsibility for engineering, construction, validation, facilities management, and environmental, health, safety and security, among other functions.

"With our technology proven and aggressive scale-up plans in place, John brings considerable expertise to help guide Joule through this next exciting stage of growth, particularly in large-scale construction and all aspects of facilities management," said Bill Sims, President and CEO, Joule. "His knowledge of building successful commercial operations around sophisticated new technologies will be a tremendous asset, ensuring that critical process and production milestones are met throughout our current pilot program and beyond."

"It's an incredibly exciting time to join Joule, a highly-promising company in a stage that perfectly aligns with my background and in an industry that's ripe for transformation," said Mr. Ward. "I look forward to joining Joule's talented leadership team to bridge the essential steps between the lab and a highly-productive commercial operation that will sustain ever-growing global fuel demands."

Among Mr. Ward's numerous accomplishments, he is a pioneer in the use of modular construction and gray space in biopharmaceutical facilities. He has designed, built and started up over 280,000 liters of cell culture facilities, and has overseen the design and implementation of multiple "green technology" buildings and systems. Mr. Ward was previously a project manager at Fluor, a FORTUNE 500 engineering and construction firm, where he specialized in biopharmaceutical design and construction. He holds an MBA from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, BE and ME degrees in Chemical/Biochemical Engineering from Dartmouth College, and an AB in Physics from Hamilton College.

About Joule Unlimited, Inc.
Joule is pioneering the production of Liquid Fuel from the Sun™, surpassing today’s barriers to abundant, sustainable, cost-competitive supply. Its transformational Helioculture™ platform converts sunlight and waste CO2 directly into liquid fuels in a continuous process that is not limited by costly biomass intermediates, processing or use of precious natural resources. This platform can yield renewable diesel fuel in unprecedented volumes with a fraction of the land use incurred by current methods, leapfrogging biomass-dependent approaches and eliminating the economic and environmental disadvantages of fossil fuels. Founded in 2007 by Flagship Venture Labs, Joule is privately held and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Additional information is available at www.jouleunlimited.com.

Council of Graduate Schools approves 14 University of Massachusetts Professional Science Master's (PSM) options including Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT

The University of Massachusetts Lowell now offers a Professional Science Master’s (PSM) option in the Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology program. Several areas of specialization are available including medical imaging, biomaterials and bioprocessing.

The innovative, two-year non-thesis Professional Science Master’s (PSM) graduate degree programs are developed in concert with industry partners and are designed to enhance your career opportunities. The PSM degree options augment core science curricula with business fundamentals, communications, ethics and project management. Additionally, you put your skills and knowledge into practice during the required internship component of the program. (Students employed full-time may be able to substitute a project for the required internship.)

Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology (BMEBT) PSM is a non-thesis masters degree granting track within a PhD program designed to offer national recognition at the intersection of biology and engineering; that is readily accessible to individuals with a wide range of science/engineering undergraduate degrees; that addresses contemporary biomedical/health research problems; and that provides students with options to pursue careers in business, government and non-profit sectors of the biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceutical, and related industries.

BMEBT PSM Option specializations:

Medical Imaging: Image data are of increasing importance in Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology. The application of microelectronic circuitry, high performance processors, and improved algorithms based on advanced mathematics has resulted in innovative new methodologies to acquire and process image data, permitting visualization, quantification, and functional analysis of tissues and organs.

Biomaterials: The use of plastics in medical products and medical devices is rapidly increasing. The Plastics Engineering Department at UMass Lowell is continuing its leadership role in Plastics Engineering Education by responding to industry's need for Medical Plastics training. This program will provide knowledge needed for the development of new "engineering intensive" medical products which combine complex material compositions, designs, and manufacturing processes. The program is intended for medical professionals, engineers and technologists working in the medical products industry.

Bioprocessing: This program emphasizes biological and engineering principles, process concepts and the application of these to process design and improvement. Courses deliberately cross disciplinary boundaries and emphasize teamwork in a multidisciplinary environment as well as a result-oriented, document-driven approach to efficient project completion. This specialization is intended for students who hold a baccalaureate degree in science, engineering, health, or related disciplines.

Other specializations available in consultation with BMEBT Program Advisor.

BMEBT PSM Program Contact: Dr. Bryan Buchholz, Director Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology Program, Bryan_Buchholz@uml.edu
978-934-3241

The Council of Graduate Schools officially approved fourteen (14) Professional Science Master program options from the University of Massachusetts including two intercampus PSM options: Biomedical Engineering/Biotechnology and Marine Sciences, Coastal and Ocean Administration, Science and Technology.

Other PSM programs offered from the UMass Lowell School of Health and Environment:

§    Clinical Laboratory Sciences

§    Cleaner Production/Pollution Prevention

§    Epidemiology

§    Ergonomics and Safety

§    Occupational, Environmental Hygiene

from the UMass Lowell School of Arts and Sciences:

§   Applied Biotechnology

§   Biosafety

§   Environmental Biotechnology

§   Industrial Mathematics

§   Project Management for Life Sciences

§   Radiological Sciences and Protection

from the UMass Boston School of Science and Mathematics:

§   Environmental Sciences

ENROLLING FOR FALL 2010

Graduate walk-in registration Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 3-7 p.m., Dugan Hall, 833 Broadway Street, Lowell, MA, South Campus UMass Lowell

For additional Professional Science Master program information visit http://www.uml.edu/grad/PSM/default.html or contact Susan Lawton, PSM Planning Coordinator, psm_umass@uml.edu, (978) 934-2299

Metamark Genetics, Inc. Completes $22 Million Series B Financing to Advance Pipeline of Innovative Function-Based Prognostic Assays for Early Stage Cancers

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Lead Investor Agrees to Purchase Additional $8 Million Upon Satisfaction of Undisclosed Milestones -

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Metamark Genetics, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company addressing a major challenge in cancer medicine, has completed a $22 million Series B financing. Metamark's Prognosis Determinants™ platform has illuminated the genetic drivers governing the lethal metastatic progression of major cancers and is now focused on pivotal translational and commercialization efforts to bring these breakthrough discoveries to cancer patients worldwide. Subject to the Company's satisfaction of undisclosed milestones and other customary closing conditions, the lead investor will have an obligation to purchase up to an aggregate of $8M of additional preferred stock.

Proceeds from the financing will be used to expand Metamark's research and development and clinical testing infrastructure, in addition to establishing its commercial organization. Kenneth E. Weg, Metamark's Chairman and acting CEO, remarked "We expect that this robust level of capitalization will assure that Metamark has the resources to fully develop and prepare for the commercialization of its innovative molecular diagnostic tests for early stage cancers, which comprise the majority of cancer diagnoses today."

Metamark's proprietary MetamarkDx™ Prognostic Assays are being designed to enable the identification of those early stage cancers that are genetically hardwired for lethal spread, thus arming physicians with critical insight to develop personalized treatment strategies, such as the enlistment of high risk patients into more aggressive treatment regimens than low risk patients. As importantly, these powerful tests will reduce the unnecessary over-treatment of benign disease, thus significantly reducing health care costs. Dr. Lynda Chin, Metamark's scientific founder and Board Member, further notes "By uniformly impacting positively across the needs of patients, physicians, and payers, Metamark stands to become a leader in the personalized medicine revolution."

Metamark's Senior Director of Operations, Eric Devroe, Ph.D., added "This Series B financing comes at an important time in Metamark's planned evolution into a leading molecular diagnostics company. We look forward to sharing forthcoming developments related to Metamark's expanding team, scientific publications, and strategic business partnerships."

Metamark's founding team, comprising world leaders in oncology, genetics, pathology, successful serial entrepreneurs, and business leaders includes:

* Lynda Chin, M.D., Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School and the Scientific Director of the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Chin is a leading figure in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the International Cancer Genome Consortium, as well as a co-founder of AVEO Pharmaceuticals.
* Ronald A. DePinho M.D., American Cancer Society Research Professor and Professor of Medicine and Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science. Dr. DePinho is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the recipient of the 2009 4th Annual Szent Gyorgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research, and a co-founder of AVEO Pharmaceuticals.
* David Rimm M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Pathology at Yale and Director of the Yale Tissue Microarray Facility. Dr. Rimm is a leading authority on the use of biomarkers to predict metastasis, has pioneered the quantitation and digitization of molecular pathology, invented the AQUA® technology, and co-founded HistoRx, Inc.
* Raju Kucherlapati Ph.D., Paul C. Cabot Professor of Genetics and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kucherlapati is a leader in the national Personalized Medicine community, a member of both the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, and was a founder of Cell Genesys, Abgenix, and Millennium Pharmaceuticals.
* Kenneth E. Weg, Chairman and Acting CEO of Metamark Genetics, previously served 33 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, most recently as President, Worldwide Medicines Group as well as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Weg currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Fox Chase Cancer Center and AVEO Pharmaceuticals, and was previously the non-executive Chairman of Millennium Pharmaceuticals until the company was bought by Takeda.

About Metamark Genetics, Inc.
Metamark is a privately held oncology company focused on the development of function-based prognostic assays for early staged cancers. The MetamarkDx™ Prognostic Assays under development are based on Metamark's proprietary Prognosis Determinants™, genes discovered through leading edge cancer research and demonstrated to play a causal role in promoting tumor progression and spread. For further information, please visit the company's website at www.metamarkgenetics.com

SYNAGEVA BIOPHARMA RECEIVES ORPHAN DRUG DESIGNATION FOR SBC-102 FOR LYSOSOMAL ACID LIPASE DEFICIENCY

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT

WALTHAM, Mass, July 7, 2010 -- Synageva BioPharma Corp., a privately held biopharmaceutical company, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation for SBC-102, the Company’s enzyme replacement therapy in development to treat Lysosomal Acid Lipase (LAL) Deficiency, also known as Wolman Disease and Cholesteryl Ester Storage Disease (CESD), a condition for which there is currently no approved treatment. As a result of the orphan drug designation, Synageva BioPharma will be eligible to receive a number of benefits, including access to grant funding for clinical trials, tax credits, waiver of the FDA filing and registration fees, and seven years of market exclusivity upon approval. U.S. orphan drug designation is granted to a product that treats a rare disease, a condition that affects fewer than 200,000 Americans.

About Synageva BioPharma Corp.

Synageva BioPharma Corp. is dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for patients with rare conditions and high unmet medical need. The Company has developed a pipeline of novel therapeutics for underserved populations and has assembled a team with a proven record of bringing orphan therapies to patients. Synageva BioPharma has the ability to use its proprietary protein expression technology (SEP™), which due to its flexibility, scalability and consistency of end product is uniquely suited for the development and commercialization of personalized medicines for patients with rare diseases. Further information regarding Synageva BioPharma Corp. is available at www.synageva.com.

Hologic To Acquire Sentinelle Medical

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT

A Leader in MRI Breast Coils

BEDFORD, Mass. - Hologic, Inc. (Hologic or the Company) (Nasdaq: HOLX), a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostics, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Sentinelle Medical Inc. (Sentinelle Medical), a leading provider of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) breast coils, tables and visualization software.

The purchase price for the transaction will be $85 million, plus a two-year contingent earn out. The earn out will be payable in cash installments equal to a multiple of the incremental revenue growth in Sentinelle Medical's business in the two years following the closing. This transaction is expected to close during the third calendar quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions, including, among others, Sentinelle Medical stockholder approval and Canadian judicial approval.

Sentinelle Medical, a privately-held medical imaging company headquartered in Toronto, Canada, is dedicated to developing advanced breast imaging technologies using high-field strength MRI that will help in the earlier detection and better treatment of breast cancer.

"The agreement to acquire Sentinelle Medical is a further example of our strategy to maintain a leadership position in women's healthcare," said Rob Cascella, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Magnetic Resonance (MR) is rapidly becoming a standard of care for breast cancer screening of women indicated as having a high risk of developing the disease. This acquisition should further strengthen our comprehensive portfolio of product offerings in the areas of breast cancer detection and intervention."

Sentinelle Medical's revenue in calendar 2009 was approximately $15 million. Hologic expects this acquisition to be neutral to earnings in fiscal 2011, absent the amortization of intangibles related to the transaction and other acquisition-related charges.

"We are proud of the innovations we have introduced with our MRI solutions and are very pleased with our accomplishments to date," said Cameron Piron, President and CEO of Sentinelle Medical. "This merger is a natural fit. Our expertise in MR breast imaging combined with Hologic's resources should further accelerate the adoption of our technology and ultimately benefit physicians and improve patient care."

Benefits of the Acquisition:

The anticipated strategic benefits of the transaction include, among others:

Broadens Hologic's presence in women's health by offering additional products through existing sales channels. Current sales force is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growing interest in high-performance MR coils for breast imaging.
Leverages best-in-class coil technology for leading MR systems across other anatomy- specific applications.
Complements Hologic's efforts in bringing beneficial imaging modalities to market through advanced research and development capabilities. This combination is expected to expedite new advances in breast imaging.

About Hologic, Inc.

Hologic, Inc. is a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostics products, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women. Hologic's core business units are focused on breast health, diagnostics, GYN surgical, and skeletal health. Hologic provides a comprehensive suite of technologies with products for mammography and breast biopsy, radiation treatment for early-stage breast cancer, cervical cancer screening, treatment for menorrhagia, permanent contraception, osteoporosis assessment, preterm birth risk assessment, mini C-arm for extremity imaging and molecular diagnostic products including HPV and reagents for a variety of DNA and RNA analysis applications. For more information, visit www.hologic.com.

Hologic and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Hologic, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries.

About Sentinelle Medical Inc.

Sentinelle Medical (www.sentinellemedical.com) is dedicated to improving patient care with early detection and accurate intervention. The Company researches, develops, manufactures, sells and supports leading edge Magnetic Resonance Imaging technologies. The ground breaking Sentinelle Vanguard® breast coils provide excellent quality MR images, complete and open access for intervention, and award winning design that optimizes patient comfort and workflow.

Sentinelle Medical's imaging and interventional computer software, Aegis™ Breast, aids in the guidance of biopsy procedures and allows the radiologist to view and manipulate the MR images in three dimensions.

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer:

This News Release may contain forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties, including statements about the Company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the timing of completion of the acquisition, the anticipated benefits of the acquisition and the expected effect of the acquisition on the Company's results of operations. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company's ability to consummate the acquisition or that may cause actual results to vary materially, include, among others: the stockholders of Sentinelle Medical may not approve the acquisition; the parties may be unable to gain approval of the Plan of Arrangement pursuant to which the transaction will be consummated; the parties may be unable to complete the acquisition or completing the acquisition may be more costly than expected because, among other reasons, conditions to the closing of the acquisition may not be satisfied; problems may arise with the ability to successfully integrate the businesses of Hologic and Sentinelle Medical, which may result in the combined company not operating as effectively and efficiently as expected; the Company may not be able to achieve the expected synergies from the acquisition or it may take longer than expected to achieve those synergies; the acquisition may involve unexpected costs or unexpected liabilities, or the effects of purchase accounting may be different from the Company's expectations; the combined company may be adversely affected by future legislative, regulatory, or tax changes as well as other economic, business and/or competitive factors. The risks included above are not exhaustive. The annual reports on Form 10-K, the quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and other documents Hologic has filed with the SEC contain additional factors that could impact Hologic's businesses and financial performance. Hologic expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements presented herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.

New Multiplex Panels from Aushon BioSystems Help Measure Urinary Biomarkers of Kidney Damage during Drug Development

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Researchers can better determine risk while speeding the pace and increasing the accuracy of clinical phase research efforts

BILLERICA, Mass., (July 1, 2010) – Aushon BioSystems, Inc., a leading provider of advanced microarray instrumentation and laboratory services for biomarker discovery, development and analysis, has launched new Human multiplex biomarker panels for the quantification of eight biomarkers related to drug-induced kidney damage, or nephrotoxicity. Recent studies identifying biomarkers for kidney injury during pre-clinical testing for certain drugs helped initiate the development of the new panels. Requiring minimal sample volume, the new multiplex biomarker panels address the need for a more rapid, sensitive and accurate method to identify and quantify renal toxicity biomarkers to assist in determining risk.

The Human Nephrotoxicity Panels are validated for analysis of urine samples. The panels were developed using the Aushon SearchLight® protein array technology – a multiplex, sandwich ELISA system based on chemiluminescent or infrared detection of analytes. It features a simple 3.5 hour protocol that is very similar to protocols for traditional plate-based ELISA kits.

The new multiplex panels include the following biomarkers:

KIM-1, Clusterin, TIMP-1, VEGF, Trefoil Factor-3 (TFF-3), Osteopontin, EGF, NGAL

Researchers can analyze samples from clinical trials using Aushon’s CLIA-certified sample testing service or conduct the analysis themselves using Aushon’s chemiluminescent biomarker kits and imaging system.

About Aushon BioSystems
Aushon BioSystems provides a comprehensive suite of microarray instruments, consumables and services to leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic and diagnostic clients worldwide. Our unique combination of advanced microarray printing technology, robust biomarker content and innovative multiplex immunoassay development and detection systems delivers exceptional performance, quality and reliability that accelerate pre-clinical and clinical biomarker research. Our customers trust us to provide the most reliable protein biomarker data available, which lowers costs and improves research productivity. For more information, please visit www.aushon.com.

JOULE NAMED TO RED HERRING NORTH AMERICA 100

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Cambridge, Mass. – June 30, 2010 – Joule Unlimited, Inc., pioneer of Liquid Fuel from the Sun™, today announced its recognition by Red Herring as one of the 100 most promising private technology companies in North America. As a winner of the prestigious, annual distinction, Joule joins the ranks of Google, Yahoo!, Skype, YouTube and other past winners who were identified as leading “the next wave of disruption and innovation.”

The Red Herring award comes on the heels of two other distinctions for Joule this month: selection to the AlwaysOn East Top 100, a list of the top private companies in the eastern US; and inclusion among Biofuels Digest’s 30 Most Transformative Technologies of 2010.

“It’s an honor for Joule to be recognized among North America’s top emerging companies, reflecting our vision for a new, sustainable oil industry and the great strides we’ve made towards its realization,” said Bill Sims, President and CEO, Joule.

“Just three years into development, we’ve created a technology and system with productivities that eclipse current biofuel production methods, while rivaling the costs of fossil fuels and scaling to meet massive demand – all without reliance on arable land, biomass feedstocks or fresh water. This is not an incremental advancement, but rather a world-changing solution to the very real problem of fossil fuel dependence, and we appreciate Red Herring’s acknowledgement of a technology that defies conventional categories.”

“Choosing the companies with the strongest potential was by no means a small feat,” said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring. “After rigorous contemplation and discussion, we narrowed our list down from hundreds of candidates from across North America to the Top 100 Winners. We believe Joule embodies the vision, drive and innovation that define a successful entrepreneurial venture. Joule should be proud of its accomplishment, as the competition was very strong.”

Joule and other nominees were evaluated on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, including technology innovation, quality of management, execution of strategy, and integration into their respective industries. During the several months leading up to the announcement, hundreds of companies in the telecommunications, security, Web 2.0, software, hardware, biotech, and clean tech industries submitted entries to qualify for the top 100. Additional information is available here.

About Joule Unlimited, Inc.
Joule is pioneering the production of Liquid Fuel from the Sun™, surpassing today’s barriers to abundant, sustainable, cost-competitive supply. Its transformational Helioculture™ platform converts sunlight and waste CO₂ directly into liquid fuels in a continuous process that is not limited by costly biomass intermediates, processing or use of precious natural resources. This platform can yield renewable diesel fuel in unprecedented volumes with a fraction of the land use incurred by current methods, leapfrogging biomass-dependent approaches and eliminating the economic and environmental disadvantages of fossil fuels. Founded in 2007 by Flagship Venture Labs, Joule is privately held and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Additional information is available at www.jouleunlimited.com.

Advanced Proteome Therapeutics to Be Granted Patent by EPO and to Present at Premier Biopartnering and Investment Conference

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--- Advanced Proteome Therapeutics Corporation (TSX VENTURE:APC) (the "Corporation" or "APC") is pleased to announce that the European Patent Office (EPO) intends to grant a patent directed toward a "Method for identifying activated polymer complexes for secondary site-specific modification of protein target groups" (European Patent Application No: 04 702 918.6). The patent has been assigned to its subsidiary, Advanced Proteome Therapeutics Inc., by the inventor, Alexander Krantz, Ph.D.

The subject of the patent is a method for site-specifically modifying proteins. Site-specific modifications are usually necessary to prepare proteins for commercial use. The new patent describes a method for discovering novel protein sites for attaching entities which are likely to enhance the properties of proteins. The method consists of ensembles of specially designed molecules that are in competition to selectively modify protein molecules. The winning molecules are detected by their greater abundance at specific target sites.

Potential applications include the creation of entirely new classes of therapeutic proteins as well as new, improved versions of off-patent proteins that have achieved multi-billion dollar sales per annum. Over the past decade protein therapeutics has been the most dynamic sector of the pharmaceutical industry. The global protein therapeutics market registered a robust growth rate of over 14% in 2008.

The Corporation will also be presenting at BioTrinity 2010 in Newbury, Berkshire, England on April 14th. Alexander Krantz, President and CEO will present a profile of the Corporation reviewing its business strategy, technological advantages and recent progress.

BioTrinity 2010 is the Premier Biopartnering and Investment Conference in the UK and is Europe's fastest growing partnering conference with more investors than any other UK conference (BioTrinity 2010 is also a Massachusetts Biotechnology Council).

About APC

APC's primary corporate primary mission is to apply its proprietary drug delivery and drug redevelopment technologies to produce new, improved versions of therapeutic proteins and pioneer the emerging field of protein-site targeting. The market for diagnostics and therapeutic proteins and peptides is expected to surpass more than 50 Billion USD by the year 2010 and is the fastest growing segment of the pharmaceutical market. Future growth however depends largely on the industry overcoming a number of hurdles, including drug delivery challenges and the need for homogeneous conjugates that APC is attempting to address.

Rapid Micro Biosystems Releases Service Pack 2 Software for Growth DirectTM

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

New Release Automates Microbial Quality Control Process for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers

Bedford, MA - (June 22, 2010) - Rapid Micro Biosystems, a company developing innovative products for faster and automated detection of microbial contamination, today announced the availability of Service Pack 2 software for the Growth Direct™ System. The new release includes both user and industry driven product features that enable Quality Control labs to improve their performance by optimizing workflow and eliminating waste. These capabilities will drive the transformation from manual quality control to an automated, paperless laboratory.

Increased Manufacturing Efficiency and Throughput

New alerting features let the business respond faster to key quality events, such as the early warning of contaminated product samples, improving efficiency, speeding corrective actions and preventing product loss. Other alerts ensure testing compliance, such as indicating when samples have not been properly handled. Escalation emails trigger samples that exceed an action or alert limit.   Device alarms sound when quality anomalies occur.

Early notification of contamination allows the QC lab to take action earlier and prevent further product corruption. For example, taking a fermentor offline before its material is combined with other product in-process enables more productive use of plant resources and capacity. Continuous readout of microbial results prior to completion allows users to get an early view of any developing contamination issues and consult proactively with their manufacturing partners to resolve it.

Electronic access to testing results through a company’s Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) allows key stakeholders beyond the QC lab to view testing results as they are completed, eliminating unnecessary emails, meetings, phone calls and paper.   These stakeholders can then take faster remediation based upon sample results, improving their efficiency and focusing on process improvements.

Automating the Quality Control Laboratory

Service Pack 2 focuses on features to streamline workflow and eliminate waste in the QC lab.   These new Growth Direct™ System capabilities allow pharmaceutical companies to efficiently manage their labor resources and changes in workload. For instance, users can increase laboratory testing efficiency through batch loading of samples while providing flexibility to accommodate random access sample loading.

The paperless QC lab is enabled through seamless LIMS connectivity that automates results recording, data management and reporting, a common source of errors. The system automatically archives results and history, integral to regulatory compliance and critical for traceability and audit-ability.

Custom reporting allows users to tailor reports specific to their needs. Users can easily and efficiently adjust reports to match the laboratory convention and business needs.   The time saved allows the quality lab to improve efficiency, reduce errors and focus on value-added activities, critical to any Lean Laboratory program.

Rapid Micro Biosystems CEO, Steve Delity says, "Poor productivity in the Pharmaceutical industry is a significant problem. This is costing organizations millions of dollars a year that, when fixed, drop straight to the bottom line. Our enhancements to the Growth Direct™ System help companies compete in a tough global market by automating and modernizing their quality processes and detecting microbes in half the time of traditional methods. This improves manufacturing cycle-time, increases production capacity and productivity to drive quantifiable results.”

About Rapid Micro Biosystems

Rapid Micro Biosystems, a venture-backed company headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, provides innovative products for faster detection of microbial contamination in the manufacture of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and personal care products. The company's Growth DirectTM System, commercialized in 2008, detects contamination earlier, delivering compelling economic benefits to manufacturers while improving their quality process. The Growth DirectTM System is the first and only automated system that accelerates testing, fits with current regulatory practices, and addresses all key applications. For more information, visit www.rapidmicrobio.com.

AMRI Acquires Hyaluron Inc.

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

AMRI Expands Integrated Contract Services Platform to include Sterile Fill and Finish Capabilities

Immediate entry into high growth prefilled syringe market
Expansion of customer base for AMRI’s existing Discovery/Development/Small Scale and Large Scale business
Acquisition of patented Bubble Free FillingTM Technology
Furthers AMRI strategy to acquire new technologies and expand integrated services platform
Acquisition accretive to AMRI E.P.S. within first year

Albany, NY (June 15, 2010) — AMRI (NASDAQ: AMRI) today announced the acquisition of Hyaluron Inc., expanding AMRI’s contract manufacturing capabilities to include cGMP manufacturing and sterile filling of parenteral drugs to the biopharmaceutical industry. AMRI has acquired all facilities and equipment as well as a highly trained and experienced staff of professionals with expertise in sterile GMP manufacturing. Purchase price, including debt, was approximately $27 million.

Hyaluron provides high value-added contract manufacturing services in sterile syringe and vial filling using
specialized technologies including lyophilization and Bubble-Free FillingTM, a unique patented technology developed and owned by Hyaluron. Hyaluron provides these services for both small molecule drug products as well as biologicals, from clinical phase to commercial scale.

Hyaluron is one of a small number of organizations with prefilled syringe capabilities in the United States.
In 2008, the company announced the grant of a patent for its proprietary process for aseptic online vacuum filling and online vacuum stoppering of low viscosity liquids in syringes called Bubble-Free FillingTM.

This acquisition provides AMRI immediate entry into a new and strategically important product offering. AMRI can now offer customers a fully integrated manufacturing process for sterile injectable drugs including the development and manufacture of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), the design of the criteria to formulate the API into an injectable drug product, and the manufacture of the final drug product.

“AMRI is excited to announce our entry into the rapidly growing sterile fill injectables market, including
capabilities to formulate and manufacture protein-containing drug products,” said AMRI Chairman and CEO Thomas E. D’Ambra, Ph.D. “This acquisition immediately expands the synergies we can offer to our customers, by providing services in preparation of active ingredients and finished dosage form.”

“We believe that the unique capabilities of both organizations will quickly assimilate into a larger, fully
integrated GMP manufacturing provider of choice for companies desiring to capitalize on seamless technology transfer and the related increased efficiency and cost benefits of such a model,” continued Dr. D’Ambra.

“It is a pleasure to congratulate the founders and staff of Hyaluron for building a promising and growing
business. We look forward to welcoming them into the AMRI organization.”

Hyaluron founder and President Shawn Kinney, Ph.D. said, “We look forward to becoming a vital part of
AMRI’s full service global organization. Similar to AMRI, we expect that the synergies between our service offerings will provide a win for not only AMRI and Hyaluron, but more importantly for customers seeking the best in value, quality and customer service.”

Dr. Kinney will continue in his role as site leader of the Hyaluron business unit, which will operate as a
subsidiary of AMRI.

Hyaluron forecasts full year 2010 revenue to be $15 to $17 million, up from $13 million for the full year 2009. BroadOak Partners acted as financial advisor to AMRI.

About AMRI
Founded in 1991, Albany Molecular Research, Inc. provides scientific services, products and technologies focused on improving the quality of life. AMRI works on drug discovery and development projects and conducts manufacturing of active ingredients and pharmaceutical intermediates for many of the world’s leading healthcare companies. As an additional value added service to its customers, the company is also investing in R&D in order to expand its contract services and to identify novel early stage drug candidates with the goal to outlicense to a strategic partner. With locations in the United States, Europe, and Asia, AMRI provides customers with a wide range of services, technologies and cost models.

About Hyaluron
Hyaluron aseptically fills liquid and lyophilized products into syringes, vials, and custom containers. In
addition to traditional formulations, Hyaluron excels in process development scale up of difficult formulations including: emulsions; viscous gels; suspensions, liposomes, and proteins.

Forward-looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may be identified by forward-looking words such as “may,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “will,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe” and “continue” or similar words and include, without limitation, statements by Dr. D’Ambra and Dr. Kinney, statements concerning the proposed acquisition, the terms and the timing of the acquisition and statements concerning earnings per share and costs. Readers should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. The company’s actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, some of which the company may not be able to predict and may not be within the company’s control. Factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, the reaction of customers of the company and Hyaluron to the acquisition; the company’s timing and ability to successfully integrate Hyaluron’s operations (including migration of Hyaluron to the company’s systems and controls) and employees; the introduction of new services by competitors or the entry of new competitors into the markets for the company’s and Hyaluron services; the failure by the company to retain key employees of Hyaluron; failure to further develop and successfully market Hyaluron service offerings; failure to achieve anticipated revenues and earnings; costs related to the acquisition; the company’s ability to attract and retain experienced scientists; trends in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies outsourcing of chemical research and development; the company’s ability to enforce its intellectual property and technology rights; the risks posed by international operations to the company; and the company’s ability to effectively manage its growth, as well as those factors discussed in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
on March 12, 2010 and the company’s other SEC filings. The company does not undertake any duty to and does not intend to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release after the
date of this press release.

Genzyme’s Alemtuzumab for Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis Granted Fast Track Status by FDA

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Genzyme Corporation (Nasdaq: GENZ) announced today that its alemtuzumab for multiple sclerosis development program has been granted Fast Track status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This designation covers patients with relapsing-remitting forms of the disease.

The FDA's Fast Track program is designed to expedite the review of new drugs that are intended to treat serious or life-threatening conditions and demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs. Under Fast Track designation, alemtuzumab for MS is eligible for Priority Review and the FDA may consider for review portions of the marketing application before the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) is completed.

“We are extremely pleased that our alemtuzumab development program has been assigned Fast Track status, and look forward to working closely with the FDA to expedite the program’s review process,” said Henri Termeer, Genzyme’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Alemtuzumab is a potentially transformative therapy for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, and an important part of our future.”

Alemtuzumab for the treatment of MS is currently being evaluated in two pivotal multi-center, multi-national trials, known as CARE-MS^SM (Comparison of Alemtuzumab and Rebif® Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis). The company’s CARE-MS I Phase 3 trial is a randomized study comparing alemtuzumab to the approved therapy Rebif (high-dose interferon beta-1a) in early, relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients who have received no prior therapy. The second Phase 3 trial, CARE-MS II, is comparing alemtuzumab to Rebif in RRMS patients who had active disease while on other MS therapies.

Both trials are fully enrolled and data are expected to be available in 2011.

About Campath^® (alemtuzumab)

Campath^® is licensed in the United States as a single agent for the treatment of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), and outside of the U.S. for the treatment of B-CLL in patients who have been treated with alkylating agents and for whom fludarabine combination therapy is not appropriate. The product was launched in its oncology indication in 2001 in the US, where it is marketed as Campath^®, and in Europe, where it is named MabCampath^®.

Campath for B-CLL has a boxed warning that includes information on cytopenias, infusion reactions, and infections. The most commonly reported adverse reactions in patients with B-CLL were infusion reactions (fever, chills, hypotension, urticaria, nausea, rash, tachycardia, dyspnea), cytopenias (neutropenia, lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia), and infections (CMV viremia, CMV infection, other infections). Other commonly reported adverse reactions include vomiting, abdominal pain, insomnia and anxiety. The most commonly reported serious adverse reactions are cytopenias, infusion reactions, and immunosuppression/infections.

About Genzyme

One of the world's leading biotechnology companies, Genzyme is dedicated to making a major positive impact on the lives of people with serious diseases. Since 1981, the company has grown from a small start-up to a diversified enterprise with more than 12,000 employees in locations spanning the globe and 2009 revenues of $4.5 billion. In 2010, Genzyme was named to the Fortune 500.

With many established products and services helping patients in approximately 100 countries, Genzyme is a leader in the effort to develop and apply the most advanced technologies in the life sciences. The company's products and services are focused on rare inherited disorders, kidney disease, orthopaedics, cancer, transplant and immune disease. Genzyme's commitment to innovation continues today with a substantial development program focused on these fields, as well as cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and other areas of unmet medical need.

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Genzyme’s future plans and business strategies, including its expectations about when data will become available from the two phase 3 trials, plans to seek expedited review with the FDA, and the success of alemtuzumab to treat MS. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements, including: that the phase 3 trials are not successful; the timing and outcome of discussions with the regulatory agencies regarding approval of alemtuzumab for MS and the granting of expedited review; the actual safety and efficacy of alemtuzumab for MS; and the risks and uncertainties described in reports filed by Genzyme with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including without limitation the information under the heading "Risk Factors" in Genzyme’s Amended Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q/A for the quarter ending March 31, 2010. Genzyme cautions investors not to place substantial reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Genzyme undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements.

Genzyme^®, Campath^®, and MabCampath^® are registered trademarks and CARE-MS is a service mark of Genzyme Corporation. All rights reserved. Rebif^® is a registered trademark of EMD Serono, Inc. or affiliates.

Inotek Pharmaceuticals Closes $18 Million Preferred Stock Financing

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Company to Advance Novel Eye-Drop INO-8875 Through Phase 2 Trials in Glaucoma
marketwire

LEXINGTON, MA-- Inotek Pharmaceuticals Corp., a leader in the development of innovative drug candidates to address significant diseases of the eye, today announced it has closed an $18 million preferred stock financing. Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance Inotek's novel eye-drop INO-8875 through multiple-dose Phase 2 clinical trials in glaucoma. In an earlier Phase 1/2 clinical trial, INO-8875 was shown to significantly reduce intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients. Devon Park Bioventures, a new investor, led the round with participation from existing investors Rho Ventures, Care Capital, Pitango Venture Capital, MedImmune Ventures, and Bio*One Capital.

"We are pleased to receive such financial support from Devon Park and our current investors to advance the clinical development of INO-8875, including the initiation of a multiple-dose Phase 2 clinical trial later this month," stated Paul G. Howes, President and Chief Executive Officer of Inotek. "INO-8875 is a first-in-class product candidate with an elegant mechanism of action that differentiates it from currently approved products for glaucoma as well as other candidates in development. As a highly selective adenosine-1 receptor agonist, INO-8875 enhances outflow through the major pathway used by healthy elderly eyes -- the trabecular meshwork -- to reduce intraocular pressure. With continued clinical success, we believe INO-8875 could play an important role in meeting the need for improved treatments for glaucoma."

"We believe INO-8875 is one of the most promising glaucoma product candidates in clinical development today," said John Leaman, M.D., Principal at Devon Park Bioventures. "The Inotek team has made considerable progress advancing the candidate to date and we look forward to working with them as INO-8875 moves into later-stage clinical trials."

In conjunction with the financing, John Leaman has joined Inotek's Board of Directors.

About INO-8875 for Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness globally, and it is broadly accepted that lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucoma patients is the only clinically reliable means of slowing the progression of vision loss. Current products for glaucoma, such as prostaglandins, lower IOP by reducing inflow of fluid in the eye or increasing its drainage through a secondary pathway in the eye -- the uveoscleral pathway. As glaucoma advances with age, the eye's trabecular meshwork grows increasingly clogged with protein debris, and the eye can become less responsive to these mechanisms. As such, a significant percentage of patients do not respond adequately to currently approved products, and up to 40% of patients are treated with a combination of products in the hope of achieving targeted reductions in IOP. There remains an unmet need for innovative glaucoma products acting on the trabecular meshwork to provide improved IOP-lowering efficacy.

The Company believes INO-8875 has significant potential as an IOP-lowering medicine, either as monotherapy or in combination with other glaucoma products, because it restores outflow of aqueous humor through the trabecular meshwork. As validation of its complementary mechanism to other glaucoma products, INO-8875 has shown substantial additivity of IOP-lowering efficacy when combined with the leading glaucoma product (Xalatan®, Pfizer) in a preclinical model. As a highly selective adenosine-1 receptor agonist, INO-8875 has a novel mechanism differentiating it from currently approved products and other candidates in development for glaucoma in that INO-8875 enhances a natural cellular signaling pathway to clear debris from the trabecular meshwork, resulting in improved outflow.

About Inotek
Inotek is a leader in the development of innovative drug candidates to address significant diseases of the eye, with a major focus on glaucoma. Inotek's lead product candidate INO-8875 is a potential first-in-class eye-drop product for glaucoma that significantly reduced intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucoma subjects following single doses applied to the eye in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial. The Company believes INO-8875 will be a breakthrough treatment that can be used alone or combined with other IOP-lowering products because it increases the outflow of aqueous humor through the trabecular meshwork, the primary drainage system used by healthy elderly eyes to maintain normal IOP. The Company is also advancing a broad pipeline of PARP inhibitors and SOD mimetics that alleviate oxidative injury and inflammation, which it believes may address significant unmet medical needs in retinal diseases, such as the dry form of age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD). The Company is located in Lexington, MA. For further information on Inotek, please visit www.inotekcorp.com.

About Devon Park Bioventures
Founded in 2006, Devon Park Bioventures is a healthcare venture capital firm with a primary focus on therapeutics companies. Based in the Philadelphia area, the firm seeks to invest in companies which have significant commercial potential based on proprietary products, attractive clinical development plans and superior management teams. The General Partners of Devon Park have a longstanding history in the biotechnology business, having been lead or co-lead investor in over 25 biotechnology companies over the past 18 years. For additional information, please visit www.dpbioventures.com.

Wolfe Laboratories Scientists Inspire Younger Generations

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 12:25:00 EDT

WATERTOWN, Mass. - (Business Wire) Wolfe Laboratories, Inc. (WLI), a biopharmaceutical development services company dedicated to community service, participated in the first-ever statewide Biotechnology Job Shadow Day by hosting twenty 11^thgrade students from the Boston Latin School, the oldest school in America.

"The partnership between the biotech industry and Massachusetts’ future workforce is extremely important to Wolfe Laboratories, so we were thrilled to participate in the first-ever statewide Biotechnology Job Shadow Day,” said Margarita Hunter, Head of Marketing and Communications at WLI. “We gave Boston Latin students the opportunity to observe our world-class scientists developing breakthrough therapeutics that improve human health, to spark the students’ interest in the life sciences.”

The 11^th graders were paired with three of Wolfe’s scientists, Kristina Hugar, Scott Michaels, and Michelle Lieberman, and the company’s Head of Human Resources, Rick Eastwick who gave the young adults the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a real-world life sciences setting. They received a tour of WLI’s facility, conducted experiments in Wolfe’s state-of-the-art laboratories, and listened to presentations on the life sciences industry.

“The Biotechnology Job Shadow Day exemplifies our mission to collaborate with the community,” said Rick Eastwick. “With a plethora of innovative biotech and pharmaceutical companies, and leading academic institutions in the Boston area, we are very grateful to contribute the future of the biopharmaceutical talent pipeline. It is incredibly rewarding to see students light up with excitement at the possibility of joining an industry that betters people’s lives.”

Boston Latin student, Jennifer Huynh, shared her experiences about working as an intern at Harvard Medical School last summer. With a previous interest in science, she is now in the process of applying to Harvard as an undergraduate and looks forward to the possibility of studying at an Ivy League school.

Organized and sponsored by The Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation (MassBioEd) and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio), the full-day event gave more than 350 Massachusetts high school students the opportunity to shadow professionals at twelve biotechnology companies in an ongoing effort to increase interest in careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. This was the first statewide event held to draw attention to the growing partnership between the biotech industry and Massachusetts’ future workforce.

“The future of the biotechnology industry in Massachusetts is dependent upon the presence of a qualified workforce,” said Lance Hartford, Executive Director of MassBioEd. “Activities like job shadowing or hands-on science labs are proven to pique students’ interest in STEM and often translate into an increase in students pursuing science in college and beyond.”

Other participating companies included: Abbott Labs; Avecia; AstraZeneca; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Cubist Pharmaceuticals; EMD Serono; Formatech; MicroTest; Millipore; Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company; and Shire.

About Wolfe Laboratories, Inc. (WLI)

WLI is a biopharmaceutical development company that offers customized translational research services and comprehensive IND-enabling programs for biologics and small molecules. Through its development services in ADMET and CMC areas, as well as cGLP and cGMP testing, the company brings value to its clients by rapidly providing high quality project planning and execution through its experienced staff and management team. Drug Development Done Right. On Time. For more information, visit www.wolfelabs.com.

Cambridge Biotech, Addgene, Offers Awards to Innovative Academic Scientists

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Addgene, a non-profit repository for recombinant DNA, announces it will be distributing $60,000 to academic laboratories through its "Addgene Innovation Awards."

Cambridge, Mass.--Addgene, a non-profit repository for recombinant DNA, announces it will be distributing $60,000 in awards in 2010 to help fund academic research.

Addgene has always been committed to facilitating research. Now, in addition to helping scientists share resources, Addgene is giving back to the research community in a new way, through its “Addgene Innovation Awards.”

Addgene has developed a series of awards that will be granted to laboratories in the US that are true trendsetters in their fields. Addgene prides itself on having modernized the way scientists share resources, and is therefore rewarding scientists who have been leaders in their fields in terms of both their research and their commitment to the overall scientific community.

Addgene has teamed up with LabLife (http://www.lablife.org) to help promote and distribute these awards. The first award, the “Resource Sharing Award” will be given to laboratories that are innovators in the way in which they share resources and information with the scientific community. Addgene is looking for laboratories that have used novel tools to help promote the sharing and distribution of scientific materials and information.

The deadline for the first award will be July 15th, 2010. Applications can be submitted through the novel-funding program, LabGiving (http://www.lablife.org/labgiving) and are welcome from any laboratory in the United States. For more information about the award or other awards that will be distributed through Addgene, please email awards@addgene.org.

About Addgene:
Addgene was founded in June 2004 as a hub for scientific sharing and to promote biological and medical discoveries, and has ties to many local Universities including MIT, Tufts, and Harvard. Addgene stores, archives, and distributes plasmids, the gold currency for recombinant DNA. Plasmids are used by researchers worldwide to study how genes function, and are important for studying all types of diseases, from Cancer to Alzheimer’s.

Over the past 6 years, Addgene has developed a rich collection of over 12,000 plasmids, from academic scientists around the planet. Distributing high-quality plasmids to the global scientific community in a matter of days, Addgene provides a valuable service to life science research.

Virtify Named to “Cool Vendors in Life Sciences 2010” by Leading Analyst Firm

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Virtify, Inc., today announced that it has been named to the Gartner, Inc. list of “Cool Vendors in Life Sciences, 2010” published by Steven Lefebure and Dale Hagemeyer, two senior analysts with the firm.

Virtify’s Enterprise Content Compliance (ECC) Software Suite helps connect key people and processes involved in global submissions, clinical trial disclosure, global labeling, and other mandated activities. Virtify’s ECC suite provides a secure, collaborative Web-based environment for managing regulated content and compliance throughout the product continuum. Companies in the life sciences industry face a tremendous challenge in managing regulatory filings, documents and processes to achieve compliance. Virtify offers these companies a bridge from document-based processing to a content-centric world to better meet regulatory needs.

“Despite some pockets of relative technological sophistication, life science companies still have some manual processes relating to information flows,” states Steve Lefebure, senior analyst with Gartner in the report. “By automating these with technology, they can increase operating results, efficiency and regulatory compliance at the same time.”

According to the report, “Life science companies contend with many layers of regulation and controls to ensure that the complex process of developing and selling products occurs with minimal risks. One key principle is the visibility to requirements and obligations so that actions can be taken to ensure compliance, to mitigate risks and to efficiently carry out obligations. This year’s Cool Vendors have a common theme of enabling critical information flows.”

“We are honored that Gartner selected us as a ‘Cool Vendor’ in life sciences. We believe it confirms that our content-centric approach to compliance will help regulatory affairs professionals handle the myriad regulations and compliance challenges they face,” said Satish Tadikonda president and CEO of Virtify. “The number and variety of compliance regulations across the globe has placed a huge burden on the life sciences industry. By taking an integrated, systematic approach to centralizing and automating the tasks within quality compliance, regulatory affairs and clinical support operations, Virtify is helping customers accelerate time to market, while reducing risk and operational costs.”

For access to the Gartner report please visit www.virtify.com

About Gartner’s Cool Vendors Selection Process

Gartner’s listing does not constitute an exhaustive list of vendors in any given technology area, but rather is designed to highlight interesting, new and innovative vendors, products and services. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness of a particular purpose.

Gartner defines a cool vendor as a company that offers technologies or solutions that are: Innovative, enable users to do things they couldn’t do before; Impactful, have, or will have, business impact (not just technology for the sake of technology); Intriguing, have caught Gartner’s interest or curiosity in approximately the past six months.

About Virtify

Virtify is the market leader in Enterprise Content Compliance (ECC) software solutions for life sciences. Organizations rely on Virtify solutions to reduce time-to-market, risk, and costs by managing and automating the complex regulatory compliance and content exchange requirements throughout the product life cycle. Virtify’s easy-to-use ECC software suite is the industry’s only solution to provide a secure, collaborative web-based environment for managing regulated content throughout the entire continuum – from pre-clinical through product registration to commercialization. The company plays a leadership role in the development of global regulatory standards and is an active participant in a variety of standards committees. Virtify’s software products combined with comprehensive professional services and deep domain expertise enhance quality and compliance for some of the world’s leading life sciences companies. Located on the Web at www.virtify.com

Pharmalucence to Build State-of-the-Art Drug Production Facility in Billerica, MA with Support from $20 Million RECOVERY ZONE FACILITY Bond

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Local Entrepreneurs Bet Big on Boston Biotech

BEDFORD, MA – Pharmalucence, Inc. has announced its plan to construct a state-of-the-art, 70,000 square foot pharmaceutical production facility and new corporate headquarters at 29 Dunham Road, Billerica, MA. The company expects to create 25 to 30 new jobs as a result of this expansion. The project is supported by the first Recovery Zone Facility Bond issued in Massachusetts. The $20 million bond was issued on the company’s behalf by MassDevelopment and purchased by TD Bank.

Pharmalucence was formed in 2007 via a management buy-out of the U.S. subsidiary of a European pharmaceutical company.

“Pharmalucence has long maintained a strong radiopharmaceutical business in Massachusetts said Glenn Alto, Pharmalucence President and CEO. We are investing to fully replace and modernize our infrastructure to ensure we maintain our local presence going forward. This project will also expand our capacity to allow more focus on our contract manufacturing business, bringing growth. Currently, there is a trend to abandon domestic contract drug production for off-shore providers, but Pharmalucence is furthering its commitment in Massachusetts with full confidence. Companies that manufacture with us will gain access to the most advanced fill and finish technology available today. If an East Coast biopharma company wants world-class drug production services and can get them at a competitive cost in the Boston suburbs, why would they go to China or India? We think customers will find it’s more appealing to drive from Cambridge to Billerica than to fly to Asia to get drug development and production work done.”

Pharmalucence makes eight drugs used in the diagnosis of illnesses like cancer or heart disease. The company sells its excess production capacity to other pharmaceutical companies that need production support. Ed Connolly, Chief Operating Officer of Pharmalucence explains.

“We manufacture our own drugs for injection and use production processes that are highly specialized. Many biotech companies are at an early stage of their business development and choose to focus on the invention of new drugs and clinical trials. These organizations may lack aspects of drug commercialization like manufacturing or final product testing. They can contract Pharmalucence, leveraging our infrastructure and know-how to help advance their new therapies to market. It’s a win/win.”

The use of contract services in the biotech and pharmaceutical markets is financially compelling and is commonplace. However, this business is increasingly moving from the U.S. to countries where labor is less expensive. Pharmalucence is placing a big bet on their ability to not only compete with, but beat foreign competition locally.

The new Pharmalucence facility will feature advanced automation and use methods that isolate manufacturing within an aseptic envelope to enhance cleanliness and regulatory compliance. This facility will be among the first of its kind available to contract manufacturing customers. It will support small clinical trial lots to full commercial scale production for markets worldwide.

Pharmalucence starts construction during the summer of 2010 with full operation expected by the end of 2012.

About Pharmalucence, Inc.

Pharmalucence is a privately-held, employee-owned company specializing in the production and marketing of radiopharmaceuticals and the furnishing of contract drug formulation, analytical methods development and production services.

For more information on Pharmalucence products and services, visit www.pharmalucence.com.

JOULE ELECTS RUBEN VARDANIAN TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Cambridge, Mass. – June 3, 2010 – Joule Unlimited, Inc. today announced the election of Ruben Vardanian to its board of directors, gaining the strategic insight of a highly-accomplished, international business leader.

Mr. Vardanian is Chairman and CEO of Troika Dialog, Russia’s oldest and largest investment bank, which he has led since 1992. Since that time he has played a prominent role in Russia’s fledgling capital markets and established Troika as the pre-eminent local investment bank in Russia and other major CIS countries. He is also President of the SKOLKOVO Moscow School of Management, supported by leading Russian and international private investors with an objective to form a benchmark-setting educational establishment for local and international entrepreneurs.

“Having known and worked alongside Ruben for many years, I can confidently call him an invaluable addition to Joule’s board of directors,” said Noubar Afeyan, Founder and Chairman, Joule and Managing Partner and CEO, Flagship Ventures. “He has a remarkable sense for identifying up-and-coming ventures and extending their success to international markets, leveraging his considerable network of contacts and ability to implement winning financing strategies.”

“With our vision for fossil fuel replacement and a rapid path to commercialization, we’re incredibly fortunate to have the expertise and guidance of a renowned leader like Ruben, particularly in relation to our opportunities for international deployment,” said Bill Sims, President and CEO, Joule. “We aspire to be a global company, and Ruben’s track record of success in international business is without peer.”

“Joule has an opportunity to finally resolve the world’s dependence on fossil fuels, matching its bold vision with a strategy and a system that make renewable fuels scalable, sustainable and economically viable,” said Mr. Vardanian. “I’m very pleased to join the board of a company that will make history as it transforms the global energy landscape for the better.”

Mr. Vardanian is a member of the Management Committee of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the most influential and widely represented association of businessmen in the country. He also serves as Chairman of the Union’s Corporate Governance Committee, as well as Arbiter of its United Committee on Corporate Ethics.

He is board Chairman or member of numerous organizations, including Ameriabank, the leading bank in Armenia; OJSC AvtoVAZ, the largest car manufacturer in Eastern Europe; OJSC KAMAZ, the largest truck manufacturer in Eastern Europe; OJSC AK BARS Bank, the largest bank in the Republic of Tatarstan; OJSC NOVATEK, the largest independent gas producer in Russia; and Standard Bank Plc, the leading financial institution in emerging markets internationally.

About Joule Unlimited, Inc.
Joule is pioneering the production of Liquid Fuel from the Sun™, surpassing today’s barriers to abundant, sustainable, cost-competitive supply. Its transformational Helioculture™ platform converts sunlight and waste CO₂ directly into liquid fuels in a continuous process that is not limited by costly biomass intermediates, processing or use of precious natural resources. This platform can yield renewable diesel fuel in unprecedented volumes with a fraction of the land use incurred by current methods, leapfrogging biomass-dependent approaches and eliminating the economic and environmental disadvantages of fossil fuels. Founded in 2007 by Flagship Venture Labs, Joule is privately held and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Additional information is available at www.jouleunlimited.com.

Virtify Expands Management Team to Meet Growing Demand for Enterprise Content Compliance Solutions

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Virtify Fills Critical Roles in Finance, Engineering, Sales, Operations and Professional Services

Cambridge, MA – June 2, 2010 – Virtify, Inc., the market leader in Enterprise Content Compliance (ECC) solutions, today announced that it has made several key hires to its team in response to increased demand for Virtify ECC software and services. Among these new hires are: John Murgo, executive vice president and CFO; Jawahar Tembulkar, vice president of engineering; Matthew Slough, general manager for Philippines operations; Peter Norton, director of customer support; Scott Venable, director of product implementation; and Paul Tecca, director, product management, SCM solutions.

“We are experiencing an exciting growth period at Virtify. The life sciences industry is in need of an integrated approach to improving compliance and productivity, and this has translated into exceptional demand for our products and services,” said Satish Tadikonda, president and CEO of Virtify. “By filling these key roles in finance, engineering, sales, operations and professional services, we are able to support our current growth while preparing for the increase in market demand for solutions that address global labeling, submissions and disclosure.”

As executive vice president and CFO for Virtify, John Murgo will oversee finance, IT, HR and legal. As a member of the company’s senior management team, he will drive the successful execution of the company’s Enterprise Content Compliance strategy and operations. Murgo brings more than 15 years of experience to his role, most recently as executive vice president and CFO of Acronis, a provider of scalable storage management and disaster recovery software, where he helped grow the company from $20M to $120M in revenue in just two and a half years. Prior to Acronis, he was executive vice president and CFO of Open Service, where he managed finance, business and corporate development, and channel sales. Previous to Open Service, Murgo held a variety of executive management roles including CFO of Dirig Software, CEO of Process Software and CFO/COO of HPSC. He is a graduate of Bentley University and is a licensed CPA.

Jawahar Tembulkar will serve as vice president of engineering. He joins the company with more than 20 years of experience in the software industry, building and leading global multi-functional teams to deliver complex products and systems. Most recently, he was director of software at EMC Corporation, where he was responsible for system management and monitoring tools for EMC’s flagship NAS product, Celerra. Prior to EMC, Tembulkar was vice president of software at adAlive. He also served as vice president of applications software at Parametric Technology Corporation. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and a master’s degree from North Carolina State University.

Matthew Slough joins Virtify as general manager of its Philippines office. He has more than 20 years of experience in designing, implementing and enhancing software solutions for Fortune 500 companies. Most recently, he was director of the Offshore Recruiting Center at RCG Information Technology. Prior to that, he spent nine years as country manager/chief operating officer of IT Crossings in Manila. At LIDP Consulting, he was senior consultant/project manager, serving in a variety of technical and project management roles for clients throughout the U.S., including ING, Torchmarch and Western Southern Financial. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from DeVry University.

Virtify’s new director of customer support, Peter Norton, comes from Genzyme Corporation, where he managed the introduction of the company’s corporate-level product serialization program. Previously at GlaxoSmithKline’s Consumer Health IT division, Norton managed vendor and client support services. Norton also spent a number of years in high tech establishing global support operations based upon ISO and ITIL standards. He holds a degree in telecommunications from Bromley Technical College for City and Guilds in the UK and a degree in business administration from Hesser College.

With more than 22 years of experience designing, developing, implementing and integrating enterprise systems for companies in a variety of industries, Paul Tecca joins Virtify as director, product management, SCM solutions. He spent the last nine years in a variety of product management and engineering roles at Perceptive Informatics, which provides clinical software solutions to the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to working at Perceptive, he was lead technical consultant at Collaborative Consulting, a senior developer at Lante Corporation, and a principal at CSC Consulting & Systems Integration. Tecca holds a bachelor’s degree from Bryant College.

In addition, Virtify has hired Scott Venable, who joins as director of product implementation. He comes from Phase Forward, where he spent nearly a decade in a variety of roles, most recently as principal project manager in professional services supporting large pharmaceutical companies. Prior to Phase Forward, Venable worked at Open Market where he was project manager in professional services. He also worked in a variety of roles at Cabot Corporation. Venable received both a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Louisiana.

Virtify has also expanded its sales operations in the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest. Jeffrey Tucker joins Virtify as senior director of sales, Midwest region. Tucker joins Virtify from Oracle Corporation’s Health Sciences Global Business Unit through the acquisition of Relsys International where he had global responsibility for several large pharmaceutical and device companies. He has also worked at SAS Institute where he was a member of the Health and Life Sciences Global Business unit, at EMC where he managed the St. Louis office, and at ADP where he was a key account executive. Jeff holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Central Missouri and an MBA from Lindenwood College.

Scott Howington joins Virtify as senior director of sales, Mid-Atlantic. He comes from Systech, an enterprise solutions software company where he spent nine years as a global account executive specializing in enterprise clinical trial management software and outsourcing. Prior to Systech, Howington worked in sales at Videojet/Marconi Data Systems, Teem Sprinkler Company and Harris/3M Document Products. He holds a bachelor’s degree from High Point College.

About Virtify

Virtify is the market leader in Enterprise Content Compliance software solutions for life sciences. Organizations rely on Virtify solutions to reduce time-to-market, risk, and cost by managing and automating the complex regulatory compliance and content exchange requirements throughout the product life cycle. Virtify’s easy-to-use software suite is the industry’s only solution to provide a secure, collaborative web-based environment for managing regulated content throughout the entire continuum – from pre-clinical through product registration to commercialization. The company plays a leadership role in the development of global regulatory standards and is an active participant in a variety of standards committees. Virtify’s software products combined with comprehensive professional services and deep domain expertise enhance quality and compliance for some of the world’s leading life sciences companies. Located on the Web at www.virtify.com

Heptares Therapeutics extends multi-fte chemistry collaboration with oxygen healthcare (o2h)

Thu, 20 May 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Executives from Heptares Therapeutics (Welwyn Garden City, UK) and O2h (Cambridge, UK) announced today an extension of the agreement under which O2h provides multi-FTE -synthetic chemistry services to support discovery programmes at Heptares.

Dr. Miles Congreve, Head of Chemistry said, “We are happy to have signed this new contract with O2h; they have been a solid chemistry partner and have also supported us with some basic ADME, which helps to reduce discovery cycle times.”

Sunil Shah, CEO, O2h “We have had a successful partnership with Heptares Therapeutics and are delighted at this extension for the third year. Heptares has a very innovative technology that we are happy to have supported since inception and believe will lead to new GPCR drugs being discovered.”

About Oxygen Healthcare Ltd

O2h is a 5 year old discovery services company co-located in Cambridge, UK and Ahmedabad, India. The Indian operations provide a high level of chemistry expertise while UK office provides project management support. Current clients of O2h include several top 20 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the US, Europe and Japan. O2h adheres to the highest standards of performance with a particular emphasis on rapid interactive communications and delivery speed. Services provided by O2h include FTE-based synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry, full services lab-units and ADME. Further information on O2h can be found at www.o2h.com.

About Heptares Therapeutics

Heptares is a drug discovery company focused on identifying novel drug candidates targeting validated G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in several disease areas. Based on its unique StaR™ technology platform, Heptares has built an integrated drug discovery capability and aims to progress promising candidates internally and through strategic alliances.

GPCRs are the single most important family of drug targets in the human body, but because of their inherent instability they are refractory to structural studies and biochemical screening. StaR technology enables the engineering of stabilised GPCRs, making them amenable to these vital drug discovery approaches. There are many clinically relevant GPCR targets across a wide range of therapeutic areas where discovery is advancing slowly and for which structural information, novel screening approaches and potential antibody therapeutics would greatly enhance progress.

Heptares was founded in 2007 and its StaR technology arose out of the pioneering work of Heptares’ founding scientists at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (Cambridge, UK) and the National Institute for Medical Research (London, UK).

For more information, see www.heptares.com

Immunetics wins $2.8 million contract for new HIV tests

Tue, 18 May 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Boston-based Immunetics, Inc. chosen for National Institutes of Health contract

BOSTON, Mass.....May 18, 2010…..Immunetics, Inc. (Boston, MA) has been selected to receive a $2.8 million contract as part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study-II (REDS-II) project, a long term epidemiologic study of blood safety involving HIV and other infectious and non-infectious complications of blood transfusion. The contract will be administered by Westat, a research organization based in Rockville, MD, which is the coordinating center for the REDS-II project. Under the contract, Immunetics will develop and supply a new test for HIV, which will uniquely distinguish individuals infected with HIV from those who have been immunized with experimental HIV vaccines in clinical trials. At present, vaccination leads to a false positive result on the current generation of HIV screening tests, a problem highlighted by recent publications in medical journals. Clinical trials for HIV vaccines have involved thousands of vaccine recipients worldwide and continue to enroll more subjects, who stand to benefit from availability of the new test. The NHLBI initiated this project because it will provide a test which will be useful in screening blood donors in those regions of the world where HIV vaccine trials have been or are being conducted and to avoid the permanent deferral of those donors found not to be infected with HIV. Immunetics will work with a consortium of researchers at the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research where the original research leading to the new test was carried out, Blood Systems Research Institute in San Francisco, and others. The contract is valued at $9.2 million with all options exercised.

“This contract award presents a major opportunity for Immunetics and will leverage our longtime experience in the field of HIV diagnostics and assay development” said Dr. Andrew Levin, Immunetics' CEO and Scientific Director who will be the Principal Investigator on the project. “We see a great fit between our technology and the basic scientific advances made by the research teams at CBER and NIH. Given the vital need for an effective HIV vaccine, the test which we will be developing could play an essential role in current and future vaccine trials. We are particularly pleased to announce this award today, which has been designated by the NIH as National HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, and are very excited by the potential to make a significant contribution to public health in this area.”

* * * * * * *

Immunetics offers state-of-the-art assay technology for infectious disease diagnosis and pathogen detection, and for over ten years has been a leading innovator of tests for bacterial, viral and parasitic diseases. The company produces and markets a range of infectious disease assay kits and instruments. Its mission is better, cost-efficient care through more accurate diagnosis.

Genzyme Pushes Forward With New, Upgraded Facilities

Thu, 13 May 2010 10:12:00 EDT

By Brandon Butler (Worcester Business Journal)

While Cambridge-based biotechnology giant Genzyme is in the midst of a 10-year, $1 billion facilities upgrade, including $300 million of new construction in Framingham, industry analysts said the next few months could be some of the most important in the company's history.

Activist shareholders are attempting to gain control of the company's board of directors and the federal government is keeping a closer-than-ever eye on manufacturing practices after contamination problems forced the temporary closure of a company facility last year.

"Genzyme really needs to get through the next three months with some positive news," said Geoffrey Meacham, a Genzyme analyst with JP Morgan Chase in New York. "After the next quarter we could have a dramatically different taste about the company's future outlook. Things could look incrementally more positive, or they could look a lot worse."

But on Tuesday, company officials focused on the positives by touting expansion efforts and showing off construction projects during a tour of the company's 1million- square-foot complex in Framingham, which a host of state legislators attended.

There are two major issues Meacham is watching this quarter.

First, investor Carl Icahn has expressed interest in appointing himself and three comrades to Genzyme's Board of Directors and a vote on the board's future makeup is expected next month.

Meacham said the result of that vote could signal shareholder's faith in CEO Henri Termeer, with whom some are frustrated for the handling of the contamination incident at the company's Allston facilities.

That contamination last year is the second major issue to watch. The U.S.Food and Drug Administration will likely be issuing orders for how closely Genzyme's operations will be monitored in the future as a result of the contamination, Meacham said.

Brian Abrahams, an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. in New York said even if Icahn does get on Genzyme's board, there is a question as to how much influence he will have. With the government taking a closer eye to Genzyme, Abrahams said the FDA regulations could more dramatically change the company than Icahn's presence on the board.

"This is a company that has a lot of important headwinds facing it," Abrahams said. "I think they've taken some of the right steps in terms of bringing in senior people to deal with the manufacturing issues, but this will certainly be a company to watch."

One of those people Genzyme brought in is Scott Canute, the company's new president for global manufacturing and corporate operations, who led Tuesday's tour. Canute oversaw manufacturing at drug company Eli Lilly & Co. before coming to Genzyme in March.

"This is a company that literally will do things that other companies will not do," Canute said.

Genzyme focuses on making drugs for small specialty markets. For example, Cerezyme, one of the products made in the company's Allston facility, is for patients with Gaucher disease, a rare genetic disorder that impacts fewer than 6,000 people in the world.

State Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, praised the company for its continued presence and investments in MetroWest during the tour.

"This company is a cornerstone of the growing life sciences sector in this region," she said.

On a tour of the new $170 million, 70,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Framingham, workers were seen dressed up in full-body white clean suits behind glass walls that allow visitors to look in. Construction began on the project in 2008 and the company hopes to get FDA clearance to begin manufacturing Cerezyme and one of its other more popular drugs, Fabrazyme, there by 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Directly next door to the new manufacturing plant, contractors are in the midst of constructing a new 180,000 square-foot office building that will house manufacturing and research support offices. The goal of the office construction is to consolidate some of the company's 2,000 employees located in Framingham across 15 different buildings into a more centralized location. That construction is expected to be complete about a year from now.

The company is also finishing a $150 million office expansion at its Allston manufacturing plant, which is expected to be complete next month and the company has built a new manufacturing plant in Geel, Belgium.

Later this year the company hopes to bring online a new distribution and warehouse space in Northborough.

Worldwide the company has 12,000 employees and 19 products. In 2009 the company had revenues of $4.5 billion, but in the first quarter this year the company posted a $115 million loss after gaining a $195 million profit during the same time last year.

Original article: http://www.wbjournal.com/news46367.html

ASPIRE INSTITUTE AT WHEELOCK COLLEGE RELEASES STRATEGIC REPORT –FOR STATE TO COMPETE GLOBALLY, STEM EDUCATION NEEDS TO START AS EARLY AS PRE-K

Wed, 05 May 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Teachers need more training to succeed

BOSTON, MA - Students need to begin training in the sciences and math as early as pre-kindergarten for optimal success, according to a report released today by Wheelock College’s Aspire Institute. The report, commissioned by the John Adams Innovation Institute of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, also advises that elementary school teachers receive specific training in science and math, and recommends the establishment of a Greater Boston STEM Educator Consortium to collaboratively pursue goals, practices and funding for preparing skilled PreK-6 STEM educators.

“There is no question that the global competitiveness of our Massachusetts innovation economy is dependent on a robust STEM education pipeline,” said Mitchell Adams, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

“This report’s recommendations, strategies, and expected outcomes, offer an actionable roadmap for improving STEM education in Massachusetts and enabling our students to adapt to the opportunities of the 21^st century economy.”

In the spring of 2009, with funding from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the Wheelock College Aspire Institute reached out to several Boston area higher education institutions and community partners to respond to the challenge of improving early STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. In all, 12 institutions responded and the Higher Education STEM Planning Project was launched. Led by Aspire Institute Director Jake Murray and STEM education consultant, member of the MA Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, and former school superintendent, Isa Zimmerman, the project’s purpose was to identify strategies for improving the STEM training of PreK-6 pre-service and in-service educators. The report represents the finding of the group. Five high-impact recommendations are offered to strengthening the preparation of PreK – 6 teachers in STEM education, and ultimately ensure that children receive a strong foundation in STEM areas early:

Establish a Greater Boston STEM Educator Consortium to collaboratively pursue goals, practices and funding for preparing skilled PreK-6 STEM educators
Elevate the focus on STEM education in PreK-6 teacher education programs
Provide high quality in-service training to prepare ‘skilled’ PreK-6 STEM educators
Collaborate with state agencies, school districts and early childhood education providers to strengthen STEM education requirements for PreK-6 educators and to elevate the focus on math and science instruction in PreK-6 education settings
Strengthen STEM education training for community-based early childhood education providers and out-of-school-time providers.

“A central strategy proposed in this report is for area teacher education programs, state agencies, school districts, early childhood education providers, out-of-school-time providers and business and community partners to collaborate closely through a Greater Boston STEM Education Consortium,” said Wheelock College president Jackie Jenkins-Scott, “ On behalf of Wheelock College, I offer our full commitment to collaborate—or, in several cases, to continue to collaborate—with these key partners to form a consortium with the goal of greatly improving the STEM content knowledge and instructional skills of PreK-6 educators. “

Within the past year, national and local calls to strengthen STEM education have intensified. President Obama recently announced a $250 million initiative to train math and science teachers. The federal Race to the Top funding includes STEM as the only “content” area referred to as a “competitive preference priority.” In Massachusetts, Governor Patrick recently created the STEM Advisory Council to advise on STEM education issues.

"It is imperative that we continue to invest in STEM education in order to prepare our students for the jobs and careers of the future," said Lt. Governor Timothy Murray, Chair of the Governor's Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Advisory Council. "This report lays out clear recommendations and action steps to promote education in these fields as early as pre-kindergarten and I look forward to including these ideas in our ongoing dialogue."

This mounting concern is warranted. US students consistently trail behind their peers in countries, such as China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Russia, England and the Netherlands in math and science academic performance. And while Massachusetts as a whole performed well above the national average in math and science on the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), it is among the states with largest achievement gap between different racial/ethnic and income-level student subgroups in these same areas. Further, the most recent MA Department of Higher Education and MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education School-to-College study reports that nearly 30% of Massachusetts high school graduates enrolling in state public colleges or universities as full-time, degree-seeking candidate were required to take at least one remedial mathematics course.

Thus, the imperative to improve STEM education is clear. However, while there have been several STEM education improvement initiatives in recent years, most of these efforts have focused on the middle school, secondary and post-secondary levels. There is growing consensus among educators that quality STEM education must begin earlier, in grades PreK-6, both to ensure foundation knowledge and skills and to foster long-term interest and higher-level study in these subject areas in the later grades.

As the Aspire report points out, to increase the quality of STEM teaching and learning in the early grades means confronting a significant human resource challenge: many PreK-6 teachers are not well prepared for this task, lacking both strong math and science content knowledge and instructional skill. The state received a stark indicator of this deficit last May (2009), when nearly three-quarters of prospective elementary school teachers completing the state's licensing exam (MTEL) failed the math test.

Increasing the numbers of PreK-6 educators with the ability to teach STEM subjects well will require sustained collaboration between teacher education programs, schools and other partners. No one teacher education program or community partner has the capacity to either provide the range of effective, innovative STEM coursework and professional development required across all grades and subjects, or to enroll, prepare and place the number of PreK-6 educators needed across the region over the next several years.

Aspire Institute Director Jake Murray said, “This report is only a start. The real, in-depth and challenging work of coordinating efforts and resources across institutions and developing high quality, accessible coursework and professional development must now begin.”

The report is available at http://www2.wheelock.edu/wheelock/x3146.xml

######

About The Aspire Institute at Wheelock College

Founded in 2007, the Aspire Institute has the mission to advance knowledge and innovative solutions in response to social and education challenges. Specifically, the Aspire Institute mobilizes the expertise of Wheelock College and community partners to promote effective social and education policy, practice and research in Massachusetts and across the country.

About Wheelock College

Founded in 1888 and located in Boston, Massachusetts, Wheelock College is a private institution with the public mission of improving the quality of life for children and their families. The College fulfills this mission by providing a strong education in the arts and sciences and in its professional fields – child and family studies, social work, and education — for which its undergraduate and graduate programs are nationally and internationally recognized. Through its academic programs and student experience, the College reflects the multicultural dimensions of the countries in which it operates and fosters diverse learning communities — all of which contribute to the success, leadership, and impact that its graduates enjoy in a wide variety of careers. For more information. visit www.wheelock.edu.

About the John Adams Innovation Institute / Massachusetts Technology Collaborative

The John Adams Innovation Institute is a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. The Innovation Institute is the Commonwealth’s leading science, technology, and innovation policy agent which fosters the vitality and capacity for self-renewal of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy.

Working closely with academics, industry practitioners and government officials, region by region and sector by sector, the Innovation Institute’s mission is to enhance the capacity of the Massachusetts economy to sustain an ongoing flow of innovation which is crucial to create, attract, and grow companies in emerging and established industries.

Inotek Pharmaceuticals Presents Preclinical Data at ARVO Confirming That INO-8875 Lowers IOP by Increasing Outflow Through the Trabecular Meshwork

Tue, 04 May 2010 12:00:00 EDT

INO-8875 to Begin Phase 2 Trials in Glaucoma in Mid-2010

LEXINGTON, MA--(Marketwire - May 4, 2010) - Inotek Pharmaceuticals Corp., a leader in the development of innovative drug candidates to address significant diseases of the eye, today presented results confirming the mechanism of action of the Company's lead glaucoma candidate, INO-8875, as a trabecular meshwork outflow enhancer. Studies were conducted in human trabecular meshwork cells and multiple preclinical models. INO-8875 has successfully completed a single-dose Phase 1/2 trial in glaucoma and is expected to enter Phase 2 trials with an eye-drop formulation in mid-2010. The data was presented in a poster presentation at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Highlights from the ARVO poster titled, "INO-8875, an Adenosine A1 Agonist, Lowers Intraocular Pressure Through the Conventional Outflow Pathway" included:

*INO-8875 in an eye-drop formulation dose-dependently lowered intraocular pressure (IOP) by 20-25% from baseline at 1-2 hours after single doses in normotensive eyes. The IOP-lowering effect of INO-8875 was sustained for 4-6 hours post-dose.

*In human trabecular meshwork cells, INO-8875 rapidly activated the extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 and stimulated the release of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2). MMP-2 is thought to be a key player in the processing of extracellular matrix that can accumulate in the trabecular meshwork and impede aqueous humor outflow.

*In isolated, perfused anterior segments of the eye, INO-8875 significantly increased conventional outflow (i.e., outflow through the trabecular meshwork) compared to vehicle.

"These data strongly support INO-8875's potential as a first-in-class product candidate for the treatment of glaucoma," stated Paul G. Howes, Inotek's President and Chief Executive Officer. "INO-8875's elegant mechanism of action utilizes the main pathway used by healthy elderly eyes to maintain normal IOP -- the trabecular meshwork. By delivering the drug directly to the tissue of the trabecular meshwork, INO-8875 is able to increase outflow there, while keeping systemic exposure to the drug low. Based on these findings and the positive results from our single-dose clinical trial of INO-8875 in glaucoma, we plan to initiate our first multiple-dose Phase 2 clinical trial of INO-8875 in glaucoma in mid-2010."

About Inotek
Inotek is a leader in the development of innovative drug candidates that address significant diseases of the eye, with a major focus on glaucoma. Inotek's lead product candidate INO-8875 is a potential first-in-class eye-drop treatment for glaucoma that significantly reduced intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucoma subjects following single doses applied to the eye in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial. The Company believes INO-8875 will be a breakthrough treatment that can be used alone or combined with other IOP-lowering products because it increases the outflow of aqueous humor through the trabecular meshwork, the primary drainage system used by healthy elderly eyes to maintain normal IOP. The Company is also advancing a broad pipeline of PARP inhibitors and SOD mimetics that alleviate oxidative injury and inflammation, which it believes may address significant unmet medical needs in retinal diseases, such as the dry form of age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD). The Company is located in Lexington, MA. For further information on Inotek, please visit www.inotekcorp.com.

Formatech Donates Manufacturing Services to Produce Experimental Drug for the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EDT

ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Formatech, Inc. announces the selection of RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.’s therapeutic product candidate RGN-352 as the next Fillanthropy™ Program candidate. Under this program, Formatech will donate the services required to aseptically fill and finish one lot of the drug candidate for use in clinical trials.

RGN-352 is an injectable formulation of a novel therapeutic peptide known as Thymosin Beta 4, or Tβ4, for systemic delivery to treat cardiovascular diseases, central nervous system diseases and other medical indications that can be treated by systemic administration. Recent preclinical research showed that Tβ4 significantly improved neurologic functional recovery in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, or EAE. This model is widely used for the study of multiple sclerosis, or MS. A debilitating disease with currently no cure, MS affects approximately 2.5 million persons worldwide. Based on the preclinical research, RegeneRx intends to supply RGN-352 in support of a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to evaluate its potential to treat patients with MS, which is proposed to be conducted at a major U.S. medical center under a physician-sponsored investigational new drug application.

“We are grateful that we can to contribute our services in an effort to find a new treatment for those afflicted with MS,” said Jeffrey Bernard, Director of Business Development at Formatech. “We are hopeful that RGN-352 will improve the quality of life for those suffering from this disease.”

About the Fillanthropy Program

Each month, Formatech will select a company to donate the services required to aseptically fill and finish one lot of drug product entering human clinical trials. We consider both the product’s potential therapeutic benefit and the financial need of the applicant. To apply, companies are encouraged to contact Jeffrey Bernard at 978-725-9077 x3164 or jbernard@formatech.com.

About Formatech

Formatech is a contract service provider that delivers unique solutions to bio/pharmaceutical product development and manufacturing challenges. To learn more about the company and its services, visit www.formatech.com.

Formatech’s mission is to “Help make new drugs happen at the speed of science.”

New York-Based NeoStem, Inc. Officially Launches R&D Facility in Cambridge

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 01:00:00 EDT

Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray joins life sciences leaders for ribbon-cutting ceremony

CAMBRIDGE, MA (April 23, 2010)- Today NeoStem, Inc (NYSE Amex: NBS) (“NeoStem” or the “Company”), an international biopharmaceutical company with operations in the U.S. and China, officially launched its new facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Company officials were joined at the ribbon cutting ceremony by Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, and MassBio President Bob Coughlin.

NeoStem has product and service revenues, global research and development capabilities and operations in three distinct business units: U.S. adult stem cells, China adult stem cells, and China pharmaceuticals. These business units are expected to provide platforms for the accelerated development and commercialization of innovative technologies and products in both the U.S. and China. In the U.S. NeoStem is a leading provider of adult stem cell collection, processing and storage services enabling healthy individuals to donate and store their stem cells for personal therapeutic use.

NeoStem’s current network of U.S. adult stem cell collection centers is focused primarily on the Southern California, Southwest and Northeast markets with the goal of expanding its coverage to ten centers in the US by the end of 2010. The new Cambridge location includes the Company’s first Massachusetts collection facility.

“The Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative has been successful in attracting both national and international life science companies to Massachusetts,” said Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray. “We enthusiastically welcome NeoStem to the Commonwealth and to the diverse group of expanding companies that have helped make Massachusetts a global leader in the life sciences.”

“We are excited to announce the official launch of our adult stem cell collection center and R&D facility in Cambridge and are pleased to work with the well-known and reputed Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and to be a part of the State’s highly supportive Massachusetts Life Sciences initiative,” commented Dr. Robin Smith, Chairman and CEO of NeoStem, Inc. “We look forward to contributing to the further advancement of adult stem cell research through our work at the Cambridge facility and to giving the general adult population in Massachusetts the opportunity to have their stem cells collected and stored to help protect their future health.”

“We are pleased to welcome NeoStem to the world’s leading life sciences Supercluster,” said Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, President & CEO of the Massachusetts life Sciences Center, the quasi-public agency charged with implementing the state’s ten-year, $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative. “With our talented workforce and our vibrant research community, NeoStem will find all of the resources they need to succeed here in Massachusetts.”

“NeoStem’s expansion here in the Commonwealth is more proof that Massachusetts continues to rise to the top for the world’s most innovative life sciences companies seeking to grow and expand,” said Robert Coughlin, President & CEO of MassBio. “We’re excited to welcome the NeoStem team and know they will find success in our world-leading cluster.”

About NeoStem, Inc.

NeoStem, Inc. is engaged in the development of stem cell-based therapies and building of a network of adult stem cell collection centers in the U.S. and China that are focused on enabling people to donate and store their own (autologous) stem cells for their personal use in times of future medical need. The Company is also the licensee of various stem cell technologies, including a worldwide exclusive license to VSEL^TM technology which uses very small embryonic-like stem cells, shown to have several physical characteristics that are generally found in embryonic stem cells, and is pursuing the licensing of other technologies for therapeutic use. NeoStem's majority-controlled Chinese pharmaceutical operation, Suzhou Erye, manufactures and distributes generic antibiotics in China. For more information, please visit: http://www.neostem.com.

About the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) is a quasi-public agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts tasked with implementing the Massachusetts Life Sciences Act, a ten-year, $1 billion initiative that was signed into law in June of 2008. The Center’s mission is to create jobs in the life sciences and support vital scientific research that will improve the human condition. This work includes making financial investments in public and private institutions that are advancing life sciences research, development and commercialization as well as building ties between sectors of the Massachusetts life sciences community. For more information, visit www.masslifesciences.com.

About MassBio

MassBio, a not-for-profit organization that represents and provides services and support for the Massachusetts biotechnology industry, is the nation's oldest biotechnology trade association. Founded in 1985, MassBio is committed to advancing the development of critical new science, technology and medicines that benefit people worldwide. Representing over 600 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, research hospitals, and service organizations involved in life sciences and health care, MassBio works to advance policy and promote education, while providing member programs and events, industry information, and services. www.massbio.org.

Forward-Looking Statements regarding NeoStem

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect NeoStem management's current expectations, as of the date of this press release, and involve certain risks and uncertainties. Forward looking statements include statements herein with respect to the new R&D facility in Cambridge, the expansion of the collection network and the development of stem cell therapies, about which no assurances can be given. NeoStem’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward- looking statements as a result of various factors. Factors that could cause future results to materially differ from the recent results or those projected in forward-looking statements include the "Risk Factors" described in NeoStem’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2010, as well as other periodic filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. NeoStem’s further development is highly dependent on future medical and research developments and market acceptance, which is outside its control.

Inotek Pharmaceuticals to Present New Preclinical Data on Novel Mechanism of Action for Lead Glaucoma Candidate INO-8875

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EDT

Data to Be Presented in Poster Presentations at ARVO 2010 Annual Meeting

LEXINGTON, MA--(Marketwire - April 27, 2010) - Inotek Pharmaceuticals Corp., a leader in the development of innovative drug candidates to address significant diseases of the eye, announced that the Company will present results from preclinical studies demonstrating the mechanism of action for the Company's lead glaucoma candidate, INO-8875. INO-8875 has successfully completed a single-dose Phase 1/2 trial in glaucoma and is expected to enter Phase 2 trials with an eye-drop formulation in mid-2010. The data will be presented in poster presentations at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) annual meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, being held from May 2-6, 2010.

The poster presentations are as follows:

Sunday, May 2, 2010: 2:45 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

	"Ocular Pharmacokinetics and Tissue Distribution of INO-8875, an Adenosine A1 Agonist, in Preclinical Species by Quantitative Whole Body Autoradiography (QWBA) and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)" (Poster #A349)

Tuesday, May 4, 2010: 1:45 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

	"INO-8875, an Adenosine A1 Agonist, Lowers Intraocular Pressure Through the Conventional Outflow Pathway" (Poster #D780)

About Inotek
Inotek is a leader in the development of innovative drug candidates that address significant diseases of the eye, with a major focus on glaucoma. Inotek's lead product candidate INO-8875 is a potential first-in-class eye-drop treatment for glaucoma that significantly reduced intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucoma subjects following single doses applied to the eye in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial. The Company believes INO-8875 will be a breakthrough treatment that can be used alone or combined with other IOP-lowering products because it increases the outflow of aqueous humor through the trabecular meshwork, the primary drainage system used by healthy elderly eyes to maintain normal IOP. The Company is also advancing a broad pipeline of PARP inhibitors and SOD mimetics that alleviate oxidative injury and inflammation, which it believes may address significant unmet medical needs in retinal diseases, such as the dry form of age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD). The Company is located in Lexington, MA. For further information on Inotek, please visit www.inotekcorp.com.

JOULE CLOSES $30 MILLION FUNDING ROUND

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EDT

Proceeds to help accelerate the drive of renewable solar fuels from lab to commercialization

Cambridge, Mass. – April 27, 2010 – Joule today announced the closing of a $30 million second round of funding, further strengthening the company’s position as it advances from testing to high-capacity production of renewable diesel fuel starting in 2012. The round includes investments from undisclosed institutional and private sources that joined Flagship Ventures, Joule’s founding venture capital investor.

The proceeds will help to accelerate Joule’s advancements in a number of areas, including its pilot operations now underway in Leander, Texas, where the production process for its renewable solar fuels, including fungible diesel, will be tested. The funds will also support key developments in genome engineering, bioprocessing and hardware engineering to optimize productivity and generate product samples in quantities that will fully validate Joule’s process beyond the lab.

“What Joule has developed is more than just another promising technology. It’s a commercial-ready system with rapid scale-up potential to transform domestic diesel production as soon as 2012,” said Bill Sims, president and CEO. “Propelled by this latest funding round, we intend to execute on an aggressive timeline to market by hitting key proof points that will substantiate the quality of our product and the scale and efficiency of our process.”

In line with its broad vision and move beyond R&D, Joule is also implementing a corporate name transition from Joule Biotechnologies, Inc. to Joule Unlimited, Inc., effective immediately.

“While biotechnology is core to our approach, our strategic focus is on the end game: widespread replacement of fossil fuels. Our new corporate identity better captures the magnitude of this mission, while also reflecting the virtually unlimited potential of our transformative process.”

Joule’s Helioculture™ platform was engineered specifically to overcome the challenges of oil exploration and production, which involves very high risk, complexity and unpredictability. By contrast, Joule has achieved a solar platform that produces hydrocarbon fuels above ground in a direct, single-step, continuous process. Not only does this avoid costly discovery and extraction, it is a reliable process yielding a higher-quality product that is a direct replacement for diesel, bypassing the heavy refining necessary for crude oil.

Unlike fossil fuels or current biofuel alternatives, Joule’s solar fuels are:

Not limited by the finite supply and unpredictability of fossil sources
Not limited by the extreme risks and costs of exploration, drilling, extraction, etc.
Not limited by massive land requirements or the need for fresh water and crops
Not limited by dependency on costly biomass intermediates and processing
Not limited by the high costs and infrastructure incompatibility that impede adoption of existing renewable fuels

About Joule Unlimited, Inc.
Joule is pioneering the production of Liquid Fuel from the Sun™, surpassing today’s barriers to abundant, sustainable, cost-competitive supply. Its transformational Helioculture™ platform converts sunlight and waste CO₂ directly into liquid fuels in a continuous process that is not limited by costly biomass intermediates, processing or use of precious natural resources. This platform can yield renewable diesel fuel in unprecedented volumes with a fraction of the land use incurred by current methods, leapfrogging biomass-dependent approaches and eliminating the economic and environmental disadvantages of fossil fuels. Founded in 2007 by Flagship Venture Labs, Joule is privately held and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Additional information is available at www.joulebio.com.