Print VersionPast High-tech and Biotech Grant Recipients
2007 Hi-Tech and Biotech Grants
SciLog, Inc. of Middleton, Wisconsin, received a CIBER grant to help two salespersons attend InterPhex 2007 in New York City in April 2007. SciLog, a manufacturer of automated liquid handling equipment for biopharmaceutical companies that deal with the production or purification of biomolecules, proteins, monoclonal antibodies and hormones, is seeking to expand its global exports. InterPhex is the largest annual international pharmaceutical equipment show and provided the company the opportunity to meet potential international distributors for its products and to generate other business prospects.
Prodesse, Inc. of Waukesha, Wisconsin, a biotechnology company selling unique infectious disease detection products, received a CIBER grant to send its chief science officer to the 17th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases held in Munich in April 2007. The company used the opportunity to reinforce its presence in Europe, meet potential new international customers, and gather information about competitors’ plans for the marketplace. The meeting attracts participants from the field of clinical microbiology and infections from around the world and addresses all relevant aspects of current infectious diseases and clinical microbiology.
The following companies received grants to attend the 2007 BIO International Convention. This annual convention is sponsored by the Biotechnology Industry Organization and draws about one-third of its 22,000 attendees from outside the United States.
Clonex Development, Inc. (CDI) of Madison, Wisconsin, sent three employees to the 2007 BIO International Convention, held in Boston in May 2007, with assistance from a CIBER grant. The company used the convention to build relationships, partnerships and channels in anticipation of its planned overseas expansion. CDI has developed a proprietary enabling technology for genetically engineering cell lines for the increased production of therapeutic protein from commercial cell lines. CDI participated in the State of Wisconsin Pavilion at the BIO Convention.
Two employees of Planet, LLC of Madison, Wisconsin, attended the 2007 BIO International Convention in Boston in May 2007 with assistance from a CIBER grant. Planet commercializes controlled environment capabilities into controlled agricultural manufacturing for new products such as medicines, nutraceuticals and other protein chemistry that use plants as a key step in production. The company was able to network and gather information about domestic and international activities relevant to plant-made pharmaceuticals. Planet participated in the State of Wisconsin Pavilion at the BIO Convention.
Stemina Biomarker Discovery of Madison, Wisconsin, received a CIBER grant to help send its chief executive officer to the 2007 BIO International Convention in Boston in May 2007. Created in November 2006 to commercialize a proprietary metabolomics technology, Stemina discovers and validates biomarkers for high throughput diagnostics and drug screening in an all-human system and plans to develop biomarker profiles for use in diagnostic kits and personalized medicine. The convention allowed Stemina to meet with overseas companies who currently use biomarkers in their drug development programs in an effort to build an international market. Stemina participated in the State of Wisconsin Pavilion at the BIO Convention.
2006 Hi-Tech and Biotech Grants
OMNNI Associates of Appleton, Wisconsin, received a CIBER grant to support its representation at the first Tissue World Asia 2006 in Shanghai, China. OMNNI Associates is an engineering and architectural firm that also offers environmental and planning services to its clients in the commercial, industrial and public sectors. Tissue World Asia gave the company the opportunity to meet leading suppliers to the tissue industry throughout the Asia market.
The chief scientific officer and lab operations director of Cell Line Genetics of Madison, Wisconsin, attended a meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) in Toronto, Canada, in June 2006 with support from CIBER. Cell Line Genetics provides services and products to support research institutions, as well as biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies focused on embryonic stem cell and cancer research. The ISSCR meeting, the premier global stem-cell conference in the world, allowed the company to introduce its services and products to the global market as it seeks international distribution partners and/or licensees.
POINTONE Systems of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, participated in the 4th annual BioPartnering North America Conference in Vancouver, Canada, in February 2006, with grant support from CIBER. POINTONE Systems is a leader in intelligent clinical-genetic information systems for enhanced health care practice. The BioPartnering North America Conference allowed the company to discuss partnering opportunities with leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, financial, and service companies from around the world.
Quintessence Biosciences of Madison, Wisconsin, received a CIBER grant to participate in the Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Symposium in Prague, Czech Republic, in November 2006. Quintessence Biosciences develops cancer therapies and seeks to facilitate its work through co-development and marketing relationships with larger biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. This symposium, sponsored by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, the National Cancer Institute and the American Association for Cancer Research, allowed the company to make contact with possible joint-venture partners and potential licensees.
Ad-Tech Medical Instrument Corporation is a small medical device manufacturer of products that play an important role in the surgical treatment of epilepsy ¡V a condition that affects 1-2 percent of the world's population. The concept of resecting brain tissue to control epilepsy dates back many decades, but has been considered experimental until recently. Mainstream insurance carriers in the US have begun to cover the procedure over the past few years, but there is still much room for growth in other regions, including Southeast Asia, the only viable territory where Ad-Tech does not currently have a reliable and productive distribution channel. Ad-Tech received a CIBER grant to attend the 6th Asian & Oceanian Epilepsy Congress, held November 16-19, 2006, in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia . This funding provides Ad-Tech the opportunity to establish new contacts and sales in the region.
2005 Hi-Tech and Biotech Grants
Prodesse, Inc. is a fast growing, cutting-edge bio-tech company that sells unique infectious disease detection products. A single Prodesse product that was launched in 2005 increased its revenues from $60,000 to nearly $2 million in 12 months. Prodesse received a CIBER grant in 2005 to attend the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease, which is considered to be the main European conference on infectious diseases. Prodesse used this opportunity to gain credibility and exposure; gather huge market intelligence; and increase market outreach both inside the EU and elsewhere, since many global representatives attended the event.
Quintessence Biosciences of Madison, Wisconsin, participated in the 3rd Annual BioPartnering North America Conference in Vancouver, Canada, in February 2005 with assistance from a CIBER grant. The BioPartnering North America Conference helps introduce numerous young companies from across the world to larger biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and allowed Quintessence Biosciences, a developer of cancer therapies, to showcase its capabilities.
BellBrook Labs LLC of Madison, Wisconsin, attended the Society for Biomolecular Screening Trade Show in Geneva, Switzerland, in September 2005, with support of a CIBER grant. BellBrook Labs develops tools to help the pharmaceutical industry to accelerate the discovery of more effective therapies and plans to continue expanding its overseas market. The Society for Biomolecular Screening Trade Show, the premier conference on high throughput screening, provided the company the opportunity to meet prospective clients from around the world.