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Georgia Biomedical Partnership officials announce the latest developments(Science Letter Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Georgia Biomedical Partnership officials announce the latest developments. This trend article is an immediate alert from NewsRx to identify the most recent news developments at Georgia Biomedical Partnership. Report 1: The Georgia Biomedical Partnership (GBP) announced six winners in four categories for the 2007 Deal of the Year awards. The deals reflect a broad range of activity, from university research to vaccine manufacturing, and demonstrate the diversity of Georgia's life sciences industry. The Deal of the Year categories are Early Stage Financing; Strategic Transaction (Large Companies); Strategic Transaction (Small Companies); and Public Sector. Winners were selected from 11 finalists. CardioMEMS and Metastatix won for Early Stage Financing; AtheroGenics and Solvay Pharmaceuticals, for Strategic Transaction (Large Company); GeoVax Labs, for Strategic Transaction (Small Company); and Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Medical College of Georgia, for the public sector. The winners were honored at the GBP's recent Awards Dinner at the Intercontinental Buckhead Hotel. Metastatix, recognized for its $3.6 million Series A round, is an emerging cancer drug discovery company in Atlanta. The financing was led by H.I.G. Ventures and included the Aurora Funds, CM Capital Investments, SR One, and Medimmune Ventures. Existing investors, Georgia Venture Partners and Centrosome Ventures, along with the State of Georgia, also participated. Metastatix CEO Dr. Tony Shuker accepted the award. CardioMEMS, recognized for its $22.6 million Series D round, is an Atlanta medical device company that applies microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology for the diagnosis, treatment and management of serious chronic diseases. Its first product is a wireless, implantable pressure monitor for human use. The financing was led by Arcapita Ventures, and included Boston Millennia Partners, Easton Capital Investment Group, Foundation Medical Partners, Johnson & Johnson Development Corp. and Medtronic. CardioMEMS has raised a total of $54 million since 2001 and employs 110 people. David Stern, senior vice president of research and development, accepted the award. AtheroGenics, recognized for a partnership with London-based AstraZeneca that could be worth up to $1 billion, is an Alpharetta pharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. The collaboration with AstraZeneca is for the global development and commercialization of AtheroGenics oral drug for treatment of atherosclerosis. Dr. Russell M. Medford, AtheroGenics president and CEO accepted the award. Solvay Pharmaceuticals was recognized for the $298 million federal grant it received for development of cell-based vaccines. The Brussels-based company, with U.S. headquarters in Marietta, Georgia, was awarded a five-year contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop cell-based influenza vaccines and plan for domestic manufacturing capacity in the U.S. Dr. Stephen Bell, U.S. Project Director for Influenza, accepted the award. GeoVax Labs was recognized for its $4.5 million reverse merger with Dauphin Technology, enabling GeoVax to become a publicly traded company. The creative financing technique provided a rapid method of raising capital for development of GeoVax's AIDS vaccine, which is in early clinical trials. Dr. Harriet L. Robinson, chair of GeoVax's scientific advisory board, and Cynthia Tolman, vice president of regulatory and clinical affairs, accepted the award. Dr. Robinson is chief of the Division of Microbiology and Immunology at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and is the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Emory University. Report 2: The Georgia Biomedical Partnership (GBP), the non-profit association representing the life sciences industry in Georgia, issued the following response to Georgia Senate Bills 596 and 537 as currently written: The GBP supports efforts by the sponsors of both bills to establish a public placental tissue and umbilical cord blood bank and provide access to this tissue and blood for research purposes. The GBP also supports the efforts of both bills to ban human reproductive cloning. Both bills, however, also address therapeutic cloning and human embryonic stem cell research. Many leading scientists believe that the investigation of embryonic stem cells represents one of the most promising areas of biomedical research, offering the potential to treat and perhaps cure a variety of debilitating and life-threatening diseases and conditions such as heart disease, cancer, Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, sickle cell anemia, diabetes, kidney failure, and paralysis. The GBP recognizes that therapeutic cloning and embryonic stem cell research are complicated issues that raise ethical and religious concerns. Accordingly, the GBP supports amending SB 596 and SB 537 to eliminate references to therapeutic cloning and embryonic stem cell research in favor of forming a joint House-Senate Study Committee to debate these specific issues as part of an effort to craft legislative measures that are in the best interests of Georgians. The GBP also recommends that the Study Committee appoint an advisory panel made up of people from the community representing the full spectrum of positions on embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning. This approach would serve as a national model in confronting issues that have serious, long-term implications for the health of Georgians and the economic growth of the State. Report 3: Georgia Biomedical Partnership (GBP) President Charles Craig issued the following statement concerning Gov. Sonny Perdue's executive order creating the Commission for Newborn Umbilical Cord Blood Research and Medical Treatment: "Gov. Sonny Perdue...signed an executive order creating a commission that will support use of innovative biomedical therapies and encourage biomedical research in Georgia. The governor's Commission for Newborn Umbilical Cord Blood Research and Medical Treatment has the potential to enhance the efforts of physicians and scientists to battle a broad range of diseases. The Georgia Biomedical Partnership, founded in 1989, is a private, non-profit association representing the life sciences industry in Georgia. Membership totals 270 companies, institutions and universities, government groups, corporate service providers, and other organizations involved in the research and development of healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental products. This article was prepared by Science Letter editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Science Letter via NewsRx.com. Copyright 2007 Science Letter via NewsRx.com |