Cutting-edge development of a universal influenza vaccine, an innovative hybrid peptide manufacturing process, groundbreaking algae production system for wastewater treatment, and a revolutionary nontoxic surface treatment to control the growth of bacteria comprise the four finalists in this year’s BioWest Venture Showcase competition sponsored by Dorsey & Whitney and the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation. The announcement is made by Holli Baumunk, President and CEO, Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA).“By focusing on new therapies and vaccines targeting common diseases, creating systems and devices to fix problems and finding ways to more easily treat wastewater, the four finalists chosen for this year’s BioWest Venture Showcase are all on the frontline in making the world a better place,” Baumunk says. “The four finalists were selected from a group of 19 that will present at the BioWest Venture Showcase on Wednesday, September 29 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. at Denver’s Grand Hyatt. The winner will receive the $7,500 Dorsey & Whitney Venture Showcase award at the CBSA’s Annual Awards Dinner on the same day.”
To attend the Venture Showcase presentations and Annual Awards Dinner at BioWest, visit http://www.BioWestConference.com
An overview of each finalist follows:
* AmideBio (Boulder, CO) is a company in the business of improvement of human health by providing low cost and efficient manufacturing of peptides for the research and development markets. The Company’s proprietary hybrid manufacturing process also enables small scale cGMP manufacturing for clinical trials and the development of generic peptide therapeutics. In order to make progress against certain diseases and conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, it is necessary to be able to cost-effectively produce large quantities of peptides for research and development use, and ultimately therapeutic purposes. Current peptide synthesis technology is unable to produce certain peptides at an acceptable cost, or at all. AmideBio’s proprietary technology enables very cost-effective production of peptides and thus is a key enabling technology for development of new therapeutics for diseases for which there are currently limited or no good treatment options. Visit, http://www.amidebio.com
* BioVantage (Golden, CO) In response to escalating water scarcity and the undeniable water/energy nexus, BioVantage is developing cost-effective, sustainable, “green” solutions for wastewater reclamation. Comprised of patent-pending technology and processes, BioVantage’s algae production system produces proprietary algae consortia for use in wastewater lagoons to accelerate natural remediation. This allows a greater degree of reuse of one of our planet’s most valuable and scarce resources, water. Visit, http://www.biovantageresources.com
* PeptiVir, Inc. (Aurora, CO) is an early stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of a conformationally-constrained, synthetic peptide-based vaccine platform for the prevention of viral diseases. PeptiVir’s lead product, PVI-1000, has the potential to be a “universal” influenza vaccine wherein one or two administrations could lead to sustained protection against multiple seasonal and pandemic strains. This is in contrast to existing influenza vaccines that must be generated and administered yearly and induce antibodies that provide protection only against that year’s seasonal flu strains. Unlike other universal vaccine strategies that are being investigated and that focus on inducing cell-mediated immunity, PVI-1000 is predicted to work by inducing cross-reactive antibodies that would protect against multiple influenza virus strains, a prediction that should be readily confirmed in humans by examining the biological activity of the antibodies produced following vaccination.
* Sharklet Technologies, Inc. (Aurora, CO) is a life sciences company that has engineered a revolutionary surface product called Sharklet. Sharklet is the first non-toxic, long-lasting and no-kill surface used to control the growth of bacteria. Sharklet is a patented surface technology comprised of millions of raised, microscopic features arranged in distinct diamond shapes to form a continuous pattern. Laboratory tests show that the Sharklet micro-pattern disrupts several critical microbial colonizing processes that are necessary for bacteria to develop into a disease-causing biofilm. In tests simulating an ambient hospital environment, the Sharklet patterned surface has shown to significantly reduce survival and touch transfer of bacteria. Until the advent of Sharklet, kill strategies including antibiotics, disinfectants and biocides have been the primary weapons to control bacterial growth. These kill strategies and their overuse has led to increased bacterial resistance, causing harm to people and the environment. Visit, http://www.sharklet.com
Link to the Business Wire release
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