February 2010
BIOTECH PARK NEWS
Cupron Medical Established as Part of Recapitalization and Restructuring of Cupron, Inc.
Virginia Life Science Investments, LLC and other investors have completed a recapitalization and management restructuring of Cupron, Inc., established in 2001, with principal offices in Modi’in, Israel. The transaction provides significant new capital to support the continued growth and development of Cupron Inc.; as well as the formation and initial capitalization of an independent new entity, Cupron Medical Inc., a Delaware corporation with principal offices in Richmond, VA.
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A Shot in the Arm for Injector Inventor
Evan Edwards was named Richmond’s Engineer of the Year, and it was an honor he never saw coming. “I absolutely was surprised,” said Edwards, who didn’t know he had been nominated for the award that the Richmond Joint Engineers’ Council will present to him Thursday evening at a banquet at The Jefferson Hotel. The recognition comes for an automated epinephrine injector invented by Edwards and his brother, Eric. The Edwards brothers and other family members took that idea and went on to found Intelliject, a Richmond based pharmaceutical firm.
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Regional Group Will Seek Federal Development Funds
Richmond needs a plan, preferably regional, to get federal help in attracting economic development. That was the message from two top economic development officials to local government leaders from around the region today. The Richmond Regional Planning District Commission voted unanimously to seek federal money to create a comprehensive economic-development strategy so that business boosters can bid for stimulus money and other grants to help attract new businesses to the region.
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Participants Named for National Pilot Project for Kidney Paired Donation
Four organizations representing more than 80 kidney transplant programs nationwide have been selected to enroll patients and potential living donors in a national pilot project to facilitate kidney paired donation (KPD) transplants. The national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), operated under federal contract by United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), will coordinate the project. Its goals include assessing whether more compatible matches are made possible through a large pool of donors and candidates, as well as studying the feasibility of implementing a national program.
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Governor McDonnell Unveils Bi-Partisan Biotech Plan
Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell today announced his “Jobs and Opportunity Agenda,” a legislative package that consists of 20 pieces of legislation, as well as previously announced budget amendments, all focused on spurring job creation, promoting economic development and creating more opportunities for Virginians. The plan includes nearly $30 million for the development of the bioscience industry in Virginia over the next two years. Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, Secretary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng, Senior Economic Advisor Bob Sledd, and almost 30 Delegates and Senators from both parties all participated in the morning event.
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Join Team Biotech for the Monument Avenue 10k and Help the Fight Against Cancer
There is still time to sign up for one of the nation’s largest 10K races – Greater Richmond’s own Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K. Runners, walkers, volunteers and spectators are welcome. Team Biotech hopes to once again be a top fundraiser for the VCU Massey Cancer. Join Team Biotech Today!
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NEWS and RESEARCH at VCU
Nicotine No Match for Cone Snail Toxin
The Magician cone snail is far from your typical garden-variety type of snail. A predatory sea dweller, this snail packs a cone-shaped shell and an uncanny knack for hunting. While the neurotoxins delivered by its sting may ultimately do its victim in, researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine have found that a component of its toxin may work a different kind of magic on a set of nicotine receptors in the brain – which may one day help smokers break the habit.
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VCU Emergency Department Maintains Commitment to Quality Care
Emergency departments across the country are bursting at the seams as demand for emergency care continues to increase while hospital closures have resulted in decreased capacity. But the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System’s Department of Emergency Medicine is maintaining its critical position in the community as the gateway point to care for underserved populations, while reaching and often exceeding state and national benchmarks for quality care.
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Socioeconomic Stresses Could Lower Life Expectancy, VCU Researcher Says
Socioeconomic status can affect life expectancy, a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher said in a study published today. People who live in areas with lower household incomes are much more likely to die because of their personal and household characteristics and their community surroundings, according to Steven H. Woolf, M.D., M.P.H., director of the VCU Center on Human Needs, professor in the Department of Family Medicine and lead author of the study.
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Study Reveals a Need to Evaluate and Regulate ‘Electronic Cigarettes’
Electronic cigarettes should be evaluated, regulated, labeled and packaged in a manner consistent with cartridge content and product effect – even if that effect is a total failure to deliver nicotine as demonstrated in a study supported by the National Cancer Institute and led by a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher.
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Gov. Bob McDonnell recognizes VCU researcher as one of Virginia’s Outstanding Scientists for 2010
Gov. Bob McDonnell has named Rakesh C. Kukreja, Ph.D., professor of internal medicine and the Eric Lipman professor in cardiology in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, as one of the state’s Outstanding Scientists of 2010 for his research studying how male impotence drugs can help protect the heart or minimize damage following a heart attack.
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