Emergings In Brief (06/2010)
This article was originally published in Start Up
Executive Summary
Brief profiles of these recently formed companies: Compandia, Delphinus Medical Technologies, Gnarus Systems and Nano Retina.
Compandia Ltd.
BioCity, Pennyfoot Street
Nottingham NG1 1GF, UK
Phone: +44 7764-580468
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web Site: www.compandia.co.uk
Management: Andrew D. Sutton, PhD, CEO; Dave Tapolczay, PhD, Non-Executive Chairman (Medical Research Council Technology); Robert Rees, PhD, and Graham Ball, PhD, Scientific Founders (Nottingham Trent University)
Company Launched: December 2009
Financing to Date: Undisclosed
Investors: Lachesis Fund; Mobius Life Sciences Fund
Employees: 3
Partners/Alliances: Nottingham Trent University
Industry Segment: Biomarker Discovery
Business: [Compandia Ltd.] uses advanced bioinformatics tools to identify biomarkers in support of its biopharma clients' drug development efforts. The start-up says its technology is capable of finding small biomarker panels from high dimension complex datasets. Compandia is also developing its own portfolio of biomarker candidates for diseases such as prostate and breast cancer, Alzheimer's and COPD.
Delphinus Medical Technologies Inc.
Hudson-Webber Cancer Research Center
Room 504
4100 John R
Detroit, MI 48201
Phone: (313) 576-8251
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web Site: www.delphinusmt.com
Management: William C. Greenway, CEO; Neb Duric, PhD, CTO; Peter J. Littrup, MD, CMO; Olsi Rama, Project Manager
Company Launched: May 2010
Financing to Date: $8 million
Investors: Arboretum Ventures; Beringea LLC; North Coast Technology Investors
Employees: 9
Partners/Alliances: Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute
Industry Segment: Imaging Devices
Business: Delphinus Medical Technologies Inc. uses non-compressing, tomographic ultrasound to screen, detect and monitor therapy for breast cancer. The company says its SoftVue technology is operator independent and easy to install in any clinical setting.
Gnarus Systems Inc.
201 East Jefferson Street
Suite 125
Louisville, KY 40202
Phone: (502) 852-3346
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web Site: www.gnarussystems.com
Management: Albert R. Cunningham, PhD, Founder
Company Launched: May 2009
Financing to Date: $300,000
Investors: Kentucky Science and Technology Corp.; University of Louisville Foundation Inc.
Employees: 1
Partners/Alliances: MetaCyte Business Lab LLC; University of Louisville
Industry Segment: Computational Toxicology
Business: [Gnarus Systems Inc.] will offer cat-SAR, a peer-reviewed in silico toxicity prediction expert system, to the chemical industry—which includes pharmaceuticals -- in a web-based software as a service version. Cat-SAR is designed to provide its users the ability to modify the sensitivity and specificity of the analysis, open and transparent predictions, and the capability to connect the biological responses to the molecules in the learning set.
Nano Retina Inc.
85 Medinat Hayehudim Street
Business Park, G Building
8th floor
Herzeliya Pituach, 46140 Israel
Phone: +927 09-9701840
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web Site: www.nano-retina.com
Management: Yossi Gross, Co-founder & Director; Jim R. Von Ehr, Co-founder & Director; Efi Cohen-Arazi, Chairman; Ra'anan Gefen, Managing Director
Company Launched: March 2009
Financing to Date: Undisclosed
Investors: Rainbow Medical Ltd.
Employees: 10
Partners/Alliances: Rainbow Medical Ltd.; Zyvex Labs
Industry Segment: Ophthalmology Devices
Business: [Nano Retina Inc.] aims to restore sight to patients with degenerative retinal diseases. Its Bio-Retina incorporates nano-size components in a device roughly the size of a child's fingernail bed. It is implanted in a 30-minute procedure under local anesthesia, and is powered by a rechargeable mini laser situated on a pair of eyeglasses.