A preview of the emerging health care companies profiled in the current issue of Start-Up. This month's profile groups: Small Steps Forward in Treating Ischemic Stroke and Spine-Bending Market. Plus these Start-Ups across Health Care: Alveolus Inc. and BioCare Systems Inc.

Stroke remains a devastating disease that isn't adequately addressed, but the pharmaceutical industry remains wary of the field, having been stung in the past by extremely expensive clinical disappointments. Nevertheless, the opportunity is too enticing for the industry to ignore completely. Two pharma-sponsored major clinical trials are underway for treatment of acute ischemic stroke, foro example. The emerging companies with stroke therapies profiled here, however, are cautiously pushing forward on several fronts, of which the stroke market may or not be the first and foremost application of core technology.

Warren Pharmaceuticals was founded to translate into clinical practice years of research on the biology of tissue protection following devastating injury. Warren has identified novel proteins named tissue protective cytokines (TPCs) that possess protective capabilities in many tissues, including the heart, retina, brain, and spinal cord.