WEEKLY E-NEWS FROM THE NORTH CAROLINA BIOTECHNOLOGY CENTER

IN FOCUS FEATURE

Hoke County Biofuels Plant "Smells Like Jobs"

From Our Web Site

Biotechnology Center Loans $250,000 to RTP Startup
The North Carolina Biotechnology Center has awarded $250,000 to Precision Human Biolaboratory to boost its commercialization and development of a unique blood test for major depression.

Federal Grant Powers North Carolina Biofuels Research
Research Triangle Institute of Research Triangle Park, North Carolina State University and the University of Utah have been awarded up to $2 million by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Serenex Starts Second Small Molecule Study
The compound, SNX-5422, affects the behavior of proteins important to cell growth and survival, a process often out of control in cancerous tumors. Serenex researchers have demonstrated that this compound can slow or stop that rapid growth.

Powerful Tool to Study the Genetics of Inflammation
Scientists have known which genes are linked to inflammation, but now researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have organized this information to develop a powerful tool to aid investigators in studying the genetics of inflammatory diseases.

In Focus

Hoke County Biofuels Plant "Smells Like Jobs"

RAEFORD – Looking to build North Carolina's first ethanol-processing plant, a Hoke County delegation scheduled a summer tour of a dry mill ethanol plant west of Palestine, Ill.

When Raeford Mayor John McNeill returned from the trip, he was asked to describe the smell of the facility.

"It smells like opportunity. It smells like recognition for Hoke County. It smells like jobs," he responded.

McNeill echoed those same words during a Dec. 4 groundbreaking ceremony for North Carolina's own facility capable of producing about 75 million gallons of corn-based ethanol a year.

Read the full article.

News from Other Sites

Piedmont Triad Research Park Plans Expansion
"In a state known for suburban-style tech campuses such as Research Triangle Park and the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, the Piedmont Triad Research Park in Winston-Salem offers an alternative: lab and office space in the downtown of a city eager to grow its economy beyond tobacco and financial services."
From BioRegion News

Betting on Better Organs
"As you read this, at least seven people are going about their business with autologous bladders that were created as part of an early clinical trial. In a smaller Tengion pilot facility in North Carolina, human bladders are already growing, part of two ongoing Phase II trials to determine if the process can help the thousands of people who need new bladders every year."
From The Scientist

Protein Controls Blood Vessel Formation, Offers New Drug Target
"A protein called CIB1 discovered by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine appears to play a major role in controlling new blood vessel growth, offering a target for drug treatments to help the body repair itself after injury and control unwanted blood vessel growth."
From Newswise

Talecris Biotherapeutics Plans Plasma-Collection Center (in Winston-Salem)
"Talecris will hire about 17 people to help run the 12,000-square-foot laboratory, said Annie Clifford, a Talecris' spokeswoman. The lab will collect plasma to use in its biotechnology research, she said."
From The Winston-Salem Journal

MorphoSys Lands $1B-Plus Deal with Novartis
"MorphoSys, a German biotech with a subsidiary that employs about 20 sales and marketing employees in Raleigh, said Novartis would get the rights to develop drugs from MorphoSys' pipeline."
From The Triangle Business Journal

Community Watch

• Gorbec Pharmaceutical Services of Durham has acquired the software for electronic submissions to the FDA and other drug regulatory agencies. Gorbec will use the software for its clients and offer access as a stand-alone service.
• LaamScience named Christopher H. Price president and CEO. Tom Roberg, former chairman, CEO and president, will be the new executive chairman.
• John H. Landon, retired vice president and general manager of Medical Products for DuPont, has been elected to the board of Raleigh-based blood test provider LipoScience.
• Rick Williams has joined The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences as its chief business officer. Williams has 25 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience and is the Biotechnology Center's former BATON director.
• Ben Bonifant, vice president of Campbell Alliance's Business Development practice, will serve as conference chairperson and deliver the keynote presentation at the Strategic Research Institute's Pharma & Biotech Licensing and Deal-Making Summit Dec. 10-11 in La Jolla, Calif.
• Winston-Salem State University received a five-year $4.7 million National Institutes of Health grant to study and eliminate minority health disparities.
• AVOS Life Sciences of Morrisville has released a market outlook report for diabetes therapeutics. Copies can be purchased at the company's Web site.
• INC Research of Raleigh and MetaData Solutions of New York announced the one-year milestone of their partnership to improve the technology that supports drug and device development programs.
• Arbovax and LaamScience have moved into a new facility on Hutton Street in Raleigh. The companies' 4,800-square-foot facility is close to North Carolina State University.

Please send Community Watch items to Jim Shamp.

Announcement

BT Catalyst will not be published on Dec. 27, 2007.

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This newsletter was sent Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007. For the latest North Carolina biotechnology industry headlines, please visit the news section of our Web site.

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