WEEKLY E-NEWS FROM THE NORTH CAROLINA BIOTECHNOLOGY CENTER

IN FOCUS FEATURE

One Man's Drive to Bring NBAF to North Carolina

FROM OUR WEB SITE

• County OKs Merck Aid
• Biolex Adds $10.5M for Research

In Focus

One Man's Drive to Bring NBAF to North Carolina

Butner, North Carolina is one of five finalists for the proposed placement of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF).

Barrett D. Slenning, leader of the animal biosecurity risk management group at NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine, is one of the driving forces behind the state's bid to land this $450 million federal project. In this week's In Focus, Slenning takes a few moments to reflect on the process, and why he keeps pushing forward.

From Our Web Site

County OKs Merck Aid
Merck gets a $2 million economic boost from Durham County for its vaccine plant's newest expansion plan.

Biolex Adds $10.5M for Research
Biolex Therapeutics brings in another $10.5 million in loans to continue its novel drug development using lemna, or duckweed.

News from Other Sites

Five Years Later: Few Signs of Mill's Past Remain as Research Campus Takes Over
The town of Kannapolis looks forward to a scientific future with the construction of the North Carolina Research Campus.
From Salisbury Post

Inspire Broadens Clinical Trial for Potential Cystic Fibrosis Drug
Inspire Pharmaceuticals is changing the parameters of a Phase III clinical trial for a proposed cystic fibrosis drug, seeking more patients and lengthening the term of treatment.
From Local Tech Wire

New Source of Ethanol? Look at Cattails. A&T is.
Researchers at NC A&T University are experimenting with converting cellulosic plants - cattails - into ethanol and hog manure into a heavy oil that could be used in boilers.
From Greensboro News & Record

N.C. Ranks 2nd, Georgia 3rd in State Business Climate Survey
North Carolina ranks second and Georgia third among the 50 states for having the best business climate, according to a survey from Development Counsellors International.
From WRAL Local Tech Wire

Pozen Posts $13.3 Million 2nd-quarter Profit
Chapel Hill drug company Pozen reported that it posted a $13.3 million profit in the second-quarter – reversing its loss of a year ago – thanks to a $20 million milestone payment from partner GlaxoSmithKline.
From the (Raleigh) News & Observer

RCCC to Lease N.C. Research Campus Space for $44M
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College leaders on Monday agreed to pay the developers of the N.C. Research Campus about $44 million over 20 years so the school can operate there.
From Salisbury Post

Rice Proving to be More Than Just a Dinner Side
Pharmaceutical rice is a growing business in Eastern North Carolina, which is fast becoming a new type of breadbasket for the medical world.
From WNCT

RTP-based Tech Transfer Advisory Firm Expands to Triad
Southeast TechInventures, a company that works with inventors and researchers to turn discoveries into commercial ventures, is expanding to the Triad.
From WRAL Local Tech Wire

UNC Institute to Help in Eastern N.C.
A business institute at UNC-Chapel Hill has taken on the cause of revitalizing Eastern North Carolina with plans to spur entrepreneurship and small business growth in the distressed region.
From the (Raleigh) News & Observer

UNC Medicine Professor Receives $400,000 Grant
Arjun Deb, a medical doctor and an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of medicine, is the recipient of a $400,000 award from the Ellison Medical Foundation.
From WRAL Local Tech Wire

Community Watch

• Burlington-based Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings has started providing a non-invasive colorectal cancer screening method called ColoSure, for people who can’t or won’t undergo colonoscopy or other standard test procedures. More

• Timothy Mastro, MD, FACP, DTM&H, who oversaw HIV research activities at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has joined Family Health International in Research Triangle Park as senior director of research. On August 7 Mastro will give a presentation about promising research into pre-exposure HIV prevention at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City.

Please send Community Watch items to Jim Shamp.

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This newsletter was sent Thursday, July 31, 2008. For the latest headlines from North Carolina's biotechnology industry, please visit the news section of our Web site.

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