Cat Care Society's Mickie and Scooter - 'Please Adopt Us Both!'

Today's the last day of September and we wanted to give one last cyber shout out about lovable Mickie & Scooter - siblings, both brown/tabby mix.

Here's what Mickie (pictured left) has to say: "Hello, my name is Mickie – and that's Scooter, my kid sister, who’s bigger than me. We just turned one year old, and for our birthdays, the staff made us Cats of the Month. When we were kittens, we were found stray – at McDonald’s! My paw was crushed, and not in good shape at all, so the Cat Care clinic had to amputate it after we got here. After that we went to a really good home, but in a few months they had to give us up, so they brought us back to Cat Care Society. Now we are looking for a new home. I really don’t want to be separated from my sister! Please adopt us both!! But before you do, let me tell you about us. I am the calm one. I like to play, but I enjoy the finer things in life also, like being held and purring in someone’s lap. I will stand up on my hind legs for you to pick me up. My sister, Scooter, is a bit more… spirited. She loves to play, play, play – and run, don’t forget run! She also likes to interrupt."

Scooter chimes in: "Hey, I can’t help it if I’m bubbly. And I’m more talkative than Mickie, anyway. I should do the bio. Well I’m the intelligent one, so hush. It’s true, you know. I like books like Homer’s Odyssey while Scooter never made it past Curious George!"

They both say: "Come by and meet us. We promise it will be worth your while!"

Link to information about Mickie

Link to information about Scooter

Link to Cat Care Society Adoption Information

Fish Farming News Feature - 'Bell Aquaculture: From tiny perch a mighty business grows'

Bell Aquaculture is featured in the current edition (Volume 10, Issue 4 2011) of Fish Farming News - Aquaculture's National Newspaper. Quoting from the article by FFN Contributing Writer Brian Robbins:

"'Vertically integrated' is a phrase that Bell uses frequently in describing itself: pretty much self-sufficient, relying only on outside suppliers for fee. Other than that, they've built their own little world in five years' time and can definitely call their fish their own, from broodstock and eggs, to harvesting and processing on the other end. With their existing facility, Bell is looking at producing 1.8 million yellow perch in a one-year growout cycle. The new addition that's currently under construction (with plans to be up and going by October) will add another 3 million yellow perch a year to Bell's forecast. But wait - it doesn't stop there: Bell's next expansion will boost that number significantly, with the company hoping to have the capacity to handle an additional 7.5 million perch by 2013."

Link to the FFN website for subscription details

CID4 Blog: 'Important Takeaways from a Successful RMLIPC'

Quoting from the CID4 Blog posting by Adam Rubenstein about the recent Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference (RMLIPC):

"The success metric for an investor and partnering conference is unambiguous, a company must achieve either an initial inquiry of interest or secure a follow-on meeting. Using such a performance metric illuminated a very satisfactory grade for the presenting CID4 portfolio companies. The Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference was more than simply a CID4 showcase, what transpired at the historic Brown Palace Hotel was the culmination of a biocluster clearly on the rise. Colorado had an important opportunity to spotlight their diverse array of high-impact technologies and high-quality intellectual capital, and put a stamp on the Rocky Mountain region as a bioscience node that demands the attention of industry and investors. A quick scan of attendees validates that the Front Range deal flow ranks on par with any other cluster across the U.S."

Link to the Colorado Institute for Drug, Device and Diagnostic Development (CID4) Blog posting

Today's IBJ: 'Swimming with Potential ... Fish farming could become $1B industry in Indiana'

Quoting from the special report in the Indianapolis Business Journal by Sam Stall:

"The ISA’s golden boy is Redkey-based Bell Aquaculture, the state’s only industrial-scale fish farming outfit. While Indiana’s aquaculture industry produces only 1 million pounds of fish annually, expansion plans at Bell will double that number by next year.

And the technology the company is developing could pave the way for even higher production. Put simply, company officials have figured out how to raise their fish—yellow perch—indoors under highly controlled conditions, just as chicken and hog farmers do.

The company’s plant raises 1.8 million fish annually. That number will balloon to 3 million when a $5 million expansion wraps up in 2012.

To no surprise, Bell President Norman McCowan is bullish on Indiana’s aquaculture potential, believing that the state (and his company in particular) possesses the three things necessary to make a go of it: sustainable technology, readily available food (soybeans) and water, and funding."

Link to the ibj.com article (subscription required)

GEN on Fort Collins-based VetDC: 'Firm Finds New Uses for Drugs, Diagnostics, and Devices in Companion Animals'

Quoting from the Biobusiness Profile in Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News by Carol Potera:

"Companies spend billions of dollars annually on the development of human drugs, devices, and diagnostics. Yet many promising products fail to reach the marketplace and their value is never realized. VetDC was started in Fort Collins, CO, last year to repurpose discarded and shelved technologies for veterinary use. The company in-licenses emerging, underexploited technologies from human biotechnology companies, then develops and commercializes them for dogs, cats, and other companion animals."

Link to genengnews.com

VetDC is a portfolio company of the Colorado Institute for Drug Device and Diagnostic Development (CID4) in Aurora, CO. Link to learn more.

VetDC was a presenting company at the 2011 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor & Partnering Conference (RMLIPC) in Denver. Link to the RMLIPC presenting company list.

Business: 'Colorado biotechs court financing by showing off inventions'

Quoting from the Denver Post article by Steve Raabe:

"Saving lives with battlefield triage tools. Diagnosing cancer long before it spreads. Installing heart valves without open-heart surgery. Inventors of those technologies, and more, presented their best attributes Thursday in 20-minute pitches designed to entice venture capital. Thirty-one companies — many based at the Bioscience Park Center at Fitzsimons in Aurora — showed off their potential to prospective financiers at the Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor & Partnering Conference at the Brown Palace Hotel. The session was especially timely, officials said, because a struggling economy and volatile stock market have added competitiveness to biotech financing."

Link to denverpost.com

BCBR: 'Bioscience firms to make pitches for VC'

Quoting from the Boulder County Business Report website:

"Boulder County companies and investors feature prominently in the Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference slated for Wednesday and Thursday in Denver.

More than 30 bioscience companies from across the Rocky Mountain region will make 15-minute pitches to potential investors at the conference at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. Bioscience companies in the region have garnered more than $11.5 billion in financing and acquisition since the end of 2007, according to statistics compiled by the Colorado BioScience Association, an industry trade group."

Link to bcbr.com

Innovative Thought Leaders Address the 2011 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor Conference in Denver

Three renowned speakers will present the most innovative research, collaborations and partnerships within the bioscience industry today at the Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference (RMLIPC), Thursday, September 22, at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. The announcement is made by Holli Riebel (formerly Baumunk), President and CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA), who says: "The conference will be attended by leaders of early-stage private and public life science, bioscience investors and strategic partners."

The RMLIPC is the region’s only bioscience conference of its kind. This year’s speakers will discuss new innovative business models to bring emerging technologies to market and develop partnerships for success. “The keynote presenters are crucial thought leaders shaping the future of the bioscience industry,” Riebel said.

The breakfast keynote on Thursday will feature Peter A. Gottlieb, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the University of Colorado Denver and Center Director at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, and Dennis R. Roop, Ph.D., Director of The Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. According to Riebel, the CBSA is honored to present these two thought leaders in the clinical world and the stem cell research arena. Drs. Gottlieb and Roop will share how they look at research philanthropy as a growing model for creating and sustaining university initiatives, including Centers of Excellence, that address critical research needs and potential commercializable opportunities.

The luncheon keynote will feature Roy Davis, President, Johnson & Johnson Corporate Development. Mr. Davis is a returning expert presenter at the conference and will share his presentation “Strategic Value Creation: A Corporate Investor’s View,” including his vision for new partnering research and development strategies and expert insight into current issues affecting the biotechnology industry.

Link to the Business Wire release

Link to the PitchEngine Social Media Release

FFI: 'Aquaculture, time to plug hole left by decreased wild catch'

Quoting from the article by Rijuta Dey in the September issue of the Intrafish Fish Farming International:

"The U.S. aquaculture industry nees to focus on sustainable production and consolidate itself like other protein sectors such as chicken, the country's largest yellow perch producer told FFI, adding that the country's insatiable demand for healthy protein should increasingly be met by domestic players.

'I see the demand for healthy seafood raised in a sustainable manner increasing in the near future,' said Norman McCowan, president of Bell Aquaculture, a yellow perch-producing company that recently invested $5 million to expand its production facility in Albny Indiana, and plans to raise 20 million yellow perch by 2016.'"

Link for details on how to subscribe to Fish Farming International

w3w3.com Interviews Holli Riebel: 'Challenges and solutions for the Bio and Life Sciences industry'

Quoting from CBSA Pres/CEO's recent interview with w3w3.com's Larry Nelson on the upcoming Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference (RMLIPC) in Denver:

"The Bio and Life Sciences industry faces huge challenges raising venture capital in a difficult economy. Investing in an industry that takes ten to twelve years and over $1.3 Billion to bring a drug to market just might shift the action to some widget or a software program that can be flipped to realize a return in just six months. That's the challenge facing the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) and president/CEO, Holli Riebel. 'Also,' she said, 'venture capitalists reside more on the coasts, and so we're always having a more difficult time attracting venture capital out here in the middle of the country.'"

Link to w3w3.com

Link to download the podcast

Medivance® Inc. Arctic Sun Products are the Preferred Choice of 2011 U.S. News & World Report Top-10 Ranked Honor Roll Hospitals

Louisville, CO, - September 13, 2011 - Building on a track record of serving the nation's top ranked hospitals, Medivance® Inc. is pleased to announce the 2011 U.S. News & World Report's Top-10 Ranked Honor Roll Hospitals are all users of its Targeted Temperature Management™ product, the Arctic Sun®. The announcement was made by Robert Kline, President & CEO, who stated, "It is often said that you are known by the company you keep, and there's no better group of medical centers to be affiliated with than the U.S. News Top-10 Honor Roll. The Medivance Team is very proud of this achievement."

Body temperature, systematically measured and reported as a vital sign, contributes to maintenance of normal physiology and affects the processes leading to recovery after illness. Intentional manipulation of body temperature has therefore emerged as a key treatment strategy for hospitals. The Medivance® Arctic Sun® brings precision Targeted Temperature Management™ to the highest level of performance available today for intentionally manipulating body temperature as a treatment strategy.

"Our Arctic Sun® 5000 is really the only product in the market that can achieve, with precision, a prescribed order set for temperature management with consistency for each patient. This is of particular importance in the hospital environment for Continuous Quality Improvement , thus it's not surprising the top ten Honor Roll hospitals make use of our technology," Kline explained.

Link to the PR Newswire

Link to the PRWeb Newswire

Link to the PitchEngine Social Media Release

9News Interview: "Conference brings together local innovative life-science companies"

CBSA Pres/CEO Holli Reibel interviewed with 9News Business Reporter Gregg Moss this morning about the upcoming Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference in Denver. Presenting companies featured in the interview included PeptiVir, VetDC and Flashback Technologies.

Link to information about the RMLIPC, being held Sept 21-22 at the Brown Palace

Link to the related 9News.com posting

NCBR: 'Biotech firms lead healthy innovation'

Quoting CBSA's Pres/CEO perspective from the Northern Colorado Business Report article by Josh Zaffos covering Inviragen, Senator Bennet/FDA Commissioner Hamburg CEO Roundtable and the RMLIPC:

"Bringing a drug or device to market has its challenges, said Holli Riebel, president of the Colorado BioScience Association: 'What makes it difficult right now is the regulatory market.'...

'There's a really large concern we're hurting (biotechnology) innovation in this country by not getting to market' within a reasonable timeframe, Riebel said...

Riebel said the FDA has struggled to keep up with developing technologies, while also suffering through the ubiquitous federal-agency problems of understaffing and restricted budgets. The agency is currently hiring new reviewers, but bringing inexperienced staff up to speed is a concern...

Riebel said one of the major interests from biotech boosters is for a fast-track process for regulatory approval of certain products. Officials have also pushed for reviewers to get training and certification in certain areas to speed along processing in some cases.

'How can we develop more predictability and consistency?' Riebel said. 'How do you start putting benefits into the analysis and not just look at what is the risk.'...

Much of the funding for biotech ventures is based on the East and West coasts, so the investor conference enables regional bioscience firms to make connections and prove they're equal to competitors from around the country, Riebel said.

The time is particularly ripe for such opportunities, she added, since many big pharmaceutical corporations have trimmed down in-house research and development in recent years, partly because of the costs and the regulatory environment. Companies are more willing to invest in small biotech firms that can focus on developing a few product lines from research programs to marketable drugs and devices.

Inviragen is a prime example, Riebel said, having developed vaccines that originated from the local labs of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and CSU and now targeting them for populations in developing countries.

'We're feeling better about some of the financial opportunities,' Riebel said, 'because we're turning out fantastic companies.'"

Link to the complete article

Cat Care Society 'Cajun's Closet' Thrift Shop, Denver Westword's 2011 Best, Reopens After Renovation Project

The Cat Care Society's 'Cajun's Closet' Thrift Shop reopened Saturday, September 3, after several weeks of renovation, including painting, new flooring and plenty of TLC from the Cajun's team. The announcement is made by Shari Shiffer-Krieger, CCS Executive Director, who says the shop is better than ever with great collectibles, home items, jewelry, clothes (and more clothes), books (and more books) all at Cajun's great low prices. Regular hours are Wednesday - Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"It was time for a freshening up at Cajun's, so our entire team did the job during the past few weeks," Shiffer-Krieger says. "Our shop was named Denver Westword's Best Thrift Store 2011 and we wanted to keep it up to the standards shoppers expect from the Cat Care Society."

Link to the PRweb Newswire

LifeScience Aurora: 'All CID4 portfolio companies presenting at upcoming RMLIPC in Denver'

Quoting from LifeScience Aurora:

"The Colorado Institute for Drug, Device and Diagnostic Development (CID4) will have all four of its portfolio companies — Sophono, PeptiVir, VetDC and Flashback Technologies — presenting and participating in discussions at the 2011 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference Sept. 21-23 in Denver.

The four CID4 companies were announced in mid-August as part of 30 from the across the country that were hand-selected by a national committee of life science investors and business development executives for the three-day RMSLIPC conference at the Brown Palace Hotel, which draws venture capital funds, corporate venture funds and business development leaders from the largest global biopharmaceutical and medical device companies."

Link to the article

CBSA's Pres/CEO Holli Riebel Joins CU Tech Transfer Advisory Board

Quoting from the Boulder County Business Report:

"BOULDER - Eleven new members have been added to the University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office's Business Advisory Board.

The tech transfer office facilitates the movement of CU technologies from the research lab to the marketplace. The Business Advisory Board plays an important part in assessing the tech transfer office's performance, advising on new initiatives, providing access to the technology business community and advocating for resources needed to build a world-class technology transfer operation at CU.

New board members include:

Shannon Golden-Shubert, partner and co-founder at Life + Tech Law.

Doug Henston, renewable energy entrepreneur.

Paul Nelson, managing director at Clean Range Ventures.

Rex R. O'Neal, partner at Faegre & Benson LLP; co-chairman of the firm's emerging companies practice and new energy, clean technology and climate initiative.

Misha Plam, founder of BiOptix and AmideBio.

Holli Riebel, president and chief executive of the Colorado BioScience Association.

John Ryan, partner at medical technology firm Onset Ventures.

Chris Shapard, executive director of the Colorado Cleantech Industry Association.

Laura Simon, director of UC Denver's Office of BioPharma Alliances.

Fintan R. Steele, associate director at CU-Boulder's Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology.

Trent Yang, director of entrepreneurship and business development at the CU-Boulder Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute.

Link to bcbr.com

Bell Aquaculture is donating and cooking the fish at today's fifth annual White River Cleanup

Quoting from The Star Press on the 8th:

"MUNCIE -- More than 200 volunteers have registered for the fifth annual White River Cleanup on Saturday, but more are needed...Organizers are hoping 300 people will volunteer for the event starting at 8 a.m. at Westside Park and ending three hours later with a free fish fry. Bell Aquaculture is donating and cooking the fish. Volunteers, who can register at the park, also get free T-shirts."

Link to thestarpress.com

'Love cats? Love cupcakes? Live in Denver?...'

Quoting from the All Things Cupcake blog:

"Love cats? Love cupcakes? Live in Denver? Boy, have I got an opportunity for you! Cupcakes for Cats!

On Friday, September 16th, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., there will be a cupcake sale in downtown Denver, at the 16th Street Mall, 16th and California. But this is no ordinary cupcake sale. Funds raised will go to the Cat Care Society in Lakewood."

Link to the posting

LifeScience Aurora: 'Sen. Michael Bennet, FDA commissioner hold roundtable discussion with CEOs'

Quoting from the new LifeScience Aurora publication:

"The dialogue was what the CBSA needed according to President and CEO Holli Riebel.

'The session today is a positive next step to work CBSA has already contributed to Sen. Bennet’s Coloradoans For An Innovation Economy (CFAIE), and speaks strongly to the work the Senator is doing on our industry’s behalf,' Riebel said in a statement."

Link to the article

30+ Life Science Investors/Partners Headed to Denver Sept 21-22

More than thirty of the industry’s leading investors and strategic partners will attend presentations by the region’s most innovative life science companies at the 2011 Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference (RMLIPC), September 21-22 at the Brown Palace Hotel, Denver. The announcement is made by Holli Riebel (formerly Baumunk), President and CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) who says, “Leading biotech, device, diagnostic and pharma investors from across the country and world will be coming to Denver to create the newest deals and shape the future landscape of the life science industry.”

The conference will present a strong slate of Rocky Mountain region companies to the investors. Thirty-one companies were selected to present from over fifty applicants spanning a range of sectors within the industry.

Apposite Capital, London, England - http://www.appositecapital.com
BioVentures, Wellesley, MA - http://www.bioventuresinvestors.com
Boston Equity Advisors, Canton, MA - http://www.boston-equity.com
Boulder Ventures, Boulder, CO - http://www.boulderventures.com
Bristol-Myers Squibb, New York, NY - http://www.bms.com
Canaan Partners, Menlo Park, CA - http://www.canaan.com
Charter Life Sciences, Santa Clara, CA - http://www.clsvc.com
Covidien, Mansfield, MA - http://www.covidien.com
CSU Ventures, Fort Collins, CO - http://www.csurf.org/tto
Delphi Ventures, Menlo Park, CA - http://www.delphiventures.com
Doremus Advisory Services, New York, NY
Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Menlo Park, CA - http://www.dfj.com
Frontier Angels, Polson, MT - http://angelsoft.net/angel-group/frontier-angel-fund
High Country Venture, Boulder, CO - http://highcountryventure.com
Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, NJ - http://www.jnj.com
Longitude Capital, Menlo Park, CA - http://www.longitudecapital.com
Lumira Capital, Palo Alto, CA - http://www.lumiracapital.com
MedImmune, Gaithersburg, MD - http://www.medimmune.com
Merck Ventures, Montvale, NJ - http://www.merckcapitalventures.com
Morgenthaler Ventures, Menlo Park, CA - http://www.morgenthaler.com
OK Life Sciences Fund, Tulsa, OK - http://olsfventures.com
OnSet Ventures, Menlo Park, CA - http://www.onset.com
Red Script Ventures, Brunswick, NJ - http://www.redscriptventures.com
Research Corp BioVentures, Tucson, AZ - http://www.rctech.com
Sanderling Ventures, San Mateo, CA - http://www.sanderling.com
Sevin Rosen Funds, Palo Alto, CA - http://www.srfunds.com
Sun Mountain Capital, Santa Fe, NM - http://www.sunmountaincapital.com
Takeda Ventures, Palo Alto, CA - http://www.tri-takeda.com
TPG Biotech, San Francisco, CA - http://www.tpgbiotech.com
Volcano Capital, New York, NY - http://www.volcanocap.com
vSpring Capital, Salt Lake City, UT - http://www.vspring.us

Link to the Business Wire release

Link to the Pitch Engine Social Media Release

Feature: 'Venture capital drought affecting Colorado's crop of medical inventions'

Quoting from the Aurora Sentinel:

"Kevin Smith, who runs CID4, said the organization looks similar to a grant-writing agency that might fund research or some early-stage investment in a bioscience company. But that’s not really their goal, he said.

'Our mission is not just to give the money to a researcher and hope he or she comes up with something interesting, but to actually take an already identified or discovered technology and get it developed,' he said.

Smith said CID4 works with start-ups that are often in a phase of their development known is the industry as the 'valley of death.'"

Link to AuroraSentinel.com

Cajun's Closet - All Spruced Up After Renovation & Ready for Shoppers

The Cat Care Society's "Cajun's Closet" Thrift Shop is newly renovated and ready for shoppers to explore - Wed through Sat, 9-5. Cajun's is Denver Westword's 2011 Best Thrift Store. We're located at 5707 W. 6th Ave - the red brick building next to the Cat Care Society shelter with the huge "Thrift Shop" banner on the roof. Check us out online: http://www.westword.com/bestof/2011/award/best-thrift-store-1770550/

We took a sneak peek at the better, brighter Cajun's today:


http://youtu.be/GaMH7P7-U7Q

Picasa slideshow option

Denver and the West: 'Job-growth ideas for Colorado sent to Obama'

Quoting from yesterday's Denver Post coverage: "After hustling together a group of business leaders to figure out what it would take to spur job growth in Colorado, Democrat Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall​ and Gov. John Hickenlooper shipped the findings to President Barack Obama on Wednesday, a week before he is set to unveil his jobs plan...

Those who participated included Mark Sirangelo, head of Sierra Nevada Space Systems, and Holli Riebel, president of the Colorado Bioscience Association. The business leaders held a series of meetings in the past several months to compile their recommendations."

Link to denverpost.com

Link to similar coverage in The Colorado Independent

Link to similar coverage by the Denver Business Journal

Link to the DBJ pdf posting of the “Colorado Competes” report