Colorado BioScience Association Welcomes the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ‘Rocky Mountain Regional Satellite Office’ to Denver

Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) is honored to welcome the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Rocky Mountain Regional Satellite Office and Russell Slifer, its new director, to Denver at today’s historic grand opening. The announcement is made by CBSA President and CEO April Giles, who says, “Bioscience companies in Colorado depend on access to a high quality, efficient patent office; and having patent agents right in our back yard will provide for a better interface, as well as efficient and engaged interactions, in the future.” 

Director Slifer, an intellectual property lawyer, has served as chief patent counsel for Boise, Idaho-based Micron Technology for the past eight years. He also was a design engineer for Honeywell and spent more than nine years in private legal practice in Minnesota helping high-technology clients.

As background, in September 2011, U.S. Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet worked to pass the America Invents Act, which allowed for the creation of three new satellite offices for the USPTO. This effort in turn led to the establishment of the Denver office, which according to Giles, should make the patent process more effective and affordable for smaller entities in the region; relieve the logjam of patents awaiting approval; and, result in patent litigation being less imposing and more predictable.

  Link to the Business Wire Newswire

Link to the PitchEngine Social Media Release

Denver Post YourHub: 'Festival of Felines 2014...Saturday, June 28th, 11 to 2"

The Patterned Cats took to YourHub this week to promote tomorrow's Festival of Felines at the Cat Care Society in Lakewood (5787 W. 6th Avenue).

Date/Time: 06/28/2014 11:00 am - 2:00 pm 

Location: Cat Care Society 

Great Family Fun! Hope to see your there.

Link to YourHub Event Listing

Natural Awakenings: 'Outdoor Options for Feline Friends Safe Ways to Let Them Explore'

Quoting from the posting by Sandra Murphy:

"In Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Jane Dorsey, volunteer coordinator for the Cat Care Society, utilizes 'habicats' both at the shelter and at home. Because her first cat, Chessie, was an escape artist, Dorsey decided to use a large dog pen (12 feet long by six feet tall) as an enclosure. Stood on end, it attaches to the house and has a weatherproof panel roof. A cat door leads to the kitchen. 'Chessie’s personality improved because she was able to decide when to go in and out. For easy cleanup, we used pavers for flooring.'"

Link to Natural Awakenings

CBSA Applauds ‘Colorado Companies to Watch’ for Honoring Five Local Bioscience Companies

Colorado BioScience Association congratulates the five local bioscience companies included in this year’s class of ‘Colorado Companies to Watch’ and applauds the program for showcasing 50 of Colorado’s outstanding second-stage companies. Announced at a Gala held June 20th at the Denver Marriott City Center, those bioscience companies featured in the 2014 Class were: Eldon James Corp., Denver; JustRight Surgical LLC, Boulder; MedKeeper, Westminster; Sharklet Technologies Inc., Aurora; and UrgentRx, Denver.

The announcement is made by CBSA President and CEO April Giles, who says, “This is a great honor for these growth stage companies to be recognized for developing and commercializing vital products in the bioscience industry and creating quality jobs in the state to fuel economic growth.”

More about the bioscience companies included in Colorado Companies to Watch Class of 2014:

* Eldon James Corp., Denver - Eldon James manufactures plastic tubing and connectors for the medical, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, industrial and automotive industries.  The business opened its new 75,000-square-foot headquarters in Denver last year—building a 10,000-square-foot cleanroom and creating a new product line of PVC- and BPA- free tubing.  Visit, http://eldonjames.com

* JustRight Surgical LLC, Boulder - JustRight Surgical, a micro-laparoscopic medical device company, "right-sizing" existing technologies for the operating room. Their sealing instrument is 4 times smaller than any sealer available today. The company has received 510 (k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its JustRight™ 5mm Stapler. Visit, http://Justrightsurgical.com

* MedKeeper, Westminster - MedKeeper provides mobile and Web-based applications to help hospital pharmacies manage operations more efficiently. Visit, http://medkeeper.com

* Sharklet Technologies Inc., Aurora - Sharklet Technologies is a biotechnology company that develops surface technologies that are designed to inhibit microorganism growth to make the world a healthier, environmentally safer and better place. Inspired by the microbial-resistant properties of sharkskin, Sharklet™, the company’s core technology, is the world’s first micro-texture developed to control bacteria including Staph a., MRSA, VRE, E. coli and a host of others. Visit, http://Sharklet.com

* UrgentRx, Denver - UrgentRx produces a line of fast-acting, over-the-counter medications for today’s on-the-go consumer. The company’s trademarked Fast Powders come in convenient, single-dose packets for easier portability and accessibility. Visit, http://urgentRx.com

The bioscience industry plays a key role in Colorado’s Advance Industry clusters with more than 600 pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, diagnostics, and ag-bio companies. Currently, the state employs 27,000 people in its bioscience companies, creating over 122,000 direct and indirect jobs, translating into over $10 billion in payroll.

Link to the Business Wire newswire

Link to the PitchEngine social media release

CBSA Releases Annual Bioscience Colorado Magazine at BIO International Convention in San Diego

Colorado BioScience Association is releasing its annual edition of Bioscience Colorado, this week, at the BIO International Convention in San Diego, CA. The announcement is made by CBSA President & CEO April Giles, who says, “In this issue we are looking at the intersection of people and data, and how it benefits human health. Big Data is now playing a critical role within the bioscience industry—from the personal devices on our wrists monitoring our bodies, to electronic medical records housing our health histories—data is valuable.”

Bioscience Colorado is a key resource for companies, investors and economic developers, and has become the go-to source for the industry. With a total audience of over 8,000, including online impressions, this publication is one of the industry’s greatest voices—locally, nationally and internationally.

This new issue, Drawing People & Data Together to benefit human health, includes:

* Mobile Health in Colorado: Where “Big Data” Sparks Big Ideas
* Biodesix Harnesses Machine Learning and Analytics to Tackle Multivariate Diagnostics
* Bioscience in Colorado Continues to Shine with U.S. Senator Michael Bennet
* Colorado Life Science Assets: A Sophisticated Repertoire of Clinical-Stage Therapeutic, Device and Diagnostic Products
* Boettcher Investigators: Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Program
* Found in Translation: Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Institute Translational Research Programs Focus on Innovative Treatment of Eye Diseases
* Tech Transfer Offices Connect the Dots between Research and the Marketplace, Stimulate State’s Economy
* Colorado by the Numbers: Financing and Acquisitions
* Grant Programs: Innovation Engines
* Colorado Bioscience Industry Directory

The complete flip book of the issue can be found online at: http://www.cobioscience.com/magazine2014flip-book/

Download the pdf at: http://www.cobioscience.com/Magazine%202014/CBSA_magazine_061314-lowres.pdf

Link to the Business Wire newswire: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140623005344/en/Colorado-BioScience-Association-Releases-Annual-Bioscience-Colorado#.U6hmXPldV8E

Link to the PitchEngine Social Media Release: http://www.pitchengine.com/pitches/3306fc01-d1ee-4132-90f5-7e67013448cf

Aurora Sentinel: 'Man with a plan: Fitzsimons redevelopment guru bringing DTC drive to Aurora’s Anschutz'

Quoting from today's posting by Brandon Johannson:

"FRA last week announced the hiring of longtime Denver real estate developer John Shaw to oversee its real estate projects in the district. 

Shaw, who oversaw the Denver Tech Center in the 1980s and worked on the redevelopment that saw the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center morph into Anschutz, said he looks forward to what the future holds for the area.

'It is absolutely staggering the amount of activity that has occurred at Fitzsimons,' he said. 'But the wonderful part is that we have 150 acres now to complete that park. And we have the opportunity to really think through how it should be developed.'

The FRA’s land includes much of the land north of East Montview Boulevard, including the old Fitzsimons golf course. The group’s development plans have called for turning that land into a thriving business park where bioscience and other high-tech companies mingle with researchers and other academics from the medical campus across Montview."

Link to the full article at AuroraSentinel.com

(Marla R. Keown/Aurora Sentinel) - Link to the posting

Boettcher Foundation Announces 2014 Boettcher Investigators; Celebrating Fifth Class of Colorado's Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Program

Seven early-career scientists are joining the ranks of Boettcher Investigators in the Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Program, with today’s announcement from Theodore F. Schlegel, M.D., Chairman of the Boettcher Foundation Board of Trustees.

“The Boettcher Foundation Board is pleased to celebrate our fifth class in this very specialized and important niche of biomedical research,” Schlegel said. “Our investigators now number 29, and several of our early Investigators are already achieving significant advancements in their areas of research.”

The 2014 Class of Boettcher Investigators in the Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Program includes:

* Kunhua Song, PhD, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Assistant Professor of Medicine - Regenerative medicine and heart development/disease

* Roger A. Bannister, PhD, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Cardiology Division - Skeletal and cardiac muscle physiology

* Subhajyoti De, PhD, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Personalized Medicine - Cancer genomics; lung cancer; somatic mutations; DNA damage and repair; algorithm development; optimization

* Loren Hough, PhD, University of Colorado Boulder, Assistant Professor of Physics - Structural biology of order and disordered proteins

* Christopher L. Gentile, PhD, Colorado State University, Assistant Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition - Molecular causes of vascular dysfunction

* Amy B. Dounay, PhD, Colorado College, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry - Medicinal chemistry for African Sleeping Sickness

* Rachel L. Zemans, MD, National Jewish Hospital, Assistant Professor of Medicine - Resolution of Alveolar Epithelial Permeability after Lung Injury

“The new class of Boettcher Investigators represents some of the finest scientific minds in the state, and we are honored to have the opportunity to support their research, which has the potential to have significant impacts on human health,” said Tim Schultz, President and Executive Director of the Boettcher Foundation. 

Boettcher Investigators are awarded grants of $225,000, covering up to three years of research with a goal for these early-career scientists to establish themselves and become competitive for major awards from federal agencies and private foundations. With the addition of the 2014 Class, there are now 29 Boettcher Investigators conducting research in the following Colorado institutions: University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado State University, National Jewish Health, Colorado School of Mines and Colorado College.

The Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Program was created in 2008, as the result of an innovative agreement among the Boettcher Foundation, the Webb-Waring Foundation for Biomedical Research and the University of Colorado. Through the program, the Boettcher Foundation now invests more than $1.5 million each year into efforts to increase Colorado's competitiveness in biomedical science.

Link to the full release

Link to the related Business Wire release