MBC Pharma announced that it received a $1,795,054 SBIR grant from the NIH. The two year grant will be used to expand the company’s pipeline of bone-targeted chemotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer induced bone disease. The grant money will be used to demonstrate if a new platform technology can produce effective compounds for cancer induced bone disease. Efficacy of the compounds, conjugates of agents with known activity against prostate cancer, will be tested in several animal models. MBC Pharma, based in Aurora, Colorado, is a pre-clinical stage company that plans to submit is first IND application to the FDA to begin trials in humans in the first quarter of 2011.
Red Door Active hosted a panel to discuss the integration of digital marketing with traditional marketing and PR. The discussion focused on how tactics are changing as more digital channels – web, mobile, social networks – become integrated into advertising strategies. The panel was moderated by Andrea Ehresman of Coco-Cola and the panelists were:
- Dirk Shaw – SVP of Digital Influence with Ogilvy Public Relations
- Joe Hodas – SVP of Brand Communications with Vladimir Jones
- Reid Carr – CEO of Red Door Interactive
Read More »
CBSA’s July Biobreakfast featured a panel discussion from three Colorado bioscience legends. The panel, moderated by new CBSA CEO Holli Baumunk, discussed a wide variety of issues including past mistakes and successes and recommendations to those in early stage companies. The panelists were:
- Dr. William Freytag who was Chairman and CEO of Myogen when it was acquired by Gilead.
- Dr. Larry Gold who is CEO and Chairman at SomaLogic and has found two other companies including NeXstar, which merged with Gilead
- Patrick Mahaffy who is CEO of Clovis Oncology and previously served in the same role at Pharmion (sold to Celgene) and NeXstar
All panelists agreed that successful companies are founded on great science and that ideas should be thoroughly tested and thought through before setting down a particular path. Gold acknowledged that it is “really hard [for scientists] to give up on ideas” that they believe in and have put much effort into. He also said that it takes the right person to really evaluate “the difference between strong and week science” upfront. Freytag noted a common mistake as “breaking the fundamental tenant of science – not believing the data.” Mahaffy cited several instances where companies should have given up on a compound after Phase I testing but instead pushed on to Phase II despite a questionable rationale for doing so.
Read More »
After achieving over 10 million page views in an eight months time, environmental advocacy website Earthprotect.com proved its content relevant to environmentally concerned users. The site’s leadership team then turned its focus towards the visitor experience. The recent relaunch of the site in May aims to provide a more user-friendly experience along with social networking capabilities while still maintaining the rich content of many environmental topics.
Founded by filmmaker Grant Barbeito, Earthprotect.com is a website that allows environmental issues to be categorized and discussed in a way that promotes interaction among site visitors and ultimately provides non profit environmental groups with a platform to receive donations. Using a model that focuses on social networking, Dr. Carol Barbeito, president of Earthprotect.com, explains that the website’s multimedia functionality helps make environmental issues more tangible which then allows the community to get better involved. “We are focused on video as the storytelling element about the environment and then combine that with the community building aspects of the site,” Barbeito explained in a recent phone interview.
Read More »
by Ryan on July 16, 2010
Since its launch in April, Boulder-based DuckDuck Deal has provided a way for local businesses to communicate deals, promotions and specials to users in the Boulder area. Through DuckDuck’s iPhone App and the web, users can view real-time deals from bars, restaurants, and stores in their immediate vicinity. With nearly 80 businesses signed up, DuckDuck Deal has spent the summer focusing on increasing its user base of consumers in Boulder.
Following on the heels of an on-campus treasure hunt just after its launch in May, DuckDuck Deal is now setting its sights on something more ambitious. Starting on Monday, July 19th, DuckDuck Deal will hold a Boulder-wide treasure hunt featuring prizes including $50 gift certificates, $100 in cash, and a grand prize of an Apple iPad. Clues will be provided through the company’s Twitter account (@duckduckdeal), Facebook page, and via its iPhone application and website. The clues provided will lead to ducks hidden throughout Boulder that can be redeemed for prizes. As clues are solved, DuckDuck Deal will release portions of a treasure map that will lead to the final hidden duck that can be exchanged for an iPad.
Read More »
by Ryan on July 9, 2010
There were plenty of laughs, some in depth question and answer, and a few somber moments as July’s New Tech meetup deviated from the usual format in favor of giving the stage to local non-profit groups that were searching for technical help. Although the format was different, attendance did not suffer as the courtroom in the Wolf Law building was well beyond capacity with many new comers among the attendees.
Read More »
by Ryan on July 5, 2010
Silicon Flatirons convened an event that focused on the history of Telecommunications in Colorado, but perhaps because of the setting which the event was held, the special summer edition of Entrepreneurs Unplugged turned into a little bit of a University of Colorado love fest amongst the six member panel. The event deviated from the traditional one-on-one interview format in favor of a panel based discussion about the history of telecommunications in Colorado, the role of the Front Range in promoting entrepreneurial innovation, and recognition for the University of Colorado, where the event was held.
Read More »
Yesterday, the Boettcher Foundation presented grants to the inaugural class of the Webb-Waring Biomedical research program. The six investigators from Colorado institutions will receive between $200,000 and $300,000 each spread over the next three years to support their research efforts. According to Governor Bill Ritter, who was on hand to announce these awards represent “the Boettcher Foundation’s newest endeavor to improve quality of life in Colorado and around the country.”
Read More »
Biodesix announced recently that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has awarded to the company patent number 7,736,905. The patent relates to the company’s first product Veristrat, which is used to identify non-small cell lung cancer patients likely to respond to therapy with erlotinib (Tarceva). Specifically, the patent is for the serum based identification of patients likely to benefit from epidermal growth factor targeted therapy. Instead of focusing on a single biomarker as many diagnostics do, Veristrat evaluates expected response based on many biomarkers measured via mass spectrometry and evaluated with proprietary algorithms. The patent additionally covers key aspects of the company’s ProTS platform, which has the potential to apply the same methods used in Veristrat to other types of medications and disease states. Biodesix is based in Broomfield, Colorado. RockyRadar recently reported on the company when Paul Beresford, the VP of business development, presented at a CBSA event.
