Pfizer might get incentives to keep research center in Richmond

Pfizer might get incentives to keep research center in Richmond
By Staff Reports | Times-Dispatch
Published: June 29, 2010

City officials are planning to offer incentives to Pfizer Inc. for keeping its research and development center with more than 300 jobs in Richmond.

Executives with Pfizer and city officials reiterated the company's decision to maintain the facility in Richmond at a news conference this afternoon.

Peter Chapman, Richmond's deputy chief administrative officer and interim director of economic and community development, said city officials will present a package of incentives to City Council for approval within a few weeks. He declined to provide financial details but described the incentives as "modest and measured."

He said Pfizer also would preserve a certain number of jobs as part of the deal.

Pfizer announced in May that it would end production at its Henrico County manufacturing plant in two to three years, eliminating about 550 local jobs.

Production of over-the-counter health products such as Chap Stick, Dimetapp, Robitussin, Anbesol and Preparation H will be moved elsewhere, but the company said it planned to keep its consumer research center on Sherwood Avenue in Richmond.

Bode Technology Launches RFID System to Track DNA Evidence

Bode Technology, one of the world's largest DNA analysis firms, is piloting an RFID system it developed to manage DNA evidence as it passes through a supply chain, that includes storage and analysis in the laboratory. If the pilot—held at the company's Virginia lab—goes well, Bode Technology plans to deploy the system for 50,000 or more pieces of evidence annually as they move through the company's facility. To date, says Randy Nagy, Bode's sales and marketing VP, the system is reducing the time spent manually recording information about the specimens and their movement through the site, and provides a better, more accurate record of where each specimen has been, and who has been handling it.

The company is marketing the system, known as Bode-RFID, to law-enforcement agencies, for use in tracking physical evidence such as weapons, as well as DNA evidence. This, Nagy says, is being done in order to create and maintain an electronic record of a sample's movement from a crime scene through testing and storage, with data that could be used in a courtroom if the courts, for example, required proof of where the evidence had been, and when. The system is designed to be flexible (it can be set up to track evidence at specific locations chosen by a user, such as at a crime scene or storage area, or in off-site labs). What's more, it can act as a module to the existing Laboratory Information Management (LIM) system Bode sells, which stores and manages data regarding evidence for municipal, state and federal agencies.

When evidence is gathered, it is typically placed in a paper bag, box or DNA kit, and a unique reference number is assigned to that specimen, either printed in the form of a bar code on an adhesive label attached to the bag, or manually written on the bag using a marker. Approximately 40 percent of law-enforcement agencies currently employ bar-coded labels, while the rest utilize the manual, handwritten method. Often, a law-enforcement official creates a paper manifest with the same reference number, along with details related to that specimen. That manifest then accompanies the specimen when it is shipped to a forensics company, such as Bode, or to an in-house laboratory. The law-enforcement official at the crime scene—and, afterward, the agency or lab staff members handling the evidence—typically put their initials on the paperwork to provide a trail documenting which personnel worked with those samples. Multiple pieces of evidence are often recorded on a manifest, in order to link specimens from the same crime scene, such as several articles of blood-stained clothing. This system is time-consuming, however, and in the case of handwritten reference numbers, there is always the risk that an agency employee creating the manifest could transpose the numbers or otherwise make mistakes.

Another shortcoming with the manual system, according to Andrew Singer, Bode Technology's senior product manager, is that workers handling the sample may fail to add their initials to the evidence or paper manifest. Consequently, it is not always clear who has been handling a particular sample. In other cases, a piece of evidence can go unnoticed—in the trunk of a car, for instance—but if an RFID system were used at the time that evidence was collected, that type of error would be documented electronically, because a record would be stored in the back-end system indicating the date and time a specimen was gathered, along with any subsequent procedures that may have occurred, including receipt into storage or movement to a lab for testing.

Bode Technology watched RFID technology prices drop, and the demand for such a solution increase, until last year, when it determined that an RFID solution would be saleable. At that point, the firm developed Bode-RFID, which includes the company's existing LIM system, as well as its RFID-based software (developed in partnership with RFID Global Solution), to interpret RFID numbers as they are read, along with the location and time of read events—all of which is then stored in the LIM system. Bode-RFID will also provide hardware such as tags, readers and printers, according to customers' specific needs.

Bode Technology decided to first test the system at its own site in Virginia, in order to gather time-saving metrics. Last week, employees began tagging and tracking all new evidence coming from a handful of customers—government agencies that agreed to have their samples tagged and tracked while at the company's facility. Initially, only Bode Technology will use the RFID read data for its own purposes—to automate the tracking of each specimen's arrival, testing and storage, as well as who handled that evidence at any given time. However, that information could also be requested from the agencies in the event, for instance, that it is required for a trial.

When specimens arrive, they contain a printed reference number or a bar-coded ID number, along with information about the specimens printed as text on the paper bag or box in which they are contained. Bode's staff have several options for storing that data in the back-end system. In some cases, an agency sends an electronic manifest to the company prior to the samples' arrival. When that occurs, the electronic manifest provides Bode Technology with details regarding the sample, including the case number, a list of other pieces of evidence linked to that case, the agency that had sent it, and the specific testing required. Workers can then open the electronic manifest on the LIM system and enter information about the carrier (such as Federal Express) and the time and date of its arrival, or scan the carrier's bar-coded label on the item's packaging using a handheld Motorola MC9090 to create a record of that item being received.

In either case, an Avery Dennison ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) Gen 2 RFID tag is then printed and encoded with a unique ID number on a Zebra Technology printer, and attached to the paper envelope or box in which the specimen is stored, thereby linking the RFID number with the sample it is attached to. If no electronic manifest is sent to Bode Technology before the sample's arrival, the company's staff inputs all of the information printed on the packaging or paper manifest accompanying the specimen, again encodes an RFID label and affixes it to the specimen's envelope or box. If the agency had used an RFID-enabled handheld device at the crime scene, attaching an RFID tag to a piece of evidence as it was gathered, and then reading the tag at the scene, Bode's employees could simply read that tag when the specimen arrives at the facility. Bode-RFID software enables a user to read the RFID tag, view an electronic manifest of the evidence, and then follow instructions in a drop-down box to indicate the event that is occurring, such as receiving the specimen from the carrier.

The sample is then moved into the evidence room, where it is stored while not being tested. As it passes through the doorway into the evidence room, it passes through a portal built by Jamison Door and containing an Impinj RFID reader. The ID number is transmitted to the LIMS on Bode's back-end server via a cabled connection, indicating it has arrived at the evidence room. LIMS can then determine the direction in which the tag is moving, based on its location and the data related to its last read. All information is automatically exchanged between the Bode-RFID software and the LIMS, Nagy says.

In addition, each employee wears an RFID-enabled badge, the ID number of which is also read, thereby indicating which employee brought a particular item into or out of the evidence room.

When an item is checked out by a DNA analyst, it again passes through the evidence room's portal and is then taken to the laboratory, where a desktop or handheld reader is used by the staff each time the evidence changes hands. If there are multiple bags of evidence connected with a specific case number, information about the additional evidence related to a specific item is also stored in the LIMS. All of these pieces of evidence are tied together in both the RFID software and the LIMS.

If a DNA analyst goes home for the day before finishing with a particular piece of evidence, he or she can take it to the temporary evidence room within the laboratory, where another RFID reader portal captures the ID numbers of the specimen's tag and the employee's badge, indicating when it was moved into the storage area, and by whom. This security measure, Nagy explained, is intended to track which individuals had the evidence when it came and went, as well as track which personnel had access to specimens stored in the room while it was there. The sample can then be removed again the next morning for further testing.

If Bode's staff require a specific piece of evidence, they can utilize the Motorola handheld reader that they carry into an evidence room or through the lab, and receive an audible alert when it comes within range of the ID number being sought, with the alerts getting louder and more frequent as the reader approaches the tag in question.

Prior to using the RFID system, Bode Technology's staff would manually input data in order to create a record of each item's arrival. The company maintained a written record of what occurred for such events as a lab worker analyzing the specimen, or an item being placed in the evidence room. Seeking specimens was more time-consuming, Nagy says, since they had to be searched for visually, without the aid of the handheld reader. "RFID will save a few seconds in completing each transfer," he states, "and records will be more legible, including the records provided to our customers, which will look more professional."

The electronic data stored for each specimen as it moves through Bode Technology's facility, Nagy says, "will better show who had access to all evidence during the time that it was at Bode. The expectation is that this will help improve the already high level of trust our customers have in Bode, and how we handle their evidence."

To date, Bode has incorporated the portal system only in its primary evidence room, as well as in the room within its lab used for temporary evidence storage. However, Singer says, other forensics companies or agencies could have the technology incorporated throughout their facilities, to track movement through the buildings and between departments.

Eventually, Nagy says, as the time-savings and improved accuracy are proven, Bode Technology hopes to begin tagging all evidence upon arrival, and then track each specimen as it moves through the evidence rooms and laboratory.

Although there are currently no agencies using this system, Nagy notes, Bode Technology is in discussions with many agencies about the prospect of doing so. This fall, as funding is granted to many agencies from the federal government to increase efficiency, Nagy hopes Bode will begin installing the solution with some of the company's customers. The system is commercially available now, he says, and can be used to track not only evidence, but also case files related to that evidence.

By Claire Swedberg
RFiD Journal

Biologists Tackle Cells' Identity Crisis

Ever since biologists learned how to grow human cells in culture half a century ago, the cells have been plagued by a problem of identity: many commonly used cell lines are not actually what researchers think they are.

Cell-line misidentification has led to mistakes in the literature, misguided research based on those results and millions wasted in grant money. Last year, Nature described the situation as a scandal.

But a universal system for determining the identity of cell lines may now be in view. Next month, a working group led by the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), a nonprofit biological repository based in Manassas, Virginia, that stores 3,600 cell lines from more than 150 species, plans to unveil standardized protocols for verifying the identity of cultured cells using DNA fingerprinting. Labs worldwide — including repositories such as the ATCC itself — would use the protocols to determine whether a breast-cancer line, for instance, did come from breast tissue. The group also plans to create a public database, which the National Center for Biotechnology Information in Bethesda, Maryland, has agreed to host, to store DNA profiles of validated lines, allowing researchers to compare their own cell cultures with the ATCC's reference lines.

"I really think it's fantastic progress," says Rolf König, director of the Tissue Culture Core Facility at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

Misidentification can happen when faster-growing cells contaminate cultures of slower-growing cells in the same lab, or when researchers simply mislabel a specimen. One particularly robust cell line called HeLa, the first human cell line grown in the lab, has contaminated dozens of other lines without researchers' knowledge2, and there are many other examples where melanoma cells and ovarian cells, for example, have been mistaken for breast cells. In this month's Nature Reviews Cancer3, the ATCC consortium notes that one group has published around 20 papers since 1988 in which they incorrectly use a line called Int-407 as a model of normal intestinal cells.

The working group, composed of representatives from academia, government and industry, as well as from other cell repositories, advocates verifying cells' identities by comparing their DNA in regions where short stretches of three to five bases are repeated. Closely related cells are likely to have the same number of repeats; comparing these snippets at several different positions in the DNA sequence provides an overall estimate of relatedness.

Forensics applications, such as paternity testing and identifying crime victims, already use the technique. But cell lines often come from tumour tissue, in which DNA mutates at a higher rate than normal, making a 100% match between cells unlikely. Instead, the consortium suggests, cells that match at 75% or above can be considered to be the same. The group has now developed and tested a standardized procedure for extracting DNA from cells, doing the fingerprinting and interpreting the results.“Without policing, many investigators may not be motivated to do the necessary tests.”

Many researchers already use DNA fingerprinting to test their cell lines, notes Steve Oglesbee, director of the tissue-culture facility at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The ATCC and other repositories have already established fingerprints for some of the most commonly used lines. "We're recommending that investigators authenticate from the beginning, and do it at least at the very end, and if they feel the need even during the work process," he says. Having a universally accepted approach will allow different facilities to compare their cell lines with each other, he adds.

Fingerprinting has its limits, cautions Michael Johnson, a cancer researcher at Georgetown University in Washington DC. "Just because a cell fingerprints out as the same [as another cell] doesn't mean they will behave the same," he says, noting that a cell's properties can also be affected by the way it has been grown, the number of times it has been cultured anew and small genetic changes that wouldn't show up in a fingerprint test. One classic example, he notes, is an immortalized breast cell line called MCF10A, which can form organized hollow structures similar to those found in mammary tissue; MCF10A cells currently distributed by ATCC do not do this nearly as efficiently.

Cell Solution

He worries that, useful though it would be, a database such as the one ATCC proposes "in some sense creates a false sense of security" about the "official version" of a cell line. Being able to keep track of a cell line's lineage — where it was derived — could be as important as ascertaining its DNA fingerprint, he adds.

Others note that researchers will probably need an extra push to embrace the ATCC protocols. About half a dozen journals, including Wiley's International Journal of Cancer and journals published by the American Association for Cancer Research, have begun demanding that researchers authenticate their cell lines before they publish their work. And Nature has endorsed efforts to make verification easier and cheaper for researchers, pledging to require it once funders acknowledge the need and provide the necessary financial support1. "Without the policing by journal editors and granting agencies," says Gertrude Buehring, a virologist at the University of California, Berkeley, "many investigators may not be motivated to do the necessary tests to authenticate the cell lines used for their research."

Alla Katsnelson
Nature News

RichTech Honors the Area’s Greatest Tech Firms and Folks

RichTech held its 15th Annual Awards Gala this evening, honoring the best local companies and leaders that drive Central Virginia’s technology-based economy.

“During the last year we’ve watched the economy turn brighter, and so too have Central Virginia’s technology companies. Businesses are stronger and more efficient, good talent is getting hired, and clients locally and nationally are being well-served by the slick tech companies that call the Richmond area home,” said Chip Farmer, Executive Director of RichTech.

“Altogether, the companies that make up RichTech have come together and strengthened our organization as one that stimulates and connects innovative, creative and technical people.”
During the past year, RichTech – formerly the Greater Richmond Technology Council – has revamped its brand, logo and website. It has also updated its membership structure to allow more individuals to join, and reached out to peer groups across the region to promote the cause of supporting innovation and creativity throughout the local technology community.

More than 500 people attended the Technology Stars gala, held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. The awards are structured in a way that recognize individual accomplishments, corporate wins, non-profit success stories, innovators in their field, and small business triumphs.

“This is RichTech’s 15th year of celebrating innovation, perseverance, and investment in the future of our region and beyond,” said Margaret E. “Lyn” McDermid, Senior Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at Dominion and RichTech Chair. “It has been exciting and encouraging to watch our companies grow and strengthen. Tonight we honor the value of technology in our community through these very deserving nominees and award winners.”

The award winners are:

IBM Community Catalyst Award: Mark Herzog This is Herzog’s 10th year as executive director of the Virginia Biotechnology Association. Through his work at VaBIO and the organizations that support it, new technology discoveries are being made in Virginia in medicine and healthcare, the environment and energy. The award recognizes an individual or organization that has made a significant impact on the growth of technology in this region, and/or the advancement of Greater Richmond as a center for technology innovation.

Computer Resource Team Educator Award: Richmond Area Program for Minorities in Engineering (Virginia State University & Virginia Commonwealth University) This pre-college program prepares "new-century engineers" to to gain experiences and target a conceptual understanding of science and technology topics in order to develop workforce skills. The award recognizes an educator or school program that provides exceptional technology leadership and encourages students to pursue higher education or training in engineering, math, and the sciences.

Cherry Bekaert & Holland Emerging Company Award: TBL Networks TBL Networks designs, implements, and supports Cisco IT systems as well as data center infrastructure. The company also provides ongoing troubleshooting, support, and maintenance. The award recognizes a local technology company that has demonstrated recent growth in revenues and/or employees - a company whose recognized accomplishments and prospects demonstrates the ability to achieve commercial success.

The PLANIT Technology Group Technology Builder Award: Altria Client Services Information Systems (IS) team ALCS Information Services provides the full range of IT services and solutions as an internal shared services organization. The group was ranked by Computerworld in its “100 Best Places to Work in IT” survey, ranking No. 1 in Virginia and No. 26 nationwide in 2009. The award recognizes an institution or organization that delivers technology solutions and/or services to internal or external clients that drive business or operational efficiencies.

The VACO Technology Innovation: Financial & Professional Services Award: Capital One Capital One is a diversified bank that offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One has approximately 44 million customer accounts and is one of the nation's most recognized brands. The award recognizes a company or organization whose use of new or existing technology in finance and professional services vertical creates or significantly enhances new processes, methodologies and/or services for their or others benefit.

The Cisco Systems & Packet360 Technology Innovation: Healthcare Award: MedVirginiaMedVirginia has deployed cutting-edge health information exchange technology in a national manner and is garnering headlines across the U.S. for its ability to expedite the Social Security disability determination process. The award recognizes a company or organization whose use of new or existing technology in the healthcare vertical creates or significantly enhances new processes, methodologies and/or services for their or others benefit.

The CSC Leasing Technology Innovation: Manufacturing, Distribution and Retail Award: Owens & MinorOwens & Minor, Inc., is a leading distributor of national name-brand medical and surgical supplies. The company serves its 4,500 healthcare provider customers from 55 distribution centers located strategically throughout the U.S. Owens & Minor's customers include acute-care hospitals, group-purchasing organizations, integrated healthcare systems and the federal government. The award recognizes a company or organization whose use of new or existing technology in manufacturing, distribution and/or retail creates or significantly enhances new processes, methodologies and/or services for their or others benefit.

2010 RichTech Chairman’s Award sponsored by Altria: Scott McKay, CIO and Senior Vice President, Genworth FinancialThrough his steadfast involvement with not only RichTech but VirginiaFIRST, the Science Museum of Virginia, and the Virginia Technology Intern Program, McKay continues to leave a long-term positive impact throughout our community. By working on all of these programs, he engages young people at every stage—from their years in early education through to their years in a university, inspiring them to pursue high-tech careers. The Chairman’s Award is presented annually to an individual or organization that has made a significant impact on the growth of technology in this region, and/or the advancement of Greater Richmond as a center for technology innovation. The award recognizes results that are the product of great leadership, great execution, great process implementation, great innovative ideas, and great talent.

RichTech

McDonnell puts jobs commission to work

Virginia can't rest on its pro-business reputation and must be more aggressive in marketing its assets and competing for jobs, state leaders said Wednesday.

"This is a top priority for what faces our people right now," Gov. Bob McDonnell told members of his Economic Development and Jobs Creation Commission.

McDonnell called the state's 7.4 percent unemployment rate "absolutely unacceptable" and said: "It's nice that it's a couple of percentage points below the national average, but that doesn't make you feel good when you go to Martinsville and see 20 percent of the people unemployed."

McDonnell's 64-member commission is charged with making recommendations on improving the state's business climate, improving economic development programs and incentives, and considering additional legislative and policy changes.

The full commission will hold public meetings in July and September before delivering recommendations to McDonnell in October. The commission is co-chaired by Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Bob Sledd, the governor's unpaid senior economic adviser. The panel includes Cabinet members, legislators and business leaders.

McDonnell won legislative support for a package of economic development incentives that he said will give him "more tools than any other governor has had to tell the Virginia story."
Additional steps are needed to keep Virginia competitive with other states and other countries, administration officials said.

"The reality is, we became a little bit complacent," said Sledd, adding that Virginia lags behind other states in attracting jobs in growing industry sectors such as biotechnology and advanced manufacturing.

The Roanoke Times© May 6, 2010
By Michael Sluss

Free Lance Star: VA State Senator Houck Fights PDL for Mental Health Drugs

HOUCK FIGHTS CHANGE TO MEDICATION CATEGORIZATION
By Chelyen Davis
The Free-Lance Star

Once again, mental health advocates are fighting against a governor trying to save money on psychotropic medications.

One of Gov. Bob McDonnell's proposed budget amendments would add psychotropic medications--such as antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications--to the state's "preferred drug list" for Medicaid.

The term "preferred drug list" pretty much means "cheaper drugs." It's a set, limited list of medications that doctors under the program are supposed to prescribe--such as generic versions of brand-name drugs. Any drug not on the list isn't supposed to be prescribed to a patient unless a doctor can show that the patient has already tried a drug on the list with poor results. But mental health advocates argue that when it comes to mental illnesses, those poor results can be as extreme as suicide.

Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania, and Del. Riley Ingram, R-Hopewell, held a press conference yesterday in Richmond with mental health advocates to say they will oppose that amendment when lawmakers return to Richmond tomorrow to deal with the governor's amendments to bills.

McDonnell isn't the first governor to propose this: Governors Tim Kaine and Mark Warner before him also did so. Houck said he fought those proposals as well.

"We've had this same battle, seems like each governor listens to his budget people and fails to really hear the voices of people who advocate or treat mentally ill patients," Houck said.

When Kaine proposed it, it was estimated to save the state $1.5 million a year. McDonnell's version would save about $1 million a year.

McDonnell proposes grandfathering in current Medicaid patients who are receiving psychotropic drugs, so the change wouldn't affect them. But Houck said that's not good enough.

"It's always put in terms of cost savings to use the drugs on the PDL list," he said. "What they fail to realize is the real, tragic results that can come from trying patients on a medication to see if it works. With mental illness, it can have life-ending affects, and that's just not acceptable."

Houck said there aren't that many psychotropic medications out there, and the cheaper ones also tend to be the older, less-effective ones. Newer drugs are more effective but are costlier.

"There's a whole new generation of psychotropic medications," he said. "In fact, the treatment of mental illness has changed over the years because the medications have improved so much."

Fredericksburg Free Lance Star
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010/042010/04202010/542270

Governor McDonnell Names Biotech Appointees to Jobs Commission

Three bioscience industry representatives, all members of the Virginia Biotechnology Association, were named by Governor McDonnell to his Economic Development and Jobs Creation Commission: R.J. Kirk, CEO of Third Security; Robert Skunda, CEO of the Biotech Park in Richmond and Mark Herzog, executive director of VaBIO.

Governor McDonnell Announces Members of Governor’s Economic Development and Jobs Creation Commission

RICHMOND – Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell today announced the members of the Governor’s Economic Development and Jobs Creation Commission created by the his Executive Order Number One, issued moments after he took the Oath of Office on January 16th. Keeping in mind the unprecedented economic difficulties facing Virginia families and businesses, the highest unemployment rate in decades and the ever increasing competitiveness of the global economy, the Commission will work to put forth bold and innovative ideas addressing these significant challenges. The Commission is scheduled to have its first meeting in May, and will complete its initial report to the Governor by October 16, 2010. Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, who serves as Virginia’s first-ever Chief Jobs Creation Officer, and Bob Sledd, the Governor’s Senior Economic Advisor, will serve as Co-Chairs of the Commission.

“The foremost priority of our Administration is job creation. Economic opportunity and free enterprise are the bedrock of a stable and prosperous Commonwealth. Virginia is home to abundant resources, fiscal responsibility boundless human potential and the entrepreneurial spirit instrumental to a robust economic recovery,” said Governor McDonnell. “The work of this Commission is to create more opportunities for good paying work for all Virginians. I look forward to the ideas and solutions that this Commission will put forward to help create new jobs, spur economic development and ensure this is a ‘Commonwealth of Opportunity’ for all Virginians.”

Lieutenant Governor Bolling remarked, “Governor McDonnell and I have been clear in our commitment to do everything we can to get Virginia’s economy moving again and create jobs. We accomplished a great deal with part one of our Jobs and Opportunity Agenda during this year’s legislative session, but there is more work to be done. Over the coming year, the Governor’s Economic Development and Jobs Creation Commission will help us craft part two of our Jobs and Opportunity Agenda. By looking for additional ways to make Virginia a more competitive state and invest in proven economic development and job creation programs, we can strengthen our reputation as the most pro-business state in America, and secure the capital investment and jobs we need to provide the people of Virginia with greater economic security.”

Bob Sledd, the Governor’s Senior Economic Advisor, noted, “I took this job to help create good jobs for Virginians. That is the focus of this Administration and the work of this Commission. Every state and every nation is engaged in a fierce competition to attract capital, jobs and economic development. As Virginians we cannot afford to lose. The private sector creates jobs, but public policy plays a major role in creating an environment that makes job creation easier or tougher. Our goal is to put in place the policies that will free our job-creators and entrepreneurs to grow and be successful, to innovate and expand. When they can do that, Virginians will find the good paying jobs that they deserve and upon which our future prosperity depends.”

Members of Governor’s Economic Development and Jobs Creation Commission
Co-Chairmen:
Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling
Bob Sledd, Governor’s Senior Economic Advisor

Members:
Jim Cheng, Secretary of Commerce and Trade
Todd Haymore, Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry
Lisa Hicks-Thomas, Secretary of Administration
Gerard Robinson, Secretary of Education
Ric Brown, Secretary of Finance
Doug Domenech, Secretary of Natural Resources
Jim Duffey, Secretary of Technology
ean Connaughton, Secretary of Transportation
Don Banker, CEO & Owner Banker Steel, Lynchburg
Steve Baril, Partner, Williams Mullen, Richmond
John Biagas, CEO, Bay Electric, Newport News
Tom Brock, Retired Vice President, General Electric, Roanoke
Del. Kathy Byron, Co-Owner of B&B Presentations, Bedford
Mel Chaskin, Chairman, Virginia-Israeli Advisory Board, Clifton
Christine Chmura, President, Chmura Economics and Analytics, Richmond
Del. Barbara Comstock, McLean
Dr. Deborah DiCroce, President, Tidewater Community College, Chesapeake
Helen Dragas, President and CEO, The Dragas Companies, Virginia Beach
James W. Dyke, Partner, McGuireWoods LLP; Chairman, Greater Washington Board of Trade
Joe Funkhouser, President, Coldwell, Banker and Funkhouser Realtors, Harrisonburg
Lisa Gable, Executive Director, Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, Fauquier
Anne Gavin, State Government Affairs Regional Manager, Microsoft, Reston
Tom Godfrey, President, Colonna’s Shipyard, Norfolk
Julia Hammond, State Director, National Federation of Independent Business, Richmond
Ann Heidig, President, Virginia Wineries Association, Spotsylvania
Mark Herzog, Executive Director, Virginia Biotechnology Association, Richmond
Del. Matthew James, Director, Peninsula Council for Workforce Development, Portsmouth
Donna Johnson, President, Virginia Agribusiness Council, Richmond
Kenneth S. Johnson, Founder, Johnson Inc., Richmond
Pat Jones, Vice-President and General Manager, Kings Dominion, Richmond
Quintin Kendall, Director of Government Affairs, CSX Transportation, Richmond
Del. Terry Kilgore, Chairman of the Tobacco Commission, Gate City
Andrea Kilmer, Vice President, ESG Enterprises, Virginia Beach
Randall Kirk, Chief Executive Officer, Third Security, Radford
John Langlois, President, Tele-Video Productions, Virginia Beach
Bob Leber, Director, Workforce Development, Northrop Grumman, Newport News
Chris Lloyd, Sr. Vice President, McGuireWoods Consulting, Richmond
Frank Longaker, President, National Business College, Roanoke
John Luke, CEO, MeadWestVaco Packaging, Richmond
Bengt Lundgren, Manager, Swedwood, Danville
Del. Danny Marshall, Danville, Small businessman
Mike Melo, President, ITA International, Newport News
Caren Merrick, Co-founder, Webmethods, Reston
Donna Morea, President, US, Europe and Asia, CGI and Chair, Northern Virginia Technology Council
Christofer Mowry, President, Babcock and Wilcox Nuclear Energy, Lynchburg
Dakshay Patel, Managing Member, American Enterprises, Richmond
Julien Patterson, CEO, Omniplex Worldwide, Chantilly
Sen. Phil Puckett, Vice President First Bank & Trust Company, Tazewell
Harold Pyon, Supervisory Patent Examiner, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Fairfax
Mike Quillen, Founder and CEO, Alpha Natural Resources, Abingdon
Daphne Reid, TV and Film Actor, Co-Owner, New Millennium Studios, Petersburg
Brenda Robinson, President and CEO, Environmental Solutions, Inc., Richmond
Richard Sharp, Managing Director, V-Ten Capital Partners, Richmond
Sudhakar Shenoy, Chairman and CEO, IMC, Fairfax
Bob Skunda, President and CEO, Virginia Biotechnology Research Park, Richmond
Steve Smith, CEO, Food City, Bristol
Don Storey, Owner, Quality Tech Services, President and CEO, govtips.biz, Norfolk
Bruce Thompson, CEO, Gold Key/PHR Resorts and Hotels, Virginia Beach
Fred Thompson, Chief Administrative Officer, Thompson Hospitality, Herndon
Brett Vassey, President and CEO, Virginia Manufacturers Association, Richmond
Sen. Frank Wagner, President and CEO, Davis Boat Works, Virginia Beach
Michel Zajur, President, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Richmond

Responsibilities of Governor’s Economic Development and Jobs Creation Commission

Identify impediments to and opportunities for job creation; Review how other states and foreign countries are attracting jobs and how Virginia could replicate and improve upon those initiatives; Review the agencies’ role in job creation and make recommendations on how those efforts can be better coordinated to ensure unparalleled efficiency and effectiveness; Make recommendations on new investments and changes to the tax and regulatory environment in the Commonwealth to maintain and increase the Commonwealth’s standing as the best place to do business in the United State of America; Evaluate the current programs and investments designed to develop the workforce and attract and retain businesses in Virginia, and make recommendations on their effectiveness and need for improvement; and Assist the Cabinet and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to identify and target industries and businesses to recruit to Virginia.

Ignite Institute loses major funding partner

Ignite Institute for Individualized Health, a medical center startup hailed to be an economic development coup for Fairfax County, has lost one of its biggest sources of funding after Inova Health System’s board voted to pull out of the partnership.

But Ignite Institute’s founder said Inova’s decision doesn’t detract from his effort to launch the ambitious medical research institute, which was touted to bring nearly 500 world-class scientists to a newly built campus in the next five years to study personalized medicine.

“Ignite is absolutely going to launch and we’re on track to do so,” said Dietrich Stephan, president and CEO of Ignite Institute and originator of the idea.

Inova, which was one of the founding partners of the institute, said it could no longer back the venture after it ran into delays in raising additional funding.

“The money that they needed for the scope and scale for what was being proposed for the Ignite Institute was challenging at best,” said Tony Raker, a spokesman with Inova. “With the economic conditions, it became more of a challenge.”

Ignite had said it needed at least $150 million to start construction on a new campus. Inova had committed to pitch in $25 million, and Virginia had bestowed another $3 million from its Governor’s Opportunity Fund in an incentive grant. Just this week, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed into law another measure that frees $22 million for such a research institute, so long as it creates 415 jobs, through $5.5 million annual chunks available starting July 2011.

Ignite had said it planned to hire its first 100 scientists by the end of this year. It’s taking up temporary quarters in the Center for Innovative Technology building, while longer-term lab space is being built out in the next wing of the Herndon building.

Inova leaders had said the original plan to invest the $25 million in the institute was also based on Ignite’s ability to assemble a total $100 million, including the state commitments. Stephen M. Cumbie, Inova Health System board’s chairman, had said the team had come close to another potential $25 million grant from a national technology company that he wouldn’t name.

“But there was a change of CEOs and a pullback, and again a lot of this was being driven by the economy,” Cumbie said. “That and other prospects didn’t materialize.

“We were certainly concerned about starting down that road without the capital being raised,” Cumbie added. “The plan we felt great about. Dietrich is a world-class scientist, there’s no question about that. We had a lot of faith in him.”

With a key medical center partner leaving the table and a brutal economy still leaving wide budget deficits in its wake, Fairfax County leaders said they also can no longer support a multimillion-dollar bond that they had been considering to help locate Ignite Institute in a permanent residence in the county.

“Fairfax County has never before entertained even the idea of purchasing a building in partnership with an institute,” said Sharon Bulova, chairwoman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. “For us, this was a very major consideration and therefore for us, there was a lot of risk associated with it, especially during this time. … Unfortunately, it just turned out not to be possible.”

But Stephan said he’s still collecting a syndicate of national partners and funders for the venture, describing these latest moves as a “reshuffling.” Ignite recently bought new gene sequencing equipment, making it the largest concentration outside of Asia to help scientists decipher through genes a patient’s predilection toward certain diseases.

“It’s mission-critical to maintain momentum,” Stephan said. “This is the future of medicine. Literally. Personalized, preventative medicine is the solution to our health care crisis today. It needs to be in the greater Washington area because of policy decisions. It will absolutely happen.”

Though, these are serious setbacks in an initiative that was grandly announced in mid-November at a press conference with two governors and a host of state, county and Inova leaders as an “accelerator” of the county’s infant biotech sector.

“I’m really disappointed that this didn’t work out, but I’m hopeful that something will come back, maybe in a different iteration,” Bulova said. “Everyone was very excited, very optimistic, and really thought that it could happen. And the harsh reality is that it was just a rough time to try to do something as ambitious as the Ignite proposal.”

Vandana Sinha
Washington Business Journal

Washington region bets big on biotech

State and local leaders are betting billions of dollars in subsidies, tax breaks, loans and grants to biotech capitalists in the hopes of cashing in on a worldwide bio-boom.

But the industry's volatility has some worried that taxpayer dollars are being gambled on a dangerous roll of the dice.

"It's very much a crapshoot -- even with great science," said John Carroll, executive editor of FierceBiotech, a daily Web newsletter that monitors the industry. "On the upside, of course, biotechnology provides a great number of great jobs at high pay. And that's why so many economic development officials are eager to attract them."

Governments on both sides of the Potomac River are doubling down on life science research.

With the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and Johns Hopkins University calling it home, Maryland is consistently ranked as one of the top five states for biotech research. Virginia has rolled millions into the sector for more than a decade.

In 2008, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley promised to set aside $1.1 billion for the industry. This year, the General Assembly is weighing legislation that would require the state's pension fund to invest in Maryland bioscience companies.

Montgomery County, the fertile crescent of Maryland biotech, is lobbying for a law that would allow the county to buy biotech stocks with taxpayer money. The County Council approved a new tax credit for biotech firms, and Executive Ike Leggett has created a task force to expand the county's research industry. Nearly one-quarter of the county's economic development funds are dedicated to the life sciences industry.

County officials are considering a multibillion-dollar "Science City" project in the Gaithersburg-Potomac-Rockville area that promises to bring up to 76,000 biotech jobs to the area.
Some officials are worried that it's too many eggs in a fragile basket.

"If we invest in a company and they fall flat, we lose," said state Sen. Rob Garagiola, D-Poolesville.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed legislation giving tax breaks to biotech investors. And he approved awarding $22 million in grants to the Ignite Center, a genetic research center that being built in Fairfax County.

The potential rewards are endless.

In the first decade of this century, the biotech industry saw more than $295 billion worth of mergers and acquisitions, according to Carroll's FierceBiotech. Among the big winners was Gaithersburg's MedImmune, which AstraZeneca acquired for more than $15 billion in 2007.
But the perils are just as big.

"For every person who goes down the right path, there's going to many more that went down the wrong path," said Andy Bauer, a regional economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. "Whenever you have an industry driven by innovation, it's going to go in fits and starts."

Of the decade's mergers, only 18 percent of the targeted companies were making money, FierceBiotech analysts found.

In the first three months of the year, drug companies alone cut more than 26,000 jobs, according to analysts at Chicago outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Last week, GenVec, a Gaithersburg biotech firm, saw its stock lose three-quarters of its value when it said it was canceling trials of a drug that was supposed to help fight pancreatic cancer. Its shares closed at 73 cents on Nasdaq Thursday, after a months-long run-up to $3.35. GenVec had borrowed $125,000 from Montgomery County.

For some, that's a bad sign.

"Since when is our county government serving as the chump of last resort for businesses too shaky to get off the ground through conventional means?" Montgomery County Civic Federation leader Peggy Dennis asked.

By: Bill Myers
Washington Examiner - Staff Writer
April 4, 2010

Obama Admin Seeks Input on Commercialization of University Research

The Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Economic Council have issued a request for information (RFI) on how best to encourage the commercialization of university research and on whether proof of concept centers are an effective tool in early-stage commercialization. The RFI asks for models, strategies and metrics that can help universities contribute to economic development. Responses are due by April 26.
Read the request for information:http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-03-25/pdf/2010-6606.pdf

Governor Signs Bioscience and Technology Bills

From 2010 Bioscience Legislation Bill Signing

Flanked by Democratic and Republican lawmakers and Northern Virginia technology and business leaders, Governor Bob McDonnell today signed into law a number of bills from his successful "Jobs and Opportunity" legislative agenda that received broad bipartisan backing in the recent General Assembly session. The signing ceremony was held at the Center for Innovative Technology and Northern Virginia Technology Council in Herndon.

McDonnell's "Jobs and Opportunity" legislative agenda consisted of measures designed to spur job creation and promote economic development in Virginia. The bills signed today included tax deductions on capital gains derived from investments in technology, energy, biotech and science-based companies operating in the Commonwealth; granting temporary business licenses to individuals who already have a business license or certification from another state; broadening the allowable uses of the Governor's Development Opportunity Fund to assist in attracting major employers to the Commonwealth; designating the head of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership as CEO; and establishing a biotech research performance grant program.

Speaking about the bill signing, Governor McDonnell stated The number one job of our Administration is to help create good jobs for the citizens of Virginia. We will do that by investing in proactive policies that help private sector companies expand and grow in the Commonwealth. The states that help lead this country out of this economic downturn will be those that move aggressively to promote job creation and make it easier for entrepreneurs and business owners to be successful. That is what we are doing in Virginia. The bills we are signing today gained broad bipartisan support because job-creation and economic development are bipartisan objectives. I thank the legislative leaders from both parties who helped carry this legislation, and the members of the Virginia technology and business communities who advocated effectively for its passage."

McDonnell also used the bill signing to comment on budget amendments successfully advanced by the Administration to further assist in the job-creation effort, "We also successfully promoted changes in the introduced budget to invest more in critically important economic development tools. These include the CIT GAP Fund which will provide critical and immediate first financing for 20 new early-stage companies, and position Virginia as a leader in next-generation company formation in the areas of technology, biosciences, and energy. We expanded funding for Virginia's wet labs so that they can increase lab space to the benefit of growing biotechnology companies. And working together we continued to fund the Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) Program and provided additional funding for the DBA Loan Guarantee Program which helps finance small businesses at a time when credit markets are tight."

Lawmakers joining the Governor this afternoon included Senator Mark Herring (D-Loudoun); Senator Janet Howell (D-Fairfax); Senator Walter Stosch (R-Henrico); Delegate Dave Albo (R- Fairfax); Delegate Tom Rust (R- Fairfax); Delegate Tim Hugo (R- Fairfax); Delegate Barbara Comstock (R- Fairfax); Delegate Mark Sickles (D- Fairfax); Delegate Rich Anderson (R-Prince William); Delegate Joe May (R-Loudoun); Delegate Jackson Miller (R-Prince William) and Delegate Mark Keam (D-Fairfax). Among the many leaders from the Northern Virginia technology and business communities in attendance were Bobbie Kilberg, President and CEO of the Northern Virginia Technology Council; Pete Jobse, President and CEO of the Center for Innovative Technology; Mark Herzog, Executive Director of the Virginia Biotechnology Association; John Backus, Managing Partner of New Atlantic Ventures; Spencer Williamson, President and CEO of Intelliject LLC; and Michael Grisham the President of GPB Scientific.

Speaking about his bill to grant an income tax deduction for capital gains derived from investments in technology, science-based or bio-tech start ups in Virginia, Senator Mark Herring remarked, "This legislation tells Virginia investors that if you support the entrepreneurs in this dynamic sector of our economy, state government will support you. Science, technology and biotech-based jobs are good-paying and fast-growing, and we must take every action possible to make sure they are created in the Commonwealth. This legislation will encourage more investors to put their private capital to work creating good work for Virginians."

Medicare agency adds ex-Va. official, plans reorganization - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Virginia's Marilyn Tavenner Joins CMS...

Medicare agency adds ex-Va. official, plans reorganization
By Jeffrey Young
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has tapped a former top health official from Virginia for a senior leadership position and plans its first structural reorganization in nearly 10 years.

Marilyn Tavenner, who was secretary of Health and Human Resources in the administration of then-Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) from 2006 until Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) took office this year, has joined CMS as principal deputy administrator, a newly created position that makes Tavenner the second-ranking official at the agency -- and the Obama administration's most senior appointment to the agency.

Prior to her tenure under Kaine, Tavenner was a nurse and an executive at the Hospital Corporation of America, where she ran two facilities in suburban Richmond and served as chairwoman of the Virginia Hospital Association and a trustee at the American Hospital Association.

Obama, however, has yet to nominate anyone to serve as administrator of CMS. The agency has not had a confirmed chief executive since Mark McClellan resigned in Oct. 2006. President George W. Bush's last nominee for CMS administrator, Kerry Weems, served on the job in an acting capacity for more than a year but the Senate never took action on his confirmation. Since Obama took office, CMS's chief operating officer Charlene Frizzera, a veteran civil servant, has been acting administrator.

Medicare agency adds ex-Va. official, plans reorganization - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Delegate Steve Landes Wins “Virginia Bioscience Legislative Leadership Award”

Richmond, VA--- The Virginia Biotechnology Association (VaBIO), today announced that Steve Landes, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Augusta County, won the Virginia Bioscience Legislative Leadership Award for his exemplary efforts on behalf of the biotechnology and medical device industry in the Commonwealth.

“Delegate Landes receiving this award will not surprise anyone who knows Steve or is familiar with his legislative achievements in support of economic development and job creation,” said Mark A. Herzog, executive director of VaBIO. “Our members are generally small start-up companies that are attempting to turn a discovery in a lab into a usable treatment for disease or suffering. These companies face huge challenges and it helps to know that we have a legislator like Delegate Landes who understands the challenges small technology businesses face every day.”

The Virginia Biotechnology Association has only recognized a handful of state legislators with this special distinction.

“The technology industry in Virginia knows that Steve Landes takes the time to understand the complexity of the development process for new drugs or technologies,” continued Herzog. “If it means new, high growth jobs for the community, Delegate Landes always goes above and beyond the call of duty.”

The Virginia Biotechnology Association (VaBIO) is the statewide non-profit organization that promotes the scientific and economic impact of the life sciences industry in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Approximately 300 biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies are based in Virginia, mainly clustered around universities in Blacksburg, Charlottesville, Richmond, Norfolk and Northern Virginia.

According to a recent study by Archstone LLC, the bioscience industry has a profound impact on the state’s economy:
• According to a study in 2006, the bioscience industry supported nearly 80,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Commonwealth.
• The value of the industry’s products and services was approximately $12.6 billion in 2006.
• The biopharmaceutical industry grew by 8.1% between 1996 and 2006.
• The industry paid employees about $1.8 billion in wages in 2006, resulting in $81.6 million in state taxes and $433.3 million in federal taxes.
• Biopharmaceutical employees paid, on average, $4,091 in state taxes, compared to the much more modest $1,501 paid by the average worker.
• In 2008, Virginia’s biomedical researchers conducted nearly 1,900 clinical tests of new medicines, including 678 trials for cancer drugs, 102 tests for heart disease medicines, 232 rare disease treatment trials and 80 tests for HIV/AIDS drugs.

For more information, please visit www.vabio.org.

US House GOP Whip Eric Cantor on Biotech

"Simply put, we have to stop borrowing and spending so much money! As government shrinks, the private sector will grow, creating droves of new jobs. Think of the biotech park right across the street and the growth engine it has been for our region, and think of the potential there that remains untapped."

Capital Gains Exclusion on Technology Investments Goes to VA Governor

The Virginia Biotechnology Association's (VaBIO) legislation to provide incentives for investments in biotech and other advanced technology companies is on the way to Governor Robert McDonnell's desk for signature. VaBIO and NVTC, the Northern Virginia Technology Council, are encouraging the Governor to amend the bill with an "emergency clause" so that it will take immediate effect upon his signature. Otherwise, there would actually be an unintended disincentive to invest until July 1st.

This legislation will make Virginia the most welcoming home for advanced technology companies seeking capital for growth. The new law will exclude capital gains from state taxes for all investors--private, angels, venture funds, and corporations, as long as the investment was made in a qualified, biotech or advanced technology firm. Our congratulations to the Virginia Bioscience Legislative Caucus for championing this legislation and to our two chief patrons, Senator Mark Herring (D-Loudoun) and Delegate Sam Nixon (R-Chesterfield). The concept was also highlighted by Governor McDonnell's Transition Team before taking office. Here are the details:

Bill Summary: Income taxes; recognition of income from capital gains. Grants an income tax deduction for any income taxed as a long-term capital gain for federal income tax purposes or any income taxed as investment services partnership interest income, on or after January 1, 2011, that is related to a qualified investment in a technology and science start-up business having a principal office or facility in the Commonwealth and less than $3 million in annual revenues in the fiscal year prior to the investment. The deduction would relate to investments made between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2013.

HB 523 (Delegate Nixon)
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+sum+HB523
SB 426 (Senator Herring)
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+sum+SB428

DNA Co. Intrexon Raises $17.4M

Biotech company Intrexon Corporation raised $17.4 million in Series D shares, according to an SEC filing. A group of 40 investors took part in the equity offering.

Housed at the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va., Intrexon is developing DNA control systems to enhance the safety and efficacy of existing and emerging biological therapeutics.
Named in the filing were executive officers Randal J. Kirk, chief executive officer and chairman of the board; Thomas Reed, Ph.D., founder & chief science officer; Sunil Chada, Ph.D., senior vice president, translational medicine; Rick Sterling, chief financial officer; Ronald B. Herberman, M.D., chief medical officer - oncology; and Robert Beech, senior vice president, corporate development & communications. Directors named were Cesar L. Alvarez; Steven Frank; Larry Horner; Dean J. Mitchell; and Burton Sobel M.D.

While specific investors are not identified in the filing, Intrexon has reported $35 million in Series C-2 investment in previous years from New River Management, managed by Third Security, LLC., and NewVa Capital Partners, LP.

SEC filing: http://tinyurl.com/ye5lkq6.

By Citybizlist Staff'
Citybizlist Washington D.C.
March 5, 2010

Gauze is good for Newport News firm

A Newport News company whose bread-and-butter is developing high-tech wound-healing products had two major announcements in February, including receiving substantial funding that could help it capture a share of the defense industry in addition to its pursuits in the consumer realm. Soluble Systems LLC announced it received $800,000 in federal funding to conduct a clinical study of its flagship product, TheraGauze.

Congress approved the funding from the 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill with the hope that TheraGauze can be proven to be a successful new battlefield wound dressing.

TheraGauze, which the company manufactures in Hampton, is a complex piece of gauze that has the ability to sense and respond to moisture within a wound. If part of a wound needs less moisture, the product can absorb it. If part of the same wound needs extra moisture to promote healing, the gauze helps produce that moisture, jump-starting or speeding up the healing process. The company calls this its proprietary Skin Moisture Rebalancing Technology.

The science behind TheraGauze came to be in the late '90s when Dr. Guy Levy, a local dentist, now the company's chief technology officer, secured a patent for a polymer intended to help combat dry mouth in Levy's dental patients.

Levy and attorney Allan Staley, now the company's president, "ultimately discovered [the polymer] had a lot more attributes than originally anticipated," Staley said.
Without getting into its patented chemical specifics, the polymer seems to magically know how to handle moisture in a wound. From there a wound-care dressing was developed and the two brought in CEO Kerry McCarter, a former Johnson & Johnson exec.

Finally in late 2007, after raising $5.9 million, Soluble Systems was able to bring TheraGauze to market. It's manufactured in a high-tech clean room in the facilities of the Arc of the Virginia Peninsula, a group that helps put individuals with developmental and other disabilities to work.
In addition to studying its moisture capabilities, one of the goals of the Department of Defense-funded study will be to further confirm the product's ability to deliver antibiotics to a wound, particularly serious wounds and infections seen in battle.

The study will take place at multiple sites including Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins Medical Center and The University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

The study will begin later this year and will run for about two years, Staley said, and more funding will be sought from DOD to supplement the initial $800,000. It sought $4 million for the study initially.

The other big news for Soluble Systems came when it received notice that it was granted trademark protection on its skin graft product known as TheraSkin.

TheraSkin refers to cryogenically preserved grafts of human skin that are applied to wounds that are not healing properly. The technology behind this product provides important skin elements such as cytokines and collagen to and around the wound to jump-start the healing process.

TheraSkin was launched in 2009 after the company secured a partnership with Virginia Beach-based organ procurer LifeNet for its supply of human skin.

"We were looking to expand our product line and wanted to create a synergistic product expansion," Staley said. "[TheraGauze and TheraSkin] work together as part of the wound solution."

That combination of products, and a few more undisclosed Thera-brand ideas up its sleeve, gives Soluble Systems reason to be excited for the future.

The company employs 22 workers, including a sales force that calls on 10 major markets all over the U.S.

It is approaching $1 million in annualized sales, Staley said, with a target of just under $2 million in total sales for 2010.

It's in the midst of raising a second round of private capital, some of which will come from local investors, though its track record now allows it to look elsewhere for funding.

The money will be used to expand its sales efforts into 20 markets with 65 sales reps over the next five years.

Its biggest challenge, Staley said, remains competing with its multinational competitors and getting the Thera-brand and Soluble Systems names out there. The market in which TheraGauze competes is ripe with competition. TheraSkin, however, has just two main competitors, Staley said, both of which use bioengineered tissue rather than actual human skin.
TheraGauze has been plugged into the industry distribution chain and is available to consumers by the box or the case with a prescription.

A 2-inch-by-2-inch piece of the gauze runs about $8. The price goes up for larger versions.
Soluble Systems hopes to one day sell TheraGauze as an over-the-counter product.

It has been selling TheraSkin to customers such as VA hospitals since the fall.

The big question - what's the end game for Soluble Systems?

The biotechnology industry is a frontier for venture capital, acquisition or even going public.
For now, "we're looking to grow a company - to build a company here in Virginia," Staley said. "We'd like to employ more than 22 people."

Availability of private capital and a disdain toward public offerings will keep an IPO off the table for now, he said.

"It truly is an exciting opportunity to build this company and help the patient population to heal better and faster," Staley said, "and ultimately provide a solid return for our investors."

By Michael Schwartz Inside Business

Anti- Embryonic Stem Cell Language in VA House Budget

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

"Two perennial amendments pushed by anti-abortion legislators also found their way into the House committee's budget bill.

A language amendment would prohibit state funding of embryonic-stem-cell research but would permit entities that conduct such research, without using state money, to receive state funding. State funding of research using aborted fetuses would be prohibited.

A second language amendment would prohibit the distribution of state money to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, or any affiliate. Very little general-fund money is given to the organization. Planned Parenthood says none of that money goes to abortions.

Similar amendments have failed in past sessions."

VA Senate Rejects Governor's Econ Dev Plan- Except Biotech!

Washington Post: "Legislative and budgetary measures designed to create jobs are Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell's top priorities for the current legislative session. So it may be no great surprise the Democratic-led Senate Finance Committee declined to include most of his package in the budget it passed Sunday."

"Senators noted they did include funding for a new biotech center in Northern Virginia, as endorsed by McDonnell. And they passed a variety of tax credits and other bills that McDonnell wanted for job creation, each of which has budgetary impact."

For more click here.

New biotechnology scholarship available at NOVA :: Northern Virginia Community College

Northern Virginia Community College is accepting applications for a new scholarship sponsored by Rividium, Inc. The Rividium Biotechnology Scholarship will provide $3,000 per year for two years for a student who plans to enroll full time in NOVA’s Biotechnology Program beginning in fall 2010.

To be eligible, applicants must be graduating from a local high school this year, have a minimum 3.0 grade point average and qualify for financial aid as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The biotechnology associate degree program prepares graduates for employment in entry-level positions as laboratory, research or manufacturing technicians at biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Coursework covers basic scientific principles in biology and chemistry and emphasizes laboratory techniques and procedures.

The application deadline is March 15. To access the application, click here.

For more information, call Ia Gomez at 703-530-8255."