SoCalBio Weekly Update
December 16, 2013

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Funding
The Culver City-Based Indi Molecular Raises $1.8 Million in Seed Funding

 

Led by Dr. Albert Lauderer (photo right), Indi Molecular raised its $1.8 million from InterWest Partners and Asset Management Ventures. The funds are being used to further develop PCC (protein catalyzed capture) agent technology: a breakthrough process that produces synthetic peptide molecules capable of binding interactions that are equivalent or superior to molecular antibodies.... Learn more
Finance
Response Genetics Announces Public Offering
Stock Sale Could Net $4.8 Million
 

The Los Angeles-based Response Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:RGDX), a company focused on the development and sale of molecular diagnostic tests that help determine a patient's response to cancer therapy, announced on Dec 12 that it intends to offer and sell registered shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. The Company expects to use the net proceeds of the offering for working capital and general corporate purposes ... Read more
Cancer Vaccine Study
The Calabasas-Based ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Announces Brian Cancer Vaccine Study Did Not Meet Primary Endpoint of Overall Survival
Company stock price loses over 50% of its value

  In a press release, the company said that its " dendritic cell-based vaccine, demonstrated a statistically significant increase in progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in its randomized, placebo-controlled phase II trial." But the company acknowledged that the differences in the overall survival ... did not reach statistical significance in the intent-to-treat population (the primary endpoint) or the per-protocol population ... learn more

 

See ImmunoCellular's stock information at MarketWatch 

Read commentary by Fierce Biotech

Pain Drug Study
The Aliso Viejo-Based Avanir Tumbles on Discouraging Phase II Pain Drug Study Results
 

In a 209-patient trial, Avanir's AVP-923 charted reductions in neuropathic pain in line with previous studies, the company said, and the treatment led to statistically significant improvement over baseline levels for MS patients. Unfortunately, so did a fake drug, and, in a terse embrace of the obvious, Avanir stated it "believes that a higher than expected placebo response negatively impacted the study results" ... Read more at FierceBiotech 
Events
SoCalBio New Member Meeting
 Thursday, December 19, 2013 from 10:30 AM to 2:00 PM (PST)
SoCalBio Office in Downtown Los Angeles
This is a complimentary event but registration is a MUST
Join us for networking and learning more about SoCalBio and the bioscience industry in Southern California
 
Eventbrite - New SoCalBio Member Meeting

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Mark Your Calendar

UCLA's 2nd Annual Medical Device Partnering Conference on March 11, 2014
New SoCalBio Members
Clear Catheters Systems, Inc. (Anaheim) 
 
Led by CEO Paul Molly (photo right), Clear Catheter Systems, a spinout from a collaboration between MDI Partners (a medical device incubator) and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, is a Bend, Oregon based privately held medical device company pioneering new technologies to solve the clinical problems associated with obstructed catheters... Learn more 
 
API Vanguard (Irvine)
 
A supplier of pharmaceutical ingredients ...Learn more

  

Dr. Marion Digital (Torrance)  
Dr. Marion Digital is a telehealth company that provides tools and other online applications to empower elderly care ... Learn more

  

BAM Architcture Studios (Los Angeles)

  

BAM Architecture Studio is a full service architecture practice providing design, consulting and master planning services to commercial and institutional clients ... Learn more

Other Recent Members 

Join SoCalBio Now 


NIH Grants
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35 Greater Los Angeles Bioscience Companies Attract About $16 Million in NIH SBIR/STTR Grant 
Funding in 2013
 
The list of grant winners below is accumulated from the NIH web site and includes competing new SBIR/STTR grants awarded in 2013 to companies located in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.. 
 
CompanyCityGrant AmountProject Title
AMBRYX BIOTECHNOLOGYRiverside$217,059EVALUATING NOVEL MULTI-KINASE PEPTIDE INHIBITORS AS A TREATMENT FOR RHEUMATOID AR
ANASYS INSTRUMENTS CORPORATIONSatna Barbara$151,627SINGLE CELL CHEMICAL IMAGING VIA NANOSCALE IR ABLATION - MASS SPECTROMETY
APPLIED INTEGRIN SCIENCESLos Angeles$299,937A NOVEL BRACHYTHERAPY AGENT FOR GBM
ARLENE FINK ASSOCIATESLos Angeles$149,041ONLINE EDUCATION TO INFORM THE ELDERLY ABOUT AGE-RELATED ALCOHOL RISKS
ARMAGEN TECHNOLOGIESSanta Monica$391,592MANUFACTURING OF TROJAN HORSE-TNFR DECOY RECEPTOR FUSION PROTEIN
ARMAGEN TECHNOLOGIESSanta Monica$416,309METACHROMATIC LEUKODYSTROPHY ENZYME DRUG DEVELOPMENT
AURITEC PHARMACEUTICALSSanta Monica$563,622DEPOT INTRA-ARTICULAR FLUTICASONE FOR THE TREATMENT OF ARTHRITIS
BIOPICOIrvine$249,586HIGH THROUGHPUT ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL PURIFICATION ARRAY (HEPA) FOR CELL BASED THERAPIES
BIOSTRUXSWestlake Village$497,155DEVELOPMENT OF THE BIOBREAST
BLUE MARBLE REHABILITATIONLos Angeles$192,382HEALTH IN MOTION- DIGITALLY INTERACTIVE TAI CHI HOME EXERCISES FOR SAFER MOBILITY
CAPRICORLos Angeles$999,912SAFETY OF ALLOGENEIC CARDIOSPHERE-DERIVED CELLS FOR ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION
CLARITRACLos Angeles$200,958MODULAR ULTRASONIC BEACON SYSTEM (MUBS) FOR ULTRASOUND-GUIDED INTERVENTIONAL SURGERY
CYTOLUMINA TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, INCWalnut$200,465A MICROCHIP WITH THERMALLY RESPONSIVE POLYMERS FOR CAPTURE AND RECOVERY OF CTCS
ENDOCOLESanta Barbara$144,150MEDICAL DEVICE TO ENHANCE COLORECTAL CANCER SCREENING VIA MORE EFFICIENT APPLICAT
GRIFFIN LABORATORIESTemecula$474,275DEVELOPMENT OF AN ELECTROMYOGRAPHICALLY CONTROLLED ELECTROLARYNX VOICE PROSTHESIS
INTAN TECHNOLOGIESLos Angeles$184,817A CUSTOM MICROCHIP AMPLIFIER FOR PATCH CLAMP ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL RECORDING
INTELLIGENT OPTICAL SYSTEMSTorrance$739,287NON-INVASIVE BLOOD ALCOHOL SENSOR FOR EMERGENCY ROOM APPLICATIONS
INTELLIGENT OPTICAL SYSTEMSTorrance$241,853ELECTRO-OPTICALLY MODULATED SPR: DENSELY MULTIPLEXED HIGH-SENSITIVITY BIOSENSOR
INTELLIGENT OPTICAL SYSTEMSTorrance$326,224PULSE OXIMETER FOR NEWBORN SCREENING
INTELLIGENT OPTICAL SYSTEMSTorrance$300,046MULTIANALYTE NANOPROBE FOR NEUROCHEMICALS
JPTECHNOLOGIESIrvine$150,000WIRELESS SENSOR INSERTS FOR COMBATING INCONTINENCE-ASSOCIATED DERMATITIS
LIBREDELos Angeles$591,837HUMAN ION CHANNEL PHARMACOLOGY IN DROPLET BILAYER MEMBRANES
MAX BIOPHARMALos Angeles$147,188SYNTHESIS OF BONE-SELECTIVE OSTEOGENIC OXYSTEROLS
MODULATED IMAGINGIrvine$735,310MODULATED IMAGING: A WIDE-FIELD OPTICAL IMAGING PLATFORM FOR CLINICAL RESEARCH
MOLECULAR EXPRESSRancho Dominguez$299,999NOVEL VLP ADJUVANT BASED ON THE VESIVAX SYSTEM
MOLECULAR EXPRESSRancho Dominguez$294,301DEVELOPMENT OF VESIVAX CARBOHYDRATE CONJUGATION CHEMISTRY
NESHER TECHNOLOGIESLos Angeles$228,666MULTIPLEXED PROTEIN & MIRNA BIOMARKER-BASED NEXT-GEN TEST FOR ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
NESHER TECHNOLOGIESLos Angeles$150,000MULTIPLEX ALEX-BASED TEST FOR PROTEASE ACTIVITY PROFILING IN ARTHRITIC JOINTS
NEUROENABLING TECHNOLOGIESLos Angeles$206,411RESTORING ARM AND HAND MOTOR FUNCTION WITH NON-INVASIVE SPINAL STIMULATION.
NEUROENABLING TECHNOLOGIESLos Angeles$346,207A THERANOSTIC TOOL TO ASSESS AND ENABLE SPARED SPINAL MOTOR FUNCTION AFTER SCI
NEUROINDX INC.Signal Hills$580,205LOW-COST MICRODISSECTION SYSTEM FOR LIVE BRAIN CELL COLLECTION (CTAS-LIVE)
NEUROSIGMALos Angeles$305,058DEVELOPMENT OF AN IMPLANTABLE TRIGEMINAL NERVE STIMULATION SYSTEM FOR DRUG RESIST
OCT MEDICAL IMAGINGIrvine$928,500OFFICE BASED REAL-TIME HIGH SPEED 3D-OCT SYSTEM FOR DIAGNOSIS OF EARLY LARYNGEAL CANCER
OLFACTOR LABORATORIESRiverside$180,636PREVENTION OF MOSQUITO-BORNE ILLNESS THROUGH MANIPULATION OF THE CO2 RECEPTOR
PHYSICAL OPTICS CORPORATIONTorrance$499,997MAGNETIC THROUGH-THE-EARTH MINER TRANSCEIVER FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
PHYSICAL OPTICS CORPORATIONTorrance$140,023LIGHT-ALARMING PERSONAL NOISE DOSIMETER SYSTEM
SCARLESS LABORATORIESBeverly Hills$199,740A NOVEL ANTI-SCAR PEPTIDE FOR CUTANEOUS WOUND REPAIR
SOFIE BIOSCIENCESCulver City$598,378COMMERCIALIZATION OF A BENCHTOP RADIOSYNTHESIZER FOR THE PRODUCTION OF PET PROBES
SYMBION RESEARCH INTERNATIONALNewbury Park$100,000TISSUE IRON MEASUREMENT BY MRI: A NEW APPROACH TO ANALYSIS; TRAINING AND CERTIFIC
SYNEDGENClaremont$149,901MUCOLYTIC FOR ENHANCED MUCUS AND BIOFILM CLEARANCE IN CYSTIC FIBROSIS PATIENTS
SYNZYME TECHNOLOGYIrvine$957,098POLYNITROXYLATED PEGYLATED HEMOGLOBIN FOR TRAUMATIC BRIAN INJURY RESUSCITATION
VASGENE THERAPEUTICS, INCLos Angeles$811,279DEVELOPMENT OF SEPHB4-HSA AS NOVEL THERAPEUTIC IN CANCER
XONA MICROFLUIDICSTemecula$348,284A USER-FRIENDLY SCALABLE MICROFLUIDIC PLATFORM FOR ENHANCED NEURON-CELL CULTURE
Personnel Move
Former CEO of Kite Pharmaceuticals Aya Jakobovits, PhD, Joins Orbimed

Most recently, Dr. Jakobovits (photo rightr) was the President and Founding CEO of Kite Pharma in West Los Angeles. Previously, she served as the Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development at Agensys that was acquired by Astellas Pharmaceuticals for up to $537 million.  Prior to that, Aya was Director, Discovery Research, Principal Scientist and a scientific founder of Abgenix, which was acquired by Amgen for $2.2 billion.  Orbimed is a healthcare fund with $7 billion under management. The fund had been an early investor in both Abgenix and Agensys.... Learn more
Jobs ... Jobs ... jobs 
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SoCalBio Is Pleased to Announce Over 250 New Jobs Available at  the following Greater Los Angeles Bioscience Companies 
  1. Abbott Vascular (Temecula)
  2. Advanced Sterilization Products -- A Johnson & Johnson Company (Irvine)
  3. Agensys -- An Astellas Pharma Company (Santa Monica)
  4. Alcon (Irvine)
  5. Alfred Mann Foundation for Scientific Research (Santa Clarita)
  6. Alliance Medical Products (Irvine)
  7. Ambry Genetics (Aliso Viejo)
  8. Anthrex California (Walnut)
  9. Anthrex California Technology (Santa Barbara)
  10. Beckman Coulter -- A Danaher Company (Brea)
  11. Bioscreen Testing Services (Torrance)
  12. Biosense Webster -- A Johnson & Johnson Company (Irwindale & Diamond Bar)
  13. Boston Scientific Neuromodulation (Santa Clarita)
  14. Caldera Medical (Agoura Hills)
  15. ChromoLogic (Pasadena)
  16. CombiMatrix (Irvine)
  17. Dako (Carpinteria)
  18. ..... and many more

 Click Here to Access the SoCalBio Links to Jobs

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SoCalBio membership links you to partners, contract manufacturers, regulatory and legal experts, and policy makers. The organization's programs help emerging biotech and medical device companies grow. Membership is affordable -- as low as $500 -- and offers access to networking opportunities, advocacy, discounts through our group purchasing program group purchasing program and other benefits you simply can't find elsewhere ... Join SoCalBio
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