Cincinnati : Innovation + Job News

Fifteen years after opening its doors, BIOSTART, Cincinnati's life sciences start-up center, is changing the way it does business. In order to remain competitive in a fast-changing business market, it is closing its lab space and moving from its location near the University of Cincinnati.

BIOSTART President Carol Frankenstein says the organization will focus exclusively on business services, making the hard shift as its closes its current facility at the Hoxworth Blood Center in September. She says the change was both a business and a strategic decision.

"Today, companies, even at the very early stages, are outsourcing their commercialization and development activity. That includes clinical and preclinical work, development and manufacturing," Frankenstein says. "That increase in outsourcing reduces the cost of getting a product to market. That makes lab space less necessary. Because of the economy, there is so much low-cost and even free space available; our companies have the ability to benefit from that."

BIOSTART serves life sciences entrepreneurs in health care service and product development. Since 1996, it's helped 125 companies launch their business and raise $180 million. Three-fourths of those businesses have had successful exits or are currently in business, the organization reports.

BIOSTART is working with local business advocates, including the Hamilton County Business Center, Uptown Consortium and CincinnatiUSA Regional Chamber to help its 18 tenant companies (which occupy about 65 percent of its space) to relocate.

Frankenstein said BIOSTART is looking for a new space downtown. She will remain with the organization as will three entrepreneurs in residence. The organization has received $500,000 in funding, half from the Ohio Department of Development and half from private sources, to aid in the transition.

"We're using the grant for the next 12 months to explore new service delivery models," she says.

BIOSTART's current business services include helping companies put together a management team and connecting with and applying for funding sources.

Source: Carol Frankenstein, BIOSTART
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

This story originally appeared in hiVelocity's sister publication, Soapbox.

You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites

Cincinnati startup accelerator The Brandery, named a Top 10 startup accelerator in the nation and a member of the TechStars Network, reported a 40 percent increase in applications for its second class of hopeful startups, versus its inaugural class in 2010. This year's applications came from 22 states and seven countries, including India, Germany, China, Italy, Croatia, Canada and Spain.

The 2011 program begins Aug. 1. Over the course of 12 weeks, it will cover a range of startup-related topics such as Why Design Matters for Startups, Social Media Boot Camp and 10 Legal Mistakes that Startups Make. And the nine startups selected to participate in this year's class -- Bitcasa, ChoreMonster, Keepio, Meruni, Receept, RentShare, Roadtrippers and Wellthy -- benefit from not only the programming, but the location of the Cincinnati-based program.

"Cincinnati is not only home to 10 Fortune 500 headquarters, but it's a hotbed for marketing, branding, design and advertising service companies," says The Brandery co-founder J.B. Kropp. "I can't think of a better place for creative, ambitious, young professionals to launch their ideas."

CincyTech is The Brandery's investment partner, providing $20,000 grants for each of the companies going through the program. CincyTech President Bob Coy says The Brandery is helping CincyTech meet its goal of growing jobs in the region.

"The Brandery has demonstrated its ability to attract talented entrepreneurs from around the country and the world to Cincinnati to capitalize on the region's consumer marketing strengths," says Coy. "Our hope is that they will become embedded in the community and enrich the region's entrepreneurial talent base. And of course that means they will help to invigorate our economy by creating jobs and wealth and bringing new perspectives from other regions of the U.S. and the world."

Sources: J.B. Kropp, The Brandery; Bob Coy, CincyTech
Writer: Sarah Blazak for CincyTech

This story originally appeared in sister publication Soapbox.

A University of Cincinnati neurobiologist may soon help mental health researchers understand depression at a more effective level than ever before, thanks to an innovative research method and a nearly-quarter-million-dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health.

James Herman, PhD, received a two-year NIH grant worth $248,159 in its first year to fund research into the role that microRNA (miRNA) - molecular-level controllers that help regulate the brain's chemistry -- play in how the brain reacts to stress.

"We're attempting to develop this as a discovery platform to understand what's going on in the brain," Herman says. He explains that this research, in which scientists analyze how miRNA in mice affect the brain's mood-regulating prefrontal cortex, is very early-stage work in the exploration of the molecular process behind depression.

But the ultimate implications of Herman's work could be significant. He explained that miRNA in mice function the same as miRNA in humans: identify a link between mouse miRNA and a brain dysfunction, and there's good reason to look for a similar relationship in the human brain. Beyond this tantalizing fact, though, scientists don't completely understand how miRNA works, or even how many types of miRNA exist in the brain.

Herman's team is tackling this hurdle with a new analysis technique, called deep sequencing, to analyze miRNA at a high level of detail.

"The method is really, really powerful," he says. Processing one set of data from a sample, for example, can keep lab computers running nonstop for a weekend. Thanks to a collaboration with informatics researchers at the University of Michigan, Herman's team can spot relationships and patterns in this sea of data, results that could help scientists link certain miRNA function -- or dysfunction -- to the stress-processing problems underlying depression and mood disorders.

These results could eventually give psychiatrists a new weapon against mood disorders. Rather than giving a patient medicine that floods the brain with mood-altering chemicals - a practice that often comes with severe side effects - physicians could one day provide treatment that fixes the way the brain controls its own chemistry. Medicine has a long way to go to reach that point, but the work Herman's team is undertaking at UC could be a major step in the right direction.

Source: James Herman, University of Cincinnati
Writer: Matt Cunningham

This story originally appeared in hiVelocity's sister publication, Soapbox.

A team of recent University of Cincinnati grads hope to commercialize a portable stroke detection device created in the Medical Device Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program (MDIEP) at UC's Department of Biomedical Engineering.

The device, Ischiban, has the potential to be a game-changer in the early detection and treatment of strokes, a life-threatening condition where minutes can make a difference in a successful recovery, disability or death.

Ischiban was developed by a group of UC student biomedical and computer engineers and an industrial designer: Pooja Kadambi, Joe Lovelace, Scott Robinson and Alex Androski. They developed the device, comprised of an elastic headband connected to an electronic diagnostic device, which can quickly determine the type of stroke a patient is suffering from. This allows for quick diagnosis and faster treatment for better recovery rates, according to the developers.

Ischiban relies on Impedance Spectroscopy, which can measure electrical property changes in the brain associated with strokes.

"We received the idea to use Impedance Spectroscopy from a group in Massachusetts General Hospital doing research in this area. We developed the device, made prototypes of the parts and built it by ourselves," explained Kadambi, a biomedical engineer.

Strokes are caused by a blood clot in the brain, or bleeding in the brain. Treatment is different based on the type of stroke.

Currently, such stoke differentiation is done by a CT scan, which is costly and time consuming. Ischiban can be used by EMTs at a patient's home or during the ambulance ride. Early detection is important because patients whose stoke is caused by a blood clot who are treated within three hours of symptoms are significantly more likely to survive and recover.

Ischiban is one of 90 entries in the ongoing Cincinnati Innovates contest. The third annual competition offers nearly $90,000 in prizes designed to push forward groundbreaking products and services. It ends July 15, and all entries are posted online. Kadambi said the competition could help Ischiban garner attention and investment.

"Medical device research and development is an expensive, complicated and long drawn out process. We are a passionate team but do not have the funds to carry this forward alone. Winning this competition would open doors for us, help us make great contacts and keep our project alive and on track. Putting Ischiban on the market will help save lives and prevent disability globally and that is a fact," she said.

Source: Pooja Kadambi, Ischiban co-developer
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites

This story originally appeared in hiVelocity's sister publication Soapbox.

Cincinnati-based Wamboo wants to help do-gooders do better by linking them through social media to those in need.

The idea for the new company, which emerged from beta testing on June 3, stemmed from an accident several years ago that killed two Cincinnati firefighters, says founder and CEO Dori Gehling. After the accident, a bank set up a fund to help their families.

"The news media said stop by the bank and make a donation," Gehling explains. "But I don't bank in person, and I don't bank at (that) bank. And when I talked with a banking person at another bank, they said most of those things never get funded. I thought, that's really too bad, because there has to be an easier way to do it and maybe a more fun way."

Wamboo helps match individuals and families in need with donors. Participation is free, but there are parameters for who is deemed worthy of aid, Gehling says.

"In order to be on the site, they have to be sponsored by a nonprofit in good standing, or a police department or fire department," she says.

So far, 700 individuals -- who are encouraged to share the causes they feel most passionate about using social media tools -- have signed up as members. The going has been slower for sponsoring organizations, or "Champions," who post the critical needs of individuals or families with whom they are familiar.

"That group seems to be a little bit more behind in using social media and embracing ideas of working differently," Gehling says.

As an incentive for both individual donors and companies who want to help those in need, Wamboo has created the Wamboost.

Wamboost allows businesses to incent giving by creating discount coupons tied to causes listed on the site. Wamboo charges busineses $1 a coupon, which is how Gehling is funding the startup.

But Gehling says she's not out to strike it rich.

"I would eventually like to break even and help people," she says.

Source: Dori Gehling, Wamboo
Writer: Gene Monteith

A new Cincinnati company is hoping to give premature babies a better chance of growing healthy lungs.

Airway Therapeutics, formed earlier this month, is working to commercialize research begun at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center into why so many premature babies develop chronic lung disease.

Extremely premature babies -- those born before the seventh month of gestation -- come into the world without surfactant, a natural substance found in animal lungs that keeps the lungs inflated. The remedy is to replace the baby's natural surfactant with one made from animal lung tissue, says Steven Linberg, Airway's CEO.

"But part of the process of giving them the surfactant involves either mechanically ventilating the baby or hand bagging the baby just to force some air into their lungs, and also giving them higher than normal amounts of oxygen," Linberg says.

That often causes trauma and chronic lung disease for as many as 30 percent to 40 percent of such babies. Now, research by Jeffrey Whitsett, chief of Cincinnati Children's Section of Neonatology, Perinatal and Pulmonary Biology, indicates inflammation may be worsened because of a lack of Surfactant Protein D, which occurs in normal surfactant but is missing in replacement surfactant. Airway is working on a recombinant human Surfactant Protein D with the goal of adding it to replacement surfactant as nature intended. If shown to reduce or prevent chronic lung disease in preemies, all makers of surfactant would like add the protein to their products, Linberg says.

The next step for Airway is to meet with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, possibly in August, for validation of its development plan, Linberg says. Because of the number of both non-clinical and clinical studies to be done, the earliest Linberg expects to see Surfactant Protein D on the market is 2016.

"Our next goal beyond this is to move into cystic fibrosis," Linberg says. "It's likely that because this Surfactant Protein D is both anti-inflammatory and anti-infective, it will have a positive role in treating cystic fibrosis patients."

The company currently has a number of consultants but only one employee -- Linberg. It is housed at BioStart and recently received $500,000 from CincyTech and Cincinnati Children's Tomorrow Fund as part of a projected $1.2-million seed-stage funding round led by CincyTech.

Source: Steven Linberg, Airway Therapeutics
Writer: Gene Monteith

IT Martini was created three years ago when the opportunities for IT professionals to connect in central Ohio were few and far between, says John Bishop.

Today, thanks to Bishop and co-founder Aladin Gohar, IT Martini -- a social and professional gathering for the tech-oriented -- not only has helped build a more robust network around the Columbus area, but has caught on in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Indianapolis, with more cities on the way.

"If you go back to 2008, it was a different kind of environment for professionals and for technology professionals beyond that," Bishop says. "And what I noticed in conjunction with Aladin Gohar was that there weren't a lot of opportunities for technology professionals to meet each other and engage one another as an industry."

That summer, Bishop and Gohar held the very first IT Martini. Two hundred people showed up to hear a speaker, socialize and connect. This month, IT Martini is celebrating its third year with a May 26 event expected to draw 1,000.

The format for an IT Martini event is straightforward, Bishop says.

"We try to stay as interactive as possible," he explains. "So we put on panel discussions and we tend to have panel discussions run concurrently with the social aspect of the event in a separate, segregated space. That way, people who want to be social can participate in the social aspect of the event, and if they want to participate in a little bit more of a discussion, presentation, industry-best-practice type of activity we have that for our attendees as well."

As IT Martini began to catch on locally, a sponsor in 2009 asked that an event be held in Cincinnati, Bishop says.

"And then last year we started to do not just Columbus and Cincinnati, but Cleveland and Indianapolis."

An IT Martini in Nashville is in the works, and there also seems to be interest in West Virginia, Michigan and Wisconsin, Bishop says.

Source: John Bishop, IT Martini
Writer: Gene Monteith

The couponing craze is boosting the bottom line for one local company that has just moved into a new space and adding 20 employees to its ranks.

LocalGreatDeals.com, an online coupon site, works with media partners and local businesses to offer Internet-based coupons for small- and medium-sized local business in Cincinnati and in 34 other cities across the country.

Based in Loveland, LocalGreatDeals.com, is growing along with the couponing and saving renaissance.

"Industry wide the coupon industry continues to grow as the economy evolves into what is today. People are interested in finding a deal and getting the most bang for their buck," said company Vice President of Sales Ryan Minton.

In Cincinnati, the company works with network affiliates websites to offer hundreds of coupons for local businesses. The site also uses web keyword search techniques to help make their coupons easier to find online.

"We're different from the deals of the day sites where you get a discount when you purchase a deal. Users that go to our site don't have to pay for anything," Minton said.

Founded in 2009, the company has just moved from downtown Loveland to a nearby office park at 424 Wards Corner in Loveland. The company has 40 employees and is in the process of adding 20 more inside sales associates.

The company is also expanding its services and moving rapidly into new cities. It expects to be live in 100 cities by year's end. The company also isn't entirely averse to daily deal methods, and recently launched Dealsthatgiveback.com. It's a twist on the deal-of-the-day site where 10 percent of each purchase goes to a charity of the buyer's choice.


Source: LocalGreatDeals.com
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites

This story originally appeared in hiVelocity's sister publication Soapbox.

 Three entrepreneurial minded doctors, along with their tech partners, are building on the health IT explosion with a new tool designed to cut down on both surgical and billing errors.

eMerge Health Solutions is the latest CincyTech portfolio company, formed in 2006 by three Cincinnati area gastroenterologists, a healthcare provider and IT specialist. Their first product is a voice-driven tool that allows surgeons to make documentation and notes during operations and other medical procedures. The software creates a database from those notes that a doctor can refer to and cross-reference with similar procedures.

The software is designed to improve patient outcomes through more accurate procedure documentation.

"We will be offering a first-of-its-kind-product, the ability to document during a procedure using voice command and control," said eMerge CEO Alex Vidas. "This allows the clinician to gain productivity benefits without taking focus away from the patient's care."

The company was created through collaboration of its founders Dr. Alan Safdi, Dr. Michael Safdi, Dr. Pradeep Bekal and Dan Walker of the Ohio GI & Liver Institute, and Bharat Saini, a former GE Aviation technology manager.

The patent-pending technology has been thoroughly tested in 30,000 procedures since its development. It's now being used in three ambulatory surgery centers and at The Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati. The product is initially targeted for self-contained GI units within ambulatory surgical centers and hospitals.

"We are calculating that gastroenterology represents a $250 million-$300 million market and the total addressable market is $500 million-$700 million across all medical specialty areas. This is a tremendous opportunity," said CincyTech executive-in-residence and eMerge board member Phil Huff.

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: CincyTech

You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites

This story originally appeared in hiVelocity's sister publication, Soapbox.

After working in Cincinnati television, Bob Igoe took his skills to start his own production company. Ten years later, I and Eye Productions has created video spots for some of the city's most well-known brands and institutions.
 
I and Eye Productions is a full service, high quality video production company. It offers everything from concept through film and production, specializing in advertising production and corporate communications.

"We do everything. The only thing we don't do is buy media," Igoe says.

Among the company's clients are the Montgomery Inn restaurants, the Cyclones, and University. The company recently teamed up with UC Health's branding campaign, which won four Cincinnati Addy awards in 2010.

Before starting the company, Igoe was a producer at 12WKRC-TV'S Creative Services and at former Cincinnati-based Hasbro subsidiary Kenner. He runs the company with partners David Striet and Tony Agliata, who both previously worked for WKRC-TV. I and Eye employs seven full�-time staff, and contracts with a host of local freelancers to develop its videos.

"We do both commercials and longer form videos," Igoe said. "There has been an increased demand for longer form videos � a lot of companies are trying to get out their stories directly to their customers or to other businesses."

In the last three years, social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have played a larger role in video communications Igoe adds.

"It's really rare that we go into a project where (the video) is only going to have one use. Whenever we're at the point of purchase we ask our clients to think of all the other places it can be used. It actually makes them look at their entire year, and how they will be viewed on mobile, web and TV," Igoe said.

Source: Bob Igoe, I and Eye Productions
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites

Calling the last week of April the "best in the 10-year history of the investor group," Cincinnati-based Queen City Angels announced the successful exits of two portfolio companies.

In an April 25 news release, Queen City Angels (QCA) noted the sale of Blue Ash Therapeutics' technology to Forest Laboratories and Healthcare Waste Solutions' acquisition by Stericycle.

As an investor of both angel capital and Third Frontier funds, Queen City says "QCA received significant returns" on the transactions.

Last year, QCA and its affiliated QCA First Fund III invested in Blue Ash Therapeutics, along with CincyTech, several individual investors and an east coast investment fund. A little over a year later, Blue Ash has now sold its key technology, Azimilide anti-arrhythmia drug, to New York-based Forest Laboratories, providing QCA with a return of almost 10 times its investment. The news release says QCA was the largest local investor and contributed more than $380,000.

Healthcare Waste Solutions has a national presence in the medical waste disposal business with plants in more than 15 metropolitan areas, QCA says. Stericycle, a Lake Forest, Ill.-based company in the same industry, acquired Healthcare Waste for $237 million.

"We firmly believe that Cincinnati is a great place to invest, and this successful outcome further validates our efforts," says Tony Shipley, QCA's chairman, in the release. "Our group has been actively funding startup companies since 2000, and we continued to pursue deals through the recessions of 2001 and 2008 with the belief that the long-term prospects of Cincinnati startups are outstanding. The real credit for these successes goes to the hard working entrepreneurs who are willing to take the risks of creating start-up ventures.

Source: Queen City Angels

When companies like General Electric, Procter & Gamble and Rockwell Automation need high-tech training for their employees, it's not long before Dennis Ulrich's phone rings.

Ulrich is the executive director of the Workforce Development Center at Cincinnati State University, which offers some of the area's largest employers highly specialized training tailored to specific needs.

By focusing on industrial training, HAZMAT courses, executive classes and a wide array of healthcare courses, the center has carved out a niche as an economic driver in southwestern Ohio.

"What makes us unique, I think, is that we offer an immediate return on investment," explains Ulrich. "We consult with our corporate clients, assess their needs and how to offer what it is that they need, but we also determine what their return on investment will be. We try to focus on programs that will have an immediate impact. We want to help them be more competitive in the marketplace."

In the case of General Electric, that meant launching the company's JETS -- jet engine tear-down school -- program. Since its inception, the program has instructed more than 1,100 of GE's engineers on design and maintenance issues with engines built at the company's Cincinnati plant. Now, GE has asked the center to take its program on the road to its other locations. P&G, for which the center instituted a process engineering course, has discussed offering the same instruction to its workers in China and India. Rockwell has shipped its employees to Cincinnati from around the country for Ulrich's programs.

As successes have accumulated, so has the center's clientele. About 80 companies now contract with the center for training, with growth expected to continue as word spreads.

The center also has looked for new territory to enter. As part of its industrial training curriculum, it began offering specialized "green technologies" training, like solar panel installation and weatherization, in recent years. It also was among the area's first to offer training in the booming bio-tech and bio-science fields.

Its latest effort is the Institute for Social Media, launched at the beginning of this year. Offering comprehensive courses dealing with the use of online sites for sales, customer service and recruiting of new employees, it also focuses on other areas, like legal issues.

Source: Dennis Ulrich, Workforce Development Center
Writer: Dave Malaska

The third annual Cincinnati Innovates competition has just started, growing to offer nearly $90,000 in prizes designed to push forward groundbreaking products and services.

"The goal of Cincinnati Innovates is to connect aspiring entrepreneurs -- people with ideas -- to all the great resources our region has to offer: incubators, angel investors, banks, mentors, and experts. The grant awards are just the first step," says Elizabeth Edwards, venture capital investor and founder of Cincinnati Innovates.

The competition opened April 15 and continues through July 15. As in the past two years, it's open to anyone now or originally from a 15-county area of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana. The contest is looking for a broad range of innovative products, devices, business processes and more to highlight, fund and support.

This year 12 awards will be given with a $25,000 top cash prize sponsored by CincyTech. For many winners, Cincinnati Innovates is an early step in their path to development, investment and growth. In total, more than $135,000 has been awarded, with winners attracting more than $3 million in additional financing, said competition founder Elizabeth Edwards.

"There have been lots of new patents filed, a lot of new funding. There has been some really great progress for these startups and that was exactly wanted we wanted to see happen," said Edwards.

To enter the contest or get more info, go to the contest website. There you'll enter a short description of your idea and upload pictures, video, or sketches to help explain and showcase it. You can also take a look at past entries and winners. Last year more than 300 people entered and more than 100 attended supporting innovation workshops offered during the competition timeline.

This year those workshops will expand and include: Patents and Trademarks, Startup Financing, Individual Health Insurance, Branding, Concept Development, and Licensing.

There are 25 Cincinnati Innovates sponsors; many are offering cash or in-kind service awards including the $25,000 CincyTech award; $10,000 and $5,000 in-kind Taft Patent Awards applied toward the patent process. There are two $10,000 in-kind branding and marketing awards: the Round Pixel Studio Web Development Award and the LPK Design and Branding Award.

Source: Elizabeth Edwards, founder Cincinnati Innovates
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites

This story originally appeared in Soapbox.

AssureRx, a Mason-based personalized medicine company, has just closed on an $11 million Series B round of financing.

The company, founded in 2006, was formed to license and commercialize personalized medicine technology research from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and Mayo Clinic.

Claremont Creek Ventures and Sequoia Capital led the round, which included existing investors Cincinnati Children's, Mayo Clinic and CincyTech. A new investor has joined as well, Allos Ventures.

AssureRx is developing next-generation medicines, recently bringing to market its first product GeneSightRx, a test that measures and analyzes genetic variants in psychiatric medicine - in other words, how individuals respond to the drugs they get. The test, administered through a cheek swab will help doctors determine the appropriate drug and dosage for each patient's individual needs, which could lessen side effects in patients.

The test is based on pharmacogenetics, or the study of how genetic makeup influences a person's reaction to drug treatments.

This financing will allow the AssureRx to expand sales and marketing for GeneSightRx, and fund other product development work.

"Our goal is to build the leading medical informatics company providing pharmacogenetic and other treatment decision support products to help physicians individualize the treatment of patients with neuropsychiatric and other disorders," said James S. Burns, president and CEO of AssureRx.

Sequoia Capital, is a Menlo Park, Calif., start-up venture capital fund for seed stage, early stage and growth companies. Claremont Creek Ventures is based in Oakland and invests in healthcare/ IT, energy conservation and security markets.

"AssureRx has enormous potential as an early leader in the transformation of neuropsychiatric treatment toward individualized patient treatment. GeneSightRx and future treatment decision support products hold the promise for faster, better patient outcomes and less costly care for psychiatric conditions such as clinical depression, anxiety disorder, and schizophrenia."

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: CincyTech

You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites

This story originally appeared in Soapbox.