Ligand also raised its guidance for the year as it projected better-than-expected first-quarter results.

Under the deal, Ligand will receive a $3 million licensing fee, potential milestone payments of more than $50 million and royalties on sales from any products that reach the market.

The company now expects 2013 per-share earnings of 47 cents to 51 cents on revenue of $43 million to $46 million, up from its prior estimate for 35 cents to 39 cents and revenue of $41 million to $44 million.

For the current quarter, the company forecast per-share earnings of 10 cents to 13 cents on revenue of $10 million to $11 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently expected a per-share loss of a penny and revenue of $8 million.

Spectrum, meanwhile, said it will assume responsibility for the ongoing pivotal clinical trial and for filing a new drug application, which is anticipated in the first half of 2014 with potential commercial launch the following year.

Ligand shares closed Wednesday at $21.86 and were inactive premarket. The stock is up 35% in the past year.

Posted by Tess Stynes, Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2013

HylaPharm, a drug delivery company founded in 2010 by a team of KU faculty, is now producing its patented HylaPlat technology, which delivers chemotherapy drugs directly to cancer cells in tumors and nearby lymph nodes while limiting drug exposure in kidneys, nerves and auditory organs. By limiting exposure in these surrounding areas, HylaPlat enables targeted treatments with fewer side effects for patients.

“For most drugs, there’s a trade-off between side effects and efficacy,” said Dr. Daniel Aires, HylaPharm president and CEO and KU Medical Center director of dermatology. “But for patients with certain kinds of cancer, our new technology has the potential to be both safer and stronger. That makes it especially exciting.”

HylaPharm is led by Aires and KU pharmaceutical chemist Laird Forrest, who serves as chief science officer and chief operating officer. The company is located in the Bioscience and Technology Business Center Expansion Facility and in January was awarded a $200,000 development grant by the Kansas Bioscience Authority for upcoming animal trials.

HylaPlat may have extra advantages for treating cancers that metastasize through lymph nodes. This category includes 85 percent of cancers, including breast, colon, lung and ovarian cancer. Current treatments for cancers that have gone to lymph nodes include surgery and radiation, which can cause tremendous damage and often fail to remove all the cancer. Meanwhile, standard intravenous chemotherapy does not get into lymph nodes at high levels, resulting in greater risk of relapse.

HylaPlat addresses this issue by attaching chemotherapy drugs to nano-sized particles of hyaluronan, a natural polymer found in the body. Once injected near the tumor site, these nanoparticles will attack the tumor and then spread to the lymph nodes, reaching areas where local metastatic disease can hide. The size of the drug is ideal for getting into and then staying in the nearby lymph nodes, said Forrest, an assistant professor of pharmaceutical chemistry in the KU School of Pharmacy.

“Injecting it directly into the main cancer lesion results in a very high drug level compared to normal injections into the veins,” Aires said. “Furthermore, most cancer cells have a receptor on their surface that grabs onto hyaluronan. In general, more aggressive cancers and the hard-to-treat cancer stem cells have more of these receptors. This is another factor that can help target the drug to cancer cells.”

So far, HylaPlat has proven effective in animal models, and larger animal trials for submission to the Federal Drug Administration are under way. The company will pursue the next step, a Phase I human trial, after discussions with the FDA, possibly within two years.

HylaPharm is one of 24 active KU startup companies.

“HylaPlat was invented, patented and developed at KU,” Forrest said. “It reflects the outstanding science that is supported and conducted at this university.”

Published by Joe Monaco, KU Office of Public Affairs, Monday, March 11, 2013

UMKC’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is currently accepting applications to its highly-acclaimed Entrepreneurship Scholars Program.  The E-Scholars program, open to the general public, is a 12-month certificate program designed to provide promising entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge needed to launch world-class ventures.

The E-Scholars Program is open to anyone who has an idea for a new venture, as well as to those in the process of launching a venture who could benefit from the remarkable resources this program provides.  Individuals accepted into the program will benefit from:

• Accelerated launch of a scalable, sustainable venture.
• One-on-one mentoring.  Our mentor network includes 120+ entrepreneurs, successful business leaders and legal experts.
• Cutting-edge curriculum.  Courses are taught by world-class faculty including leading scholars in the field.
• Connections.  E-Scholars are introduced to investors and potential funding sources.
• Assistance during startup.  E-Scholars have priority access to IEI Incubator facilities
• Scholarships for all. Accepted applicants receive scholarships to cover majority of program costs.

Program begins in May 2013.  Initial application deadline is February 1, 2013.  Early application increases likelihood of admission.  More information, including how to submit an application, can be found at Entrepreneurship Scholars Program.  Questions?  Call Beverly Stewart at 816-235-1741 or email stewartbj@umkc.edu.

For months after she and research partner Karthik Ramachandran made the decision to branch out from academic research and found biotech startup Likarda LLC in Kansas City, she would lie awake at night and wonder, “What am I doing?”

For Ramachandran, who earned a doctorate from the University of Kansas Medical Center last year, the idea of a startup was an exciting way to push the boundaries of innovation. But Stehno-Bittel, who has spent nearly two decades doing academic research, needed some convincing.

Apart from the typical challenges that come with starting a company, Stehno-Bittel had to completely change the way she thought about research.

“My postdoctoral mentor thought that research was sacred, almost, and that our goal was to find the truth, and commercialization was not the point,” she said.

“Now that I’m involved in it, I know that if you want to make an impact in health — whether that’s human health, animal health, whatever — you have to do this. You can’t just publish that research paper and hope somebody else picks it up for you. It’s just not going to happen.”

Stehno-Bittel and Ramachandran are among a small but growing number of academic scientists who are taking their research out from under the auspices of a university laboratory and founding companies dedicated to commercializing their technology.

Many attribute the trend to a growing urgency to make new technologies available to the public, and Kansas City offers a unique set of resources to aid the process.

Moving from the traditional

Researchers traditionally have focused on publishing papers to secure government grants in what’s known as the “publish or perish” mentality. But the likelihood that those papers will translate quickly — or at all — into a product available to the public is slim.

According to the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, it takes about 13 years to turn a target discovery into a drug available to the public.

But things are starting to change, said Frank Kruse, vice president of the Bioscience and Technology Business Center and executive director of the BTBC’s University of Kansas Medical Center facility. The BTBC space is a collaborative business center that is home to Likarda, the company Stehno-Bittel and Ramachandran started.

Kruse said he sees a growing focus by the medical and bioscience communities on pushing new technology to market more quickly through startups.

“It’s definitely a trend that is picking up steam, and there’s a real need,” he said. “An increasing number of institutions are recognizing the benefits of becoming forces for economic development rather than just simply the traditional research orientation.”

Joe Monaco, assistant director of strategic communications at the University of Kansas, said that nine of the 24 startups that have come out of the university were founded in the past two years. Most of those companies were focused on health care and bioscience, but others sprang from such disciplines as education and information technology.

“Translational science and technology transfer have been important areas of focus for KU in recent years,” he said, noting the 2010 hire of Julie Goonewardene, who works with faculty members to turn their ideas into commercially viable entities.

The University of Missouri boasts similar statistics: During the past five years, the university has had 24 faculty startups, 10 of which were focused on human health.

The number of startups launched nationwide by university researchers increased 3 percent in 2011, according to the Association of University Technology Managers. The number of university-spawned startups that remained operational that year increased by 7 percent.

From bench to business

When Ramachandran and Stehno-Bittel discovered ways to grow miniaturized organs and tumors faster and larger than other research groups, several people at KU told them that they had a viable business idea and pushed them to pursue it. Months later, they opened their lab space in the BTBC on the KU Medical Center campus.

They’re testing their technology as a way to treat diabetes in animals and looking at other applications for treating cancer in animals.

“I’ve always been interested in entrepreneurship, personally — coming up with new ideas and entering uncharted territory,” Ramachandran said. “But I always imagined that once I got my Ph.D., I would go out and work for a big pharmaceutical company, and that’s where I would gain my experience.”

Ramachandran, like Stehno-Bittel, said one of the biggest challenges was shifting his mind-set to focus not only on the research, but also on business. Being a fellow in the Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation at the KU Medical Center helped him to get some of that information and change his thinking, he said.

The institute, run by Scott Weir, provides seed money to help faculty and students develop promising research into commercial products and provides them with business training and access to other entrepreneurs.

“It was really eye-opening for a scientist because it brought in the idea of how do you communicate your technology to a wider audience,” Ramachandran said. “In science, we’re all trained to speak to researchers, to peers. So it was really interesting to learn, ‘Well, how do I communicate this if I’m talking to a business professional or if I’m talking to a customer?’”

Local entrepreneur Toby Rush founded EyeVerify, a biometric technology company, after working with a university researcher who had developed the initial technology. Rush helped turn that technology into a commercial product.

Rush said that one of the biggest limitations faced by universities and academic researchers is that they’re isolated in the laboratory setting and don’t necessarily understand what the market needs and how to turn an idea into a commercial product.

“There’s an allure that everyone should go do their own startup, but the reality is that most startups fail,” he said. “You’ve got to partner with someone.”

Kansas City is home to countless organizations, foundations and incubators aimed at doing just that, not least of which is the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

“When it comes to moving science to the market, Kansas City is not unique,” said Lesa Mitchell, vice president of innovation and networks at the Kauffman Foundation. “But what is unique is working with Lawrence (KU) and working with the life and animal science groups and working with Scott (Weir)’s institute.”

The Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation partners with KU and other organizations to help translate research into products. Weir said that he sees the collaboration among universities and organizations in the region as a real asset to the health innovation community and that it is important to continue to build up avenues for collaboration in a university setting.

“Today, more than ever, investors — existing companies, patient advocacy groups, the government — are looking to universities to be able to play this role, to really create innovations that could lead to game-changing products,” he said.

Mitchell attributed the changing mind-set among scientists to a greater level of awareness on university campuses and the availability of online resources and collaboration.

“I think we’re seeing many more scientists frustrated from not just wanting to publish papers and actually wanting to make a difference,” she said. “In the past, that didn’t happen as often. University scientists saw their role simply as, ‘I’m doing this research, and I’m going for my next grant,’ but now there’s a much bigger push to say, ‘What do I do beyond the grant, beyond the paper, and how do I make a difference in the market or in the patient’s life?’”

Brianne Pfannenstiel Reporter- Kansas City Business Journal

LAWRENCE, KS (August 27, 2012) – 42 Labs has launched its beta music streaming service AudioAnywhere.com and is running a fundraiser through the crowdfunding platform, Indiegogo. The company is using Indiegogo to boost awareness of its launch and will build a Pandora-style “radio” feature with the funds raised.

In 2011, AudioAnywhere announced their plans to build technologies to repair damage to the music industry. Since the introduction of Napster, it has become increasingly difficult to monetize music. These challenges have only accelerated with the mass market adoption of “free” (ad-supported) streaming music websites like Pandora.

42 Labs is addressing these challenges through their two products, AudioAnywhere and Bixy. The latter is a novel advertising technology that allows consumers to personalize their advertising experience and get discounts on products they like. This will mean fewer yet better ads. Bixy will also saves businesses money and make their advertising efforts much more effective. Furthermore, the company hopes to use Bixy to monetize Pandora, Spotify and other streaming music services. 42 Labs CEO Kyle Johnson noted, “AudioAnywhere is an excellent test bed to perfect advertising for streaming media.”

About 42 Labs:

42 Labs is an internet media company dedicated to solving advertising challenges for the music industry.

Contact:

Kyle Johnson, CEO

42 Labs

kyle.johnson@42labs.com

785-766-2881

By: Sara Wenzel, BTBC Business Analyst

Stem cell research has been on the forefront of scientific discovery for decades because of the innumerable possibilities warranted by these highly operational cells.  Stem cells have been studied in a wide variety of scientific and medical applications and advancements in the field have led to new discoveries that have the potential to either become real therapeutic treatments for the world’s unmet medical needs or aid the intensive scientific research that strives to do so.  The promise of stem cell technologies is still developing as scientists uncover new and exciting capabilities.  One such discovery involves the introduction of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into the research mix.  Induced pluripotent stem cells consist of adult somatic cells derived from tissues that are genetically reprogrammed in cell culture to exist in their prior undifferentiated state and present many of the same qualities and benefits of embryonic stem cells (ESCs).  As the technology surrounding the utilization of these types of cells matures, the ethical dilemmas created by the use of embryonic stem cells may one day become solved.

Recently, one significant application of stem cells has been to develop genetically modified research animals for the purposes of modeling human disease.  This is carried out by culturing either ES or iPS cells of the mammalian species and altering the DNA content at the cellular level to create organisms that display characteristics of human diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and many more.  These genetically modified animals provide the medium with which scientists are able to treat previously incurable human illnesses.   The mammal of choice used to model human disease has traditionally been the mouse due to scientists’ ability to culture and manipulate mouse ES and iPS cells that carry the feature of germ-line transmission to offspring upon reproduction.  Through germ-line competence, it is possible to breed future generations of animal disease models, all of which contain the same induced genetic mutation for use in research and exhibit the least amount of genetic variability as possible.  Additionally, the utilization of iPSCs has eliminated the need to phenotype new disease models as these cells come from previously studied adult animals.  Conversely, embryonic stem cells contain new and unknown genetic material.

Although the mouse is generally thought to be an appropriate model for human disease and is considered the most common, it is not the option that generates the most accurate of scientific results.  The rat better replicates the human genome as well as human disease and drug-related response in virtually all physiological aspects.  It is for this reason that rats are a more accurate and sought-after human disease model for use in all levels of medical research and have the ability to save the pharmaceutical industry billions in clinical trials.  However, genetically modified rat disease models have routinely lagged behind mice because of the difficulty of culturing and manipulating rat ES and iPS cells in-vitro to create transgenic rats.  Therefore, there exists a significant need in the scientific community for new rat models displaying various human disease types that will bring research closer to curing many of today’s chronic diseases.

Of course, the ability to create new rats is preceded by the enabling technology of culturing the mammalian cells in-vitro.  Such stem cells are in themselves an R&D enabling tool that can be used to screen drug compounds and study a wide range of biological reactions both in-vivo and in-vitro.  The current marketplace has already set a foundation for researchers that prefer to culture cells with the use of pre-made culture media and cell culture kits in order for them to be able to concentrate on their individual research goals and keep research costs within budget of tight grants.  Therefore, stem cell lines, cell culture media, cell culture kits, cell-based assays, and even contract research services go hand in hand with a potential business model focusing on rats.  Essentially all areas of the global stem cell market are growing at an alarming rate, but this market is not without significant business risk as can be the case with many scientific innovations.

Business risks associated with rat stem cell technologies include the likelihood that most, if not all, potential customers will be academics who will be unwilling to pay a premium for new genetically modified rats as they are typically limited by laboratory financial resources.  Also, there is no guarantee that any particular new disease model will prove to be one that is successful and one that researchers will desire to try and use for years to come.  Most importantly, the intellectual property landscape for stem cells is a very complex and heavily litigated area of technology and it is imperative to acquire proper protection for all compositions and methods utilized in the creation and maintenance of stem cells for effective use in a business enterprise.

Rat stem cell technologies and those that can be used with a variety of mammalian species hold much promise not only for scientists and the public, but for the biotechnology industry as well.  Animal research models comprise a 2011 market worth of $1.2 billion with transgenic animals growing at a CAGR of 12% for the near future.[1] As displayed in the figure below, it is predicted that transgenic rats alone could reach a market worth of $212 million by 2015 from about $80 million in 2008.[2]

Additionally, the global market for all cell culture supplies and reagents is forecasted to reach $6 billion by 2015[3] and the demand for stem cells and stem cell products for a plethora of applications such as regenerative medicine and cell banking continues to grow into a multibillion dollar industry.

The competitive landscape for stem cell technologies is very fragmented without any particular large and leading competitors.  Although some are publicly traded, stem cell technology companies tend to be smaller, start-up biotechnology firms and several have been started by academic researchers who have developed core platform technologies.  Many of these types of entities have achieved funding through governmental grants and some have even managed to raise a conservative amount of venture capital.  For example, ArunA Biomedical, headquartered in the Georgia BioBusiness Center at the University of Georgia, has raised several hundred thousand dollars through SBIR and STTR grants as well as venture capital.[4]

On the other hand, the animal model market does contain a few select leading competitors including Charles River Laboratories of Wilmington, MA, and The Jackson Laboratories of Bar Harbor, ME.  These two companies are the main experts in large scale animal model breeding and distribution as well as the marketing and sales of animal models, in addition to a wide range of other related capabilities, services, and products.  In addition to the propagation of in-house models, companies like Charles River or Jackson Labs often can acquire the rights to breed and distribute a particular disease model from smaller companies or individual researchers who have developed the new model.  Transposagen, a biotechnology company in Lexington, KY specializing in genetically engineered rat disease models, is an example of such a company and it does distribute some of its rat models through Charles River.  Transposagen has raised about $4 million in grants since 2005[5] and raised $725,000 in equity in 2011 for the financing of its rat model business.[6]

The scientific development in this area of research is moving very quickly as researchers attempt to “integrate new stem cell knowledge into the rat genome” at greater ease and with reduced costs.    Accordingly, some larger firms are adding animal model laboratories and developing in-house animal research for the production and sale of genetically modified disease models to take advantage of this growing market opportunity.  Sigma Aldrich of St. Louis, MO, one of the largest chemical and consumables distributors in the world, has created Sigma Aldrich Genetic Engineering (SAGE) Labs for the creation of animal models using their CompoZr^® ZFN zinc finger nuclease technology, among a long list of other animal model related services including model development.[7] Simultaneously, Transposagen utilizes DNA transposons to alter its rat stem cells while GenOWay of Lyon, France has harnessed DNA pronuclear microinjection to carry out the task of creating new models, some of which are also distributed through Charles River Laboratories.

Further, new stem cell products encompassing cell culture media, reagents, kits, and stem cell lines have begun to be offered by both stem cell and animal model companies alike in an effort to provide scientists with effective and inexpensive tools to perform stem cell research.  Such companies include Applied Stemcells, Inc., Stem Cell Technologies, and Stemgent, among many others.  A product that can potentially reach out to numerous market segments is the SC Proven® GSR-1 rat stem cell culture media developed by researchers at the Universities of Edinburgh, Cambridge, and California, among other collaborators, and sold by Stem Cells, Inc. in Newark, CA.[8]^,[9]  This culture media is considered a highly advantageous product given the reasonable price and its capabilities regarding the maintenance of rat ES and iPS cells.

The development of rat disease models from ES and iPS cells is a significant contribution to scientific research and has ignited a specialized market segment for the rat in addition to fueling the already fervent market for stem cells and stem cell products.  Motivations like the creation of a better human disease model to aid in the treatment and cure of human disease has provided a footing for the building of new business models to bring forth the innovations in cell culture further into laboratories across the world and support continued growth and discovery in the area of stem cell research, transgenic animals, and regenerative medicine.

By: Sean O’Neill, BTBC Business Analyst

Technology Overview

What is the problem?

The current standard of care for prenatal diagnosis of fetal abnormalities (i.e. Down’s syndrome) entails a pre-screening to identify those women at higher risk. Screening tests are typically, although not exclusively, ultrasounds which are routinely recommended for all women in their first or second trimester. If the risk is high enough, then the option of a subsequent diagnostic test can be ordered. Diagnostic tests, amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS), provide definitive results on the exact number of chromosomes the fetus contains. Sensitivity and specificity are above 99% making it the gold standard of care, but the problem is the physically invasive risk to the fetus in which 1% of tests result in a miscarriage.[1]

How is it being solved?

Through large studies and a decade plus of research, the industry is seeing major innovation in terms of how diagnostic testing is preformed. Non-invasive prenatal diagnostics has been brought about through the discovery of fetal cells mixed into the maternal blood which can be accessed without risk of miscarriage. Although the test is non-invasive, the current sensitivity and specificity are comparable to those of amniocentesis depending on the process through which the blood is tested for chromosomal abnormalities.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of NIPD testing?

Beyond the clear competitive advantage related to the elimination of miscarriage risk associated with testing itself, NIPDs also allow for quicker turnaround time in getting results. Processing and reporting times can range from 2-12 days depending on the specific diagnostic test used. Invasive procedures are relatively expensive, risky, as well as emotionally difficult due to the late nature of the test, typically second trimester, whereas recent innovation allows for a relatively early test in the first trimester. One of the major disadvantages yet to be overcome is the reimbursement from insurance process as well as the relatively large out-of-pocket expense for the test currently on the market for Down’s syndrome (T21).  Currently the regulatory guidance is for high-risk pregnancies to be recommended for the fetal aneuploidy testing due to the rising risk with age of the mother. High-risk pregnancies include women over the age of 35 years or a history of aneuploidy births.

Market Overview

Current Market Size

The market opportunity for non-invasive prenatal diagnostic testing is substantial due to the potential advantages over the current standard of care, possibly rendering it obsolete over the next few years, should sequencing techniques advance to allow similar or even more robust sensitivity and specificity figures related to testing. The Down’s syndrome (T21) market for high-risk pregnancies only is $750 million -$1 billion currently for tests costing $1000-$1350. The first commercialized lab developed test (LDT) through San Diego-based Sequenom (NASDAQ:SQNM) came to market in November 2011. Sequenom’s test currently costs $1900 with a maximum out-of-pocket expense of around $250-$300 factoring in reimbursement. Sequenom has filed for FDA approval to turn the T21 test into an In-vitro diagnostic test (IVD) which would allow them the reach a much wider group of professionals without needing to perform the testing services in-house. This timeline process typically takes 29-36 months to be completed barring setbacks. Sequenom has also licensed their technology to a European competitor, LifeCodexx, to begin commercialization in the same manner.

In the not too distant future: Significant Market Expansion

Current regulations allow the non-invasive testing for high- risk pregnancies only which accounts for roughly 20% of all pregnancies, so the addition of low-risk pregnancies would increase the total addressable market (TAM) from a potential of 750 thousand tests annually to over 4 million tests annually. Many analysts consider this a foregone conclusion; it is more a matter of when than if. Even if test prices fall to $500, the TAM becomes $2 billion on T21 alone. The impressive velocity of capital flying into the budding industry seems to suggest that the market appetite for bearing this risk is high, although one cannot be sure when it comes to judgments declared by the FDA.

Competitive Pressures

Given the size, availability, and possible expansion of the TAM, Sequenom as first mover, is already seeing major competitive pressures as new players are sprinting to the finish line with clinical validation studies, CLIA lab setups and litigation papers to allow more entrants. Within weeks of Sequenom’s initial launch of MaterniT21, multiple firms have rerouted their strategies to include non-invasive prenatal diagnostic testing since they already utilized sequencing machines for their main product line as well as research. The cost of sequencing data from DNA is falling off a cliff from the sequencing instrumentation to the reagents necessary to leverage large scale CLIA lab space. The only barrier to entry left in this industry is the Dennis Lo patent that Sequenom claims encompasses all forms of DNA sequencing for aneuploidy detection. Verinata Health, Aria Diagnostics and Natera all have filed preemptive suits against Sequenom seeking a declaratory judgment that their tests do not infringe on the Lo patent. [2]

Capital Trends/Challenges

                Since Verinata’s $48.5 million Series C round closed in late summer 2011, capital raising within the nebulous NIPD industry is extremely hot. At the turn of the calendar 2012, the following raises have closed:

• Natera, formerly Gene Security Networks, raised $20million in a Series D in early January
• Aria Diagnostics, formerly Tandem, collected over $50million in a Series C round in mid-January
• Sequenom completed a $54million secondary offering in late January priced at $4.15/share

As mentioned above, the capital inflows in terms of magnitude, velocity and timing seems to suggest two things, 1) non-invasive procedures for the detection of fetal aneuploidies will become the new standard of care rendering amniocentesis and CVS obsolete in the next 5-7 years, and 2) the initial regulatory judgment allowing only high-risk pregnancies to be tested to expand to all pregnancies within the next five years as well.

HiPer Technology is proud to announce Philip (Andy) Harris has accepted the CEO position with HiPer Technology.  Mr. Harris brings an exceptional business background to the HiPer team.  Prior to joining the Company, he served as the CEO of StratosLightwave, a publically traded Chicago-based company.  Andy led a successful turnaround of StratosLightwave and orchestrated its sale to Emerson Electric.  Mr. Harris spent the majority of his career as an executive for Sprint serving as the Executive Vice President of the billion dollar Sprint subsidiary Sprint North Supply.

Mr. Harris commented on the opportunity stating, “taking the CEO position at HiPer Technology was a unique opportunity to leverage a number of unique product and development opportunities. Using the benefits of custom developed carbon fiber composite materials, specialized manufacturing processes, and a highly differentiated market reputation enables HiPer to scale its business in a strategic way and develop a significantly expanded product offering. With its highly developed product and process engineering capabilities HiPer is positioned to lead and compete globally in markets that utilize light weight and high performance products for automotive, sports, aerospace, military and medical equipment applications.  HiPer brings the full range of opportunities that challenge the conventional approach to expanding a US based product development and manufacturing company.”

About HiPer Technology

HiPer Technology, Inc. is a company that brings carbon fiber performance to high volume markets without the traditional carbon fiber costs.  A privately held US-based corporation, HiPer develops, manufactures, and markets custom high performance carbon fiber and structural composite products.  HiPer has solved the three core problems for mass marketing of carbon fiber by focusing on significantly reducing production time, reducing the raw material cost without reducing performance, eliminating fatigue related fracturing.

KANSAS CITY, KS – The Bioscience & Technology Business Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center (BTBC at KUMC) has secured its fifth tenant.

Midwest Energy Solutions, an alternative energy company that designs and installs renewable energy solutions for homes, businesses and vehicles, has moved into the BTBC at KUMC. The startup company has leased 128 square feet of space in the incubator, located at 2002 W. 39th Ave. on the KUMC campus.

Midwest Energy Solutions – also known as Midwest Energy or MWES –specializes in conversion technologies that enable homes, offices and vehicles to use alternative energy such as hydrogen, propane and compressed natural gas. The company is especially focused on converting vehicles to compressed natural gas and carries a range of products that enable drivers to refuel their vehicles with natural gas in their garages or driveways. The company also builds and installs equipment for commercial fueling stations.

Midwest Energy Solutions consists of one employee – founder and president Michael Batten. Batten said he plans to add additional employees in the coming months as the company grows.

“I’m excited to move into the BTBC at KUMC, and I expect to continue growing here,” Batten said. “The BTBC’s location, business development services and opportunities for research collaboration are ideal for an energy and technology-based company like Midwest Energy Solutions. I have everything I need to expand here.

“The nation’s energy demands continue to increase at an incredible pace,” Batten said. “It’s exciting for me to be able to satisfy those energy needs, and to do so using alternative, non-oil sources of energy. Not only is Midwest Energy Solutions helping individual consumers, but on a larger scale, it’s addressing this country’s addiction to foreign oil, protecting the environment and creating new jobs. I’m proud of that.”

Midwest Energy Solutions is the fifth company to locate in the BTBC at KUMC, joining Aptakon, EON Labs, Orbis Biosciences and OsteoGeneX. The BTBC at KUMC, which opened in September 2011, is now 43 percent full and houses 14 employees.

Midwest Energy is the 15th company to locate in the statewide BTBC incubator system, which comprises the BTBC at KUMC and three additional buildings in Lawrence – the BTBC Main Facility, BTBC Expansion Facility and BTBC St. Andrews Facility.

“We’re excited to welcome Midwest Energy Solutions,” said Frank Kruse, Executive Director of the BTBC at KUMC. “The company is well run, provides superior quality and value, and occupies a market that forecasts explosive expansion. Natural gas is a highly competitive energy source.  Companies like Midwest Energy that are creating the supply infrastructure offer the scale of growth and sustainability that the BTBC was designed to foster.”

BTBC at KU Background
The BTBC at KU incubator system provides state-of-the-art wet lab and office space, access to KU and KUMC resources and research expertise, and business support services such as capital-raising and consulting services from incubator staff. The BTBC system was launched in August 2010 and comprises four facilities, totaling nearly 70,000 square feet of space. The BTBC is a partnership of the Lawrence-Douglas County Bioscience Authority, University of Kansas, City of Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas Bioscience Authority and Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.

At the end of March, ScaleDown founders, Ryan Beckland and Drew Schiller, traveled to Dallas, Texas to give a two-minute pitch in hopes of getting accepted to the 12-week Tech Wildcatters incubation program.  “I was pretty nervous [about the pitch], but I calmed myself down with some deep breathing techniques Drew taught me at the eleventh hour”, stated Beckland.  The company was officially accepted the next day, and Drew and Ryan moved to Dallas with another $20,000 in the bank on Monday April 2 to start the 12-week program.  Upon successful completion of the program and investor approval, ScaleDown will receive an additional $250,000 investment from the incubator.

About TechWildcatters

TechWildcatters is a member of the Tech Stars network and was recently recognized by Forbes magazine as one of the top ten incubators in the nation.  The incubator is a mentorship-driven microseed fund and startup accelerator.  Acceptance to their program includes a 12-week accelerator “bootcamp” offered each spring and fall.  To learn more visit: www.techwildcatters.com

About ScaleDown

Developed and launched in 2011 with a behavioral economics foundation, ScaleDown’s flagship product ScaleDown Challenge is cloud-based weight loss tournament software utilized by gyms and corporate wellness programs.  ScaleDown Challenge participants on average have seen significant weight loss while gym owners experience increased sales and customer retention.  To date almost 1,000 participants have taken part in a ScaleDown Challenge weight loss tournament.  To learn more visit: www.scaledownchallenge.com