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The Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) honored the outstanding bioscience companies and individuals in the state during its 9th Annual Awards Dinner at the Downtown Denver Embassy Suites. The CBSA's Annual Awards program showcases the significant achievements in the state's bioscience industry throughout the year.

Recipients of 2011 awards include:

Lifetime Achievement Award - Brian, Greg and Jeff Baldwin
Brian Baldwin founded Baxa Corporation in 1975 and grew the company steadily over the succeeding 36 years along with the leadership of sons Greg and Jeff. Creating technology that saves patient lives, Baxa Corporation provides innovative, solution-based technologies for fluid handling and delivery. Its systems and devices promote the safe and efficient preparation, handling, packaging, and administration of fluid medications. Visit: http://www.baxa.com

Company of the Year - LABS Inc.
LABS, Inc. has grown to service clients across many healthcare industries over the past 30 years. Recently, they added a Cell and Molecular Biology Department to their already growing business. Labs Inc. has been the market leader in laboratory testing for Infectious Disease, Microbiology, and Immunogenetics. Visit: http://www.labs-inc.org

Rising Star of the Year - Ventria Bioscience
Ventria Bioscience is the first company to commercialize recombinant proteins derived from a plant-based manufacturing system. Ventria’s technology platform ExpressTec is a safe, affordable and sustainable manufacturing technology that achieves recombinant protein yield that is many times higher than alternative systems. Visit: http://www.ventria.com

Volunteer of the Year - Timothy Rodell, M.D. President and CEO, GlobeImmune
Timothy Rodell’s leadership and community involvement has greatly contributed to Colorado’s bioscience industry. He contributed significantly to Senator Bennet’s Colorado Competes Report as a member of the Innovation Roundtable. He also has been a voice at the federal level with a seat on BIO’s national Board leading our industry forward. Visit: http://www.globeimmune.com

Educator of the Year - Melissa Reynolds, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Colorado State University
Melissa Reynolds Ph.D. joined the Colorado State University faculty in 2009 as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and is a participating faculty member in the School of Biomedical Engineering. In addition to teaching graduate and undergraduate courses she has organized professional development and entrepreneurship programs and mentored over 25 multidisciplinary students. Her positive leadership and encouragement has been continually evident to her colleagues, funders and the bioscience community as a whole. More about Dr. Reynolds: http://www.news.colostate.edu/Release/5620

Business Partner of the Year - Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young has been a strong partner for over seven years helping to move Colorado’s bioscience industry forward. They have provided excellent service to the industry with expertise and dedication to our companies. Visit: http://www.ey.com

Legislator of the Year - State Representative Cheri Gerou
Representative Cheri Gerou has shown continued support for the bioscience community. She was involved in introducing and enabled the passage of HB 1283 and SB 47 to extend and further fund the Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant Program. Visit: http://cherigerou.com

Chairman’s Award - Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson’s dedication to advocacy and strategic development as an industry leader has advanced bioscience in Colorado. The company has continually supported CBSA’s efforts to advance the regional bioscience community including the development of CBSA’s Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor Conference and presence on the Board of Directors. Visit: http://www.jnj.com

Chairman’s Award - U.S. Senator Michael Bennet
Senator Michael Bennet has championed Colorado’s bioscience issues at the Capitol on several major issues including spearheading the Colorado Innovation Economy Committee and the “Colorado Competes” report, of which CBSA co-chaired; a CEO roundtable event with FDA Commissioner Hamburg; and The Medical Device Regulatory Improvement Act, introduced to boost Medical Device innovation and FDA reform. Senator Bennet leadership and perseverance continue to benefit the bioscience community as a whole. Visit: http://bennet.senate.gov

Link to the Business Wire newswire

Quoting from the special report in the Indianapolis Business Journal by Sam Stall: "The ISA’s golden boy is Redkey-based Bell Aquaculture, the state’s only industrial-scale fish farming outfit. While Indiana’s aquaculture industry produces only 1 million pounds of fish annually, expansion plans at Bell will double that number by next year. And the technology the company is developing could pave the way for even higher production. Put simply, company officials have figured out how to raise their fish—yellow perch—indoors under highly controlled conditions, just as chicken and hog farmers do. The company’s plant raises 1.8 million fish annually. That number will balloon to 3 million when a $5 million expansion wraps up in 2012. To no surprise, Bell President Norman McCowan is bullish on Indiana’s aquaculture potential, believing that the state (and his company in particular) possesses the three things necessary to make a go of it: sustainable technology, readily available food (soybeans) and water, and funding." Subscribe to the IBJ

Bell Aquaculture is featured in the current edition (Volume 10, Issue 4 2011) of Fish Farming News - Aquaculture's National Newspaper. Quoting from the article by FFN Contributing Writer Brian Robbins: "'Vertically integrated' is a phrase that Bell uses frequently in describing itself: pretty much self-sufficient, relying only on outside suppliers for fee. Other than that, they've built their own little world in five years' time and can definitely call their fish their own, from broodstock and eggs, to harvesting and processing on the other end. With their existing facility, Bell is looking at producing 1.8 million yellow perch in a one-year growout cycle. The new addition that's currently under construction (with plans to be up and going by October) will add another 3 million yellow perch a year to Bell's forecast. But wait - it doesn't stop there: Bell's next expansion will boost that number significantly, with the company hoping to have the capacity to handle an additional 7.5 million perch by 2013." Link to FFN for subscription details

Link to the Bell Aquaculture News Feed Blog

Building on a track record of serving the nation's top ranked hospitals, Medivance® Inc. is pleased to announce the top-10 of U.S. News & World Report 2011-12 Honor Roll Hospitals are all users of its Targeted Temperature Management™ product, the Arctic Sun®. The announcement was made by Robert Kline, President & CEO, who stated, "It is often said that you are known by the company you keep, and we are honored to be affiliated with the top tier of the U.S. News 2011-12 Honor Roll Hospitals. The Medivance Team is very proud of this achievement."

Body temperature, systematically measured and reported as a vital sign, contributes to maintenance of normal physiology and affects the processes leading to recovery after illness. Intentional manipulation of body temperature has therefore emerged as a key treatment strategy for hospitals. The Medivance® Arctic Sun® brings precision Targeted Temperature Management™ to the highest level of performance available today for intentionally manipulating body temperature as a treatment strategy.

"Our Arctic Sun® 5000 is really the only product in the market that can achieve, with precision, a prescribed order set for temperature management with consistency for each patient. This is of particular importance in the hospital environment for Continuous Quality Improvement , thus it's not surprising the top-10 Honor Roll hospitals make use of our technology," Kline explained.

Link to the PR Newswire

Link to the PRWeb Newswire

Boulder County Business Report: Medivance serves top-ranked hospitals

CBSA Pres/CEO Holli Reibel interviewed with 9News Business Reporter Gregg Moss on Sept 12 about the upcoming Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference in Denver. Presenting companies featured in the interview included PeptiVir, VetDC and Flashback Technologies.

Link to information about the RMLIPC, being held Sept 22 at the Brown Palace

Link to the related 9News.com posting

Link to the Denver Post coverage of the Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor & Partnering Conference

The Colorado Institute for Drug, Device and Diagnostic Development has selected Ft. Collins, Colorado-based Veterinary Emerging Technologies Development Corporation (VetDC) to receive funding and management assistance. VetDC in-licenses, develops and commercializes technologies to address serious unmet medical needs in companion animals. The announcement is made by Kevin M. Smith, CID4 President & CEO, who says, "CID4 is providing funding as well as access to CID4’s expert management team’s experience and deep network of potential partners and funders to advance VetDC’s cancer-focused veterinary products."

Performance highlights of CID4 and its funded entities to date include:
* $1.25 million in investments by CID4 has allowed an additional $1.3 million in third party financing into Project companies.
* 20 jobs created within 18 months.
* FDA clearance to market Sophono, Inc.’s Alpha 1 abutment-free, bone anchored hearing device in the US and Europe.
* Rapid progression in PeptiVir’s research and development of its universal influenza vaccine.
* Established a continuous application process so technology owners can apply when they are ready (versus the prior model which was limited to semi-annual solicitations).
* Redevelopment of the CID4 website to provide a more interactive experience and provide more benefits to visitors, as well as provide a direct link to technology submissions.

Link to the PR Newswire release

Link to the Pitch Engine Social Media Release

Link to the profile article in Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

"Holben Hay Husman, Denver, has changed its name to Holben Hay Balzer CPAs LLC in recognition of the influence and contributions of Sheila Balzer. Balzer had been with Husman & Co. since 1994, prior to its merger with the Holben firm in 2001."

Link to WebCPA (Accounting Today)

Colorado public relations consulting firm, Absolutely Public Relations, is the PR agency of record (AOR) for the Denver-based accounting firm, Holben* Hay*Absolutely PR Owner/Founder Maggie Chamberlin Holben, APR, who says, "HHB's PR effort launched in June with its name change announcement from the Holben Hay Husman moniker used during past decade. A PR campaign focusing on Sheila Balzer's appointment to the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants (CSCPA) followed in July." Link to the related messaging:

Name Change Rollout: http://www.prweb.com/releases/Holben_Hay_Balzer/06/prweb4166214.htm

Sheila Balzer CSCPA Board Appointment: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/07/prweb4234394.htm

Link to today's PR Newswire Agency Roster

Link to the PR Web newswire

* For full disclosure, both Holben and Hay are Maggie Holben's first cousins by marriage.

"Holli Baumunk took over as president and CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) on July 12. She already was familiar with the state’s biotech drug and medical device companies from working as vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.

A top priority of her first year will be working on creating a “fund of funds,” designed to supply capital to private venture funds investing in startup companies that commercialize Colorado technologies in the biotech drug, medical device, biofuel and clean technology fields. An industry road map prepared for the CBSA in 2008 recommended pushing for a $250 million “fund of funds” similar to ones in other states that use money from state employee pension funds and other investors."

Link to Greg Avery's profile of Holli Baumunk in today's DBJ

"'Perch were born to be fried,' said Fred P. Binkowski, a senior scientist of fisheries biology with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Great Lakes Water Institute. Mr. Binkowski provides Sweet Water and similar operations with technical assistance and baby perch that he breeds under research agreements with the companies.

One company he works with is Bell Aquaculture LLC, an indoor fish farm built in a former farm field near Muncie, Ind.

Bell has invested some $50 million and has been raising perch for three years. It sells about two million fish a year to restaurants and food distributors, said Norman McCowan, president and chief executive. The closely held company expects to turn its first profit next year and eventually produce six million perch annually."

Link to the article

From the March/April issue of Aquaculture North America:

"Indiana's Bell Aquaculture fish-farming company, the United States' largest yellow perch farm, has started selling product directly to consumers.

Until now, the Redkey-based fish producer and processor has been supplying primarily to restaurants. However, it recently announced that it will be selling directly to consumers in order increments of five and 20 lbs.

In February, the company also rolled out its breaded yellow-perch line along with launching its Bell Perch Online Ordering System, announced by president and CEO Norman McCowan."

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