Innovation News

Pharma firm Esperion adds new CEO to growing staff

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January 9, 2013

Esperion Therapeutics is bringing on some familiar faces to its staff, including a new CEO that has an extensive history with the pharmaceutical firm. Tim Mayleben replaces Esperion Therapeutics' founder, Roger Newton, as president and CEO while Newton becomes the firm's executive chairman and chief scientific officer. Mayleben previously served as president and CEO of Ann Arbor-based Aastrom Biosciences before stepping down last summer. Mayleben also once served as Esperion Therapeutics' COO and CFO a decade ago, helping it raise more than $200 million in seed capital and negotiating its sale to Pfizer in 2004 for $1.3 billion. Newton bought back the company four years ago and relaunched it. "I am a business person by training. Roger is a scientist and a company builder," Mayleben says. "We complement each other really well." Esperion Therapeutic's most advanced product candidate, ETC-1002, is in Phase 2 clinical trials for patients with hypercholesterolemia and other cardiometabolic risk factors. ETC-1002 is a small-molecule metabolic regulator of imbalances in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism and inflammation. It is being developed to address the underlying causes of metabolic diseases and reduce multiple risk factors associated with them. In preclinical and clinical studies to date, treatment with ETC-1002 has been shown to be safe and well-tolerated while producing statin-like reductions in LDL-C and inflammatory markers. Esperion Therapeutics plans to wrap up it's Phase 2 clinical trials later this year and begin Phase 2 D clinical trials in 2014. Phase 2 D clinical trials are one of the final steps before FDA approval and often take two years or more to complete. The company has historically called Ann Arbor home before moving to the Michigal Life Sciences Innovation Center, managed by Ann Arbor SPARK, in Plymouth. The company now employs 11 people after hiring three recently. Source: Tim Mayleben, president & CEO of Esperion Therapeutics and Roger Newton, founder of Esperion Therapeutics Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

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Ypsilanti’s ISSYS set to begin clinical trials

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Economic Development

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January 9, 2013

Integrated Sensing Systems, AKA ISSYS, is looking tot expand its product portfolio from micro sensors in the life sciences industry to micro sensors that can be used in the industrial space. Since 1995, the Ypsilanti-based business has designed and developed microelectromechanical systems for medical and scientific sensing applications. Its latest piece of technology is an implant that allows medical professionals to wirelessly monitor the heart. "We hope to begin clinical studies early next year," says Nader Najafi, president & CEO of Integrated Sensing Systems. He adds he hopes to begin sales in Europe in 2014 and in the U.S. the next year. The company is also looking at selling fluid sensors in industrial manufacturing, however, the company is still in the early stages of exploring that new market. "We're trying to bring in strategic partners," Najafi says. Integrated Sensing Systems employs 25 people and has made a handful of hires in 2012. It expects to add a couple more jobs in 2013. Source: Nader Najafi, president & CEO of Integrated Sensing Systems Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Bank of Ann Arbor acquires firm, preps to open new branch

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Economic Development

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January 9, 2013

Bank of Ann Arbor is seems to come up with new ways to grow each year with its newest innovation comes from acquiring Ervin Leasing Co, an equipment leasing and financing firm. The Ann Arbor-based firm and its 15 employees were a subsidiary of Ervin Industries. It successfully navigated through the last recession and was ready to ramp up business when its lines of credit, about $100 million, were sidelined. Bank of Ann Arbor will now provide funding for that growth. "It's an opportunity for us to add some diversification to our loan portfolio," says Tim Marshall, president & CEO of Bank of Ann Arbor. Bank of Ann Arbor has been consistently growing its core business, too, over the last few years. Its total assets have expanded from $689 million in 2010 to $774 million in 2011 and $889 million in 2012. It has hired about a dozen people over the last year, bringing its staff to 148 full-time employees. Bank of Ann Arbor is also about to expand the reach of its branches. The downtown Ann Arbor-based bank plans to open a new branch in Saline early this year, which will mean another five new jobs. Bank of Ann Arbor. The bank also plans to expand the staff of Ervin Leasing Co by more than double in the coming years. "Our goal is to be at 35 employees there within the next 36 months," Marshall says. Source: Tim Marshall, president & CEO of Bank of Ann Arbor Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Blaze Medical Devices aims to commercialize, raise angel funds

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Innovation News

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January 9, 2013

Blaze Medical Devices is gearing up to begin selling the first units of its blood transfusion product this year, and full commercialization in 2014. The Ann Arbor-based startup's principal product specializes in quality control and optimization for the blood banking and transfusion industry. The technology analyzes stored blood to allow clinicians to predict the effectiveness of transfusions by assessing the levels and rates of quality loss during storage for individual units. The 6-year-old start-up expects to finish initial development of the product early this year and begin sales of it to researchers by this summer. It expects to receive FDA approval sometime next year and begin commercial sales soon after. "The product is in the final phases of its design," says David Weaver, CEO of Blaze Medical Devices. Blaze Medical Devices, which employs three people and the occasional intern, is also in the later stages of fundraising for its angel-seed round. The company landed a $250,000 investment from the Great Lakes Angels Group and expects to close on $1.5 million worth of seed capital by this summer. "We're about halfway (to our goal) now," Weaver says. Source: David Weaver, CEO of Blaze Medical Devices Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Meadow Fete Media hits stride in Ann Arbor, looks to hire

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Arts and Culture

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January 9, 2013

Lyndsay Dusek was laid off in 2006. The Ann Arbor resident had a background in web development, graphic design, the fine arts and languages so she decided that adding all that up equaled the right mix for starting a business. Six years later, Meadow Fete Media is looking to hire its first employee. The downtown Ann Arbor-based Internet business specializes graphic design and web development. It has done a number of projects with local small businesses, including Vinology, The Produce Station and a community-garden initiative for Project Grow. "2012 was a huge growth year," Dusek says. "I am hoping to make this year an even bigger one." To help make that possible, Dusek is looking to hire a person who specializes in front-end web development and graphic design. "I am essentially looking for a second me," Dusek says. To make that happen, Dusek plans to increase work from a growing list of locally based clients headed by people she can relate to and identify with. "That's the major factor in the growth of the company," Dusek says. Source: Lyndsay Dusek, CEO of Meadow Fete Media Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Mobile, health care works drives Logic Solutions growth

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Economic Development

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December 19, 2012

Mobile and health-care work is driving some significant growth at Logic Solutions. The Ann Arbor-based business has hired 35 people in 2012 and is looking to add another five. The job openings include sales, project managers and technical leads. The company now employs 190 people with most of its growth coming through its mobile applications. "Our mobile practice is just booming right now," says Bruce Richardson, president of Logic Solutions. "We doubled in size in both revenue and people." Logic Solutions specializes in custom strategy and development of mobile and web applications. It acquired Quantum Compliance Systems, which develops software that embeds sustainable environmental, health and safety practices into a company's daily operations, earlier this year. Richardson expects the growth at his company to continue for the next year. That growth is expected to come from the rebounding economy, health-care expansion and the mobile sector's rapid rise. "I think we're going to experience some significant growth," Richardson says. Source: Bruce Richardson, president of Logic Solutions Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Dexter’s k-Space Assoc expands staff as it moves into new HQ

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Economic Development

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December 19, 2012

Dexter-based k-Space Associates is celebrating its 20th year of being in business and Darryl Barlett, the firm's general manager, attributes its success to two things: "It's making products people can actually use," Barlett says. "That's No. 1. The No. 2 is giving people good technical support. The manufacturer and tech firm develops and makes diagnostic tools for the semi-conductor industry. It recently doubled the size of its manufacturing and research-and-development facility, moving into the new space last summer. The company has hired four people over the last year, expanding its staff to 25 employees and the occasional intern. The new hires include engineers, assembly workers and technicians. Barlett expects to hire two more people in 2013 and has one open position for an internal technical sales person. "We need that person right now," Barlett says. Source: Darryl Barlett, general manager of k-Space Associates Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

3D Biomatrix adds to staff as it gains market traction

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Innovation News

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December 19, 2012

3D Biomatrix's business model started to gain traction in 2012, allowing the Ann Arbor-based start-up to expand its staff and its product line. The firm hired one person, a PhD stem cell biologist, expanding its staff to four employees and a couple of independent contractors. 3D Biomatrix also won an innovation award from The Wall Street Journal and closed on a Series A round of funding this year. "We had a really great year," says Laura Schrader, CEO of 3D Biomatrix. The University of Michigan spin-off develops and makes 3D cell matrices for cell growth in testing in the university's Venture Accelerator. These small scaffoldings provide small dips for the cells to develop. Most of the current products on the market offer flat surfaces, such as slide or Petri dishes. It's also developing a second product called a hanging drop plate, which allows cells to generate a matrices like they naturally do in the human body. 3D Biomatrix has watched the orders for this and its original product quintuple this year, selling them to the likes of research universities, life sciences firms and pharmaceutical companies. "We see that trend continuing to go forward," Schrader says. Source: Laura Schrader, CEO of 3D Biomatrix Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Message Blocks creates event planner software, plans to hire

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Economic Development

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December 19, 2012

Len Gauger used to work as an event planner. It was a job where he became painfully aware of all of the troublesome points in the event planning process. That's when he was inspired to start his own business, Message Blocks. "I noticed a lot of pain in the process of event planning," Gauger says. "There is a great opportunity here to disrupt the market and do something great." Message Blocks has created software to streamline the event planning process by focusing on the event planner's experience. It also includes software that allows event planners to share documents and allows presenters plug-in presentations. "It really enables the event planner," Gauger says. Message Blocks launched earlier this year and has been used by a number of marquee events, including ACE and Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. Message Blocks currently employs two people and plans to add another person or two in 2013. "I want to be hiring," Gauger says. "That's why I founded it. That's why I came back to Michigan." Source: Len Gauger, founder of Message Blocks Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

3.7 Designs turns long-term work into more revenue, staff

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Economic Development

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December 19, 2012

Last year, 3.7 Designs had a goal of migrating its workload from one-off projects to more steady customers and its own software. As the Ann Arbor-based firm enters 2013, it has found its execution on this plan has led to steadier work and a bigger bottom line. Its customer base has become steadier and it has allowed the company to raise its rates. It has also hired a project manager to its staff of four employees and two interns. "It has been a win-win for the company," says Ross Johnson, CEO of 3.7 Designs. "I see us continuing to grow revenuewise." 3.7 Designs specializes in building websites. The 6-year-old company started out doing basic website work but has grown to also offering marketing and upkeep services for the websites its builds. It also creates software for things like training modules. Johnson has also moved onto teaching classes about the Internet at Michigan State University and Washtenaw Community College. Source: Ross Johnson, CEO of 3.7 Designs Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.