Ann Arbor

Adeona Pharmaceuticals receives $409K grant for MS drug development

Adeona Pharmaceuticals recently received a $409,426 grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to further the development of its drug Trimesta, a move that has capped a year of growth for the Ann Arbor-based staff and business."It's a vote of confidence in our work on Trimesta," says Dr. James Kuo, CEO of Adeona Pharmaceuticals. He adds that the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is the pre-eminent non-profit geared toward fighting multiple sclerosis. Adeona Pharmaceuticals has already received a $5 million grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, along with another $1.1 million in funds for the clinical trials of Trimesta. So far the clinical trial for the oral drug is 85 percent enrolled and is expected to fill completely later this year. A handful of executives have been added to the staff of about a dozen people over the last year. They include a new vice president of finance, vice president of research & development, and a director of communications.  The 8-year-old company specializes in drugs that address problems in the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's. It commonly licenses these drugs at the clinical stage to large pharmaceutical companies. Source: Dr. James Kuo, CEO of Adeona PharmaceuticalsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta digs Main St., Ann Arbor

Delta's in-flight magazine SKY features U-M alum Sunjay Gupta waxing poetic about his favorite street: Main Street in Ann Arbor. Though the good doctor could use a refresher course on Tree Town's geography (Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum are listed as features), it's nice to know we hold a special place in his heart.Excerpt:"The food scene is a highlight for Gupta, who says there are plenty of great mom-and-pop restaurants to compete with the chains. “The names keep changing,” he says, “but there’s always great Korean, a dozen sports bars, ice cream, whatever you want.”“The Ark is one of those great small concert venues,” Gupta says. The noted music hall supports folk and roots music: “It is the kind of place where the Indigo Girls will go to play for a night. Wynton Marsalis and his brother Branford put on a great show there."Read the rest of the story here.

Smart lighting pilot project glows at U-M’s Hill Street parking structure

MASTERMIND: Dr. Jeff Masters

"Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get."-Mark TwainAnn Arbor is home to the first (and second biggest) weather website in the country – Weather Underground. The brainchild of weather guru Jeff Masters, it's the culmination of a life-long love affair with that most temperamental of subjects.

More links coming to Border to Border Trail

Mayor’s Green Fair puts spring in your eco step

Lakeside Software to open downtown Ann Arbor office, add 73 jobs

Lakeside Software is set to open an office in downtown Ann Arbor later this spring, a move that will bring 73 new jobs to Tree Town's city center."We were impressed with the amount of resources available and the community support," says Dan Salinas, vice president of business development for Lakeside Software.The Bloomfield Hills-based firm was aiming to set up its new office in Palo Alto, California, the heart of Silicon Valley. The 14-year-old company's leaders, University of Michigan graduates, weren't really considering Metro Detroit or even Michigan until a Michigan Economic Development Corp official cold-called them and made the case for the Great Lakes State.The argument worked. Lakeside Software dropped plans to expand in California and instead focused on growing its Metro Detroit home base and a new office in Ann Arbor. The MEDC included a five-year tax credit worth $731,000 to seal the deal. "In Palo Alto, quite frankly, we would have been one of many companies," Salinas says. Lakeside Software creates management software solutions for the Windows operating system. Its SysTrack software combines comprehensive system monitoring capabilities with sophisticated analysis for applications and users to create a total management solution.Source: Dan Salinas, vice president of business development for Lakeside SoftwareWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Video Planet Rock

Get vertical! Yes, even here in the flatlands of SE Michigan it's possible to boulder and top rope with the best of 'em. With over 20,000 sq ft of climbing, Planet Rock is the official cure to the 2-D blues. Plus they serve espresso. Even Joshua Tree can't give you that.

U-M student start-ups rake in $106,000 in seed capital grants

A number of student-led start-ups at the University of Michigan have recently received thousands of dollars in seed-capital grants from the Michigan Business Challenge competition and Eugene Applebaum Dare to Dream Grants.A total of 20 start-ups landed $106,000. Michigan Business Challenge awarded $54,300 in prize money while the Dare to Dream gave grants worth $1,500 to $10,000 to 15 start-ups."Some of them are pretty raw ideas," says Tim Faley, managing director of the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan. "Others are working on the feasibility study. Others are preparing for market."Among those winners is Regenerate, which markets onsite anaerobic digesters for food service operators. It was the runner-up for Best Business in the Michigan Business Challenge ($10,000), winner of the Erb Award for Sustainability ($7,500), a Dare to Dream grant ($10,000), and an Ann Arbor SPARK Bootcamp scholarship. Regenerate also recently took the top place in the Michigan Clean Energy Prize competition ($25,000) earlier this year."Regenerate has come a long ways," Faley says. "They're in the right space at the right time. They could pull this off."He adds that this year's student-led start-ups now offer a wider variety of ideas and technologies. For instance, Faley points out that five years ago almost all the contestants were software- or medical device-centric start-ups. This year features start-ups specializing in logistics, clean-tech, websites, foreign languages, and market research, on top of the normal software and medical device companies."We're seeing a whole lot of social entrepreneurship," Faley says.Source: Tim Faley, managing director of the Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of MichiganWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.