Ann Arbor

U-M spinout Phrixus Pharmaceuticals wins $800K NIH grant, looks to begin clinical trials

By Newsroom

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January 26, 2011

Phrixus Pharmaceuticals is ready to begin the second phase of its new heart failure drug. The University of Michigan spin-out expects to do this at the wet laboratory space in the Venture Accelerator at the university's North Campus Research Complex, i.e. the old Pfizer campus. Phrixus Pharmaceuticals, which has already won an $800,000 National Institute of Health grant, is in the midst of fundraising so it can begin the trials.The 5-year-old company is developing a compound that acts as a biological sealant, which helps prevent heart stoppage and improves cardiac function. That compound works best with heart failure such as that associated with muscular dystrophy, as well as acute and chronic conditions."It seals damage to muscle cell membranes," says Bruce Markham, vice president of research and chief scientific officer for Phrixus Pharmaceuticals. Phrixus Pharmaceuticals is hammering out details of its lease for space at the Venture Accelerator. It currently has three employees and two consultants in office space in Kerry Town. It expects to add 8-10 more jobs when it begins work on Phase II of its clinical trials. It's also speaking with big pharma firms about acquisition or partnerships.Source: Bruce Markham, vice president of research and chief scientific officer for Phrixus PharmaceuticalsWriter: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

ElectroDynamic Applications launches product, looks to spin off new company

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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January 26, 2011

The Ann Arbor-based firm, 11 years in the making, got its start from two engineering professors at the University of Michigan. The company focuses on technologies for space and aerospace, such as electric, plasma diagnostics, and plasma interaction and remediation. It recently showcased its first technology at the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. That technology synthesizes saline gas, a process that normally incorporates toxic materials while making things like semi-conductors. This product does the same job but is far more environmentally friendly."The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition represented the first chance for us to show one of our technologies (the saline-gas synthesizer) that we took from first stage to commercialization," says Jonathan Zagel, business manager of ElectroDynamic Applications.ElectroDynamic Applications has grown from the two professors (Alec Gallimore and Brian Gilchrist) in 1999 to 10 people and an intern today. The number of interns increases during the summer, hitting four last year. The company recently made one hire and plans to do so again in 2011 as it looks at the possibility of spinning off its into saline-gas synthesizer into its own company.Source: Jonathan Zagel, business manager of ElectroDynamic ApplicationsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

MyBuys expands Ann Arbor office; 50 more jobs this year

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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January 26, 2011

MyBuys, the growing California-based company, is spreading some of that job-creating wealth here in Ann Arbor.The company has added about 20 jobs in its downtown Ann Arbor location over the last year, bringing its satellite office staff to 54 people and a handful of interns over the summer. The firm expects to add another 50 jobs this year."The hiring has happened in fits and spurts in the past," says Drew Stirton, general manager of the Ann Arbor office of MyBuys. "Now it's a more predictable flow of 10-15 hires per quarter."MyBuys makes personalized product recommendations for online retailers. Two years ago it agreed to invest $5.4 million in establishing an Ann Arbor office as part of a 10-year tax credit deal with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. In exchange, it agreed to create 250 jobs in Ann Arbor over that decade.MyBuys is still on track to hit that goal, Stirton says. He expects the Ann Arbor office to continue to grow as the company expands its services into the social media and mobile applications markets."We're signing a lot of small, medium, and large online retailers," Stirton says. "We have also jumped into media and advertising in a big way."Source: Drew Stirton, general manager at MyBuysWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Compendia Bioscience signs 1st software/service collaboration with big pharma firm

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Economic Development

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January 26, 2011

Compendia Bioscience is growing more than its bottom line in Ann Arbor. The 5-year-old firm is expanding its product offerings, client base and staff as it continues to fatten its profits."From a financial perspective we are continuing on an aggressive growth path we have been on since our early days," says Dan Rhodes, president of Compendia Bioscience.The firm has expanded its product offerings from just research-centric software development to software services. Its products help researchers sift through mounds of biological data, enabling them to find answers to clinical questions quicker. This allows the company to streamline its customers' software for better results. "We're providing a much more complete solution to our pharma clients," Rhodes says.Compendia Bioscience is also growing its client list, recently signing a collaboration agreement with a major pharmaceutical firm. Rhodes points out that major pharmaceutical firms are downsizing, and in turn outsourcing more work. The company hopes to sign another similar agreement this year, and is working with Alfia on molecular subtyping that will measure genes. This new work has allowed the software firm to grow its staff to 27 employees and an independent contractor today. The company hired three people in 2010 and has three open positions today. It expects to add another two positions later this year.Source: Dan Rhodes, president of Compendia BioscienceWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

InfoReady lands $1.1M in seed capital investment

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Economic Development

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January 26, 2011

InfoReady, one of Ann Arbor's most promising start-ups, has secured $1.1 million in seed capital to start 2011. However, look for the grant-writing company to land even more capital later this year.The funding comes from some of Metro Detroit's established sources, such as the First Step Fund in TechTown, Automation Alley's seed fund, and the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund. Some prominent local angel investors and entrepreneurs, like Terry Cross and Ted Dacko, have also invested in the company. InfoReady plans to conduct one more angel investor round and a Series A venture capital round later this year as it begins to launch its product nationwide."We're pretty encouraged by the market acceptance, the rampup and the feedback so far," says Bhushan Kulkarni, CEO of InfoReady.InfoReady specializes in software that helps researchers find and apply for the best grant opportunities and then review and track progress of the project. The GDI Infotech spin-off has already attracted 25 customers with little marketing. It expects to ramp up its marketing efforts this year as it deploys the product nationally."The product is getting tremendous traction and the business model is ramping up," Kulkarni says. "We want to hit a home run for our community."Source: Bhushan Kulkarni, CEO of InfoReadyWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Astonishing Tales Of Real Scientists!

By Constance Crump

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Economic Development

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January 26, 2011

Thrill to their discoveries! Gasp at their genius! Ann Arbor writer/librarian Jim Ottaviani reveals the amazing stories behind science's greatest masterminds. In a comic book! But don't take our word for it, click the link, fearless reader, to learn the incredible truth!

Online Tech grows revenue 30% with cloud computing

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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January 26, 2011

Online Tech continues its growth in Ann Arbor, thanks in large part to the integration of cloud computing into its product portfolio.The Ann Arbor-based firm watched its revenue grow 30 percent in 2010 while adding five people to its staff. The data management company now has 20 employees, an intern, and 10-15 independent contractors. It plans to hire another five people this year on the expectation of a 30-40 percent revenue increase.Online Tech's growth is coming on the strength of its new products, such as adding cloud computing options. The 16-year-old firm added private cloud services to medium-sized business as a staple of its portfolio. It now employs a range of cloud-computing products specifically tailored to each customer's needs."Michigan's economy has really turned," says Mike Klein, COO and president of Online Tech. "This year we have noticed a lot of people who want to move their IT into the cloud."Online Tech has data centers in Ann Arbor and Flint. It made significant investments in its data center infrastructure and customer portal last year that it plans to capitalize on this year. The infrastructure investments include upgrading to energy efficient cooling systems, increasing backup power capacity, and adding Qwest network connectivity to the data centers to improve the network resiliency. Its new customer portal, OTPortal, provides hosting clients greater visibility and control over every device in their data centers. Source: Mike Klein, COO and president of Online TechWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

He’s Got The Whole World In His Hand

By Kim North Shine

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Arts & Culture

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January 26, 2011

If anyone knows that necessity is the mother of invention it's Mike Burns. An inventor and innovator who has found success matching tech innovation to the world of running, he stumbled across his latest greatest idea: the Handeholder, an iPad accessory that's raking in orders by the thousands.

POWERleap preps for kinetic energy product launch

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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January 19, 2011

The idea behind POWERleap's technology -- harnessing kinetic energy -- has been the talk of Ann Arbor since the company's inception in 2008. Now the start-up plans to make that idea a reality in 2011, conducting demonstration projects around the world and finishing off product development."We plan to be a net revenue-positive company and have a commercial product ready for the market in 2011," says Elizabeth Redmond, president of POWERleap.The University of Michigan graduate is trying to commercialize technology that can capture kinetic electricity from something as simple as body movements. Think using a piece of floor tile to harness the electricity created from stepping on it and using it to power a house.The Ann Arbor-based start-up now has a team of five people working toward perfecting this technology and is currently bootstrapping the start-up costs. Redmond hopes to add to that team later this year as it nears its product launch. POWERleap also recently made the semifinals of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition."There is a pretty intricate network of business support in southeast Michigan that we are leveraging," Redmond says. "There is everything from manufacturing to funding expertise here."Source: Elizabeth Redmond, president of POWERleapWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Rain washes clean in Burns Park porous alley project

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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January 19, 2011

When it rains, it pours in Washtenaw County. Rain falling onto impervious pavement courses into storm water systems which carry pollutants such as motor oil that wash off the county's roads into creeks and the Huron River. To better manage capacity in the storm water system and raise water quality, permeable pavement installations that allow rainwater to soak into the ground, where natural filtration occurs before rainwater makes its way into the groundwater, are becoming increasingly popular eco-conscious projects in municipalities. As such, a porous alley is planned for Ann Arbor's Burns Park neighborhood. Nick Hutchinson, project engineer for the city of Ann Arbor, says the rebuilding of the 12-foot wide residential alley spanning between Lincoln Avenue and Martin Place is expected to commence this August and should take no longer than one-and-a-half months to complete.The alley design isn't complete yet, but Hutchinson's cost estimate is around $165,000. The cost will be funded via a low-interest loan from Michigan's Dept of Natural Resources and Environment, which also has a 50% loan forgiveness offer through its State Revolving Fund. The remaining half will be covered by the city's storm water fund.Permeable pavement is costlier than typical resurfacing projects mostly because of the need to build underground stone beds to hold water before it can filter into the ground. These installations work particularly well in areas with well-drained, sandy soils, Hutchinson explains. "They can be built in other places too, but in places where you've got clay you're probably not going to get the water to go into the ground. It's more of a temporary storage of the water before filtering and releasing into the storm system. We have very good soil conditions in this project and we're expecting to get all of the water going into the ground instead of going into the storm system."Hutchinson cites the city of Chicago's Green Alleys as instances of successful porous alley projects. While the Burns Park neighborhood will be the site of the city's first porous alley, this is not the first time the city has experimented with permeable pavement. Porous pavers were installed on Easy Street, and Sylvan Avenue was reconstructed out of porous asphalt last summer. The city is monitoring the hardiness of these installations; it's still too early to tell how well they will hold up, although research has been encouraging, he adds."I think it's definitely the wave of the future. We're going to see more and more porous pavements, especially if the ones that we've put in so far perform well." A public meeting to explain the Burns Park Porous Alley project is scheduled for tonight, Wed. Jan. 19 at 7PM, at the Burns Park Elementary School cafeteria, 1414 Wells St. For more information, email nhutchinson@a2gov.org.Source: Nick Hutchinson, project engineer for the city of Ann ArborWriter: Tanya Muzumdar