Solidus Biosciences is a company that received a STTR Phase II grant for a project entitled: Development of a Lead Optimization Chip for Drug Discovery. Their award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and their project will address further development and commercialization of a multi-enzyme lead optimization chip (Multizyme Chip) for high-throughput generation of lead compound analogs coupled with cell-based screening for the rapid identification of biologically active derivatives. Such a capability directly impacts a key bottleneck in drug discovery; namely, the efficient optimization of lead compounds to develop drugs with optimal pharmacological properties. Solidus Biosciences, Inc. proposes to combine six biocatalysis with pharmacological screening to provide rapid identification of biologically active compounds against cell-specific targets, which is a new paradigm for lead optimization. Moreover, the Multizyme Chip platform will be well-suited for lead optimization in related industries, including agrochemicals, cosmetics, and cosmeceuticals. The Solidus technology will thus improve the competitiveness and efficiency of the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and chemical industries, and will serve as a rich source of new and improved commercial products. The broader impacts of this research are the advances that Solidus Biosciences will achieve toward generating better and safer drugs, reducing the cost to develop these drugs, and increasing the overall efficiency of the pharmaceutical industry. Solidus will generate Multizyme Chips for purchase by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to facilitate their lead optimization programs, particularly those involving natural product-derived and complex synthetic small molecule leads. Cryopreservation techniques developed in Phase II will enable the sale of chips and chip-handling devices produced during Phase I, and will allow seamless penetration of the Solidus technology platform into the company's target markets. Solidus Biosciences is a company that received a STTR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Development of a Lead Optimization Chip for Drug Discovery. Their research project aims to develop a new method for generating lead compounds by using enzymatic modification of compound sets. Availability of new methodology to generate biologically active compounds from existing molecules may enhance the success of the drug discovery process and may lead to the discovery of new and useful therapeutics. Solidus Biosciences is a company that received a STTR Phase I grant for a project entitled: High-Throughput RNAi Screening of Mammalian Cells. Their research project aims to develop a system for the rapid screening of siRNAs that can inhibit genes involved in cellular responses such as hyperosmotic stress that can affect pathways of high commercial importance, including protein production. Use of hyperosmotic stress as a proof of concept system will demonstrate the feasibility of high-throughput RNAi screening and will at the same time yield results that can be used to improve monoclonal antibody production in commercial and laboratory settings Production of biopharmaceuticals such as antibodies is exquisitely responsive to the culture conditions under which the cells are grown and thus can be improved through optimizing such settings, which in turn, would affect the genes involved in the specific synthetic pathways of interest. Development of a rapid methodology to identify inhibitory RNA molecules that can inhibit genes that adversely affect yield would be of significant importance to pharmaceutical companies that produce protein therapeutics and may result in a lowering of the const of these therapeutic entities.

KPS Technologies produces cyanine dyes that absorb and fluoresce at near- infrared wavelengths. These molecules are useful as detection units since virtually all organic materials including biological tissues are penetrated by NIR radiation. Potential applications are quite varied but those of interest are diagnostic ones including protein labeling, immunoassays and DNA sequencing. The major market for these compounds will be instrument manufacturers. Custom made kits are available upon request.

DNAnexus delivers a multi-omics platform for biotechnology. It offers a cloud-based deoxyribonucleic acid-based data management and biomedical data analysis platform that provides instant online genomics data centers for researchers. The company was founded in and is 2009 based in Mountain View, California.

Employing recent advances in sequencing, ASPE bead array, microarray technology, Q'Array is poised to provide a range of DNA testing, including genetic, chromosomal, biochemical, pharmacogenomics, paternity, and forensic identity testing.

Armgo Pharma is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small-molecule therapeutics to treat debilitating cardiac, muscular, and neurological disorders. The company's proprietary drugs, known as rycals, are a new class of oral agents that act on a novel therapeutic target, the ryanodine receptor/calcium release channel (RyR) located on the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum of the cell. Rycals act to stabilize these channels and repair the calcium leak caused by stress associated with chronic diseases. It is hypothesized that the leak in the RyR channels, if left untreated, may contribute to disorders affecting the heart, skeletal muscle, and the brain.

Axela is delivering on its mission to provide a simple and effective approach to personalized medicine by exploiting the dotLab System in research markets today to generate tomorrow's diagnostics. This strategy of offering a common technology platform to both markets aims to provide a opportunity to capitalize on discoveries. The approach has already resulted in applications with the potential to address segments of the large, underserved markets of oncology and cardiology that will be the focus of two funded clinical trials this summer and growing installed customer base. For a time these leading clinical researchers can use the direct understanding of protein interactions to develop quantitative assays on a single platform. dot technology has shortened the transition from protein discovery to application. The ability to measure biomolecular complexes in real-time aims to provide for new approaches to disease management.