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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.

RegeneMed, Inc. is accelerating the development of safer, more effective drugs by providing integrated high throughput platforms incorporating engineered human tissue-based assays. RegeneMed possesses patented, proprietary, core technologies enabling the in vitro growth of engineered human tissues, including liver, GI tract, bone marrow and blood-brain barrier. These tissue-based in vitro model systems will accelerate drug development and aims to debottleneck ADME/Tox evaluation, the leading cause of drug failures facing the pharmaceutical industry, per the company.

Paloma Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a drug development company focusing on pathologies with a vascular component including cancer, ocular diseases (macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy), arthritis, fibrotic diseases (pulmonary fibrosis) endometriosis, osteoporosis and skin diseases (psoriasis and atopic dermatitis). Paloma owns the intellectual property relating to a series of , small molecule drugs created through an integrated design platform incorporating , customized and industry standard computational tools that has therapeutic potential for the treatment of the foregoing diseases.

Optimata Ltd. is a privately-owned science-based interdisciplinary company engaged in biosimulation technology for optimizing drug treatment protocols. Optimata partners with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to develop effective new treatments for diseases by simulating disease processes. This aims to reduce time-to-market and development costs while improving the competitive profile of the newly developed drug.

Kiyatec specializes in modeling and predicting cancer patient response to drug therapies, using ex vivo 3D cell culture technology, in order to inform clinical decision-making and drive drug development. Its predictive clinical tests provide oncologists with patient-specific response profiles to the current standard of care drugs prior to treatment selection. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Greenville, South Carolina.

American Biosystems, Inc., produces and markets biological products used in Agriculture, Aquaculture and Industry. Specialized bacterial cultures are grown and harvested to produce enzymes ... nature's catalysts. These products can be incorporated into animal feed as a natural alternative to hormones and antibiotics while providing many of the same benefits. For Aquaculture, bacteria digest uneaten feed and waste products, providing cleaner water and producing less stress on farm-raised shrimp. For Industry, target markets include complex manufacturing processes, bio-medical cleaning products, waste reduction and recycling. Bacteria and the enzymes they produce are nature's way of breaking down wastes into harmless components or building blocks man can use to rebuild or remake other products. The company was founded in 1982 by Lewis E. Goyette, Ph.D, and is now managed by his son Edward M. Goyette. The company markets in over 15 countries through overseas distributors and currently has two employees in The New Century Venture Center. American Biosystems moved into the center on May 31, 2002.