Detroit, MI - According to Pitchbook, in 2019 Invest Michigan was the fifth most active venture capital investor in the ‘Great Lakes’ region. In 2019, Invest Michigan made 16 investments into 14 high-growth technology companies. PitchBook defines the ‘Great Lakes’ region as comprising six of the states that border the Great Lakes: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Since 2014, Invest Michigan has been among Michigan’s most active early-stage investors, completing 110 investments into 52 early-stage companies.

Pitchbook’s 2019 Global League Tables can be found at:

 https://files.pitchbook.com/website/files/pdf/PitchBook_2019_Annual_Global_League_Tables.pdf

This is an article about portfolio company, Tetra.

Scientists have shown that inflammatory disease in the body is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s

View source version on thepharmaletter.com: https://www.thepharmaletter.com/article/disease-modifying-ad-options-within-a-decade-says-tetra-ceo

The company's content-rich genomic database platform and AI-driven processing help mitigate early-stage genomic translational research challenges

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the global clinical genomics interpretation market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Genomenon, Inc. with the 2020 Global Company of the Year Award. Genomenon offers products and services to pharmaceutical companies and clinical diagnostic labs to streamline clinical genomics interpretation and connect scientific evidence to patients' genomic data. Its flagship product, Mastermind, automatically simplifies variant interpretation for faster, more accurate diagnosis and clinical decision-making. In just over two years, Mastermind amassed more than 5,000 users in 1,700 clinical laboratories across 101 countries.

Genomenon

"Powered by its proprietary Genomic Language Processing™ algorithm and genomic literature database, Mastermind has emerged a leading automated disease-gene-variant association database," said Christi Bird, Principal Consultant at Frost & Sullivan. "Unlike other commercially available tools, the first-in-class genomic database sea

Rising startup acknowledged for flexible and collaborative work environment

Autobooks is a small business payment and accounting platform integrated within a financial institution’s digital banking experience. Today, the company announced that it has been named one of the 2020 Best Places to Work in Financial Technology by Arizent, publisher of American Banker and PaymentsSource. This is Autobooks’ first year on the list, ranking No. 36 of 49 companies.

Each year, Arizent and research partner Best Companies Group determine the rankings based on results from a two-part employee survey. Nominated companies were evaluated on workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems, demographics and employee experience. Autobooks was recognized for its modern offices and leading amenities in booming downtown Detroit and Austin, benefits such as 401k matching, and professional development opportunities with organizations like the Detroit Fintech Association and Association for Financial Technology. Autobooks, now over 60 individuals strong, is passionate about ma

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ChoiceOne Bank, based in Sparta, Mich., announced today that it is expanding its relationship with HT Mobile Apps (HTMA), to offer the company’s entire portfolio of engaging apps: Plinqit, Banker Jr. and Hip Pocket™.

“Our customers love Plinqit, and they continue to keep saving and engaging because of the app’s rewards and a great user experience”

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When the bank launched Plinqit two years ago, its goal was to address its primary challenge of revenue optimization – acquiring low-cost deposits, writing good loans and creating long-lasting relationships, all with the goal to build and grow the business. The app enables customers to securely link their Plinqit account to their checking account, set a savings goal and automatically set as

This is an article about portfolio company, Bloomscape.

According to the National Gardening Association, U.S. houseplant sales grew 50% over the last three years. Bloomscape Founder and CEO Justin Mast joins On The Move to discuss the demand for houseplants and the online gardening landscape.

View source version on yahoo.com: https://finance.yahoo.com/video/u-houseplant-sales-grew-50-180754118.html

Utilizing Ripple’s offerings to bring recruiting in-house will enable us to gain performance visibility across all clinical sites.

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (PRWEB) JANUARY 23, 2020

Ripple Science today announced their one-hundredth customer. Ora, Inc., the world’s leading, full-service ophthalmic Clinical Research Organization (CRO), has adopted Ripple SaaS, enabling Ora to centralize patient recruitment in order to improve efficiency at clinical trial sites.

Rod Walker, Sr. Director, Head of Patient and Site Solutions at Ora, commented, "Utilizing Ripple’s offerings to bring recruiting in-house will enable us to gain performance visibility across all clinical sites. This will help to reduce risks and lead to greater retention and accelerated studies, which means better results for our customers.”

“The partnership with Ora represents a significant milestone for Ripple Science which embarked on a mission a year ago to develop product features and functionality specifically for the CRO market," commented Peter Falzon, President and CEO of Ripple Science. "I am pleased that the team continues to achieve key milestones and that Ripple is attracting industry customers that have high expectations."

A long-standing issue for clinical trials

This is an article about portfolio company, Ripple Science.

An Ann Arbor-based maker of HIPAA-compliant clinical research software has raised $2.5 million through equity financing, with more than 80 percent coming from funds outside Michigan.

View source version on crainsdetroit.com: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/finance/ann-arbor-based-ripple-science-nabs-national-vc-interest-25-million-round

This is an article about portfolio company, B2B.

Business payment startups and banks are rushing to offer clients the same kind of intuitive, automated payment experience that consumers have come to expect from their favorite personal finance apps. 

While startups like Bento for Business, HighRadius and AvidXchange are working with businesses to solve expense management pain points, Miami-based startup Biller Genie is embedding with banks in its effort to offer best-in-class payments experiences for business clients. 

View source version on bankinnovation.net: https://bankinnovation.net/allposts/innovation/startups/b2b-fintech-biller-genie-helps-banks-automate-business-payments/

Genomenon® announced that over 175,000 recently documented genetic variants (DNA mutations) have been added to the Mastermind® Genomic Search Engine in the 4th quarter of 2019, for a cumulative total of more than 5.9 million genetic variants. This number reflects the rapidly accelerating pace of genomic discovery, and stands in stark contrast to the number manually curated by HGMD, the previous “gold standard” tool for variant interpretation: Qiagen added just under 11,700 variants in the HGMD Q4 2019 release, for a total of less than 276,000 genetic variants.

For many children and adults with rare diseases, definitive diagnosis is challenging due to the difficulty doctors face in connecting patient DNA with the scientific evidence found in the medical research describing the causative genetic variants. This limits the ability of doctors to diagnose and treat rare disease patients. The team at Genomenon created the Mastermind Genomic Search Engine to overcome this challenge.

Since Mastermind’s launch in 2017, the world’s top clinical laboratories and pharmaceutical companies have come to rely on Genomenon’s patented Artificial Intelligence processes to keep pace with the explosive growth of genomic research. Manual curation used for databases such as HGMD simply cannot scale, as demonstrated by the numbers abo

This is an article about portfolio company, Bloomscape.

The Challenge

Bloomscape, a DTC plant delivery company, wanted to launch itself in a way that would achieve fast growth, but also bring value to its customers. 

Says Kelsey Cohen, director of growth, "I did not want to repeat the mistakes that I had seen so many other companies make. I have seen and worked for other companies that went full-force for acquisition without a content nurturing strategy and then floundered when they realized continued engagement was important to sustainable growth. 

"I also wanted to make sure that we were making our content work for us on multiple levels."

View source version on mediapost.com: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/345994/case-study-bloomscape-creates-conversations-with.html

This is an article about portfolio company, Bloomscape.

Does your 9 to 5 grind leave you feeling anxious and uptight? According to this new study, you may want to turn to the power of plants. 

A team of researchers from the University of Hyogo in Japan recently found that having a plant on your desk can significantly reduce your stress in the workplace, publishing their findings in a study called “Potential of a Small Indoor Plant on the Desk for Reducing Office Workers’ Stress” in the American Society for Horticultural Science Journal. 

View source version on yahoo.com: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/desk-plants-significantly-decrease-stress-211339743.html

First Community Bank announced today that it will offer Plinqit, a savings app and the only savings tool that pays users for learning about personal finances, helping customers save money and creating higher engagement for financial institutions.

An expansion of First Community’s digital offerings, Plinqit supports the savings needs of customers. With Plinqit’s patent-pending Build Skills™, the only platform that pays users for engaging with content, users can grow their knowledge of finances. By simply watching a video or reading an article from the Plinqit library and taking a short quiz, users are rewarded for learning more about financial wellness.

Plinqit’s ease of use and implementation attracted First Community Bank to the tool, but the institution’s desire to help the members of its community achieve financial wellness made Plinqit a perfect fit.

"At First Community Bank, we believe that

This is an article about portfolio company, HTMA.

While third-party personal finance apps have garnered attention through direct-to-consumer offerings, HT Mobile Apps is looking to reach more users by offering savings and financial literacy tools to partner institutions. The eight-year-old company is working with banking technology giant FIS to reach new financial institutions. Through the FIS partnership, HTMA, which currently partners with 41...

View source version on bankinnovation.net: https://bankinnovation.net/allposts/biz-lines/retail/htma-aims-to-reach-users-through-more-bank-credit-union-partners-in-2020/

This is an article about portfolio company, Shoulder Innovations.

Holland, Michigan-based Shoulder Innovations, LLC has received FDA clearance for its InSet Plus™augmented glenoids for the InSet™Total Shoulder System.

The system, says the company, is “used to treat significant disability in degenerative, rheumatoid and traumatic disease of the glenohumeral joint and avascular necrosis of the humeral head. The InSet™System includes patented inset glenoid technology, originally innovated by Stephen Gunther, M.D. The new InSet Plus™ glenoids feature an angled articular surface and are available in both 5° and 10° variants with multiple diameters.”

Don Running, vice president, Research and Development for Shoulder Innovations explained, “The key to the long-term clinical success of the InSet™glenoid has been both the unique flat back design and novel bone pocket created in the fossa to allow for a secure fixation that is ‘set in’ the subchondral bone.”

View source version on ryortho.com: https://ryortho.com/breaking/fda-510k-clearance-for-shoulder-innovations-inset-plus/

This is a press release about portfolio company, SkySpecs.

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SkySpecs, leading provider of Operations & Maintenance solutions for the wind energy industry, today announced that it's closed a $17 million series C round. The Ann Arbor-based company experienced a heavy-growth year, tripling its staff, significantly building out its solutions offerings for the wind energy industry, and reaching a landmark 30,000 fully autonomous inspections. SkySpecs set its sights on using technology like AI, machine learning, robotics, and software, to optimize operations & maintenance in order to enable better decision making about repairs and proactive planning. Their mission is to continue driving change in the renewable energy sector such that technology and automation enable higher levels of global accessibility.

The round was  led by McRock iNFund LP, an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) venture capital fund managed by McRock Capital.  Other new investors in the round included Equinor Energy Ventures, and

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bloomscape, the direct-to-consumer online plant shop that delivers plants directly from the greenhouse to consumers’ front doors, today announced a partnership to sell houseplants through West Elm online at WestElm.com/Bloomscape. The partnership is Bloomscape’s first with a major retailer and will serve as West Elm’s exclusive ecommerce potted plant partner, complementing its assortment of original, modern designs for the everyday.

Bloomscape will provide greenhouse-fresh, lush plants for West Elm’s online customers in the US. Carefully curated by Bloomscape, each live, potted plant ranges from small to extra large in size and comes with simple, customized care instructions to make plant parenting easy.

Bloomscape is the only direct-to-consumer plant company that has th

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HT Mobile Apps, (HTMA), announced today that the company saw record success in 2019, entering 2020 with focus and strength. This continued growth is attributed to HTMA’s engaging apps: Plinqit, Banker Jr., Member Jr., and Hip Pocket.

Created to provide community financial institutions with cost-effective customer acquisition, Plinqit saw substantially higher user engagement (55 percent on average) compared to other finance apps that have an average engagement rate of only 36.3 percent. Also, since its launch, more than half of Plinqit users have completed their savings goal with the majority of those users already starting new goals. This increased interaction with the app contributed to rapid growth with total Plinqit deposit growth of 287 percent.

With the savings platform&

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Akadeum Life Sciences, Inc. announced an initial close of its Series A financing. The company is pursuing additional investment before final close during Q1 2020. These funds will enable Akadeum to focus its commercial adoption on how to solve longstanding problems in sample preparation.

The investment includes several Michigan-based angel groups in addition to venture groups—such as University of Michigan MINTS—as well as Bay Area-based Berkeley Catalyst Fund, which invests in life science and material science companies. Ted Hou, managing director of Berkeley Catalyst Fund, said, "Akadeum becomes just the second investment for us outside the Bay Area because we believe they have the team, the technology, and the approach to seize multiple market opportunities."

Concurrent with this round of funding, William Hyun joined Akadeum's Board as a Series A Director. A respected expert in both research and clinical technology development, Dr. Hyun is recognized for his ability to identify biotechnology opportunities in transformative markets. Dr. Hyun said, "Multiple market segments have been waiting for and are in need of a next-generation isolation solution, and Akadeum has that solution. That is why I'm a repeat investor and

NEW YORK – Computational technology company Nvidia has acquired sequencing analysis software developer Parabricks. Terms were not disclosed.

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang announced the deal Tuesday on stage at the company's GPU Technology Conference China. 

Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Parabricks has developed technology that leans on graphics processing units to accelerate the analysis of whole genomes to less than one hour. A partnership with DDN Storage yielded 100x acceleration of precision medicine workflows, Parabricks said in 2018.

In 2020, Parabricks is set to release companion technology accelerating single-cell and RNA analysis, according to Nvidia. 

"We are excited to have the Parabricks team join NVIDIA and double down on providing fast and accurate genome analysis tools to take genomics to the next level," Kimberly Powell, Nvidia vice president of healthcare, said in a statement.

"Our focus has been on speeding up [genome analysis] applications and making them enterprise-grade, push-button solutions," added Parabricks Cofounder and CTO Ankit Sethia. The tie-up with Nvidia, which offers both GPUs and artificial intelligence, will allow the company to "transform traditional analyses such as variant calling and others in the overall sequencing workflow."

Shoulder Innovations announced today that it won FDA clearance for its InSet Plus augmented glenoids for the InSet total shoulder system.

The Holland, Mich.-based company’s InSet system is designed to treat significant disability in degenerative, rheumatoid and traumatic disease of the glenohumeral joint and avascular necrosis of the humeral head. Shoulder Innovations said its product is supposed to simplify shoulder replacement technology.

With the new InSet Plus augmented glenoids, the system includes an angled articular surface. The glenoids are available in both 5° and 10° variants with multiple diameters, according to a news release.

The InSet Shoulder System demonstrated improved stability with an 87% reduction in implant micro-motion when compared to standard glenoid design, according to data published in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery (JSES). The results also found no complications, no cases of glenoid implant loosening and no revision surgeries at the mean 8.7-year follow-up.

“We are excited to see the InSet glenoid product line expanded to include our InSet Plus glenoid,” Shoulder Innovations chief commercialization officer D

Orbion, Michigan-based space propulsion startup has now been made a new partner by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). Orbion has signed a research contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate. The deal is specifically aimed at helping the DOD enhance the resiliency of the U.S. systems in space.

The interesting thing is to see how Orbion’s propulsion technology can be applied to DOD satellites when used in large constellation forms. The propulsion system would provide those satellites appropriate thrust while in orbit and do so cost-effectively. In a press release announcing the news, Orbion CEO, Brad King, said that volume is a strategy when it comes to fortifying the U.S. systems in space against potential foreign attacks.

Words from Orbion CEO

 According to King, by building and deploying small satellites in large numbers with low cost, the U.S. can improve the resilience of space systems. He stated, “Orbion is developing mass-production techniques to build propulsion systems for commercial customers. With this research contract, we are investigating how or if our manufacturing processes must be modified to meet DOD requirements”.

Three months ago Orbion secured $9.2 million in Series A funding, which they planned to use in mass-producing plasma thrusters for small satellites. Orbion’s thrusters are based on a phenomenon known as the Hall-effect. The thrusters use an electric field to accelerate their propellant and create thrust. The hall-effect thruster

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tetra Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel treatments for patients with cognitive impairment and memory loss, today announced a poster presentation at the 12th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease Meeting (CTAD) being held in San Diego, from December 4 – 7.

The poster, titled “Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Blocking Agents Reduce Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Psoriasis,” highlights data from a retrospective population-based study of 56 million patients in which inflammatory disease in the body is shown to increase risk for Alzheimer’s disease and that risk can be reduced in these patients by treatment with a TNF blocking drug. The study was conducted in conjunction with Case Western Reserve University.

“Our analysis demonstrates the value of a large, population-based database covering 20% of the entire US population. We find that inflammation in the body increases risk for Alzheimer’s disease across multiple diseases involving the joints, the gut and the skin,” said Mark E. Gurney, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tetra Therapeutics and co-author of the study. “The study further indicates that the risk for Alzheimer’s disease can be reduced in patients with rheumatoid ar

DETROIT--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Autobooks is a small business payment and accounting platform integrated within a financial institution’s digital banking experience. Today, the company announced that it has been named to the Benzinga Fintech Listmakers and acknowledged for outstanding performance in the best new product category.

.@Autobooks_ announced that it has been named to the Benzinga Fintech Listmakers and acknowledged for outstanding performance in the best new product category.

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To celebrate its fifth anniversary, Benzinga honors winners for the advancements their companies are making in financial technology. The Benzinga Fintech Listmakers are comprised of 150 carefully vetted and renowned companies and executives who are striving to revolutionize the fintech industry. From deeply established companies to the newest startups, this group is impacting sectors like payments, banking, investing, technology and financial literacy.

The list of carefully selected companies will be honored each year as Benzinga continues to highlight the fintech industry’s most innovative minds. Jason Raznick, CEO of Benzinga, said, “We’re recognizing the companies that will define the future of our fina

HOUGHTON, MICH.

Just two years ago, Orbion Space Technology was a start-up company. Since its incorporation, Orbion has skyrocketed with an increasing amount of recognition.

Orbion was recently named Up and Coming Company of the Year by the Michigan Venture Capital Association. Earlier this year, Orbion also won the Excelerate Michigan Innovation competition, which is an award to the best technology start-up company in the state of Michigan. That award came with a $500,000 prize.

In August of this year, Orbion announced it had raised $9.2 million in Series A funding to mass produce its Aurora plasma thruster systems for small satellites. The funding was led by Material Impact, a venture capital firm focused on investing in innovating technologies and also include Invest Michigan, Invest Detroit, Wakestream Ventures, Ann Arbor SPARK, and Boomerang Catapult.

"That's a recognition that we're growing, and growing fast," Brad King, Orbion CEO and co-founder, told The Daily Mining Gazette of the company's awards, "and we have a lot of visibility."

Orbion Space Technology is the developer and manufacturer of revolutionary plasma propulsion systems for small satellites. Because of their fuel efficiency, Orbion's thrusters can save spacecraft operators millions of dollars in operating costs, while increasing the value of the spacecraft's data product.

The business spun out of King's research work at Michigan Technological University, where he is a Professor and Director of Research in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.

Space technology is all the rage these days. But when most people think about it, they picture giant rockets like SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, designed to take astronauts to the moon and Mars. It’s one of many amazing breakthroughs for certain. Yet Brad King, CEO and co-founder of Orbion Space Technology, will tell you that’s only a tiny part of what’s coming when it comes to space innovations.

Orbion is a propulsion technology start-up based in Houghton, Michigan. Founded in 2017, the company raised $10 million in funding in its Series A round this past October. They think they’re jumping into the market at just the right time, with potential market opportunities growing substantially. “It’s not inconceivable that in seven years, the business just for small propulsion units will reach the $1 billion mark for annual sales,” he said. “Just last year, Morgan Stanley and Merrell Lynch said that space is the next trillion-dollar economic opportunity.”

The Orbion 20 thruster is designed for small satellite propulsion

Orbion - which was just this week named Up- and-Coming Company of the Year by the Michigan Venture Capital Association - is focused on serving what King says will soon be an enormous market in small satellites. “Framing our whole business and reason for being is ‘New Space,’” he explained. “For the last four

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Provider of popular savings app, Plinqit, taps industry expert in response to rapid growth after institutions see strong customer engagement and significant deposit growth

HT Mobile Apps (HTMA), an innovative FinTech company serving banks and credit unions across the country to easily and cost-effectively introduce new services for attracting and retaining customers, announced Scott Stein as Senior Vice President of Sales to support the growing consumer demand for its solutions, including its popular Plinqit savings platform.

Stein brings more than 30 years of corporate strategy, sales, marketing and operations experience to HTMA. Formerly a founding member of Silicon Valley-based Rasna Corporation (later purchased by Parametric Technology Corporation), Stein has proven experience rapidly growing start-ups, increasing his previous company’s revenues to $20 million within a fe

DETROIT--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Detroit-based fintech recognized for transforming small business banking services

Autobooks is a small business payment and accounting platform integrated within a financial institution’s digital banking experience. Today, the company announced that it has been named one of two winners of Forbes’ Under 30 Summit Startup Pitch Competition.

As Forbes’ largest annual event, the 2019 Forbes Under 30 Summit hit record attendance with more than 9,000 people joining together in Detroit from Oct. 27th to 30th. Partners, analysts, and associates from 33 venture firms heard pitches from the 154 startups that competed, before selecting the top five to compete for the chance to win a $250,000 media package. Autobooks’ Kyle Bazzy competed on the mainstage during a five-minute pitch competition followed by a Q&A in front of ThirdLove’s co-founder and CEO Heidi Zak, Rock Ventures’ executive vice president Dhani Jones, Shutterstock’s founder and CEO Jon Oringer, and Yale University’s Sterling Professor of economics Robert J. Shiller.

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Genomenon® announced the release of Mastermind® version 2.0 today. The Genomic Search Engine now includes the ability to search the entirety of the genomic literature by phenotypes (symptoms). This new functionality will further accelerate diagnosis of patients with genetic and rare diseases.

Patients, particularly those with rare diseases, don't always have a name for their condition. This makes it very difficult to diagnose and treat their disease. The ability to search the genetic literature by symptoms (following the Human Phenotype Ontology, or HPO) helps clinicians narrow their diagnosis to the appropriate disease and treatment.

Genomenon's Mastermind Genomic Search Engine is the world's largest and most complete source of genomic evidence. Doctors and researchers use Mastermind to find the scientific evidence relevant to their patients' DNA profile for diagnostic and therapeutic recommendations. The new release of Mastermind includes a more streamlined search function to help doctors more quickly scour through the millions of research articles to find cases that match their patients' genomic profile and symptoms.

The ability to search by phenotype was the top feature requested by the children's hospitals and genetic testing labs that use Mastermind

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Milford Bank announced today that it will offer Plinqit, a brandable, savings app and the only savings tool that pays users for engaging with content, helping customers save money and increase financial wellness.

“With Plinqit, we can provide customers a digital experience that helps them save while also providing them with The Milford Bank’s personalized customer service”

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Established in 1872, The Milford Bank was formed to serve the financial needs of its customers and its community. Since the beginning, the bank’s goals have not changed. When The Milford Bank wanted to provide a cost effective, simple way for customers to sav

Novel Akadeum microbubble technology can be the answer to improved quality and reduced costs across multiple fields of testing.

October 30, 2019, Ann Arbor, MI – Akadeum Life Sciences, Inc., an Ann Arbor-based biotechnology company, announced today that it has entered into a collaboration with Agilent Technologies, Inc. to work toward a new method of isolating target molecules for detection. Akadeum aims to disrupt the status quo in isolation technology with their buoyant microbubbles. Notably, Akadeum is the first company to commercialize buoyancy-based cell isolation with their growing portfolio of human and mouse cell enrichment kits for immunology researchers. In addition, the same technology can be leveraged to improve isolation workflows and capabilities for target molecules such as DNA, protein, microbes, and others; which, Akadeum is developing through strategic partnerships.

“Sample preparation is a critical, yet often undervalued, step in most analytical assays. Often, the task of sample preparation employs decades old technology that is manual, time-consuming, and resource-intensive," said Brandon McNaughton, CEO of Akadeum Life Sciences. “Akadeum was founded to bring simple and superior isolation solutions to a variety of industries through our buoyancy-based microbubble technology and we are excited to be starting work with Agilent to explore new applications.”

Agilent, an early investor in Akadeum, has engaged in this collaboration with the

Fusion Coolant Systems, manufacturer of an advanced coolant and lubrication system called “Pure-Cut™,” has seen some of the largest automotive, aerospace and medical device manufacturers around the world come through their doors. The global emphasis on sustainable development has played a dynamic role in Fusion’s recent success, with companies looking for a cleaner, safer and more efficient alternative to traditional cutting fluids. With multiple customer visits scheduled every week, Fusion has expanded their facility and capabilities to set them up for long term success.

Expanded Customer Center

With a rapid increase in customer demand, Fusion has responded by expanding their Customer Center in Canton, Michigan. “We have added more machining capacity, doubled the size of our facility and expanded our research efforts into different materials and operations” said Brian Ahlborn, President and CEO of Fusion. “We also installed a larger recycled CO2 tank to support the additional machine tools. It’s large enough to provide for future expansion as well” The additional infrastructure will support both customer test applications and internal research development.

In the last year, Fusion has seen their Customer Center grow to three machine tools, and a fully integrated, advanced CO2 unit that can handle up to 10 Pure-Cut™ boxes. “The CO2 infrastructure we installed at our own facility is very similar to what our customers install at their sites” said Scott Jones, Dire

ONL Therapeutics Announces First Patient Treated in Phase I Study with ONL1204

ONL Therapeutics transformed into a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with first-in-human study

ANN ARBOR, MI – October 23, 2019

ONL Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for protecting the vision of patients with retinal disease, today announced that the first patient has been treated in the company’s First-in-Human trial with its lead drug candidate ONL1204. The study is being conducted in Australia at leading clinical research centers in Sydney and Melbourne. The study will assess four different doses of ONL1204 and is designed to demonstrate safety and tolerability of the investigational drug in patients with a macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD).

“This is a transformational step for our company with the announcement of our first patient being treated with ONL1204,” commented David Esposito, CEO of ONL Therapeutics. “I want to thank our dedicated team, our investors, and retinal surgeons around the world who have been seeking a therapeutic intervention to support improving the outcome of the current standard of care surgery for macula-off RRD. We look forward to working with retinal specialists to utilize our Fas inhibition platform to protect the vision of patients with retinal disease.”

ONL1204 has been granted orphan drug designation for the treatment of retinal detachment by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The company is emba