By : JUDY NEWMAN
Source : http://host.madison.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Madison stem cell company, Stemina Biomarker Discovery, is getting a $150,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health aimed at expanding the use of its drug testing technology for harmful side effects.
Co-founded by UW-Madison stem cell researcher Gabriela Cezar, Stemina has been using its technology with heart cells provided by Cellular Dynamics International (CDI), the Madison company founded by UW stem cell pioneer James Thomson, to see if drug compounds could cause cardiomyopathy, a condition that weakens the heart and can lead to heart failure.
Certain breast cancer drugs, for example, have been linked to heart problems, said Beth Donley, Stemina chief executive officer. “So a woman who survived breast cancer might end up dying from heart disease,” she said.
The new grant will extend the use of Stemina’s testing platform, used with CDI’s stem cell-derived heart cells, to screen drugs for the possibility of causing other types of heart problems, such as arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat.
The tests could be expanded to look at the impact of other types of products, such as agricultural chemicals, on heart cells, Donley said. “We’re starting with pharmaceuticals and we’ll be developing out from there.”
Stemina was founded in 2006 and now has 12 employees. Already on the market is its first product which screens drug compounds to see if they will result in birth defects. Beyond that, Cezar has said one of her goals is to find biomarkers for autism.
The company also conducts metabolomics studies for companies, to see if there are changes in metabolism in response to a particular drug or disease.
Donley said Stemina hit an important milestone in 2011, marking its first profitable quarter in the third quarter. Revenue totaled $1.5 million last year, with half of that coming from service and licensing fees.
The company has raised more than $8 million so far. Of that, $4.6 million has come from investors, including Shamrock Partners, Milwaukee, which led a $3 million funding round that closed in late 2010. Another $2.5 million has come from federal grants and the company received $1 million in grants and loans from the former Wisconsin Department of Commerce.
Source: http://host.madison.com/wsj/blogs/tech-and-biotech-stemina-lands-nih-grant-expands-drug-testing/article_383aa214-5f4e-11e1-8c37-001871e3ce6c.html#ixzz1nT2P4pjC
Source : http://host.madison.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Madison stem cell company, Stemina Biomarker Discovery, is getting a $150,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health aimed at expanding the use of its drug testing technology for harmful side effects.
Co-founded by UW-Madison stem cell researcher Gabriela Cezar, Stemina has been using its technology with heart cells provided by Cellular Dynamics International (CDI), the Madison company founded by UW stem cell pioneer James Thomson, to see if drug compounds could cause cardiomyopathy, a condition that weakens the heart and can lead to heart failure.
Certain breast cancer drugs, for example, have been linked to heart problems, said Beth Donley, Stemina chief executive officer. “So a woman who survived breast cancer might end up dying from heart disease,” she said.
The new grant will extend the use of Stemina’s testing platform, used with CDI’s stem cell-derived heart cells, to screen drugs for the possibility of causing other types of heart problems, such as arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat.
The tests could be expanded to look at the impact of other types of products, such as agricultural chemicals, on heart cells, Donley said. “We’re starting with pharmaceuticals and we’ll be developing out from there.”
Stemina was founded in 2006 and now has 12 employees. Already on the market is its first product which screens drug compounds to see if they will result in birth defects. Beyond that, Cezar has said one of her goals is to find biomarkers for autism.
The company also conducts metabolomics studies for companies, to see if there are changes in metabolism in response to a particular drug or disease.
Donley said Stemina hit an important milestone in 2011, marking its first profitable quarter in the third quarter. Revenue totaled $1.5 million last year, with half of that coming from service and licensing fees.
The company has raised more than $8 million so far. Of that, $4.6 million has come from investors, including Shamrock Partners, Milwaukee, which led a $3 million funding round that closed in late 2010. Another $2.5 million has come from federal grants and the company received $1 million in grants and loans from the former Wisconsin Department of Commerce.
Source: http://host.madison.com/wsj/blogs/tech-and-biotech-stemina-lands-nih-grant-expands-drug-testing/article_383aa214-5f4e-11e1-8c37-001871e3ce6c.html#ixzz1nT2P4pjC
