Monthly Archives: March 2014

Future Build': Turning an invention into a business success

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Lankan Angel Network and Sri Lanka Inventors Commission and the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology would jointly host a workshop for inventors on March 18, 2014, at the BMICH.

Sponsored by Anton PVC, Future Buildwill touch upon a number of topics vital to the successful start-up. And this innovative, hands on workshop will be held, first and foremost, to identify what it takes to turn an idea, or a concept, into a viable company, including giving the prospective audience a sense of what angel investors, or investors in start-up businesses, are looking for. Further, it will also familiarise attendees with multiple levels of the funding life cycle available to them, from investments for prototypes to angel funding and even the Initial Public Offering (IPO) to give them a roadmap of the typical funding issues they will encounter in the future.

But, most important of all, the workshop also offers valuable, real world guidance, in the form of a mock pitch by an entrepreneur, along with a related question and answer session with potential investors, to give budding entrepreneurs and idea of what it takes to successfully sell an idea.

Anton is proud to be one of the main sponsor's for Future Build Sri Lanka. As one of the pioneers in local industry we look forward to encourage entrepreneurs as that is the foundation on which our founder A.Y.S Gnanam built the group, said Jeevan Gnanam, CEO/Director, St.Anthonys Industries Group.

And if any organisation knows how to help inventors take their ideas to the market, it is the Lankan Angel Network.

Organisers of startup funding competition VentureEngine, the Lankan Angel Network raised Rs. 175 million for 12 start ups in 2013, said Eric Wickramanayake, Chairman of the Lankan Angel Network; The Lankan Angel Network has seen a very strong and keen interest from angel investors and entrepreneurs alike in Sri Lanka. Unlike in the past, support for the start up ecosystem is growing rapidly in the country and there has never been a better time to start a new venture in Sri Lanka. The Lankan Angel Network offers not just funding but more importantly mentoring and support for entrepreneurs to build a successful venture.

We are proud to partner with the Sri Lankan Inventors Commission and the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology to host this event.

To give the inventors of Future Build a taste of this culture, a select group of participants from this seminar will be automatically entered into this years edition of VentureEngine where they will no doubt benefit from global networking and mentorship opportunities.

Elaborating further, Prajeeth Balasubramaniam, Cluster Head for Discreet & Process Manufacturing, Nanotechnology and 3D Printing at the Lankan Angel Network, commented Despite our many successes to date, the Lankan Angel Network is cognizant of the fact that we must engage all relevant stakeholders to adequately foster a Sri Lanka start-up culture, particularly considering our big picture goal of empowering entrepreneurs. Sri Lankan inventors are a key target group in this regard, due to the high value added revenues they could generate from the commercialization of their inventions.

Mirroring this sentiment was Deepal Sooriyaarachchi, Commissioner of the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission said, The Sri Lanka Inventors Commission is the national body entrusted with the task of promoting innovativeness of the nation and supporting inventors by helping them commercialise their inventions.

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Future Build': Turning an invention into a business success

New tech can check whether your medicine is fake

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The technology to differentiate between genuine and fake drugs would soon be at your disposal.

The move comes at a time when the domestic pharma industry is battling with issues relating to quality of drugs both within and outside the country.

While India is struggling to monitor counterfeiting, various government departments such as health, fertilisers, education and others are planning to adopt non-clonable identification (nCiD) technology in various projects and products, including medicines.

This technology will not only prevent duplication of identification or packaging, but will also enable consumers and regulatory agencies to test genuineness of a product.

Bilcare, the innovator of the nCiD technology, has licensed the same to public sector enterprises such as the Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL) and Indian Telephone Industries Ltd (ITI) which are implementing it in government as well as private sectors. While the technology is already installed by many of the government departments and agencies such as the Delhi Police and Department of Fertilisers, TCIL is in advance talks with the health ministry to make nCiD labels mandatory on medicines, Bilcare Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer Praful R Naik said.

According to Naik, some private sector companies such as Lupin and Biocon are already using the technology for their exports.

The nCiD technology was also used by the Delhi Police for identity cards for the entire force as well as for other staff deployed during the Commonwealth Games. Besides, other departments such as the Election Commission, National Jute Board and Department of Supplies and Disposals are also evaluating proposals to induct the technology for various purposes.

The nCiD chips comprises nano-micro particles of diverse size of several metals. When a micro quantity of this metal composite is randomly embedded on to the chip's base, it creates a distinctly unique and non-reproducible pattern.

This pattern when scanned with a magneto-optic sensor results in generation of a complex magneto-optic digitised image information, which enables real-time communication through internet or mobile gateways. For instance, once nCiD chips are installed on medicine packs, consumers can access details such as its manufacturing site, date of manufacturing, expiry etc through a nCiD reader available with the chemist.

"Such a unique feature is completely non-reproducible even by the inventors themselves, and hence non-clonable. This unique feature of non-reproducible pattern which can talk and communicate sets the nCiD chip apart from other communicable embedded security measures like smart chips or non-communicable authentication technology," says Naik.

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New tech can check whether your medicine is fake

How an Entrepreneurial Engineering Education Nurtured a Biotech Startup

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Newswise Identify a real-world problem. Engineer a solution. And, if the solution works, figure out how it can be commercially viable. Thats what Michael Benchimol said he learned over 7 years of working in the laboratory of Sadik Esener, a professor in the departments of NanoEngineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. In Benchimols (Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, 12) case, it specifically means building a company to advance a targeted drug delivery platform that could make chemotherapy more effective and less toxic to the healthy tissue in the body.

I like to build things. Thats the engineering side of me, said Benchimol, who also earned a masters in electrical engineering at UC San Diego in 2008. Creating a company was just a different form of creating something from nothing. I always had that interest and I saw that there was an opportunity here.

The opportunity is a method of delivering chemotherapy drugs directly to cancerous tumors in the body, a longtime goal of next generation cancer therapy research due to the toxic effects the drugs can have on the rest of the body. The field is enjoying a research heyday in part thanks to advances specifically in the area of nanotechnology. Benchimol says nanotechnology is enabling cancer researchers to leverage the best properties of cancer drugs and biocompatible materials, in a single therapy that can circulate undetected by the body's immune system.

His company, Sonrgy, recently entered an exclusive licensing agreement with UC San Diego to further develop the companys technology, which resulted from his Ph.D. and postdoctoral research at the Jacobs School of Engineering and UCSD Moores Cancer Center, where Esener, also directs the NanoTumor Center. Benchimols solution is unique in that it doesnt rely on tumor receptors that the nanoparticle can seek out and stick to before releasing the drug. Rather, the Sonrgy platform, called SonRx, uses nanocarriers smaller than human cells that carry chemotherapy drugs through the body where they can be released at the tumor site by a doctor deploying ultrasound. The technology is in the preclinical stage.

"The SonRx technology addresses longstanding challenges related to stability and controlled release in nano-scale drug delivery," said Michael Benchimol, who is Sonrgy's Chief Technology Officer, in a company statement about the licensing agreement.

The company is fleshing out its management team and bringing on talent with pharmaceutical experience and expertise in the drug development process.

Benchimol said working in the laboratory of a successful inventor and entrepreneur provided essential support as he explored whether his idea had both scientific merit and commercial potential.Professor Esener enforced these concepts early on in my Ph.D. program, said Benchimol.

Along the way, Benchimol used the resources and programs available to entrepreneurially minded students to guide his path. At Research Expo, the annual technology showcase of the Jacobs School of Engineering, Benchimol presented earlier versions of his targeted chemotherapy program to a panel of judges drawn from faculty, alumni and industry.

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How an Entrepreneurial Engineering Education Nurtured a Biotech Startup

Former employee sues McDonald's following terrifying armed raid

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11 Mar 2014 06:00

Former staff member offered 12k damages

McDonalds has offered to pay an ex-worker who was held at gunpoint in a terrifying raid at one of its Liverpool restaurants 12,000 in compensation.

Tipi Rixom, 26, was starting her shift at McDonalds, on Edge Lane, in November, 2012, when the armed robber walked into the back office of the store and held her and her manager at gunpoint.

They were ordered to empty the safe and then made to stand in the corner of the room while the robber fled with 3,000.

Tipi, who is originally from Malaga but came to Liverpool to study at John Moores University, claims management at the restaurant failed to act on warnings that security was not tight enough after previous incidents.

McDonalds insurers Zurich have admitted liability on behalf of the restaurant, and an offer of 12,000 has been made to settle the case.

Tipis legal team are yet to decide whether to accept the offer or fight for more money.

Tipi said: It was the most terrifying moment of my life. I really believed this man was going to kill me but I was frozen to the spot in fear.

When he burst into the office I could only see his eyes but as he brandished the gun I knew he was serious.

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Former employee sues McDonald's following terrifying armed raid

Ailing Venezuelan Boy Gets Liver Medicine After Donation

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Photographer: Meridith Kohut/Bloomberg

Protesters clash with riot police during an anti-government demonstration in Caracas,... Read More

Protesters clash with riot police during an anti-government demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela, on Feb. 18, 2014. Close

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Protesters clash with riot police during an anti-government demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela, on Feb. 18, 2014.

An 11-month-old Venezuelan boy awaiting a liver transplant received a one-year supply of medicine his father struggled to find due to shortages of pharmaceuticals and protests in the South American nation.

New York-based Retrophin Inc. (RTRX) sent the supplies of ursodeoxycholic acid after executives read how the boys father, Joel Correa, had to take eight-hour trips to the Colombian border to buy the medicine. The drug keeps his toddlers liver working until a transplant can be carried out.

The biopharmaceutical company learned of the boys plight from a Bloomberg News article on Feb. 14. Delivery of the medicine was delayed by a week as protests in Venezuela over shortages of goods, including medicine, disrupted transport.

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This has been a blessing to us, Correa, a 26-year-old tool salesman, said in a phone interview from San Cristobal. A whole family and many hearts are grateful for the help with the treatment, Correa wrote separately in an e-mail to Retrophin executives.

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Ailing Venezuelan Boy Gets Liver Medicine After Donation

Advances in teaching and learning of clinical and surgical basic surgical skills in Medical School – Video

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Advances in teaching and learning of clinical and surgical basic surgical skills in Medical School
Track. Technological advances and teaching innovation applied to Health Sciences education Marcelo Jimnez.

By: TEEM Conference

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Advances in teaching and learning of clinical and surgical basic surgical skills in Medical School - Video

Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Ranked Among Top 5 Medical Schools in the Country

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PHILADELPHIA For the 17th year in a row, the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States. According to the annual survey by U.S. News & World Report, the School of Medicine is ranked #4 in the country.

The Perelman School of Medicine also ranked among the nation's top medical schools in four areas of specialty training, including a first place ranking in Pediatrics, Drug/Alcohol Abuse (#4), Women's Health (#5), and Internal Medicine (#5). The School of Medicine is also #13 in the rankings of Primary Care schools.

The U.S. News & World Report rankings underscore the commitment by the Perelman School of Medicine faculty and staff to provide an exceptional educational environment for our students as they prepare for challenging careers in medicine and science, said J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, dean of the Perelman School of Medicine. Its because of this stellar groups academic and research achievements and their dedication that we are once again among the top schools in the nation.

Established in 1765 as the nation's first medical school, Penn's School of Medicine which was renamed the Perelman School of Medicine following a landmark gift from Raymond and Ruth Perelman in 2011 continues a rich tradition of providing pre-eminent training and education.

The School of Medicine is an internationally recognized leader in the discoveries that advance science and pave the way for new therapies and procedures to improve human health and is consistently among the nation's top three recipients of federal funding from the National Institutes of Health.

The annual medical school rankings, released annually in the U.S. News & World Report "Best Graduate Schools" issue, are based on statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research, and students. Information is obtained through surveys of program directors, academics, and professionals. Criteria used in the rankings include peer assessment surveys, research activity, grade point averages, MCAT scores, and NIH funding.

The complete results of the survey are available online. For more information on the Perelman School of Medicine, see our annual Facts and Figures information.

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Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of theRaymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania(founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and theUniversity of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 17 years, according toU.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $392 million awarded in the 2013 fiscal year.

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Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Ranked Among Top 5 Medical Schools in the Country