SciTech Lecture Series - February 23, 2012

The SciTech Lecture Series welcomes Dr. Steven Mizel, Ph.D, Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Bruce Kaylos, Program Manager, NCBIO Biotech Manufacturers Forum. They will be speaking on "Vaccines: Why and How".

4:00 PM THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012

ARDMORE AUDITORIUM
FORSYTH TECH MAIN CAMPUS
2100 SILAS CREEK PARKWAY
WINSTON-SALEM NC 27103


To reserve a seat at this event, contact Mona Cofer at 336-734-7205 or mcofer@forsythtech.edu

All lectures are FREE and open to the public.

Piedmont Propulsion Systems to add 25 jobs

An aircraft maintenance and repair company with a Piedmont Aviation lineage said Thursday it will expand its operation at Smith Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem.

Piedmont Propulsion Systems LLC has pledged to create 25 jobs and spend up to $2 million on capital investments over five years as part of taking over a 66,772-square-foot space. The company specializes in servicing aircraft for regional airlines, corporations, the military and general aviation. It has 31 full-time and four part-time employees.

Read more.

Regenerative medicine firm KeraNetics closes in on $7M in financing

Regenerative medicine company KeraNetics, whose biomaterials research into healing damaged tissue is already in the U.S. military’s sights, is now raising a targeted $7 million in equity financing.

The Winston-Salem, North Carolina company has raised $4.7 million from 26 investors so far in a securities sale that began on Dec. 30, according to securities filings.

KeraNetics is based on technology developed at Wake Forest University‘s Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The company works with keratins, a class of fibrous structural proteins that make up the hair, the outer layer of the skin and fingernails.

Read more.

Triad BioNight 2012: An evening of celebration and awards excellence

March 8, 2012

6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons, Greensboro

Keynote Speaker: Robert (Bob) A. Ingram, General Partner of Hatteras Venture Partners

Triad BioNight is the marquee event for our region’s biotechnology community led by the Advisory Committee for Biotechnology in the Piedmont Triad and the Piedmont Triad Office of the N.C. Biotechnology Center. This event attracts several hundred leaders from academia, industry, and government from the region and across the state and features awards to celebrate biotechnology leadership in the region.

Event information.

Ticket information.

Sponsorship information.

Award Nominations.

Learn About Equity Funding at FRAMEWORKS

Raising money in today's market is harder than in several decades. How can growth-oriented entrepreneurs successfully engage private equity investors in order to raise capital? Getting ready includes solid preparation; a process that will also help the entrepreneur build value in their business.

Join William Parrish, Regional Director of the NC Small Business and Technology Development Center at Appalachian State University, and associate Jon Wilson to take a peek behind the door of the investor and get an "insider's look" into the ecosystem of equity funding.

When: Tuesday, January 31, 7:30-9:00am

Where: Auditorium, Piedmont Triad Community Research Center, 115 S. Chestnut St., Winston-Salem

Sponsored by: Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative, New Venture Incubator

WFU Faculty's BioBook Gaining National Attention

Sitting at the front of the class and attentively listening to a professor’s lecture won’t be enough for college students aiming to impress their professors once the new BioBook rolls out.

With BioBook, an interactive educational tool for tablets, professors can monitor student progress — from how they’re keeping up to the rest of the class to what page they’re at in the text book.

Now the makers of the BioBook are waiting with bated breath to find out what Apple is planning to announce this Thursday — and whether the two companies are about to become competitors.

BioBook is the creation of two Wake Forest University professors: Jed Macosko, an assistant professor of physics and Dan Johnson, a senior lecturer in biology. They hope the interactive learning tool will spark the interest of non-biology majors early in their college careers. Macosko says this precarious time is when students drop out or lose interest in learning. Perhaps, this program can help.

Read more

B/E Aerospace Wins Exclusive Boeing Award

B/E Aerospace, the world's leading manufacturer of aircraft cabin interior products and the world's leading distributor of aerospace fasteners and consumables, announced that The Boeing Company has selected B/E Aerospace to become the exclusive manufacturer of modular lavatory systems for its 737 Next-Generation family of airplanes, as well as the 737 MAX which is expected to be introduced into service later this decade. The estimated value of the award is in excess of $800 million.

The B/E Aerospace modular lavatory system (MLS) utilizes B/E Aerospace, patent pending, Spacewall® technology, which frees up floor space in the cabin, creating the opportunity to add up to six incremental passenger seats on each airplane.

Read more.

B/E Aerospace to buy supply chain management company

B/E Aerospace Inc. said Monday that it will buy UFC Aerospace Corp., a supply chain management company. B/E, which is based in Florida has its largest American operation in Winston-Salem, with more than 800 workers in its commercial aircraft segment.

UFC Aerospace offers supply chain management and inventory logistics services to original equipment manufacturers and military customers.

"The acquisition of UFC substantially expands our capability to offer creative and differentiated supply chain solutions, value-added inventory logistics services … as well as further expanding our broad consumables product offering," Amin Khoury, chairman and chief executive of B/E, said in a statement.

"This acquisition supports our commitment to provide the best and broadest portfolio of aerospace consumables products and services to our customers." Read more.

SciTech Lecture Series - January 19th

The SciTech Lecture Series welcomes Tim Bertram, DVM, PhD - President, Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer at Tengion. Dr. Bertram is speaking on “Regenerative Medicine - Growing Today, Tomorrow and the Future”

4:00 pm Thursday, January 19, 2012
Ardmore Auditorium
Forsyth Technical Community College
2100 Silas Creek Parkway
Winston-Salem NC 27103

To reserve a seat at this event, contact Mona Cofer at 336.734.7205 or mcofer@forsythtech.edu

All lectures are free and open to the public.

BioTech Place Builds Legacy for the Future

While many communities sit on their hands waiting out the economic recovery, Winston-Salem is moving ahead. There is no better example of this than the Piedmont Triad Research Park's latest addition — the $87 million Wake Forest BioTech Place.

Riding or walking by the project, it's obvious that it will soon be done. And with a little imagination, it's easy to envision it becoming the next downtown hub.

The transformation of this one-time R.J. Reynolds tobacco plant into a mixed-use development that one day may employ 450 workers is nearing completion. The 270,000-square-foot building is part of the downtown research park's North District. It will consist of research labs for 350 scientists from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center but also will feature office and retail spaces and student housing. Read more.

Tengion Relocates Corporate Headquarters to Winston-Salem

Tengion, Inc. (NASDAQ: TNGN), a leader in regenerative medicine, has relocated its corporate headquarters from Pennsylvania to the Company's facility in Winston-Salem.

"We are excited to move our corporate headquarters to Winston-Salem after having much of our research and development operations located here since 2004," said John L. Miclot, President and CEO. "This relocation allows us to focus our resources more efficiently on advancing our Neo-Urinary Conduit™ and Neo-Kidney Augment™ programs. The presence of a well-educated, high-quality workforce was also a factor in the decision to move our headquarters to Winston-Salem." Read more.

AstraZeneca moving ahead with Targacept drug

AstraZeneca will move ahead with a Phase 2 trial of a Targacept depression drug that could lead to a new treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

The drug, known as AZD1446, is the product of a research collaboration between the Winston-Salem-based Targacept (NASDAQ: TRGT) and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN). It is thought to act on a kind of receptor in the brain known as a neuronal nicotinic receptor, and the planned trial would test it alongside the existing drug donepezil in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimier's. Donepezil is sold under the brand name Aricept. Read more.