Wilmington — Five North Carolina companies developing marine-oriented technologies are among 15 from around the world that are scheduled to meet with possible investors and partners during an international convention co-hosted by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

The firms, headquartered in the Triangle, Triad and Eastern North Carolina, will participate in pitch sessions during the 2015 BioMarine Business Convention in Wilmington Oct. 12-14. This year’s convention, which annually draws some 300 global experts in seafood, biofuels and other marine specialties, will be the first ever held in the United States.

With more than 300 miles of Atlantic coastline, 12,000 miles of estuarine shoreline and world-renowned university research centers for the study of marine life, North Carolina is becoming an increasingly important site for marine commerce.

“The presence of these North Carolina companies at this year’s event underscores why we chose Wilmington in the first place,” said Pierre Erwes, chairman of BioMarine, the international investment platform dedicated to the development of marine bio-resources.

Wilmington area known as marine biotech hub

“The region’s status as a marine biotechnology hub makes it the ideal location for industry leaders from around the world to convene and chart new ideas and partnerships. Along with our official partners, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and the Marine Bio-Technologies Center of Innovation (MBCOI), I’m looking forward to welcoming all of our investment track companies to the 2015 BioMarine Business Convention.”

— Courtesy of UNC Wilmington

NCBiotech helped establish MBCOI, and supports entrepreneurs, scientists and educators statewide who are developing marine biotech opportunities in aquaculture, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, natural products, fuel/energy, seafood preservation, fish feed, water-quality testing, waste remediation and byproducts derived from algae.

The following North Carolina companies will present during the convention:

EnSolve Biosystems – Founded in 1995, the Raleigh company developed and has installed its patented PetroLiminator oil-water separator system on ship platforms around the world, including cruise ships, oil tankers, ferries, oil exploration vessels, commercial fishing vessels and government and military vessels, among others. Moreover, the company’s PetroClean Biotreatment Systems have been utilized for the treatment of groundwater, to process wastes and off-load oily bilgewater.
Kepley Biosystems Inc. (KBI) – KBI was formed in 2013 to research, develop, manufacture and distribute a patent-pending, synthetic crustacean bait – a substitute for dead fish – that releases several crustacean-attracting chemicals into the water. The Greensboro company aims to enter and capture the $20 billion crustacean bait market by providing an effective, cost-saving and sustainable substitute for forage fish that helps alleviate the ecological danger caused by overfishing forage fish. Organobait will give fisherman a new sustainable option in lieu of the tedious, time consuming and costly use of previously living fish and mammals for catching crustaceans.
Ocis Biotechnology – Ocis is a Wilmington company using material derived from biological or synthetic sources to influence biological processes such as wound healing, specifically for military service members who have suffered burns. The mission is to bring tissue therapies that are identical in formation and function as the body’s native tissue architecture, with no scarring, made on demand rather than waiting for long processing times and no rejection or a limited supply of donor tissues.
Sandbar Oyster Company – Sandbar, of Morehead City, licenses patent rights from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for new substrates to improve production of oysters for consumer markets and to restore oyster habitats. The company is testing materials through research funded by the university’s Office of Technology Development.
Shure Foods – The Greenville company was founded with support from NCBiotech to develop and commercialize new food products from fresh crab, via its branded Succulent Crab. Succulent Crab is a cold-structured form of raw crabmeat that allows for lower production costs and new end applications for crabmeat. Shure Foods is raising funds to support expansion.

Along with the North Carolina companies, the following will also present at BioMarine:

BioMimetx, Portugal
Deinove, France
Eviagenics, France
Gen3Bio, USA
Innofibre, Quebec, Canada
Lagosta,Switzerland
Pacifico Aquaculture, Mexico
Prairie AquaTech, USA
Quantum Biotechnologies, Mozambique
R.C. INN Pharma, USA
Stellar Biotechnologies, USA
TransAlgae, Israel