Jeremy Summers

Medicago recently signed a collaboration agreement with Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation (MCHC) to develop a next-generation technology for plant production. The collaboration will test the ability of MCHC’s closed cultivation Plant Factory System to produce Nicotiana Benthamiana plants, a close relative of tobacco, for protein production using Medicago’s technologies.  “Our goal is to develop a highly effective, closed plant production system with our partner, Mitsubishi,” said Andy Sheldon, president and CEO of Medicago. “This system would be designed to enhance our capacity and further decrease operating costs, whilst facilitating new applications of Medicago’s technology. We are pleased to build...

North Carolina life-science companies looking to expand their marketing internationally have two new opportunities to do so. The N.C. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Division is recruiting state companies for upcoming international life-science events in Spain and Brazil. Spain will host the BIO-Europe Spring 2013 Conference March 11-13 in Barcelona. The conference is expected to draw more than 1,300 biotech-focused companies from 44 countries for business-to-business meetings and more. The state will also sponsor a booth May 21-24 at the Hospitalar 2013 International Fair in Sao Paulo, Brazil. For two decades, Hospitalar has offered an international fair for products,...

Ocular Systems, Inc., Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the North Carolina Eye Bank have announced the formation of a new company based on new technology for engineering replacement corneas for transplantation. Funding for the new company, known as HCEC, LLC (Human Cultured Endothelial Cells), came in part from a Collaborative Funding Grant from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. “Today’s announcement is the culmination of more than four years of planning and research,” said OSI CEO Jerry Barker, who is the new company’s managing partner, on Tuesday. “We believe this innovative initiative has the potential to change the face...

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Exela Pharma Sciences will expands its facility in Caldwell County. The company will invest $8.5 million over the next three years in its Lenoir manufacturing facility. The expansion is expected to create 38 new jobs for the company which currently has just over 40 employees. Expansion was made possible by a $189,000 grant Exela received from the One North Carolina Fund, a state grant program to promote technology-based industries. Exela develops and manufactures injectable and ophthalmic pharmaceutical products. The planned expansion will create high-paying jobs in the industries of the future. The average annual salary for these...

The biggest discoveries often come from the smallest beginnings. A team of physicists at Wake Forest University is using nanotechnology, or the manipulation of materials on a very small scale, to create innovative new drug-discovery tools. Through a very unconventional business model, both the technology development effort and commercialization plan are a collaborative effort of Wake Forest University and NanoMedica, a biomedical nanotechnology company based in Winston-Salem. Unlike many university-industry collaborations, Wake Forest faculty and staff are integrally involved in commercially-directed business decisions of the company. The technical direction of the drug discovery program is heavily influenced by a...

Improved diagnostic testing has revolutionized medicine. Companies specializing in innovative diagnostics are likely not only to find financial success, but to improve the way health care is delivered to patients. Metabolon, a diagnostic products and services company, is on the cutting edge of new technology that will make such testing faster, cheaper and less intrusive. The company’s CSO, Michael Milburn, recently discussed Metabolon’s successes in advanced diagnostics as well as the company’s plans for the future. The event was part of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative (IEI). The IEI hosts monthly lunch seminars...

Farming has changed considerably over the last several decades. More and more, farmers are looking to non-traditional crops to increase profit margins. In Robeson County, many farmers are transitioning from traditional crops to solar farms.  Thanks to the local community college, the county’s reputation for agriculture and renewable energy just got a boost. On November 9, Lumberton’s Robeson Community College launched the “GreenZone,” a hands-on learning lab where students will learn the importance of sustainability in agriculture and energy. The GreenZone is an initiative of the BioNetwork, an education and workforce development program launched by the North Carolina Community...