Member News provides an opportunity for SDEE members to share news and announcements. February Member News features:

• Abreos Bio
• FP Complete
• Cisbio
• Beacon Discovery
• Wagenknecht IP Law Group
• ThinkingNode

William Yashar of Abreos Bio

Abreos received notice of awards for two NIH SBIR grants including a FastTrack Phase 1&2 for point of care dose monitoring of infliximab and a Phase 1 for affinity purification of biologic drugs. Selected as finalists in the MedTech Innovator, a nonprofit global competition and accelerator for medical device, digital health, and diagnostic companies. Won Silicon Valley's Most Promising Company Award at the Precision Medicine World Conference.

Robert Bobbett of FP Complete

Cardano Foundation, the creator of the ADA blockchain cryptocurrency, has appointed FP Complete to provide a comprehensive review of Cardano’s Haskell software code and technical documentation. The purpose of the partnership is to help Cardano ensure transparency and facilitate Cardano Foundation’s objective to standardize, protect and promote the Cardano Protocol technology. The Cardano Foundation aims to influence and progress the emerging commercial and legislative landscape for blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. This partnership with FP Complete is a part of that process.

Rita Issa of Cisbio 

A noninvasive method for monitoring kidney fibrosis and graft survival:

Fresh insight for using Type III Procollagen (P3NP) in kidney fibrosis monitoring and progression. Details are provided in the following article by Rahmi Yılmaz from Hacettepe University where he studied the level of P3NP using Cisbio P3NP assay in urine collected from patients suffering from Chronic Allograft Dysfunctio. Rahmi Yılmaz showed that the level of this marker could be correlated with fibrosis progression in the transplanted kidney and with graft survival over 36 months.  For more information refer to the article: “Urinary Type III Procollagen Is Associated With Chronic Allograft Dysfunction and Predicts Graft Survival.”

Sunny Al-Shamma of Beacon Discovery

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Beacon Discovery, a leading drug discovery company focused on G-Protein Coupled Receptor (GPCR) research, today announced it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Janssen). Under the terms of the agreement, Beacon and Janssen will focus on the discovery and development of small molecule compounds for multiple undisclosed GPCR targets for the treatment of metabolic diseases. Through the collaboration, the companies will conduct research to identify drug candidates for the treatment of obesity and other metabolic diseases where significant unmet medical need exists.  "We are delighted to be part of this strategic discovery collaboration which realizes our vision to combine our GPCR drug discovery expertise with the therapeutic area strengths and development capabilities of Janssen and our other corporate partners," said Sunny Al-Shamma, Beacon's CEO.

Ray Wagenknecht of Wagenknecht IP Law Group

Patent attorneys Ray Wagenknecht and Antony Novom of Wagenknecht IP Law Group were featured speakers during the annual MedTech Monday Conference in Costa Mesa on Monday, January 22nd.  Ray and Antony's presentation: "Structuring Your IP Portfolio for a Successful Product Launch," was well received in the main hall by a large medical device audience while the "Ask the IP Lawyer" afternoon session featured the Wagenknecht attorneys answering free-flowing questions in a more casual setting. MedTech Monday provided a platform to meet up with leaders in the medical device and med tech fields.  wageniplaw.com

Khai Minh Pham MD, PhD of ThinkingNode

Khai Minh Pham MD, PhD of ThinkingNode will give a talk titled, "Reasoning Computing to handle Complex Knowledge instead of Big Data" at an event organized by Qualcomm and SD IEEE on Feb 13th at 6:00 pm at Qualcomm, Building AZ Multipurpose room A/B/C, 10155 Pacific Heights Blvd, San Diego, CA 92121. More information can be found here.