Publisher's Note:

This issue of VOX is devoted to the byproducts of food, whether from terrestrial agriculture or aqaculture. In the search for alternative energy, we have previously noted also the convergence of the life sciences and agsciences, the subject of much discussion around the globe. This issue features announcements and articles by some of Larta's partners working in the subject area.

Algae to Produce 3rd Generation Biofuels
By the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

Dr. Richard Sayre, director of the Enterprise Rent A Car Institute For Renewable Fuels at Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, explains the institutes research on biofuel producing algae.

"We have been studying photosynthesis in algae as a model system in my lab for 20 years. We have been trying to understand how plants and algae convert light energy into chemical energy. It was a natural transition to apply advances in our basic research efforts to address applied problems in biofuel production. Also, I was approached by a group of investors who were familiar with our work with algae and photosynthesis and were interested in the development of algae with improved oil production potential. Since we enjoy the challenge of new discovery and a diversity of research projects we took on this challenge and the rest is history." Read more ...

Divergence Raises $11.8M for Crop, Pesticide Technology
By Emma Ritch, Cleantech Group

CEO Derek Rapp told the Cleantech Group the company is mapping the genomes of the roundworm to develop chemicals that could target just those genes—killing the creature without impacting the soil, other wildlife or farmers. Read more ...

Biofuel Myths and Realities
By Lee Bruno, Innovation Pipeline

Pamela Contag is a microbiologist who’s as comfortable in the lab as she is in the boardroom, dealing with the business of running a company. She has plenty of experience there, having helped found two startups: Cobalt Technologies and Xenogen. She also sits on the Department of Energy’s Biomass Advisory Board.

Contag is an astute observer of the biofuels industry. With much of the discussion today focused on second-generation biofuels, she points out that it’s still critical for people not to mix up biofuel feedstocks with human foodstocks. That sure spelled a lot of trouble during the first-generation corn-ethanol buildout, which alarmed the public and still dampens enthusiasm for the biofuels market. Read more ...

Can You Dig It?
By Fiona Harvey, Financial Times

In Brazil's Amazon basin, farmers have long sought out a special form of fertiliser - a locally sourced compost-like substance prized for its amazing qualities of reviving poor or exhausted soils. They buy it in sacks or dig it out of the earth from patches that are sometimes as much as 6ft deep. Spread on fields, it retains its fertile qualities for long periods. Read more ...

Produced by Larta Institute and presented by Danforth Plant Science Center, The Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise, and The Missouri Technology Corporation, the first annual
Ag Innovation Showcase will take place on May 18-20, 2009 in St. Louis, MO at the new Bio-Research & Development Growth (BRDG) Park at the Danforth Plant Science Center.

The 2009 Ag Innovation Showcase will feature companies and their innovative approaches to advancing productivity and sustainability in agriculture and its byproducts. Leading- edge technologies will be represented from the sectors of ag-biotech, food and nutrition, alternative energy, informatics, animal health, and sustainable materials.

To promote the advancement of these technologies and to stimulate dialogue between stakeholders, The Ag Innovation Showcase will bring together entrepreneurs, investors, corporate leaders, and public officials a for a two day conference that will:

For more information or to register to attend, visit www.agshowcase.com.

Access the best seed and early stage life sciences companies

The unique Venture Forum, produced by Larta Institute for the past 14 years, is a marketplace for innovation. See cutting-edge solutions presented by vetted seed & early stage companies. Connect with investment and industry profesionals and gain insight from top experts in the innovation arena.

Most of the entrepreneurs showcased at the Forum are selected from the National Institutes of Health's Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP) which Larta has managed for the past five years. These outstanding innovators present alongside the most promising university spinouts, "stand-out" entrepreneurs from within Larta's network and out-of-the-box innovations from overseas (through Larta's Global Bridge™ programs).

There is no other place like the Life Sciences Venture Forum to tap into such a world-class pipeline of innovations and innovators, to discover such a range of cutting-edge solutions presented by well-vetted seed & early stage companies, to connect with a diverse audience of investment and industry professionals and to gain insight from top experts in the innovation arena

To register to attend or apply to present, please visit www.theventureforum.com

USDA-CATP Commercialization Training Workshop Took Place January 15-16, 2009 - Washington, D.C.

Last month, the Commercialization Training Workshop marked the successfull kickoff of the 2008-2009 USDA Commercialization Assistance Training Program (USDA-CATP). Funded by USDA-CSREES and managed by Larta Institute, the USDA-CATP is designed to accelerate the transition of agricultural technologies, processes, and/or services into the commercial marketplace to further the economic goals of the USDA SBIR grantees and provide solutions to some of the most pressing issues in the area of sustainability. Over 40 representatives from this year's participating companies convened for the two-day Training Workshop; they were joined by corporate leaders, investors and top figures at USDA.

Members of this year's stellar Advisory Board come from a broad spectrum of venture capitalists, intellectual property attorneys, and corporate executives. They presented a unique learning opportunity to our participating entrepreneurs to familiarize them with strategies geared toward success through commercialization process and beyond.

The event brought forth invaluable knowledge through presentations and breakout sessions aimed at improving strategy, business planning, IP management, and investor pitching. In the upcoming months, CATP participating companies will undergo the challenging and rewarding process of developing their individualized commercialization strategies with their Larta Principal Advisors through meetings, webinars, and other learning opportunities.

For more information, please visit the USDA-CATP at http://usdacap.larta.org

Our picks of companies that are making the news and already on their way to making it big!

2008-2009 USDA Commercialization AssistanceTraining Program participant (USDA-CATP), NexTech (Lewis Center, OH) is moving many of its products from R&D stage, through prototype validation, and into manufacturing. Products in NexTech’s commercialization pipeline include hydrogen and hydrogen sulfide sensors, fuel cell stacks in the 100-W to 5-kW power range, high performance fuel cells including both tubular and planar cells for portable, stationary, and transportation applications, catalysts for fuel processing, and diesel emissions control devices.

2008-2009 USDA Commercialization AssistanceTraining Program participant (USDA-CATP), GDA Corp. (State College, PA) provides current and projected crop commodity information at sub-national, national, and global levels in a timely, reliable, accurate, useful, and cost-effective manner. GDA specializes in operational assessments and delivery of crop acreage, health, status and change over time, and on forecasts of crop conditions, yield, and production at sub-national levels.

2008-2009 USDA Commercialization AssistanceTraining Program participant (USDA-CATP), IconoPsych Care, LLC (St. Louis, MO) is working toward commercialization of web-based mental health software which integrates the practice of video telepsychiatry with electronic medical record keeping. IconoPsych is positioned as the first company to offer video telepsychiatry services through an online clinic format, paired with a medical record keeping system specialized for mental health. A patent pending information management system will be built into the present software suite, allowing IconoPsych to sustain an advantage to competing products as they arise.

Larta Institute and Nectar to Offer Product Development webinar to NIH Commercialization Assistance Program Participants (invitation only)

Most Life Science startups are created on a shoestring budget and are expected to achieve large corporate milestones, which seems very unlikely and unfair. Challenges in developing your core technology to branding your product and corporate identity can be overwhelming. A major solution often not considered by startups is outsourced design partners who can offer a variety of expert services including; product design, engineering, testing, prototyping, production, graphic design, web design and many more. The common misconceptions of outsourced consultants are; they cost more than in-house staff, they are not as flexible, they don’t understand your technology, they can’t manage programs off-site, they don’t meet your deadlines …

In this web-based seminar, Nectar Product Development’s director of design services, Mr. Le Bui will share an example of how a small life science startup was able to utilize a flexible outsourced design partner to achieve their product development, corporate branding, investment acquisition and commercialization goals. He will debunk the common misconceptions of outsourcing and provide actual examples of how to strategically engage with a design partner.

The Honorable Willie L. Brown Jr. to Speak at California Life Sciences Day

The Honorable Willie L. Brown Jr. will give a keynote address at the 2009 California Life Sciences Day, to be held in Sacramento, Tuesday, March 24. Brown served two terms as mayor of the City of San Francisco from 1996 to 2004. Prior to that, Brown served as speaker of the California State Assembly from 1980 to 1995; he is the longest serving speaker in California history. Come join with leaders in biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biomedical research at California Life Sciences Day to build support for the issues that matter most to California's medical innovators. Attendees will participate in face-to-face meetings with legislators and state government officials; network with colleagues; and join legislators and their staffs at a closing reception at the historic Sutter Club. By joining forces and speaking with one voice, we can successfully advocate the collective economic impact and human value of our work. CHI thanks those sponsors already confirmed for the event: AdvaMed, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Astellas Pharmaceuticals, Baxter, BIO, BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, Genentech, Gen-Probe Incorporated, Gilead Sciences, MedImmune, National Venture Capital Association, PhRMA, Pfizer, Roche, and Sanofi-Aventis.

For more information contact Sandra Pizarro, vice president of state government affairs (pizarro@chi.org or 916-233-3497). Click here to register (fee is $75) for the event.

Visit www.lifesciencesday.org for more information.

Visit our Events Calendar for a list of Larta's partners events.