OPINION
The Case for Entrepreneurs: Open Borders, Open Innovation
By Rohit K. Shukla, CEO, Larta Institute

There is little that we can say about the current economic environment about which pundits have not already pontificated ad nauseam (causing most of us nausea in the bargain).

As is almost always the case in our over-analyzed, overwrought society, each hysterical pronouncement builds off another, which then succeeds in begetting yet another gem of diminished wisdom but overreaching cleverness. There is just no point in trying to "penetrate the arcana of the modern Babylon," as Dickens wrote so memorably in David Copperfield. Instead, it is time, again, to count our blessings and consider the virtues and values of entrepreneurship. Read more ...

Revolutionary Water Sensors
By Lee Bruno, Innovation Pipeline

A global water crisis is expected by 2025 unless economically viable ways of purifying water can be developed. One of the major threats to water supplies is contamination, from saltwater from industrial waste, from pesticides. New sensors would help. Research labs are working on sensors specially designed to deal with monitoring and purification problems.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have synthesized DNA to detect trace amounts of lead, mercury, arsenic and other contaminants in water. The DNA sensors can be produced in the form of sophisticated testing instruments suitable for metropolitan water districts or in the form of strips - like a home pregnancy test - for households and other direct-source water users. Read more ...

Larta Institute has been selected by Paris-based OECD (the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) to conduct a study project on “SME Innovation and Intellectual Asset Management”. The project, including templates for case studies in creative industries and select manufacturing and service sectors, will cover up to six OECD countries. The project, under the direction of the Deputy Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SME’s and Local Development (CFE) and the Working Party on SME’s and Entrepreneurship (WPSMEE), will commence in late April, 2009. Stay tuned for more details!

Larta's CEO to Deliver a Webinar on Commercializing Your Product
The long and winding road: commercializing your product in hard times
April 14, 2009 - 2:00 PM EST

This session will look at the few key practices a company should adopt in commercializing their product or service, especially when things seem to be "locked in place" because of sub-optimal economic conditions. Smaller companies have had to deal with the difficulties of navigating new or established markets in any case; the current economic climate provides them with opportunities that may not have been available before. The session will discuss the National Institutes of Health's national Commercialization Assistance Program, designed and managed by Larta Institute for the NIH, to demonstrate how these approaches are being put into practice, and present some results from the program showing the importance of new perspectives for emerging and established companies alike. Webinar is hosted by Q1 Productions - Register

Experts and Evangelists at the 2009 Life Sciences Venture Forum

The 2009 Life Sciences Venture Forum, the premier event where industry leaders and emerging companies have converged for the past 15 years. This year - June 25, 2009 at the Fairmont Hotel, San Jose, CA. This is the one event that features both the engaged experts and the earnest evangelists.

Go one-on-one with industry thought leaders as they discuss challenges and opportunities in funding for enterprise development in the life sciences following the stimulus package, the $10B allotment to NIH. Join Pfizer, Thallo Biosciences and Stellartech Research in discussion about novel product development approaches involving increased outsourcing to smaller companies, among others. Find out how the worlds of bio and cleantech are becoming more engaged with each other.

It is not only the thought that counts, however. And this event is not just for the talking heads. It allows you also the opportunity to hear from and meet with the people that make the innovation happen - seed and early-stage companies funded by National Institutes of Health, researchers from top universities across the United States and entrepreneurs from Larta Institute's own network of imaginative innovators.

Few presenting spots available. To apply go to http://www.theventureforum.com/Apply.aspx
To register to attend or for more information please visit www.theventureforum.com

LartaVOX readers receive a 30% discount. Use coupon code VOXVF09

The 2009 Ag Innovation Showcase will feature companies and their innovative approaches to advancing productivity and sustainability in agriculture. 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 our website at www.agshowcase.com

BusinessWeek columnist Karen E. Klein interviewed Larta's CEO Rohit Shukla for her article Swapping Equity for Services. Shukla maintains that "two factors will make this more prevalent: One, the number of unemployed service providers who are unemployable in this economy; and two, the fact that they are floating around, looking for something to sink their teeth into rather than do nothing."Read more …

Larraine D. Segil, former Larta board member and current industry advisor, has been appointed by TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training, to be a member of the Strategic Alliances Advisory Group. The programme is co-sponsored by UNICEF, UNDP, the World Bank and the World Health Organization and is set up to help foster an effective global research effort on infectious diseases of poverty.

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

2008-2009 NIH Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP) participant, ECI Biotech (Worcester, MA). is a diagnostics company with extensive intellectual property in simple, inexpensive, and rapid diagnostics, called ExpressDetect®. ExpressDetect® sensors can be specifically designed to address diverse applications in professional as well as consumer markets such as wound care, women's health, and oral care. ExpressDetect sensors are safe and simple enough to be incorporated into any medical device, such as a band aid that would change color if the wound is infected. ExpressDetect can also be incorporated into a rapid point of care cassette format that is ideal for wound clinics and outpatient settings.

2008-2009 NIH Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP) participant, Fluential (Sunnyvale, CA), provides fast, fluent automated speech translation for healthcare providers. Using funding from DARPA, NIST, NIH, and other government agencies; the company has created one of the most advanced platforms for speech translation technology in the world. Its products enable people who speak different languages to communicate face-to-face in real time.

NIH ANNOUNCES GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

For information please visit http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/challenge_award/ and http://grants.nih.gov/recovery/

Cleantech Forum XXIII

Over September 9-10, 2009, clean technology sector leaders—representing trillions of dollars in capital—will assemble in Boston for Cleantech Forum XXIII at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center to drive demand and open clean technology markets. Entrepreneurs, CEOs, scientists, policy-makers and an assembly of global forerunners of the clean technology sector will meet to discuss, debate and forge solutions to the current global economic challenges as they relate to cleantech.

Register for the annual East Coast cleantech gathering at www.cleantech.com/bostonforum

For more information, call 810 224 4310 or email info@cleantech.com

Growth Capital Conference XXXII - April 30, 2009 - Los Angeles, CA

Early Stage Financing - Capital Sources Include:

Submit your deal or register to attend at www.GCC2000.org. Use coupon code LARTA for a $20 discount! Expires April 10, 2009.

BioExec Institute

In a volatile economy, it is more important than ever to understand core business decisions in BioPharma. The BioExec Institute focuses on management decision-making in a complex R&D, operational, regulatory and market environment. Join other managers at BioExec Institute 2009 to debate and discuss the business, issues and trends facing BioPharma.

This Institute is the only Executive Education series specifically designed to discuss business strategies with key leaders who have provided unique value to the industry.

Co-produced by UC Berkeley, Deloitte and Prescience Intl, the BioExec Institute brings together director and VP-level management for this six-day interactive program [3 modules of 2 days each]. For more information or to register, visit http://www.prescienceintl.com/bioexec.html.

Venture Summit East

Venture Summit East, copresented by JPMorgan, is a two-day gathering that highlights the significant economic, political and technology trends impacting the global growth investor. Now more than ever, staying abreast of market conditions and innovations is crucial to financial success. Venture Summit East features the most influential institutional investors, venture capitalists, corporate buyers, investment bankers and research analysts in the Eastern US in keynote presentations and panel debates. Venture Summit East will also debut AlwaysOn's Northeast 100 Companies list, and play host to CEO Showcases from qualified companies seeking later-stage capital or potential acquirers. For more information please visit alwayson.goingon.com

Going Green West

GoingGreen is where cutting-edge greentech CEOs meet the movers and shakers from the biggest industries on earth. Green technology innovators are transforming trillion dollar industries - and the solutions they are delivering not only promise to clean up pollution and restore ecosystems, but also to bring abundance and prosperity to everyone on earth. In fundamental areas, water, energy and land, resource abundance is just around the corner, through the power of technology and free markets. This two-and-a-half-day executive event features CEO presentations and high-level debates on the most promising emerging green technologies and new entrepreneurial opportunities. At GoingGreen, our editors will also honor the GoingGreen 100 Top Private Companies. Fifty of the top CEOs from the GoingGreen 100 will pitch their market strategies to a panel of industry experts in our "CEO Showcase." For more information please visit alwayson.goingon.com

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