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Houston Technology Center 410 Pierce, Houston TX 77002 (713) 658-1750 www.houstontech.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Houston Technology Center (HTC) and Gulf Coast Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization (Gulf Coast RCIC) for the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (ETF) announced today that PLx Pharma Inc. and Molecular LogiX Inc. have been awarded Commercialization Grants by the ETF.

 

Awards for the two Gulf Coast region companies were officially announced by Governor Rick Perry, along with four other ETF awards, totaling $13 million. Both companies will be supported by the Houston Technology Center Client program.

PLx Pharma, a pharmaceutical company, was awarded $2 million to help develop new formulations for safer and more effective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) currently on the market, such as Aspirin and Ibuprofen. PLx will use a platform technology licensed from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and will focus on reducing the potential life threatening gastrointestinal toxicities related with chronic use of NSAIDs.

“This award is serving as a catalyst for private investors from within and outside of Texas to more than match the State’s support.  The rigorous due diligence process the Texas Life Science Committee, under Charles Tate’s leadership, conducted has given other investors confidence in PLx and we appreciate this support” said Ron Zimmerman, President & CEO of PLx Pharma. For more information visit www.plxpharma.com .

Molecular LogiX Inc. was awarded $794,520 to develop a “first in class” therapeutic cancer treatment. This treatment will optimize the company’s Pan-HER Anti-Cancer Ligand, a genetically engineered version of the naturally occurring growth hormone that blocks the cell receptor necessary for growth of tumor cells. In addition to providing oncologists and their patients with a new, more potent drug to treat cancer, this drug has the potential to be the first of a new family of drugs to treat other diseases resulting from abnormal ligand receptor interactions.

Molecular LogiX Inc. has been working in collaboration with scientists from Baylor College of Medicine and University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and assisted by the South Montgomery County Woodlands Economic Development Partnership.

“This investment from the Emerging Technology Fund matches a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant from the NIH’s National Cancer Institute and an investment from BCM Technologies in Houston”, said Daniel J. Monticello, Ph.D., President of Molecular LogiX. “It will provide us with the resources to demonstrate the potential of our new family of drugs and accelerate our path from ‘bench to bedside’.  It will also help us attract support for our preclinical development work, and bring new, high quality jobs to Texas”, he added.

The two companies announced this week join six other Gulf Coast region award recipients, all supported by Houston Technology Center Acceleration program:

 

CorInnova Incorporated - an early stage medical device company, developing and commercializing heart assist technologies that lead to heart recovery rather than replacement, was awarded $500,000.

 

Endothelix, Inc. - a company dedicated to bringing low-cost and operator-independent endothelial function measurement from research laboratories to the mainstream practice, was awarded $1 million.

 

itRobotics, Inc., a pioneering technology company operating to provide state of the art non-destructive inspection service for small diameter energy pipes using the latest robotic technology, was awarded $750,000.  

NanoComposites, Inc. (NCI), commercializing its proprietary process for the functionalization of carbon nanotubes, was awarded $1.5 million.

Nanospectra Biosciences, Inc., focusing on clinical development of its AuroLase™ Cancer Therapy which is broadly applicable to virtually all solid tumors, was awarded $1,250,000. 

 

Carbon Nanotube Acceleration Project (CNAP), an operating division of Carbon Nanotechnologies, Inc. (CNI), developing a new fuel cell technology that is expected to power the next generation of portable and wireless electronic devices, was awarded $975,000.

 

Texas Governor Rick Perry’s $200 million Texas Emerging Technology Fund was created in June 2005 to assist small to mid-size technology companies launch sooner,  expedite the commercialization of new life-changing inventions out of the lab and into the hands of consumers and improve research at Texas universities.

HTC serves as the Gulf Coast RCIC for the ETF, collaborating with Greater Houston Partnership (GHP), Economic Development Organizations (EDO) within its 32-county region, area universities, and community volunteers. The Gulf Coast RCIC and the other seven centers are responsible for processing all funding applications and supporting emerging technology companies in their regions.

 

“Houston Technology Center extends congratulations to the two new ETF award recipients and is looking forward to assisting them as they move forward in the commercialization of their technologies. HTC is privileged to be a part of this state-wide effort to elevate our emerging technology sector and universities and make Texas a strong competitor in the global marketplace. ETF results so far had great benefits to the State, the region and our community”, stated Walter Ulrich, President and CEO of Houston Technology Center.

 

Applications for the 8th round of funding by the ETF may be submitted to the Gulf Coast RCIC by Tuesday, May 8, 2007.  For detailed information about the Emerging Technology Fund, visit the Gulf Coast RCIC web site at www.gulfcoastrcic.org.

 

About Houston Technology Center: Houston Technology Center (HTC) is Greater Houston’s business accelerator and the largest technology business incubator in Texas. A 501(C)(3) corporation and the center of entrepreneurship in Houston, HTC accelerates the commercialization of emerging technology companies within several key sectors: Energy, Technology, Life Sciences, Nanotechnology and NASA-originated technologies. For more information visit www.houstontech.org.

 

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For more information please contact:

Bob Prochnow

Director, Gulf Coast RCIC

(713) 658-1750

BProchnow@HoustonTech.org