One of the more interesting biotech startups in town re-emerged after more than a year of progress in stealth mode.
—Allozyne CEO Meenu Chhabra gave her first in-depth interview in more than a year, and had a lot to say about her company’s progress in this Xconomy exclusive. Seattle-based Allozyne, a graduate of the Accelerator, has gathered clinical trial data from its longer-lasting drug for multiple sclerosis, and marshaled evidence that says its underlying platform technology can be used to make a much wider variety of protein modifications than previously disclosed.
—While the Allozyne story was chock full of the hard business information we like to dig up, we lightened things up a little earlier in the week with a fun feature on what Accelerator does in the summer to blow off a little steam. This was a short story—with some amusing pictures I might add—about how some of Seattle’s molecular biologists and businesspeople conduct themselves on the mini-golf course.
—Maveron, the venture firm co-founded by Starbucks mogul Howard Schultz and Dan Levitan, is thinking hard these days about how to deliver healthcare for both people and pets. Partner Clayton Lewis, who serves on the board of Harborview Medical Center, talked about how increasing demand for primary care medicine, combined with a looming doctor shortage, is going to create new opportunities for delivery of primary care, like the one used by Seattle-based Qliance Medical Management.
—An intriguing new medical device startup in Seattle, Mirador Biomedical, was founded just last year and has already put together an application for FDA approval of its initial product. The device is designed to help medical professionals tell the difference between a vein or an artery as a catheter gets inserted. More than 6 million central venous procedures are done each year in the U.S., and thousands of people suffer severe injuries or death when a catheter is improperly inserted, the company says.
—Our national life sciences columnist, Sylvia Pagan Westphal, had a candid conversation with Jeffrey Shuren, who heads the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. This is interesting reading for anyone in the medical device business, so if you missed it, check it out.
