Aursos, a Kalamazoo, MI, company that uses a protein found in black bears to try to prevent bone loss in people who suffer from osteoporosis, has raised $40,000 toward a $230,000 round of debt, rights and securities, according to VentureWire. In March, VentureWire reported the company raised $60,000 toward a $740,000 equity round. Previously, the company has received $200,000 from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund. The company is aiming to raise $15 million in Series A, according to VentureWire. Aursos is developing parathyroid hormone (PTH) treatments for osteoporosis. Found in black bears, PTH allows the animals to remain immobile during long periods of hibernation while still retaining bone strength. Investors in the company also include Ann Arbor Spark, Apjohn Ventures Fund, and Michigan Economic Development Corp.
Author: Howard Lovy
Howard Lovy is a veteran journalist who has focused primarily on technology, science and innovation during the past decade.
In 2001, he helped launch Small Times Magazine, a nanotech publication based in Ann Arbor, MI, where he built the freelance team and worked closely with writers to set the tone and style for an emerging sector that had never before been covered from a business perspective. Lovy's work at Small Times, and on one of the first nanotechnology-themed blogs, helped him earn a reputation for making complex subjects understandable, interesting, and even entertaining for a broad audience. It also earned him the 2004 Prize in Communication from the Foresight Institute, a nanotech think tank.
In his freelance work, Lovy covers nanotechnology in addition to technological innovation in Michigan with an emphasis on efforts to survive and retool in the state's post-automotive age. Lovy's work has appeared in many publications, including Wired News, Salon.com, the Wall Street Journal, The Detroit News, The Scientist, the Forbes/Wolfe Nanotech Report, Michigan Messenger, and the Ann Arbor Chronicle.
View all posts by Howard Lovy