—Millendo Therapeutics, an Ann Arbor-based biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for rare diseases, has initiated a Phase 2b/3 clinical study investigating livoletide (AZP-531) in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome. The study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the drug on food-related behaviors—primarily hyperphagia, the excessive hunger which is a hallmark of the disease—in Prader-Willi patients. The … Continue reading “Roundup: QL Demo Day, Millendo Therapeutics, Strata Oncology, More”
Tag: Michigan Business Challenge
Roundup, Part One: NextEnergy, Application Deadlines, U-M News, More
Even though we’re hardly two months into the year, 2018 has already been packed with local innovation news. In fact, we have so much material that we’re splitting this roundup into two parts; the second part will run later this week. Here’s a look at some of the recent tech news unfolding across Michigan: — … Continue reading “Roundup, Part One: NextEnergy, Application Deadlines, U-M News, More”
Neurable’s Brain-Computer Interface Platform Scores U-M Investment
Neurable, a University of Michigan spinout now located in Cambridge, MA, has received a new investment from the university’s Zell Lurie Founders Fund to help commercialize its brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. The amount of the investment was not disclosed. The new capital builds on a $2 million seed round the company raised last December, says … Continue reading “Neurable’s Brain-Computer Interface Platform Scores U-M Investment”
Companion App Allows Users to Keep a Digital Eye on Loved Ones
It took the University of Montana until 1994 to hire its first female campus safety escorts—a fact I know to be true because I was one of those escorts, along with my friend Taska. In those pre-Internet, pre-smartphone days, we circled campus once the sun went down armed with reflective vests and brick-like walkie-talkies, waiting … Continue reading “Companion App Allows Users to Keep a Digital Eye on Loved Ones”
Neurable Uses Thoughts to Control 3D Objects. Are Video Games Next?
When Ramses Eduardo Alcaide-Aguirre was eight years old, his uncle was involved in a devastating car accident and lost the use of his legs. Seeing his uncle struggle with what were once mundane tasks had a big impact on young Alcaide. “It made me want to help people with disabilities,” he recalled. That desire to … Continue reading “Neurable Uses Thoughts to Control 3D Objects. Are Video Games Next?”
Student-Led Startups Take Center Stage at U-M Business Competition
The Michigan Business Challenge, the University of Michigan’s annual business competition for innovative student-led startups, ended Monday after a four-month process that incorporated guidance from mentors and investors. Over the course of the competition, more than $100,000 was awarded to the winners. This year’s big winner was precision medicine startup PreDxion Diagnostics, which nabbed $30,000 … Continue reading “Student-Led Startups Take Center Stage at U-M Business Competition”
Roundup: MCWT, Tetra Discovery, Entrepreneurs of Color Fund & More
Here’s a look at tech, startup, and innovation news from around Michigan: —The Michigan Council of Women in Technology (MCWT) held its 10th annual website design competition for girls in high school earlier this month. Twelve student finalists presented their sites to a panel of IT executives serving as judges. A record number of competitors … Continue reading “Roundup: MCWT, Tetra Discovery, Entrepreneurs of Color Fund & More”
U-M’s Desai Family Accelerator Announces Inaugural Startup Class
Last summer, the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and College of Engineering announced the creation of a new accelerator that would be open to any startup—no university affiliation required. Earlier this month, the Desai Family Accelerator selected its first cohort of five companies, and they’ll now spend the summer trying to refine and … Continue reading “U-M’s Desai Family Accelerator Announces Inaugural Startup Class”
Roundup: BoostUp, U-M, GSTV, SPARK-Ed, Business Leaders for MI
Here’s a look at news you may have missed from around Michigan’s innovation hubs: —Detroit-based BoostUp, a website that helps users save for big-ticket purchases such as homes and cars, announced last week that it has won a spot in the 2015 class at the REach accelerator in Chicago. The accelerator is part of Second … Continue reading “Roundup: BoostUp, U-M, GSTV, SPARK-Ed, Business Leaders for MI”
U-M’s Michigan Business Challenge Awards Top Student Startups
The Michigan Business Challenge, the University of Michigan’s annual business competition for innovative, student-led startups, ended Friday after a four-month process. More than $129,000 in grants and prizes went to the winners, including Applebaum Dare to Dream and Mayleben Venture Shaping grants. New this year was a social impact track, which organizers hoped would attract … Continue reading “U-M’s Michigan Business Challenge Awards Top Student Startups”
Kinnear: Big Ideas Define U-M’s Current Entrepreneurial Climate
After 30 years, what sets apart winners of the University of Michigan’s annual Michigan Business Challenge competition? “Big ideas,” says Tom Kinnear. Kinnear is in a position to know. He helped found U-M’s Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, which hands out the awards, and has watched student entrepreneurs evolve through the years. “The number of teams and … Continue reading “Kinnear: Big Ideas Define U-M’s Current Entrepreneurial Climate”
U-M Business Competition Awards $90K to Student Startups
I don’t have any children, but almost all of my girlfriends do. I remember a time early last decade when they were constantly shipping maternity clothes back and forth to one another to avoid spending money on an entirely new wardrobe. They could have used a website like Fashion Forward Maternity, an online boutique that … Continue reading “U-M Business Competition Awards $90K to Student Startups”
Xconomist of the Week: Tim Mayleben on Building University Startups
Last month, Aastrom Biosciences president and CEO Tim Mayleben and his wife, Dawn, announced they are funding a new “venture shaping” program at the University of Michigan. Venture shaping refers to the process of systematically vetting a nifty idea for a startup, with the idea that the failure of a less-than-viable business will occur at … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Tim Mayleben on Building University Startups”
U-M Competition Helps Earliest Stage Startups Refine Business Models
The Michigan Business Challenge, a four-month business plan competition sponsored by the University of Michigan’s Zell Lurie Institute, kicks off today in Ann Arbor. Student teams will compete for $60,000, gaining valuable feedback and broadening networks along the way. And the public is invited to watch at every step. Tim Faley, managing director of the institute … Continue reading “U-M Competition Helps Earliest Stage Startups Refine Business Models”
U-M Spinout MEMStim Seeks Its Fortune In Neurostimulation Devices
Though Angelique Johnson is pleased her team won the $27,000 top prize in the Michigan Business Challenge earlier this year, the University of Michigan student, who’s earning a doctorate in electrical engineering, says the competition was not just about money. “Coming from the engineering side, I had a piece of technology, I did not know … Continue reading “U-M Spinout MEMStim Seeks Its Fortune In Neurostimulation Devices”