CBSA 2012 Awards: Best Of Colorado's Bioscience Industry

Recipients of 2012 CBSA Awards include:

Educator of the Year - Shawndra Fordham, Biotech Teacher, Rock Canyon High School (Highlands Ranch) Shawndra Fordham’s enthusiasm and dedication to education has created one of the best programs in the state and has made an impact on her students and the industry. She has helped secure thousands of dollars in grant funding from federal institutions, foundations and industry and has created a program that challenges college curriculums around the country and her students have gone on to STEM focused majors and careers. Visit: http://go.dcsdk12.org/rchs

Volunteer of the Year - Mark Spiecker, CEO, Sharklet Technologies (Aurora) Mark Spiecker is the Education Chair of the CBSA Board of Directors and a founding Board member of the new Colorado Bioscience Institute. He has been integral in developing key strategic efforts and partnerships with the Colorado education community. Visit: http://www.sharklet.com/about-us/management

Volunteer of the Year - Nicole Garneau, Ph.D., Curator and Chair of the Health Sciences Department, Denver Museum of Nature and Science (Denver) Dr. Garneau is Co-Chair of the CBSA Education Committee and a founding Board member of the new Colorado Bioscience Institute. She has been instrumental in developing strategy and implementing the successful internship program. Visit: http://www.dmns.org/nicole

Business Partner of the Year – Rockies Venture Club (Denver) Rockies Venture Club (RVC) has successfully partnered with CBSA to support Colorado’s bioscience industry. RVC has added active angel groups, sophisticated training and education, and events to assist early stage company funding. Visit: http://www.rockiesventureclub.org

Business Partner of the Year – Dorsey and Whitney LLP (Denver) Dorsey and Whitney has been a long standing supporting partner for Colorado’s bioscience industry; supporting the annual conference and the BioBoot Camp program. This year they dedicated countless hours of pro bono and consulting services to establish the new Colorado Bioscience Institute. Visit: http://www.dorsey.com

Rising Star of the Year - Sophono (Boulder) Sophono manufactures implanted magnetic hearing devices. This year the company has secured $7 million in new growth capital financing to fuel product and business development efforts. They have tripled their square footage to expand their manufacturing facilities in Boulder. Visit: http://sophono.com

2012 'Rising Star of the Year' Finalists included: InDevR, Inc., Boulder (http://www.indevr.com); Mosaic Biosciences, Aurora and Boulder (http://www.mosaicbio.com); and Surefire Medical, Inc., Westminster (http://www.surefiremedical.com).  

Company of the Year - TOLMAR (Fort Collins) TOLMAR is a pharmaceutical research, development, manufacturing, and commercial operations company that has seen tremendous growth this past year. The pharmaceutical company announced their expansion into a 146,000-square-foot building in Windsor. TOLMAR is continually engaged in community efforts for the industry and partnered with CBSA this summer to launch the internship program. Visit: http://www.tolmar.com

2012 'Company of the Year' Finalists included: Bal Seal Engineering, Inc., Colorado Springs (http://www.balseal.com) and Covidien (Colorado operations), Boulder (http://www.covidien.com).

Chairman’s Award - Sheridan Ross (Denver) Sheridan Ross played a significant role in the coordination and application efforts to bring a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to Denver. John Posthumus, Partner and Patent Attorney at Sheridan Ross worked with local, state and federal legislators along with business and economic development leaders for many years to accomplish this major development in the Colorado economy that will impact the bioscience industry in the years to come. Visit: http://www.sheridanross.com

Lifetime Achievement Award - William Freytag, Ph.D., Former Chairman and CEO, Myogen (Boulder) Dr. Freytag’s 25 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries include serving as Chairman and CEO of Myogen Inc. plus other senior executive and research positions. He currently serves on multiple boards including the BioFrontiers Institute, Board of Trustees of the University of Colorado Foundation, and the Fitzsimmons Redevelopment Authority. Visit: http://leeds.colorado.edu/board/freytag

CBSA also announced the new Colorado BioScience Institute to its community at the Annual Awards Dinner Celebration December 6th with this video overview:

http://youtu.be/2qgVEgNTlwI

Video by Robin Bond Media: http://robinbondmedia.com

Link to view all the video highlights of the celebration: http://coloradobio.blogspot.com/2012/12/video-highlights-colorado-bioscience.html

Link to the BusinessWire

Link to the PitchEngine Social Media News Release

Colorado BioScience Association Announces Finalists for 'Company of the Year' at its Annual Awards Celebration, December 6th

Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) has released the finalists for the 'Company of the Year' award at its Annual Awards Dinner Celebration -- Thursday, December 6, at the Hyatt Convention Center, 650 15th Street, Denver. The announcement is made by April Giles, CBSA President and CEO, who says finalists for this year's outstanding bioscience company in the state include:

* Bal Seal Engineering, Inc. - Colorado Springs - http://www.balseal.com  
* Covidien (Colorado operations) - Boulder - http://www.covidien.com  
* TOLMAR Inc. - Fort Collins - http://www.tolmar.com

"Our Company of the Year award is the highest honor we designate for an established bioscience company exhibiting stellar achievement in the industry," Giles explains. This year's 'Company of the Year' winner will be announced at the Awards Celebration and join a select group of companies that over the years has included Roche Colorado (2003), Pharmion (2004), Baxa Corporation (2005), Myogen (2006), Allosource (2007), CaridianBCT (2008), Accera (2009), Amgen Colorado (2010) and LABS Inc. (2011).

Additional awards announced at the dinner include: Lifetime Achievement, Rising Star of the Year, Business Partner of the Year, Educator of the Year, Volunteer of the Year and Chairman’s Award. Earlier this month the CBSA announced finalists for the 'Rising Star of the Year" award, which included: InDevR, Inc., Boulder (http://www.indevr.com); Mosaic Biosciences, Aurora and Boulder (http://www.mosaicbio.com); Sophono, Inc., Boulder (http://www.sophono.com); and Surefire Medical, Inc., Westminster (http://www.surefiremedical.com).

Link to the Business Wire Release 

BCBR: 'Local firms to vie for bioscience award'

Quoting from the November 19th posting by Beth Potter:

"Three Boulder companies and another one that started in Boulder are finalists for the 'Rising Star of the Year' award from the Colorado BioScience Association, an industry trade group...

...The finalists are: biotechnology research company InDevR Inc. in Boulder, which makes diagnostic tests; medical device company Sophono Inc. in Boulder, which makes a hearing aid device; research company Mosaic Biosciences Inc. in Boulder and Aurora, which makes a gel bandage; and medical-device company Surefire Medical Inc. in Westminster, which makes a microcatheter used in procedures to treat liver and kidney cancer. Surefire started in Boulder in 2009...

...The dinner includes the keynote address, 'Why Giving Matters,' by George Sparks, president and chief executive of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Tickets are available for $150 each, or $1,250 for a reserved table for eight for members. Register at http://www.cobioscience.com/events-calendar/annual-awards-dinner."

Link to the Boulder County Business Report

April Giles Named President and CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association

April Giles, Executive Vice President of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) for the past two and a half years, has been named President and CEO following an extensive national executive search conducted by an ad hoc committee of the CBSA Board of Directors.
The announcement is made by Steve Orndorff, CBSA Board Chairperson and President/CEO of Ariel Pharmaceuticals.

"Our search committee worked very hard to find the best qualified person to lead the CBSA into its next phase of growth. In testament to April's tremendous talent and extensive experience in the association management and bioscience industry, we learned the best person for the job was already part of the CBSA leadership team," Orndorff explains.

Giles replaces Holli Riebel, who resigned in June to accept the Chief Operations Officer position at the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce. In the interim, Giles had been responsible for the day-to-day operations of the association.

Link to the Business Wire Posting

Link to the PitchEngine Social Media Release

Colorado Matters: 'Colorado Biotech's Big Day'

Quoting from the Colorado Public Radio overview about the 2012 BioWest Conference and Expo's Venture Showcase competition:

"In a downtown Denver ballroom, the white coats meet the suits. Colorado’s top biotech scientists step out of their labs and run their big ideas by venture capitalists. The idea is to bring new products to market. It's the 'venture showcase' put on by the Colorado BioScience Association."

Link to CPR's Colorado Matters website

Link to the interview with Colorado BioScience Association EVP April Giles

Link to the BioWest webpage (registration is available at the Marriott City Center Denver tomorrow September 11, 2012)

Denver Post: 'Four growing biotech firms move into Fitzsimons Accelerator Building'

Quoting from the August 23rd article by John Mossman:

"The Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority is celebrating the move of four startup companies from the Bioscience Park Center 'incubator' to its new wing known as the 'accelerator.'

The four biotech companies — Mitomics USA, Greffex Inc., Touch of Life Technologies and Light Labs — are among 39 firms that have been housed in Bioscience Park Center. They have run out of room and are graduating to the $8 million, three-story, 37,000-square-foot expansion, taking up most of that space. The new facility already is 78 percent leased.

'It's a nice problem to have when you haven't even opened your new building yet and you could potentially now be limited in space again,' said the authority's new president and chief executive, Steve VanNurden."

Link to denverpost.com

Aurora Sentinel: 'FRA celebrates grand opening of new wing'

Quoting from the August 22nd Aurora Sentinel:

"The FRA on Wednesday unveiled the new wing at their headquarters, a state-of-the-art addition that dramatically expanded the building at 12635 E. Montview Boulevard by about 50 percent. Steve VanNurdern, the FRA’s executive director, the new space is already about 80 percent full.

The FRA’s grand opening was scheduled for July 25, but they pushed it back to Aug. 22 because of the Aurora theater shootings. The first new tenant, Greffex Inc., moved into its new space this month. Next month, the other three new tenants — Mitomics, Touch of Life Technologies and LightLabs — are scheduled to move in.

The new wing will add about 40,000 square feet to the 60,000-square-foot home to the FRA and hub of the burgeoning Life Science District. The project is an important step for the district, officials say, because it will provide space for more advanced companies that are ready to take the next step beyond the facilities the building currently offers."

Link to the Aurora Sentinel