The Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan, a new region-wide network for building and retaining new business in southeast Michigan, today announces the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, an international business plan competition designed to highlight Michigan as a robust and vibrant venue for innovation and business opportunity.

The New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan has granted Ann Arbor SPARK $750,000 to launch the competition on behalf  of the Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan, composed of four of the region's key business accelerators– Ann Arbor SPARK, Automation Alley, Macomb-OU INCubator, and TechTown. Joining the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition as partners for event are the University Research Corridor (Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University) and Business Leaders for Michigan.

The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition will uncover the best and brightest new business concepts from local and global entrepreneurs, exposing those opportunities to potential investment capital and fostering their growth within Michigan. Slated to be the world's largest business plan competition with more than $1 million in cash awards, plus in-kind awards of services, staffing and software, the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition targets early stage businesses with proven technology and potential to generate an immediate impact on Michigan's economy, as well as student concepts with longer-term business viability.  

The business plan competition is open to entrepreneurs in Michigan and worldwide who are willing to establish a business in the state. Participants will submit entries in nine categories including advanced materials, advanced transportation, alternative energy, homeland security and defense, information technology, life science, medical devices, next generation manufacturing and products and services.  A separate track designed specifically for students to submit business concepts is open to any undergraduate or graduate student attending a Michigan university or college in fall 2010.

The competition kicks off on August 24, 2010, and culminates with a gala awards brunch in Ann Arbor on December 11, 2010. The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition concludes with the University of Michigan vs. Michigan State University "Big Chill" hockey game at Michigan stadium and includes a pre-game tailgate party for all judges and participants.  

"The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition highlights Michigan as the destination for innovation," said David Egner, executive director of the New Economy Initiative. "As the first of many projects of the Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan, the competition will help to accelerate the transition of our region to an innovation-based economy. We are pleased that the University Research Corridor and Business Leaders for Michigan are joining with us as partners and support the message that Michigan is an ideal place to launch and grow a new business."

"The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition provides second stage entrepreneurs with the opportunity to showcase their ideas and grow their companies in a region where new business thrives due to the unique resources available," said Michael Finney, president & CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK. "We also hope to reach the large number of talented Michigan University and college students and encourage them to submit their homegrown ideas to build upon Michigan's entrepreneurial ecosystem."

For more information about the Accelerate Michigan Innovation competition, visit www.acceleratemichigan.org, or connect with the competition via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About the Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan

The Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan is new region-wide network for building and retaining new business in southeast Michigan. Composed of the region's four key business accelerators– Ann Arbor SPARK, Automation Alley, Macomb-OU INCubator, and TechTown, the organization will work collaboratively to share best practices, host events focused on addressing issues and goals that impact southeast Michigan, support business plan development, and leverage funding to grow business in the region.  

The Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan is supported through a three-year, $3 million grant from the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan.

About The New Economy Initiative

The New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan (NEI) is an innovative philanthropic effort to accelerate the transition of metro Detroit to an innovation-based economy that expands opportunity for all. Ten national, regional and local foundations have committed $100 million to this unprecedented eight-year initiative, including the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (Detroit, Michigan), the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation (Southfield, Michigan), the Ford Foundation (New York, New York), the Hudson-Webber Foundation (Detroit, Michigan), the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (Battle Creek, Michigan), the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation (Miami, Florida), The Kresge Foundation (Troy, Michigan), the McGregor Fund (Detroit, Michigan), the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (Flint, Michigan), and the Skillman Foundation (Detroit, Michigan). The participating foundations are leading the implementation and governance of the Initiative. The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, which initiated the collaborative, is serving as its administrative home. For more information, please visit http://neweconomyinitiative.cfsem.org/.

About the University Research Corridor

Michigan's University Research Corridor (URC) is an alliance of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University with a vision to contribute toward the transformation of Michigan's economy.

The URC is among the top R&D clusters in the nation (compared with regions of the USA such as Route 128 in Boston, Research Triangle in North Carolina, and Silicon Valley in Northern California) for producing patents, new business, and graduates with high-tech related degrees needed in growing new fields. In addition, the three universities serve as a magnet in helping to attract new business to the state of Michigan. http://urcmich.org/.

About Business Leaders for Michigan

Business Leaders for Michigan (www.BusinessLeadersforMichigan.com), the state's business roundtable, is dedicated to making Michigan a "Top Ten" state for job and economic growth.

The organization is composed exclusively of the chairpersons, chief executives or most senior executives of Michigan's largest companies and universities, which provide over 300,000 jobs in Michigan, generate over $1 trillion in annual revenue and serve over 130,000 students.

SOURCE Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan

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Swift Biosciences Inc., a Michigan-based life sciences company, today announced the recent completion of a $3 million Series A financing led by the venture firm DFJ Mercury.  DFJ Mercury was joined in the Series A by several Michigan-based individual investors who also helped launch the Company with seed funding in January 2010.  Daniel Watkins of DFJ Mercury will join the company's Board of Directors.

"Swift Biosciences' genetic analysis technology has the potential to significantly advance molecular diagnostics and biomedical research," said Daniel Watkins, a managing director at DFJ Mercury.  "The Swift team has been able to achieve excellent technical performance in testing to date.  Working with entrepreneurs to commercialize this type of break-through innovation is a core element of our approach at DFJ Mercury."

Swift Biosciences is developing molecular biology reagents for research and diagnostic applications. Swift's products will provide customers with powerful new ways to examine disease-related genes.  The Company also aims to help users analyze their samples faster, at higher volume, and at a lower price-per-sample.  Swift's products are designed to be compatible with customers' current instrumentation.

"This funding will help us accelerate product development and customer testing," said David Olson, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Swift Biosciences.  "DFJ Mercury is an ideal partner for us as we grow from the idea stage into commercial launch.  We have been fortunate to have the early support of both local and national investors."

Dr. Olson added "We have also benefited from the entrepreneurial community in the area, including our local business accelerator, SPARK, who has helped us recruit an outstanding team from across the country.  The abundance of biomedical activity locally makes Ann Arbor a great place to launch a life science start-up."

For more information about Swift Biosciences visit www.SwiftBioSci.com

About DFJ Mercury

DFJ Mercury is a seed and early-stage venture capital firm. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, DFJ Mercury invests in compelling and novel start-up opportunities in information technology, advanced materials and bioscience. DFJ Mercury seeks to partner with extraordinary entrepreneurs to build globally competitive businesses, focusing on investments in the midcontinent. Since inception in 2005, DFJ Mercury has been one of the most active start-up and seed-stage investors in the midcontinent, has consistently rated as a top VC firm for entrepreneurs by Entrepreneur Magazine and TheFunded.com, and has become a "go-to" venture firm for entrepreneurs at the earliest stages of idea generation, company formation, and market execution. DFJ Mercury is a partner in the DFJ Global Network of venture funds.  For more information, visit www.dfjmercury.com.

SOURCE Ann Arbor SPARK

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A surge in venture capital, mergers and acquisition activity, and strategic deal-making has made the summer of 2010 the most active season for Pittsburgh's technology startups in recent years.  2010 as a whole is shaping up to be one of the best years for investment and acquisitions for Pittsburgh's startups in the post-bubble era.  Today's announcement of Biogen Idec's $345 million strategic investment in Southside-based Knopp Neurosciences is the latest addition to the list of Pittsburgh deals announced since June, with more news expected in the coming weeks.

 This summer's deal activity in the Pittsburgh region includes:

• June 17:  Precision Therapeutics* closed on $35 million, in a deal led by Bain Capital Ventures
• June 30:  ModCloth* closed on $19.8 million from Accel Ventures, First Round Capital and Floodgate
• August 2: Hybrid Learning Systems acquired the games developed by ImpactGames*
• August 4: LinkedIn made its first acquisition ever, acquiring Pittsburgh-based mSpoke*
• August 6: Avere Systems closed on $17 million from Tenaya Capital, Menlo Ventures and Norwest Partners
• August 10: Ciespace* closed on $4 million, led by ARCH Venture Partners
• August 18: Knopp Neurosciences* signed a $345 million strategic deal with Biogen Idec

*connotes Innovation Works portfolio company

"We are thrilled to see our investment portfolio and affiliated companies reach these significant milestones," said Rich Lunak, president & CEO of Innovation Works.  "Growth among early-stage companies has a tremendous ripple effect throughout the community, bringing in outside capital, job growth, and significant technological breakthroughs that can improve society."

Innovation Works is the most active investor in seed stage technology companies in the Pittsburgh region and one of the most active seed investors in the nation.  Since the beginning of the organization's seed fund in late-1999, Innovation Works has invested $45 million in 134 companies.  The portfolio companies have gone on to raise more than a billion dollars in follow-on funding.

SOURCE Innovation Works, Inc.

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Celator Pharmaceuticals, a privately held pharmaceutical company developing new and more effective therapies to treat cancer based on the company's proprietary technology, today announced that it raised $20 million in a Series D private equity financing.  Proceeds will support completion of ongoing clinical trials and activities related to advancing the company's lead investigational product, CPX-351 (Cytarabine:Daunorubicin) Liposome Injection as a treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

The round was led by a new investor, Thomas, McNerney & Partners, with participation by current investors Domain Associates, Ventures West Capital, Quaker BioVentures, TL Ventures, GrowthWorks Capital, and BDC Venture Capital.  

"We are extremely pleased to attract a new investor of this caliber along with the continued support of our existing investors," said Scott Jackson, chief executive officer, Celator Pharmaceuticals.  "This financing is an endorsement of the team, products, and technology of the company.  Earlier this year we announced that CPX-351 achieved a statistically significant improvement in complete remissions in newly diagnosed, elderly AML patients compared to the standard of care in a randomized Phase 2 study.  We look forward to disclosing these results and other data later this year."

In addition to Celator's clinical stage product pipeline that includes CPX-351 and CPX-1 (Irinotecan:Floxuridine) Liposome Injection, the company has research collaborations with Cephalon and the National Cancer Institute's Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory.

Joining Celator's Board of Directors is Alex Zisson, partner, Thomas, McNerney & Partners.  "It's rare to get the opportunity to invest in a cancer company that has already beaten the gold standard head-to-head in a first-line setting.  We're excited to join Celator now as it advances an important new treatment option for patients suffering from AML," said Mr. Zisson.

About CPX-351

CPX-351 (Cytarabine:Daunorubicin) Liposome Injection represents a new approach to developing combinations of drugs in which drug molar ratios with synergistic anti-tumor activity are encapsulated in a drug delivery vehicle in order to maintain the desired ratio following administration.  CPX-351 has been granted orphan drug status by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Celator is currently conducting two randomized phase 2 studies with CPX-351 for the treatment of AML.  The first randomized phase 2 study compares CPX-351 versus the standard "7+3" regimen of cytarabine:daunorubicin in patients 60 years of age up to and including 75 years of age with newly diagnosed AML.  The primary efficacy endpoint of the study, the rate of patients achieving a complete remission with CPX-351 compared to "7+3," achieved statistical significance.  In addition, the company reported a reduction in the 30-day and 60-day mortality with CPX-351 versus the "7+3" regimen.  The primary efficacy endpoint analysis, and additional results from this study, will be submitted to a major medical conference in 2010.  The second randomized phase 2 study is comparing CPX-351 versus intensive salvage therapy in patients 18 years of age up to and including 65 years of age with AML in first relapse.  Enrollment is expected to be completed in 2010.  This study is supported by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

About Thomas, McNerney & Partners

Thomas, McNerney & Partners is a health care venture capital firm with approximately $600 million under management focused on investing in life science and medical technology companies at all stages of development.  In addition to helping entrepreneurs launch companies with seed and early stage funding, the firm provides growth capital to emerging companies to advance clinical development or for product commercialization. Thomas, McNerney & Partners also is involved in spinning out products and divisions from major medical device and pharmaceutical companies, consolidating companies through roll-up strategies and participating in structured financings for public companies as well as recapitalizations. The firm is targeting investments in the pharmaceutical, medical device, biotechnology and diagnostic sectors and in other areas utilizing medical technology innovation. The firm has offices in Minneapolis, Stamford and San Francisco. For further information, please visit www.tm-partners.com.

About Celator Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Celator Pharmaceuticals, Inc., with locations in Princeton, NJ, and Vancouver, BC, is a privately held pharmaceutical company developing new and more effective therapies to treat cancer. CombiPlex®, the company's proprietary drug ratio technology platform, represents a novel approach that identifies molar ratios of drugs that will deliver a synergistic benefit, and locks the desired ratio in a nano-scale drug delivery vehicle that maintains the ratio in patients with the goal of improving clinical outcomes. The company pipeline includes two Phase 2 products; CPX-351 (a liposomal formulation of cytarabine:daunorubicin) for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and CPX-1 (a liposomal formulation of irinotecan:floxuridine) for the treatment of colorectal cancer; a preclinical stage compound, CPX-571 (a liposomal formulation of irinotecan:cisplatin); and multiple research programs, including the hydrophobic docetaxel prodrug nanoparticle (HDPN) formulation being studied by the National Cancer Institute's Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory. Based on the applications of CombiPlex and the proprietary nanoparticle prodrug delivery platform, Celator is positioned to advance a broad pipeline of cancer therapies involving both previously approved and novel drug agents. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.celatorpharma.com. Information on ongoing trials is available at www.clinicaltrials.gov.

SOURCE Celator Pharmaceuticals

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Anametrix (http://anametrix.com), the leader in cloud-based business analytics technology, has established a Board of Advisors to offer strategic oversight and guide the company's rapid growth.  The first five members are Michael Robertson - technology entrepreneur of MP3.com and Gizmo5 fame, Fred Bourgeois - founder of six technology companies and "Team FREDNET" participant in the Google Lunar X-Prize, Neil Senturia - a serial entrepreneur and venture capital backer, Eric Otterson - a business development specialist who serves on many boards, and Gavin Mandelbaum - an Internet and eCommerce expert who sold four premier web companies.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100818/LA52030LOGO)

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100818/LA52030LOGO)

"The Anametrix advisory board is filled with bold visionaries with breakthrough accomplishments," stated Blaise Barrelet, Anametrix CEO.  "Michael Robertson, Fred Bourgeois, Neil Senturia, Eric Otterson, and Gavin Mandelbaum - they know what is required to define an industry and transform business practices. We are extraordinarily blessed by the invaluable addition of these intellectual icons to help build our $B company."  Barrelet added, "Anametrix is also fortunate to welcome two new Directors of the Board, Alain Schreiber, M.D. and Laurent Asscher, whose strategic personal investments and experience will accelerate further corporate growth."

Raising more than $100 million in private capital and orchestrating transactions with a combined value of nearly a billion dollars over the course of his career, Michael Robertson is an accomplished technology entrepreneur who founded MP3.com (the largest Internet IPO of all time and eventually sold to world's largest music company Vivendi / Universal), Linspire (sold to Xandros Corporation), and Gizmo5 (acquired by Google).

Acclaimed scientist and speaker, Fred J. Bourgeois, III is founder or co-founder of six high-tech companies in fields ranging from software development, networking, security, robotics, and most recently space exploration technologies. As the leader of "Team FREDNET", he is developing a robotic Lunar mission with over 600 volunteers from 63 countries on six continents in pursuit of the Google Lunar X Prize. Bourgeois states, "Blaise Barrelet has a catch phrase, 'Build with your dreams, not with your means' that is the driving sentiment of his many successes.  He has set out to make Anametrix a $B company, and I am excited to help pilot this mission."

With more than 25 years of diverse entrepreneurial endeavors, Neil Senturia is currently the CEO of Blackbird Ventures.  His background ranges from developing over 1.8 million square feet of residential and commercial building space to screen writing for popular television sitcoms. He also founded multiple software companies; most notably, Atcom/Info, which pioneered high-speed Internet access in hotel rooms and was sold for $80 million. Other companies were sold to Lockheed Martin and to Kofax.  Senturia states, "Anametrix provides a powerful service -- gathering disparate data feeds into one dashboard so rational decisions can be made -- now that is a platform which solves a significant business problem."

Eric Otterson is Vice President of Business Development at Cooley LLP, bringing business oriented legal solutions to publicly traded, middle market and emerging growth companies in Southern California.  In his career, he has lead the implementation and relationship teams for clients such as Fiserv, Countrywide, AT&T, and British Telecom.  Otterson states, "The WebSideStory key players have come back together to build another exciting business.  Serial entrepreneurs are critical to the continued growth of San Diego's vibrant technology sector, and I am thrilled to support Blaise and the team in driving Anametrix's growth."

A pioneer of eCommerce, Gavin Mandelbaum is recognized as one of today's Internet leaders in terms of innovation and profitable practical deployment.  He founded iBaby(acquired by iVillage) and iHome.com (acquired by the original Linens 'n Things) and co-founded BabyCenter.com (acquired by eToys and later by Johnson & Johnson) and iMaternity.com (acquired by Destination Maternity). Mandelbaum states, "Executives must make better use of company data. The promise of the InstaVista™ analytics platform is that business decision making becomes more efficient, more transparent, and more accountable."

Dr. Alain Schreiber is a Managing Partner at ProQuest Investments, a leading venture capital firm in the Healthcare industry.  He has previously served on the Board of Directors of ActivX Biosciences (sold to Kyorin), BioRexis Pharmaceutical Corp. (sold to Pfizer), Cabrellis Pharmaceuticals (sold to Pharmion/Celgene), Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Conforma Therapeutics (sold to Biogen Idec), LEAD Therapeutics (sold to Biomarin), Optimer Pharmaceuticals and Somalogic. Schreiber states, "I feel privileged to personally invest in Anametrix, which is transforming the emerging field of cloud based business analytics."

Currently serving on the board of directors of several technology companies, Laurent Asscher is also the President and Chief Executive Officer of Airtek Capital Group, a private equity investment firm based in Brussels, Belgium.  He has also served as General Manager of Apollo Invest, a private equity investment firm based in Paris, France.  Assher will introduce Anametrix to many European Fortune-like companies; he states, "Anametrix offers breakthrough technology in the real-time web and business analytics market by providing a cloud-based solution that is adaptable, scalable, and affordable.  The quality team members are poised to make Anametrix a major player."

About Anametrix, Inc.

Anametrix, Inc. is a privately funded next generation business analytics company whose InstaVista™ solution is delivered via Software as a Service (SaaS).  A high-performance data management infrastructure handles data integration, statistical analysis, and other compute-intensive functions to seamlessly manage online, offline, and multi-channel corporate objectives.  Founded in 2009 by analytics industry expert Blaise Barrelet, Anametrix provides cloud-based solutions that allow for quick and precise decision making from the correlation of vast amounts of data including web analytics, social media, search engine marketing (SEM), video & audio, e-mail campaigns, market research surveys, customer relationship management (CRM), and enterprise resource planning (ERP). Self-directed business insights are readily accessible across organizations, from sales staff to C-level.  For more information, please visit http://anametrix.com, call (858)558-8230 x333 or email publicrelations@anametrix.com

SOURCE Anametrix, Inc.

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