June 15, 2005

Contact: Michael Shore, MEDC
(517) 335-4590

Technology Tri-Corridor Awards $27 Million for Life Sciences Research and Commercialization
Competitive Process Results in 24 University and Private Sector Winners

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced that 24 award winners will share $27.3 million in Michigan Technology Tri-Corridor funding to spur the growth of Michigan's life sciences industry. Winners of the competitive, peer-reviewed process include researchers at Michigan public universities and entrepreneurs working to commercialize technology-based products that have potential to enhance and extend the lives of people throughout the world. 

"If we are to grow our economy, it is absolutely vital to tap the wealth of Michigan's research universities and enable entrepreneurs to convert research into products, companies and jobs," Granholm said. "Today's Tri-Corridor funding will lead directly to the creation of new, good-paying jobs in the months and years to come."

Granholm said technology transfer from research and development at Michigan's universities in 2004 contributed to 30 new startup companies, 560 new invention disclosures and 134 new licensing agreements. 

Two of this year's award recipients were approved for more than $2.5 million in funding each. An award of more than $2.7 million will lead to the development of a Center of Excellence for Simulation Research in Battle Creek. The new center, associated with Western Michigan University, will focus on medical simulation based on a model of new science used successfully in the airline industry. New hardware and software for the medical simulation industry are expected to be created based on research conducted at the center.

Neural Intervention Technologies of Ann Arbor was approved for $2.5 million in funding to develop ALGEL, a technology for the treatment of aneurysms. The funding will enable the company to advance from the current pre-clinical stage to clinical treatment of 10 to 20 patients to determine whether the product is safe and effective. A private research and development corporation founded in 2002 on intellectual property licensed from the University of Michigan, it will collaborate in the clinical trials with Borgess Research Institute in Kalamazoo, Wayne State University and Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. ALGEL has the potential to treat a condition affecting 150,000 individuals worldwide. 

Other winning proposals include a drug-infusion safety system, software tools for neuro-imaging in epilepsy and a real-time ultrasound for low-cost diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Another award will fund a new cancer therapeutic technology being developed by a startup company based at the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center SmartZone in Kalamazoo, one of 11 state-supported high-technology clusters. 

The complete list of this year's recipients is attached.

The Governor's announcement followed a meeting of the Tri-Corridor Steering Committee, which reviewed independent evaluations and funding recommendations made by the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science. Professionals from the AAAS, the world's largest association of scientists and engineers, reviewed the original 111 qualifying applications submitted and narrowed the field to 51. Finalists participated in a formal interview process prior to the presentation of funding recommendations to the Tri-Corridor Steering Committee.

Granholm cited the Technology Tri-Corridor's success as the inspiration for her proposed $2 billion state bonding initiative for high-tech research and commercialization, the Jobs for Michigan Fund.

"Over the past five years the state has directly invested about $200 million in our life sciences industry, and more than 100 new life sciences companies have been created here as a result," she said. "This only hints at all that our universities and entrepreneurs can create here. The Tri-Corridor's success demonstrates the great potential the Jobs for Michigan Fund has for creating jobs in other high-tech, high-growth industries in the decade to come."

The Technology Tri-Corridor is administered by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and built on the successful model of the Michigan Life Sciences Corridor.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation, a partnership between the state and local communities, promotes smart economic growth by developing strategies and providing services to create and retain good jobs and a high quality of life.