Summer 2010
Tomorrow’s Companies Today: July 13th Innovation Showcase to Highlight New Crop of Medical and Green Technologies Ready for Commercialization
A disposable card that enables physicians to perform common screening tests in a single patient visit. A material used to build low cost, virtually maintenance-free “green” roadways. A new kind of glass that will reduce the energy consumed to heat and cool buildings.
These are just a few of the exciting innovations that will be featured at the next Innovation Showcase on July 13th.
The Innovation Showcase gathers together investors, entrepreneurs and service providers with the expertise to help innovators turn research into results. This month, we are featuring five early stage companies with potentially game-changing technologies:
Assay Dynamics has developed a point-of-care diagnostic testing solution that allows physicians to perform a range of tests on a single disposable card. The new platform will enable a physician and patient to have the results of common screenings such as blood glucose and cholesterol during a single visit, eliminating the need to submit samples to a laboratory.
GreenStone International is commercializing a soil aggregator that creates a durable, waterproof, environmentally friendly roadway at significantly lower cost than asphalt or cement. It also cuts down significantly the time required for construction: once Greenstone’s product has been mixed and compacted, the road can be driven upon immediately.
Kaleetan Pharmaceuticals is developing next-generation cancer vaccines. With its new Targeted Antigen technology, Kaleetan Pharmaceuticals aims to deliver injectable, cancer-specific drugs that stimulate the body’s own immune response.
Mobisante builds easy to use, smart phone-based ultrasound imaging systems. The portable, cloud-based system will enable easy data archival and remote interpretation, and will allow health care providers to deliver higher quality care at a lower cost than that of traditional, cart-based ultrasound imaging.
Vitriosic employs organic polymer eletrochromic technology that enables window glass to change rapidly between transparent and opaque by means of an electrical charge. This next-generation window will significantly reduce the amount of energy required to heat and cool commercial and residential buildings.
The Innovation Showcase was officially launched last year to connect innovators with a community of investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers who have the expertise to move new discoveries and early stage technologies out of the laboratory and into the marketplace. The young program is already having a tangible impact: four Showcase companies have received grants to further develop their innovations, four have gone on to secure angel investment, and others have found mentors or strategic partners to help them take their concept – and their fledgling company – to the next stage of development.
Register for the July 13th showcase here, and be sure to check our web site for information on the 2010-2011 season, coming soon.
The Innovation Showcase is made possible by the participation of our presenting sponsor, University of Washington Center for Commercialization; supporting sponsors OVP Venture Partners, Washington State University Research Foundation, and WRF Capital; cooperating organizations Battelle, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle BioMed, Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association, and Washington Technology Industry Association; and firm members AH&T Insurance, Amgen, ARCH Venture Partners, City of Seattle Office of Economic Development, Geospiza, McKinsey & Company, Perkins Coie, Square 1 Bank; Stratos Product Development, Synapse Product Development, and Verdiem.
New AoA Fellow Swoops in to Work with Investors and Entrepreneurs
Our signature program to support entrepreneurial investment, Alliance of Angels, recently welcomed a new face to the team who counts among her various skills “the ability to maneuver potholed roads carrying live chickens on a motorcycle.”
Intrigued? So were we.
Meet second-year MBA student Alissa Johnson, our 2010-2011 William H. Gates Sr. Fellow in Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Innovation and Impact: New Technology Alliance Report Measures the Vital Contributions of Technology-based Industries to the Washington Economy
Just how important are Washington’s innovative industries to our statewide economy?
Very, judging by the results of the Technology Alliance’s latest study. With 381,546 direct employees, wages and other compensation totaling more than $42 billion, and $133 billion in sales, innovation’s impact is felt throughout The Evergreen State.
The New Industrial Revolution: Alliance of Angels Recognizes Modumetal as 2010 Company of the Year
Imagine if you could grow metal that is stronger but lighter than steel. Imagine creating new materials and coatings that are more durable than conventional metals, using a cost-effective, green manufacturing process. Imagine what you could build – and build better – from armor and airplanes, to bridges and pipelines.
The team at Modumetal dared not only to dream it, but to do it. Welcome to the new industrial revolution.
Technology Alliance Elects Five Outstanding Business Leaders to Board
The Technology Alliance was pleased to welcome new board members Ewan Duncan, Doug Francisco, Sean McLeod, Susan Sigl, and Scott Silver during the first half of 2010. They are the latest in a long line of forward-thinking business and community leaders to devote their considerable talents to advance our organization’s vision of a vibrant innovation economy for Washington and its citizens.
Aquatic Oil Spill Expert Usha Varanasi to Open the 2010-2011 Season of the Science & Technology Discovery Series
The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska left a lasting impression in our minds, and a lasting impact on the environment and livelihood of our neighbors to the north. The memory of that fateful day in Prince William Sound is recalled, two decades later, by distressing images of oil gushing unchecked from an undersea well in the Gulf of Mexico; of pristine sandy beaches marred by pools of sludge, of floating fish carcasses and slick-coated birds, and of entire communities wondering how they will recover, so soon after rebuilding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
What did we learn 20 years ago that can help us respond to the devastation wreaked today?
On September 10th, Dr. Usha Varanasi, director of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, will examine the legacy of Exxon Valdez and the effects of oil spills on aquatic ecosystems to kick off the new season of our Science & Technology Discovery Series.
Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
It has been a busy Spring for the TA. In case you missed out, here is a selection of media coverage of our recent events and activities:
- High-tech Employment Growing in Whatcom County
- Bellingham Herald, 7/4/10
- Tech Alliance's Susannah Malarkey on Four Things Seattle Could Learn from Boston, and One Big Northwest Advantage
- Xconomy, 6/29/10
- Clay Christensen Speaks at Technology Alliance on Disruptive Innovations in Education, Health, VC
- Xconomy, 5/18/10
- Why the Seattle Tech Community Gets the Mt. Rainier Treatment
- TechFlash, 5/17/10
- Harvard's Clayton Christensen on the Economics of Disruption
- TechFlash, 5/17/10
- Tech Alliance: Tech Companies Provide 13% of State Jobs
- Seattle Times, 5/17/10
- Technology Alliance Showcases Five Companies in Sensors, Mobile Displays, and Drug Therapies: Investors Take Notice
- Xconomy, 4/22/10
New on the Web
Check out our State of Technology Luncheon photo gallery, featuring keynote speaker Clay Christensen, TA Chair Jeremy Jaech, AoA Company of the Year honoree Christina Lomasney, and more.
Our complete economic impact report, which provides a detailed analysis of Washington's increasingly innovation-driven economy, is available for download from our Publications & Policy page.
Important Dates
- July 13
- Innovation Showcase
- 3:30 pm - 6:30 pm
- Rainier Square Conference Center, Seattle
- July 30
- Alliance of Angels 10 Minute Pitch Clinic
- 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
- 1301 5th Avenue #2500, Seattle
- September 10
- Science & Technology Discovery Series
- Featuring: Usha Varanasi, Northwest Fisheries Science Center
- 7:30 am - 9:00 am
- Rainier Club, Seattle
- September 16
- Technology Alliance Board Meeting
- 8:00 am - 12:00 pm
- Location TBA
- September 23
- Community Leadership: Advocate, Resource & Partner in Advancing STEM Education
- Co-presented by Institute for Systems Biology and the Technology Alliance
- 3:30 pm - 6:30 pm
- Town Hall, Seattle
- October 8
- Science & Technology Discovery Series
- Featuring: Andy McShea, Theo Chocolate
- 7:30 am - 9:00 am
- Rainier Club, Seattle
