Shire, Thesan, ViaCyte, and More
Summary
—It’s not exactly teleportation, but famed geneticist J. Craig Venter says it would be possible to transmit an organism from Mars back to earth using a process he calls digital biological conversion.ViaCyte would then encapsulate the engineered cells in packets that can be implanted beneath the skin, producing what the company calls an “artificial pancreas.” —The West Health Investment Fund has provided $4.25 million in funding for Reflexion Health, a San Diego startup developing technology that uses Microsoft’s Kinect motion sensing system to help physical therapy patients with their rehab.—A study done by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has raised concerns about a class of medications that are prescribed for patients who are losing their eyesight through a disease known as “wet” macular degeneration.But Scripps says their scientists found that without VEGF, a large subset of light-sensing cells lost their main blood supply and shut down, causing severe vision loss.—Targeson CEO Jack DeFranco told me the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases have awarded the company more than $551,000 to continue its Small Business Innovative Research Phase 2 grant.