An October 9 article in the New Haven Register reports that biotech start-up Optherion, Inc. has established headquarters at Long Wharf Drive in New Haven. "Optherion joins a growing and thriving biotech sector in and around New Haven," said Paul Pescatello of CURE. "Optherion's work to treat macular degeneration is extremely important. Macular degeneration is, unfortunately, all too common. Patients and doctors are always looking for new treatments."

An October 10, 2007, press release carried on AP notes that Governor M. Jodi Rell named a three-member delegation from Connecticut, including Paul Pescatello of CURE, to visit the United Kingdom to learn more about the business of stem cell research. The delegation visited facilities in London and in Edinburgh, where Professor Ian Wilmut is director of the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine.

An October 10 article in the New Haven Register announces the beginning of a new season of the CURE/Yale BioHaven Entrepreneurship Series. "The series is valuable for the biotech community because detailed information is presented about both the business model and the underlying science of developing companies," said Paul Pescatello. "It's a way for everybody in the community to hear the stories behind the companies, how an idea evolved into an actual company with management and funding and laboratories."

An October 30 article in the Danbury News-Times chronicles a visit of the BioBus to the Mill Ridge Intermediate School. The article notes that the BioBus is part of Connecticut United for Research Excellence, a bioscience organization that relies on its members, the state, and Connecticut businesses for support.

A November 25 article in the New Haven Register announces the CURE Annual Meeting and Holiday Party to be held December 4. The article notes that Alexion of Cheshire and David Scheer of Scheer & Company in Branford will receive awards.

A January 7 article in Business New Haven quotes Paul Pescatello on prospects for the bioscience industry in Connecticut. Continued advances in stem-cell research and steady progress by startups show promise for the state's biotech future, even as major companies continue to downsize, Pescatello said. Research universities will continue to fuel commercial innovation, he added.

In January 15 testimony to the Connecticut Stem Cell Advisory Committee, Pescatello reports on his visit to the United Kingdom the previous October. Contact between Connecticut and the UK "raises an opportunity for us to recruit companies when they are in later stage clinical development and, especially, when they are at the manufacturing stage," Pescatello observed.

A January 28 article in the Hartford Courant announces the formation of Developing World Cures, Inc., which intends to develop low-cost pharmaceuticals for people in the world's poorest countries. The company does not expect to grow fast, reaching perhaps 20 employees in four years, Pescatello said. But it anticipates having a big head start on traditional biotechs once it gets to the drug development stage: World Cures will rely on scientific discoveries, including actual drug compounds, donated by universities and for-profit companies that have abandoned them or simply decided not to commercialize them, Pescatello explained.

A February 7 article in the New Haven Register reports that Neurogen will cut its work force 50 percent and focus its resources on only the most promising clinical trials. "Unfortunately, this kind of thing is common when companies are trying to finish their research projects," said Paul Pescatello of CURE. "Neurogen has some very promising projects and research, especially with insomnia and Parkinson's disease. Some very good products could come from this research."

Articles in February and March in the Yale Bulletin and the New Haven Register alert the public to the continuing CURE/Yale BioHaven Entrepreneurship seminars. Rib-X Pharmaceuticals presented in February and Optherion in March, and a special panel presentation took place in March as well.

An April 10 article in New Haven Register mentions Neurogen's plans to raise additional capital through warrants and preferred stock. "The company is taking necessary steps to move the products it is developing through the pipeline," said Paul Pescatello. "They have four really interesting projects going on. It just shows how much they are focusing (on them)." Pescatello said the company's ability to raise funds is a promising sign, showing that investors support its projects.

A March 24 article in the Fairfield County Business Journal says that legislators want to add $8 million to the state's bioscience facilities fund, after a Connecticut delegation visited a stem-cell research facility in England. "One of the things that particularly impressed the delegation was an in-vitro fertilization clinic in New Castle that was connected directly to university stem-cell research laboratories," said Paul Pescatello of CURE. "Both the clinic and the labs were built according to good manufacturing principles. It's a federal term meaning that stem cell lines created in such facilities when ready can be used directly in human trials. This saves time, avoiding the need to recreate stem cell lines. It would allow the fruits of Connecticut stem cell research to become treatments and cures sooner."

In an April 14 notice of meeting, the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee notes that its membership includes Paul Pescatello of CURE.

A May article in Business New Haven notes the influx of venture capital into Connecticut thanks to its bioscience industry. "2007 was a solid year for the Connecticut biotechnology industry," said Paul Pescatello. "The large amount of venture capital flowing into the state is a vote for the intellectual property that is being created here. It's amazing, the quality of the research that is done here, at Yale, the University of Connecticut, and Wesleyan University."

A May 28 article in the Hartford Courant and a May 29 article in the New Haven Register report that Emergent Solutions of Maryland will buy Protein Sciences of Meriden, CT. If Emergent wins necessary approvals and Meriden is chosen for a new production facility, it would create just the kind of biotech manufacturing jobs the state is looking to create, Paul Pescatello said. One of the key assets that would be acquired in the deal is Protein Science's FluBlØk™, a Phase 3 influenza vaccine candidate.

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