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Texas Research Park Tenants
Many commercial organizations reside in Texas Research Park facilities, which are dedicated to providing laboratory and office space for new and emerging technology companies. The Research Plaza I and II facilities were constructed in 1991. Plaza building tenants share a portion of each building, which allows the TRPF to minimize finish-out costs, an important consideration for start-up companies. As a result of the Plaza building successes, the Siberry Technical Center, a 17,000 square-foot technology transfer/product development building was constructed in 1999. This building was dedicated to George Siberry, who worked for ILEX Oncology until his death in 1999.
GeneTex, Inc. was spun out of the UTHSCSA in early 1997 to take advantage of leading edge research being done in the field of breast cancer by its founders, a team of exceptional individuals who are experts in the fields of molecular biology, breast cancer research and breast cancer treatment. Currently, one out of every nine American women will develop breast cancer. Of those who do, one out of four will die of it. Identification of breast cancer is projected to increase as more and more women have an annual mammogram. The American Cancer Society estimated 180,000 new invasive cases of breast cancer were diagnosed among women in 1997. An additional 1,400 cases were diagnosed in men in the same year. Political pressure has increased funding for breast cancer research, so a greater number of investigators have focused their efforts in this area. As a result, there is a tremendous need for reliable assays (test kits), used to determine the prognosis of patients diagnosed with breast cancer. The San Antonio and Houston scientific communities are world-renowned for breast cancer research. Proximity to these communities was a major reason for establishing the GeneTex, Inc. headquarters in San Antonio. In 1998, a commercial laboratory was constructed for GeneTex in the Texas Research Park, using funds provided by the TRPF and the Bexar County Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. GeneTex's near-term goal is to build a portfolio of research-reagent antibodies to proteins involved in cancer and to market these reagents to the research community. The long-term goal is to identify clinically relevant reagents and develop the prognostic and diagnostic applications of these newly identified antibodies. Today, GeneTex markets over 20,000 antibody products to the research community. Sales of antibodies are growing steadily. In 2000, GeneTex scientists, Robert Christy, PhD., and James Wang, Ph.D., identified several clinically relevant antibodies and the process of developing these antibodies for clinical prognostic use has begun. A total of four Small Business Innovation Research Grants (SBIR) have been received to begin this clinical development. For more information on GeneTex and the products they have available, visit their website at http://www.genetex.com Onco Vista's facilities include a state of the art, 6,400 square foot research facility at the Texas Research Park. The facility has four research labs, equipment and instrumentation for chemical synthesis and biological evalutations as well as a 2,400 square foot manufacturing suite. the manufacturing suite is capable of GMP manufacturing of bulk pharmaceutical chemicals sufficient to generate the compounds necessary for the preclinical development and clinical trials. BioMedical Enterprises, Inc. (BME) BioMedical Enterprises, Inc. (BME) was created in 1991 to address changing needs in medicine, specifically in bone research. As a medical device manufacturer, BME has focused its technology on minimally invasive techniques. Currently BME sells the Bone HOG Bone and Marrow Collection System both domestically and internationally. The Bone HOG is one of several technologies BME has developed in a complementary line of bone grafting instruments and devices. The Bone HOG is used to harvest whole cancellous bone from patients, using a minimally invasive surgical technique resulting in less pain and therefore, a shorter hospital stay. The Bone HOG can be used to biopsy, resect or harvest bone to restore cancerous lesions of the skeleton. BME manufactures this disposable surgical device, which is sold with accompanying instruments. In June 2000, BME introduced a new product called the OSStaple™: Dynamic Compression Staple with Memograph Warmsystem to the U.S. market. This product consists of shape memory Nitinol staples and accessories for setting and warming the staples to achieve compression in fixation of the bones in the hand, tibia, foot and ankle. Doctors are reporting that patients are becoming fully mobile more-quickly. BME introduced a spine-related staple during 2001. BME is currently raising money to grow the company to a stage required to market all of its technologies. Additionally, BME is pursuing a CE mark for the OSStaple™ products and an upgrade from ISO 9002 to 9001, which includes client research activities. It is anticipated that in less than ten years, BME will be a major player in the orthopaedic medical device industry. Lipitek, founded by Alexander Weis, Ph.D., opened its research and drug development laboratories in the Texas Research Park in 1991. Lipitek's staff is composed principally of pharmaceutical scientists whose work was dominated by two basic and one diagnostic research project. During 1999, working in collaboration with scientists at the University of New South Wales in Sydney Australia, Lipitek completed Phase II investigations of the antiparasitic abilities of its proprietary L-Nucleoside compounds for the Department of Defense. These compounds were based on anticancer molecules previously developed at Lipitek. The Phase II work focused on optimizing the antiparasitic properties as indicated by the Phase I results. The team of researchers succeeded in producing compounds with excellent antiparasitic capability in vitro. In vivo experiments are currently in progress. Lipitek also advanced developmental work on its proprietary anticancer compounds. A European pharmaceutical firm is financing research aimed at combining an anticancer agent the firm has developed with Lipitek's proprietary compounds to produce a new cancer fighting compound. Preliminary results have been encouraging. Also during 1999, Lipitek scientists completed a National Cancer Institute sponsored Phase II grant in diagnostic research. Researchers successfully produced a new family of molecular probes with enhanced fluorescence which signals several times stronger than probes currently being used. The probes are unique because they can be read in two ways, by ultraviolet spectrometer and by an EPR (Electron Paramagnetic Resonance), and will be used in both diagnostic and cellular research. SypTech Corporation was established in 1994, as part of the Michigan Center for High Technology Program, while its founder Joe Sypniewski, Ph.D., taught at Wayne State University in Detroit Michigan. Syptech's mission is to conduct research, development, and commercialization of imaging and positioning systems for medical, automotive, security, manufacturing, environmental, and geophysics applications. Dr. Sypniewski has over 20-years of experience in conducting research in- and developing practical applications for the areas of system controls, signal processing, instrumentation design, and microcomputer firmware and hardware for industrial applications. In addition to engineering services, Syptech markets a Radio Frequency Local Positioning System, the LPS007. The system, which can be used to track an object inside and outside of a building, has a tracking range, which can exceed several miles with an accuracy of a few inches (depending on conditions). It uses a single receiver with an array of eight, strategically placed active antennas to pick up and amplify the signals from mobile transmitters (one per object). The system then generates a number of vectors, which are used to determine the location of the transmitters in two, or optionally three dimensions. A few examples of the applications for the LPS007 include: devices for tracking inside buildings or other non-conductive structures (security applications); virtual reality (VR), real-time tracking devices for helmet mounted displaying (HMD); devices for insurance claims evaluation; autonomous robot navigation; and as a high-resolution positioning system for geo-imaging equipment. Applications are numerous and include hazardous waste assessment and other geophysical operations, drill position evaluation during underground drilling operations, and for alternative measurements for surveying operations. The system can also be modified for wide-area tracking. Currently, Syptech is expanding its market for the LPS007, throughout the U.S., Europe and Australia via partnerships with other organizations that market similar lines of products. To contact Joe, please call 210-677-0185. The SypTech Corporation web page address is http://www.syptech.com. |
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