JOE FERGUSON Sun Staff Reporter | Posted: Sunday, June 20, 2010 5:20 am

Flagship Biosciences CEO and Chairman Steve Potts looks at a microscope slide from a biotech study with a NAC.ET data center server in the background. (Rick Wacha/Arizona Daily Sun)

Glass microscope slides with thin tissue slices are a common sight in most college biology courses.

Millions of new slides are produced every year for common medical tests as well as the research that is being performed by pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

But how the glass slides are handled does not reflect advances in technology — the slides are still shuffled from laboratory to laboratory as pathologists and techs review the results under powerful microscopes.

Maybe a little faster thanks to Fed Ex and UPS, but there are still rooms filled with the delicate pieces of glass.

A Flagstaff company is trying to revolutionize the industry, offering to bring companies largely dependent on slides into the 21st century.

Flagship Biosciences still might require companies to ship them the slides. But then they are transformed into digital pathology files that can be reviewed by a pathologist anywhere in the world.

Each electronic slide is scanned into ultra-high resolution, which allows pathologists and researchers the ability to zoom in to the tiniest detail.

“I call it the Google Earth for the microscope,” said Steve Potts, the CEO and chairman of Flagship Biosciences.

The company was founded in Boulder, Colo., by two renowned pathologists, Drs. David Young and Frank Voelker. Both men offer their expertise to clients, allowing smaller companies to have a well-respected pathologist consult on their slides.

Potts was hired earlier this year after the company moved to Flagstaff.

Having the top experts review new slides is only one of the advantages in using their digital services, said Potts.

The key, he says, is building a digital pathology library to compare hundreds of similar slides with the touch a of a few keystrokes. The libraries, often containing sensitive research, are not shared between clients.

In his office at the local small business incubator known as Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies, twin slide scanners hum nearby. The Aperio ScanScope scanners used by Flagship Biosciences are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and can scan hundreds of slides on a daily basis.

The company moved this year from Boulder to Flagstaff to tap into NACET’s integrated technologies.

A hyperfast connection to the Internet through NACET allows Flagship Biosciences to upload hundreds of images per file in a reasonably short time — they easily eat up a gigabyte or more. A secured server room behind several locked doors and with constant surveillance from security cameras assures that the client’s sensitive data is protected.

The company, which was founded last summer, has several clients.

Potts said despite the high costs of the scanners, the company has always made money.

“We were profitable from day one,” Potts said.

Potts said the company is looking to hire another pathologist for their digital pathology services in the near future. He believes that Northern Arizona University will be a good source for techs as the company grows.

Joe Ferguson can be reached at jferguson@azdailysun.com or 556-2253. ]]> http://www.nacet.org/2010/06/slides-go-digital/feed/ 0 http://www.nacet.org/2010/06/nacet-accompanies-incubator-graduate-senestech-to-mexico/ http://www.nacet.org/2010/06/nacet-accompanies-incubator-graduate-senestech-to-mexico/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:24:56 +0000 NACET http://www.nacet.org/?p=1750 Flagstaff, Arizona. The Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies (NACET) continues to support incubator graduate SenesTech with international research and support.  SenesTech, Inc. (SenesTech) is a platform biotechnology company specializing in reproductive physiology.  Its mission is to complete the development of non-surgical reproduction management technology that could profoundly change the world via wildlife and companion animal population control.

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Digital Pathology Scanning Laboratory

Several NACET clients are closing funding rounds including Ambature who completed raising a $2 million round.  Their CEO Mr. Joe Byers was the first speaker in our new Executive Speaker Series that occurs every quarter at the College of Business at NAU.  Mr. Byers not only spent the last 31 years as Vice President at Hewlett-Packard overseeing all of their international technology commercialization but was the lead inventor of the 32-bit computer chip.  Mr. Michael Zervas, CEO of Mountain Heart Cardiology will be our next executive speaker on April 19th at 6:00pm at NAU.
During the next quarter, NACET will continue to identify appropriate clients for its facility and further develop its Mentor’s Council.  The Mentor’s Council is an opportunity for business people to provide pro-bono time and seminars to companies in the community.  So far, over 25 individuals have signed up for this program including attorneys, CPAs, marketing experts, commercialization specialists and others.  You can find the list at http://www.nacet.org/about/core-consulting-team/mentor-2/

Flagstaff, AZ. January 13, 2010: The Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technology announced today the development of their new Mentors Program.  Russ Yelton, President and CEO of N.A.C.E.T. said “We are extremely excited about the collaborations between existing or potential clients and our group of mentors.”  This continually growing program of 16 dedicated business professionals will be providing pro bono services to NACET clients and those exploring becoming a client.  Expertise includes marketing, legal, intellectual property, information technology, venture capital, banking, photography, graphic design and more!  NACET encourages businesses seeking assistance to check out the list of mentors and call 928-213-9234 for a free appointment today!

By Design Marketing LLC
Expertise: Strategic Business Planning
Roxanne Engel, PhD

Convince & Convert
Expertise: Social media and online marketing strategy and coaching
Jason Baer

Garrick Brooks
Expertise: Information Technology
Garrick Brooks

Global Patent Solutions
Expertise: Patents
Kathryn Odland

Hotventures
Expertise: Venture Capital
Rick Gibson

Intellectual Energy, LLC
Expertise: Intellectual Property
Ron Epperson

Missing Frame Photography
Expertise: Photography & Design
Michael Bielecki

Moore & Associates
Expertise: Public Relations
Renee Moore

On Target Consultants
Expertise: “Go to market” strategy and execution, revenue acceleration, due diligence, partnering and asset sales
Chuck Bolotin

Polaris
Expertise: Medical Technologies
Gary Enzweiler, MBA, MHA

Snell and Wilmer
Expertise: Business Law
Angela Perez

The BelleWether Group
Expertise: Organizational Development and Strategic Planning
Trish Rensink
Jamey Hasapis

The Studio 61
Expertise: Sales & Marketing consultant
Jennifer Epperson

Trailhead Studio
Expertise: Art & Graphic Design
Trevor Roberson

Wells Fargo
Expertise: Banking
Craig Snyder

West, Christensen, PC
Expertise: Financial
Kevin D. West, CPA

About NACET:  NACET is a non-profit, small business incubator program founded to help entrepreneurs and startups succeed in northern Arizona.  They offer hands-on consulting to high-tech, science and renewable energy firms.

A new company at the Flagstaff business incubator is currently testing a biopolymer that could replace stitches and the use of gauze when treating a deep cut or similar wound.

The material, known as Elastatropin, might help wounds heal faster and reduce the amount of scarring, said Protein Genomics CEO Burt Ensley.

The lab-grown material is similar to human tropoelastin, an organic material that helps keep skin and other tissues in the body flexible.

The move to the Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies follows a recent announcement that the company had received a $150,000 research grant from the National Science Foundation.

The grant will help pay for the rent at the incubator and allow Protein Genomics to establish its own lab.

The company has previously relied extensively on contract research organizations.

“We have been outsourcing most of our research,” Ensley said. “Doing (research and development) with PhD’s is extremely expensive.

Ensley, who has a doctorate in microbiology, said he is glad to have his own lab. He said there are some distinct disadvantages in relying on outsourced research.

“If you want them to discover something or to design something and it doesn’t work, they don’t care,” Ensley said.

The company hired Flagstaff resident Robert Kellar last year to help develop several products. Kellar has extensive experience in research and product development for FDA-regulated products.

Ensley said he hopes to outgrow the incubator in the next two years, migrating to larger research space near Flagstaff Pulliam Airport.

The company’s four employees could grow to a dozen employees as the type of research evolves beyond tabletop tests, he said.

However, Ensley doesn’t believe that his company will ever completely outgrow the need for contract research firms.

He said the contractors are better suited to ramp up on clinical trials, which call for animal and human testing.

“They have lists of human volunteers; they really are the wave of the future and important to us in getting out of this start-up mode,” Ensley said.

But regardless of how successful his company becomes, Protein Genomics will never be as big as Flagstaff’s largest biomedical employer, W.L. Gore & Associates, Ensley said.

He said changes in how investors look at fledgling companies have changed since Gore was founded.

“The opportunity to raise money to support that kind of operation is past. These days, it is a more modest expectation for financial transactions,” Ensley said.

The company has raised roughly $300,000 from local investors.

Protein Genomics was formed by Ensley in 1993 to “capitalize on opportunities presented by rapid progress in the fields of genomics.”

It currently sells Elastatropin to several companies that make commercially available eye creams and has several patents related to the use of Elastatropin.

Joe Ferguson can be reached at jferguson@azdailysun.com or 556-2253.

The departure of Senestech late last year from the Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies is both good and bad news for the fledgling small-business incubator.

The graduation of the biotech company to larger facilities near Flagstaff Pulliam Airport was always expected. But its departure has left the 10,000 square-foot, state-of-the art facility on McMillan Mesa only 35 percent full.

And in the short run, this means NACET will be unable to collect enough rent to make the full monthly payment of $7,500 to the city.

But officials with the city and NACET both play down the problem as only temporary and part of a natural cycle for any small-business incubator.

Russ Yelton, president and CEO of NACET, said he was fully aware that Senestech was close to graduating when he took the job last fall and he made financial decisions to deal with the issue.

Primarily, the incubator overpaid its rent to the city in the months prior to Senestech leaving the facility to give it a cushion while it looked to bring in new businesses.

“For an incubator this is typical, this is what you want,” Yelton said. “If you don’t have vacancies every so often then your businesses are not graduating. And you are not doing what you should.”

Yelton also sees the departure of Senestech, which occupied two-thirds of the incubator, as a chance for NACET to make some changes in its client base.

“The good opportunity for us now is it truly gives us an opportunity to truly diversify the clients we have in here,” Yelton said.

And that is a process can’t happen overnight, he said.

He explains that there is a virtual tightrope that a high-tech business incubator walks: While it focuses on “green” businesses that produce high-wage jobs, it also has few areas it tries to avoid.

They include: businesses with high water demands, start-ups that would likely relocate out of the area upon graduation, and those that need industry-specific skill sets not necessarily available in Flagstaff.

So, for Yelton, the need to pay the rent will not dictate which clients to take in.

He said he expects the number of clients to grow significantly in the next three to six months.

A thick stack of yellow file folders on his desk suggests that the empty lab space will not last long.

Two new businesses are already in the process of moving in: Protein Genomics and Sedona Energy Labs.

Yelton said that Protein Genomics is researching ways to grow human skin and blood vessels to be used in wound healing and tissue regeneration. He said the company has already received the first phase of federal funding for the research and will be applying for a second round of funding later this year.

Sedona Energy Labs is working on producing a tracking technology that would allow solar panels to re-orient themselves during the course of the day. He said the technology could improve existing panels efficiencies by 20 percent.

Deputy City Manager Ben Fisk confirmed the city is working closely with Yelton on possible modifications to the lease.

He said the city has complete faith in Yelton’s ability to find new clients for the incubator and the temporary vacancies do not pose any serious budget concerns.

The city and NAU, along with fees charged to tenants and affiliates, underwrite an annual operating budget of about $350,000 a year.

Joe Ferguson can be reached at jferguson@azdailysun.com or 556-2253.

Companies currently at NACET

– Ambature LLC, is developing a new class of materials that improve the efficiency of power distribution while reducing electricity consumption.

– Algae Biosciences Corporation discovers, develops, produces, manufactures, and markets products that originate from marine and fresh water organisms.

– Foresight Wind Energy develops wind energy sources throughout the West.

– Keya Earth focuses on sustainable development strategies for Native American communities.

– Quantance, a semiconductor startup, has developed and patented technology innovations in radio frequency transmission efficiency that significantly increases signal power while requiring less battery power.

– SunWind Solutions produces web-based software for designing renewable energy systems.

Joe Beyers as Chairman & CEO

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. Dec. 18, 2009 – After thirty-four years with Hewlett-Packard (HP), licensing and Intellectual Property expert Joe Beyers departs HP to turn his focus on a leadership role with a new energy efficiency company, Ambature.

Ambature was founded in 2007 for the purpose of developing technologies that can significantly improve the efficiency of electrical energy generation, distribution and usage. These technologies will have an impact on electrical transmission lines, electric motors, integrated circuits as well as a broad range of other electrical devices. The company intends to develop these technologies and license the intellectual property to other companies, as well as create partnerships in the development of innovative products that use these technologies.

Beyers possesses a rare combination of tremendous strategic insight, keen business judgment and deep technical knowledge,” said Ambature co-founder, Doug Gilbert. Co-founder Neal Mody agrees, “Beyers’ depth of experience, his ability to drive effective decisions in the midst of complexity and rapid change as well as the respect he has earned industry-wide, will help bring our technology to the forefront.”

Beyers served as vice president of Intellectual Property Licensing at HP. In this role he established the HP Intellectual Property Licensing function that was responsible for licensing HP’s intellectual property spanning multiple product lines and technologies.  He authored chapters in two books on intellectual property and was inducted into the international IP Hall of Fame.

“From my years in Silicon Valley, I have learned that it’s a rare opportunity to join a company such as Ambature, that has the technology to make such a revolutionary advancement,” said Beyers. “The United States needs to embrace potential high-impact companies in the energy field in order to relax the grip of oil dependency and to meet its goals for reduction in carbon emissions. I look forward to leveraging my entrepreneurial and licensing expertise to help ensure Ambature’s success.”

Larry Udell, founder of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society, commented, “Ambature has the ability and technology to dramatically change the way energy is created and used in the world today, and in the future.  With Joe’s leadership and Ambature’s experienced team, this venture has tremendous business upside and the potential to positively affect all our lives.”

Beyers has served in a number of other vice president and executive management roles, including vice president of HP’s Internet Business Unit, a group of eight innovative start-up businesses that addressed several Internet related product segments. Additional leadership roles were in planning and strategy, and corporate development, as well as technology development of operating systems, computer systems and integrated circuits.  Beyers is also a Distinguished Alumni from the University of Illinois.

About Ambature:

Ambature’s mission is to create and license materials which will increase the efficiency of generation, distribution and use of electricity.

Ambature is supported by the Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies (NACET), a small-business assistance program founded to help entrepreneurs and startups succeed in Northern Arizona. Ambature is also receiving assistance from Flagstaff-based Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Arizona State University (ASU) located in Tempe, Arizona.

Ambature’s development team is located in Flagstaff, Arizona, with business centers in Mesa, Arizona and Cupertino, California.

Media Contact:
Melanie McBride
C: 480-862-9094
E: mmcbride@eblane.com