Houston, TX, August, 19, 2009 – TheraVasc, LLC was named one of the most promising Life Science companies at the 8th Annual Rice Alliance for Technology & Entrepreneurship Life Science Venture Forum in Houston last week. Life Science companies showcased their new ventures for an audience of more than 400 attendees, including investors, venture capitalists, industry representatives, business leaders, advisors/mentors, service providers, and entrepreneurs.Cynthia A. Doerr, M.D., partner, Essex Woodlands Health Ventures said of the presenters, “This is one of the most mature groups of healthcare-related company presentations that I have reviewed in Houston, and I intend to follow their progress closely.”
TheraVasc is developing repurposed drugs for vascular diseases for which no current treatments exist. Its lead compound, TV1001, licensed from LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, is moving into a Phase Ib clinical trial for the treatment of peripheral artery disease, a disease affecting some 12 million people in the US causing severe pain in the legs characterized by a loss of blood flow for which the current standard of care is exercise. TheraVasc treatment works to increase new blood vessel growth specifically in the affected limb. The trial will monitor safety and new blood vessel development.
Tony Giordano, Ph.D., the President and CEO of TheraVasc said, “We are pleased to receive this recognition from the Rice Alliance. I have attended a number of these venture forums with a number of other companies I have been with and can say that the interactive format used here was a fantastic learning experience. Hearing all the other excellent presentations and still being recognized as one of the most promising technologies was truly rewarding.”
The one day event culminated in an announcement of the Most Promising Life Science Companies chosen from nearly 35 competitors and judged by the Rice Alliance Information Technology Advisory Board, based on the companies’ elevator pitch presentations. The exercise simulates meeting an investor on an elevator and having only 90 seconds to convince them to invest in your company.
In addition, five other new life science technology companies were pre-selected to present their 10 minute business plan presentation at the forum, and as one of the chosen five, were also named a Most Promising Life Science Technology Company.
Rice Alliance Director Brad Burke, announced the winners of the Most Promising Life Science Company awards at the event. “Every year the quality of companies improves. Many of the companies at this year’s event have developed prototypes, obtained proven results and are on their second round of funding. This makes them more appealing to investors, who have also expressed appreciation for the quality of the companies.”
The Forum was supported by Baker Botts, LLP, Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, Winstead Attorneys and Oracle with media sponsors Houston Business Journal and the BusinessMakers Radio Show. Elevator pitches from the competition can be heard at businessmakersradioshow.com starting June 20, 2009.
