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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT
Bernard Kaplan
Kaplan Public
Relations
(713) 784-1077
HOUSTON BIOTECH
COMPANY RECIPIENT OF $1 MILLION GRANT
FROM TEXAS
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY FUND
Endothelix, Originated from the
University of Texas and Texas Heart Institute, Recognized
for Advancement in the Detection of Heart Disease
HOUSTON, TX. (July __, 2006) . . . Endothelix, has been named as the
awardee of a $1 million grant by the State of Texas’s
Emerging Technology Fund. The
Texas Life Science Center for
Innovation and Commercialization, appointed by Governor
Perry, has selected Endothelix as the sole recipient of the
award among 45 other competing companies.
Endothelix was presented the $1
million grant for the development of its low-cost,
non-invasive procedure, VENDYSTM,
a new technology which measures vascular by monitoring
temperature changes at one’s fingertips.
The temperature changes
measured by VENDYSTM is a marker of vascular
endothelial dysfunction, explains Endothelix Founder and
President Dr. Morteza Naghavi, a former director of the
Vulnerable Plaque Research Center at the University of Texas
Health Science Center and the Texas Heart Institute in
Houston.
The endothelium is a single
layer of cells that lines every blood vessel in the body and
plays critical roles in governing vascular function, blood
flow, clotting and the development of atherosclerotic plaque
(fat build ups in the arteries that cause heart attack and
stroke).
“Endothelial dysfunction is
known as the gateway to cardiovascular disease. Endothelix’s
mission is to bring endothelial function monitoring to the
patient care.” says Naghavi. “With this grant, we can
continue our clinical trials and recruit a management team
necessary to secure the long-term commercial success of this
promising technology.”
“The State of Texas is honored
that Endothelix Inc. is dedicated to the commercialization
of a non-invasive endothelial dysfunction monitor for early
detection of cardiovascular disease that will lead to an
increase of high-quality jobs in our state.” stated in a
letter to Dr. Naghavi signed by Governor Perry, Lieutenant
Governor Dewhurst, and Speaker of the House Tom Craddick.
“We are confident that you will find Texas an ideal
environment for expediting your emerging technologies to the
market.”
The Texas Emerging Technology
Fund is a new initiative by Governor Perry’s economic reform
committee to foster development of emerging technologies in
Texas. “The Emerging Technology Fund is a great
initiative and we are delighted that a Houston-based biotech
company has won the award in such a competitive race”. Said
Jacquelyn Northcut, president of Bio-Houston (www.biohouston.org),
a non-profit organization that is
leading a broad effort to establish the Houston region as a
vigorous global competitor in life science and biotechnology
commercialization. Endothelix is a Bio-Houston
Associate.
Last year, Endothelix received
a worldwide exclusive license from the UT Houston Health
Science Center and the Texas Heart Institute for the thermal
detection of endothelial dysfunction, a technology
invented by Dr. Naghavi and his graduate student. In
September 2003, Dr Naghavi left the university to
commercialize the DTM technology. In collaboration with the
faculty of other Houston-based institutions, Drs Ralph
Metcalfe and Ioannis Kakadiaris from the University of
Houston, and Dr. Craig Hartley from Baylor College of
Medicine, Endothelix is advancing its technology platforms.
Local investors associated with
Houston Angel Network (www.houstonangelnetwork.org)
and Houston Technology Center (www.houstontech.org)
have supported Endothelix.
Endothelix is currently seeking
FDA approval with the goal of making the product available
for commercial use in 2007. The company envisions a
home-based model of VENDYSTM.
In addition to local
universities, the Endothelix Scientific Advisory Board
includes world-renown cardiovascular researchers from
various institutions including the University of California
in Los Angeles, Columbia University Medical Center and Lenox
Hill Hospital in New York, and Aarhus University in Denmark.
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