Iron Horse Diagnostics was honored with the 2013 AZBio Fast Lane Award from the Arizona Bioindustry Association for Accelerating the Development of New ALS Diagnostic Tests. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a devastating disease that is nearly always fatal within 5 years of onset. Due to similarities in their symptomatic progression is it difficult to differentiate ALS from several other disease mimics (motor neuropathy, progressive muscle atrophy, etc.) until it is too late for intervention to have any real effect. With an earlier diagnosis, and therefore earlier intervention, current clinical care may increase the lifespan of these patients and additional drug therapies that are likely to be introduced to the market could be more rapidly initiated. Not only might life expectancy increase, but patients would be given the chance for a higher quality of life for a longer duration due to more rapid inclusion of the patient into multi-disciplinary care treatment offered at specialized ALS clinics.

AZBio CEO, Joan Koerber-Walker shares highlights from  the 2011 AZBio Awards.  Meet some of this year's award winners.

The AZBio Awards are an Arizona tradition that recognizes the best of the biosciences, showcases our companies, connects our future bioscience leaders to today's. 

http://www.yulex.com/ Rubber and commerce go hand in hand and rubber products are everywhere. Yulex Corporation is the global leader in guayule-based biomaterials for a wide range of markets and diverse applications. Yulex’s Guayule BioRubber Emulsions and BioRubber Solids have medical, consumer, and industrial applications to grow an increasingly diverse market community with ultra-pure, high-performance products. From medical devices to fabric coatings, and from bedding to industrial packaging adhesives, Yulex also provides technical and product development guidance and support, and even custom material compounding and formulation. Yulex Corporation, a technology, marketing and biomaterial product development company that applies sustainable crop science, clean bioprocessing, and materials science for the production of natural, allergy-friendly BioRubber derived from the renewable, crop Guayule was honored with the 2013 AZBio Fast Lane Award from the Arizona Bioindustry Association

Brain State Technologies  has a mission statement that is  three words: To Help People. The corporate headquarters is based in Scottsdale, AZ and has nearly 200 providers in 18 countries that have helped over 50,000 people. Lee Gerdes is the Founder and CEO of Brain State Technologies®  and the creator of the breakthrough neuro-technology Brainwave Optimization with Real-Time Balancing™, which helps people of all ages and conditions to overcome cognitive, emotional, and physical challenges and is transforming and likely saving lives all over the world.   The firm and its process have been featured on ABC, FOX, CBS, OWN, People, The New York Times, USA Today, PARADE, The Arizona Republic, BrainWorld, Frontiers in Neuroscience, and more.  Brain State offers a non-invasive process versus using drugs or surgery for a wide range of applications to overcome cognitive, emotional, and physical challenges including sleep disorders, alcoholism, meth addition, and PTSD. Their work has resulted in the largest relational database of brain patterns on planet Earth.  Brain State’s patent-pending procedure compares over 48,000 brain frequencies and its patented Relational Sound (Wave Aid) program provides for ongoing process support.  Committed to serving our veterans, the company offers pro bono services to soldiers with debilitating symptoms of PTSD. 

Global Cancer Diagnostics Inc. is a medical laboratory established to confidentially diagnose lung cancer at its earliest stages. It is our belief that many lung cancer victims will benefit by early diagnosis and treatment. 

Each year AZBio celebrates the milestone 

Flagship Biosciences  provides quantitative tissue analysis services for pharmaceutical and medical device development. Flagship offers a broad range of tissue assessment options, achieved through a diverse set of approaches. Flagship Biosciences provides tissue analysis solutions to over sixty biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device clients, with global programs in place for tissue-based companion diagnostics with three of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Their sales grew 400% in 2011, and are on track to triple again in 2012. Flagship scientists published seven peer-reviewed articles in 2011, and filed 4 patent applications during the year. However, the largest development for Flagship was the acquisition of a histology and immunohistochemistry laboratory during the close 2011 which has added tissue procurement to complete their tissue-based analysis operations. Finally, the company’s image analysis technology won a best poster award at the Pathology Visions 2011 conference in San Diego, and a best presentation award at the Pathology Informatics 2011 meeting in Pittsburgh  The company is currently working on a medical device spinout of their existing operations and expansion into Phoenix later this year. Committed to growing not only the company but  also Arizona’s bioscience talent pool, the company currently utilizes many students from Northern Arizona University.  Flagship Biosciences was honored in 2011 with the  2011 AZBio Fast Lane Award .

Nasseo, Inc. is a start-up medical device company developing an implant surface modification technology to provide patients and clinicians with the next generation of dental and orthopedic implants. Over the past 18 months the company has achieved very impressive milestones and is in the Fast Lane to delivering a new platform technology that benefits patients in several compelling markets. In 2013 NASSEO was accepted into the BioInspire Medical Device accelerator in Peoria, AZ. In addition to mentoring and support, NASSEO received a $300,000 investment of seed funding from the highly competitive program. NASSEO was also named the 2013 Innovation Challenge Winner by the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) in its spring Arizona Innovation Challenge securing $250,000 for the commercialization of its first product, the TiArray™ Dental Implant which received FDA approval in 2013.

John W. Lewis, Mayor of the Town of Gilbert,was recognized with the 2013 AZBio Public Service Award from the Arizona Bioindustry Association in recognition for his vision and leadership in creating a health and bioscience innovation strategic focus in America’s largest town. Under Mayor Lewis’s leadership, Gilbert is attracting global leaders, spurring economic development, and creating quality and high-wage life science jobs.