.gen Technologies Inc.

Here’s a company to keep an eye on. Carlsbad-based Medsphere is commercializing an open-source version of VistA, an electronic health record service developed for the VA.
 
http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2009/05/28/medsphere-raising-15m/

From New England Journal of Meducine, actual use of Electronic Health Record systems (EHR) in US hospitals, as reported by David Blumenthal, now Barack Obama’s National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
 
Particularly noteworthy are that only 3% of respondent hospitals had a fully functional EHR system, and that the VA EHR system – in place for over a decade – is a big success story the administration is trying to emulate.
 
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/360/16/1628

Leap Wireless, which owns pay-as-you-go Cricket Communications, is one of the fastest growing tech firms in San Diego. Leap plans to move their devices and services upscale with bets like Android while focusing on their young, value-oriented market segment in U.S. urban areas.
 
Wall Street may be bearish about this additional debt, but I think market conditions are perfect for Cricket to be more aggressive in growing their customer base.
 
http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2009/05/28/leap-wireless-out-to-raise-over-13b-to-expand-retire-debt/

A good opinion piece from MIT Technology Review, arguing that a policy that encourages innovation in genetic testing is more likely to get us the benefit of better health than the current solution of slugging it out in patent lawsuits – like this month’s lawsuit between the ACLU and Myriad Genetics. Patenting genes associated with cancer does not seem the right way to go, but unfortunately the untested state of knowledge in this area muddies the waters.
 
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22704/

The current chapter of drama around local biotech Amylin should climax today as shareholders vote their support (or not) for the current management. Activist investors Carl Icahn and Eastbourne Capital Management are agitating for regime change based on the company’s recent track record.
 
http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2009/05/27/amylin-shareholders-vote-today-in-battle-to-influence-board/

Vertex, a Boston-based biotech with offices in San Diego, announces clinical trials of their new Cystic Fibrosis drug. It will be exciting to see how these go.
 
Cystic Fibrosis, an abnormality to a protein that regulates chloride ions in cells, is one of the most common genetic conditions in our population, and often shows up in business models that monetize gene therapies with the potential to lead to personalized medicine.
 
http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/05/27/vertex-starts-pivotal-cf-trials/

We’ve started work with a large local biotech firm, where we’ll be bringing our expertise in software automation to the tools effort of their Verification and Validation team. Contact us to see if we can do something similar for you!

Regulus’s new microRNA blocker technology (aka anti-MIR) hits its first milestone for marketing/funding partner GSK. This promising approach delivers small pieces of RNA into cells to block transcription and thereby slow gene expression.
 
http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2009/05/14/regulus-hits-gsk-milestone/