Deals of Year Spotlight Acquisitions, Financings, Licensings, GRA Fund

ATLANTA, GA (December 21, 2009) -- Georgia Bio (GaBio) announced its 2010 Deals of the Year for medical device and biopharmaceutical companies in four categories – mergers and acquisitions, public and private financings and licensing agreements – reflecting a broad range of activity in the midst of a challenging economic environment.

The annual Deal of the Year awards recognize transactions by life sciences companies that are significant to Georgia’s life sciences industry development. The recipients will receive their awards at the GaBio Annual Awards Dinner January 21, 6 pm to 9 pm, at The Retreat of Dunwoody. Here is a link to register.

The deals occurred between the beginning of 4th quarter 2008 and the end of the 3rd quarter 2009. The recipients are:

• Altea Therapeutics of Atlanta is developing a breakthrough transdermal technology, the PassPort System, for the convenient and painless delivery of currently injected biologics from a small skin patch.
• The Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Seed Fund, a public-private effort to create new technology-based companies out of local university research.
• Iconic Therapeutics of Atlanta, a biotechnology company developing a drug to treat wet macular degeneration based on novel immunoconjugate proteins called “I-cons.”
• Inhibitex of Alpharetta, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products to treat serious infectious diseases.
• Medshape Solutions of Atlanta, a medical device company with proprietary materials technology specifically formulated to improve soft tissue fixation and fracture management.
• Porex Corporation of Fairburn, a global developer, manufacturer and distributor of porous plastic products primarily for the healthcare and surgical end markets
• Solvay Pharmaceuticals of Marietta, the U.S. headquarters of a group of companies that constitutes the global pharmaceutical business of the Belgium-based Solvay Group, focused on therapeutic areas of neuroscience, cardiometabolic, influenza vaccines, gastroenterology and men's and women's health.
• Synageva Biopharma of Athens and Waltham, Mass., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing novel, next generation and follow on protein therapeutics that leverage its proprietary Synageva Expression Platform.
• Visioneering Technologies of Atlanta, a start-up company with technology for correcting presbyopia through contact lenses and other “on eye and in eye” applications.

Learn read the complete press release click here: http://www.gabio.org/pr_details.aspx?subid=279&refid=8