URALCHEM and the Ziedot.lv Fund present New Year Gifts to seriously ill children in Latvia

URALCHEM and a leading Latvian charity organization, the Ziedot.lv Fund, held New Year activities and events for a group of seriously ill children in Latvia and members of their families. URALCHEM’s CEO, Dmitry Konyaev, and the head of the Ziedot.lv Fund, Ruta Dimanta, gave presents to the children.

Riga, Latvia – December 20, 2012 — URALCHEM and a leading Latvian charity organization, the Ziedot.lv Fund, held New Year activities and events for a group of seriously ill children in Latvia and members of their families. URALCHEM’s CEO, Dmitry Konyaev, and the head of the Ziedot.lv Fund, Ruta Dimanta, gave presents to the children. These children are beneficiaries of a joint charity programme “Help for seriously ill children”, which was launched in the autumn of this year.

In September 2012, URALCHEM and the Ziedot.lv Fund signed an agreement that started a charitable programme for the treatment of 20 children from Latvia in leading Russian clinics. URALCHEM is providing total funding to the amount of €80 thousand.

Since the launch of the programme, 11 families have received help with specific treatment or rehabilitation for their children using leading Russian clinics. The Ziedot.lv Fund has selected clinics and treatment programmes on the basis of doctors’ recommendations and requests from parents for financial assistance. URALCHEM has currently provided €25 thousand of funding.

Dmitry Konyaev came to Latvia to show his support for the children and give them New Year presents. “We are pleased that the company’s social policy in Latvia is generating results already. Together with the Ziedot.lv Fund, we intend to continue our support for the children. They are now on their way to recovery and I wish them success in the coming year in overcoming their problems,” he said.

Ruta Dimanta said that the Fund treated every case individually, choosing leading medical institutions in Russia to carry out the treatments. In clinical cases involving children with rare or complex conditions requiring care outside Latvia and not funded by the state, URALCHEM’s participation enables the provision of hospital and other treatment and support for the children’s’ families. She added, “The condition of the children who have been helped has improved significantly. We are grateful to the Russian doctors and to URALCHEM for their assistance. Our joint programme is gaining momentum and I hope that as a result, next year more families will be able to celebrate this holiday with joy.”

-Ends-

Public Relations Department
URALCHEM, OJSC
Tel: +7 (495) 721 89 89
E-Mail: pr@URALCHEM.com
Web: http://www.uralchem.com

URALCHEM, OJSC is one of the largest producers of nitrogen and phosphate fertilisers in Russia and the CIS with production capacities of over 2.5 million tonnes of ammonium nitrate, 2.8 million tonnes of ammonia, 0.8 million tonnes of MAP and DAP, 0.8 million tonnes of complex fertilisers and 1.2 million tonnes of urea. URALCHEM, OJSC is the second largest ammonium nitrate producer in the world and number one in Russia, the second largest producer of nitrogen fertilisers in Russia. Key production assets of URALCHEM, OJSC include Azot Branch of URALCHEM, OJSC in Berezniki, Perm Region; OJSC Minudobrenia, Perm; MFP Kirovo-Chepetsk Chemical Works, OJSC Branch in Kirovo-Chepetsk, Kirov region; Voskresensk Mineral Fertilisers, OJSC in Voskresensk, Moscow region.

Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of URALCHEM. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions. We do not intend to update these statements and our actual results may differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, the achievement of anticipated levels of profitability, growth, cost and synergy of our recent acquisitions, the impact of competitive pricing, the ability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals and licenses, the impact of developments in the Russian economic, political and legal environment, financial risk management and the impact of general business and global economic conditions.

2nd Annual All Women Art Competition Announced by Gallery

Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery announces an “All Women” Juried Art Competition for the month of January 2013.

Jupiter, Florida, USA – December 20, 2012 — Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery announces an “All Women” Juried Art Competition for the month of January 2013. The gallery urges all 2D (women only) artists to submit their best art for inclusion into the gallery’s February 2013 online group exhibition.

The gallery would like to be able to exhibit only the best art that is submitted by women artists only. Women can submit any 2D media, in any style and about any subject matter. Women are encouraged to submit their art regardless of where they reside and regardless of their experience or education in the art field.

A group exhibition of the top ten finalists will be held online at the Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery during the month of February 2013. Awards will be for 1st through 5th places and in addition 5 artists will be recognized with Honorable Mention awards. Depending on the amount and the quality of the entries, these winning categories may be expanded and there also may be Special Recognition awards posted as well. The submission process and the deadline is January 27, 2013.

Winning artists of the “All Women” Art Exhibition will receive extensive worldwide publicity and promotion in the form of email marketing, 70+ press release announcements, 75+ event announcements, and social media marketing in order to make the art world aware of the artist’s accomplishments. In addition, there will also be links back to the artist’s website as part of this achievement and hopefully to help drive traffic back to the artist’s website.

Women artists should provide us with your best art and apply online here: http://www.lightspacetime.com.

About Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery

Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery conducts monthly art competitions and monthly art exhibitions for new and emerging artists on a worldwide basis. It is Light Space & Time’s intention to showcase this incredible talent in a series of monthly themed art competitions and art exhibitions by marketing and displaying the exceptional abilities of these worldwide artists.

The art gallery website can be viewed here: http://www.lightspacetime.com

Media Contact:
John R. Math
Light Space & Time Online Gallery
118 Poinciana Drive
Jupiter, FL 33458
888-490-3530
info@lightspacetime.com
http://www.lightspacetime.com

Want to Play Santa This Season? Read on…

Here’s a worthy cause to aid the less fortunate, in Bangalore City.

Bangalore, India, December 19, 2012 — Theja George, a 28 year old HR professional from Bangalore has taken it upon herself for the third year in succession, to collect and distribute Blankets to the less fortunate in Bangalore. After the grand success of her charitable endeavor “Blankets and Quilts” over the last two years, Theja wants to repeat the same this year.

Rather than taking on the usual path of ‘what-can-I-do-alone’ powerlessness that many of us hide behind, this go-getter decided to actually “do” something to bring comfort to the needy. “Bangalore had one of the coldest winters last year, and I needed two blankets to keep myself warm,” Theja recalls the moment that inspired her to fight for the cause, “On the road one day, I began wondering how the poor slept at night without any covering at all. So I decided on this initiative of collecting blankets for them.”

Using the festive season to her advantage Theja and her friends dressed up like Santa Claus, Elves and went about the neighborhood singing Christmas carols to promote her worthy cause. The goal was to collect 500 blankets and to her amazement she landed up collecting 650 blankets! She along with her friends went around personally distributing the blankets among the poor on the road.

“Instead of donating money, give people whatever they require and make sure you personally hand it over to them. Seeing the expression on their faces when their needs are met is priceless and worth every bit of the effort you put into it. You also ensure that it goes to the people it is meant for” says Theja.

Every donation counts, your contribution will go a long way in making the life of a less fortunate person comfortable. If you would like to make a donation or want further information regarding this noble cause, email Theja George on thejageorge@yahoo.com with the subject line saying Blankets and Quilts. We all may not be cut out to initiate or execute such praiseworthy undertakings, but we can definitely extend our support to those who do!

Press & Media Contact:
Theja George
Marching Ants Marketing LLP
Bangalore, India
+91 93432 01069
thejageorge@yahoo.com
http://www.marchingantsllp.com

Zevrix Releases Deliver 2.4: Adds Google Storage Support

Zevrix Solutions announces Deliver 2.4, a feature update to its file delivery solution for remote and local destinations. Deliver supports FTP, Amazon S3, WebDAV and other services, and offers automatic e-mail notifications, delivery to multiple destinations, file encryption and other powerful capabilities. The software also lets users send output files and collected jobs directly from Adobe InDesign. The new version adds support for file delivery to Google Storage servers.

Toronto (ON), Canada – December 19, 2012 — Zevrix Solutions today announces Deliver 2.4, a feature update to its file delivery solution for remote and local destinations. Deliver lets users send files over Internet and local networks with variable e-mail notifications, automatic compression, encryption and other powerful capabilities. It supports FTP, Amazon S3, WebDAV and other remote and local services, and lets users send files to multiple destinations at once.

The new version lets users send files to Google Storage servers. Google Cloud Storage is a service for storing, accessing and managing data on Google’s infrastructure. The service combines the performance and scalability of Google’s cloud with advanced security and sharing capabilities.

“Deliver gives plenty to like,” writes Natalia Nowak on Mac360, a Mac app reviews site. “It’s a secure document delivery system with tracking built in, and straightforward and comprehensive user interface.”

Deliver quickly gains popularity as file delivery tool of choice at ad agencies, printers, audio recording studios and video producers. Users only need to drop files onto the program icon, and the items will be delivered automatically with customizable e-mail confirmations issued upon delivery. The files can be easily retrieved through the link in notification e-mail.

Deliver offers the following key features and solutions:

-Support for FTP, SFTP, Amazon S3 and other services
Automatic e-mail notifications
-Hyperlink to file in notification e-mail
-Automatic compression
-Encrypt disk images with passwords
-Create lo-res PDF on the fly and attach to e-mail
-Detailed delivery history

Pricing and Availability:
Deliver can be purchased from Zevrix website for US$19.95. The update is free for licensed users of Deliver. Trial is also available for download. Deliver is a Universal Binary and available for Mac OS X 10.5-10.8.

About Zevrix Solutions

Located in Toronto, Canada, Zevrix Solutions provides productivity solutions for Adobe Creative Suite software, PDF and graphic file diagnostics, file delivery and Microsoft Office on Mac OS. Zevrix is dedicated to help professionals increase their profits through automating everyday tasks, producing error-free documents, saving disk space and cutting production costs. For more information, visit http://www.zevrix.com.

Contact:
Leo Revzin
Owner
Zevrix Solutions
105 McCAUL St, Suite 301
Toronto Ontario M5T 2X4 Canada
858-206-0607
media@zevrix.com

Solutions for Adobe InDesign & the Graphics Industry

Emerging Singer-Songwriter Luke Potter to Release New Music Video “One Day” on December 18

“The message in this song is about coming to terms with your mistakes and learning from them so you can move forward with your life.”

Los Angeles, CA, December 18, 2012 – Luke Potter is a young UK singer/songwriter who has gained support and endorsements having been working with from some of the industry’s top music producers including Ken Caillat (Fleetwood Mac, Colbie Caillat), Steve Power (Robbie Williams, McFly) and Bleu (Demi Lovato, Jonas Brothers).

Luke’s catchy and melodic songs are easy for the young generation to relate to. His fresh, understated, boyish good looks make him particularly appealing to teen girls as evidenced during recent school tours in the UK where he has been ‘mobbed’ for autographs and photos.

If people are looking for the next teen idol then Luke is it! Don’t be fooled though, this heartthrob is a serious songwriter eager to make an impression stateside.

“One Day” is the lead-off song from his forthcoming U.S. debut EP of the same name. Incorporating his natural leanings and influences for pop and rock, “One Day” describes ‘starting over…’

The tone is his voice is all but pleading, “One day I’m gonna find a way to say the things that I mean, I’m gonna rewrite my story…”

Honest and to the point “One Day” and its music video is understated but Luke showcases that he is a highly talented, young songwriter and a true artist in the making with the backdrop of a great production by Bleu. “One Day” is the perfect coming-of-age and inspiring song for what’s to come from his debut EP.

Links: WebsiteYouTubeFacebookTwitter

Contact:
Chip Schutzman
Miles High Productions
P.O. Box 93157
Hollywood, CA 90093
323-806-0400
chip@mileshighproductions.com
http://www.mileshighproductions.com

IAPAM Announces the 2013 Dates for its Symposiums with Botox Training and Respected hCG Training

Physicians learn and receive EVERYTHING they need to start offering Botox and hCG for weight loss in the NEW YEAR. Today, the IAPAM announces all its 2013 dates for its respected seminars.

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA – December 19, 2012 — With the election over and the Affordable Healthcare Act moving forward, physicians are looking for ways to add non-insurance based modalities to their practices. The IAPAM is helping physicians enter this cash-based market by offering their dermatologist-led, 2-day Aesthetic Medicine Symposium with Botox Training as well as their full day hCG Physician Training again in 2013. Physicians learn and receive EVERYTHING they need to start offering Botox and hCG for weight loss in the NEW YEAR. Today, the IAPAM announces all its 2013 dates for its respected seminars.

Physicians considering the launch of a medspa are making a wise business decision. Adding aesthetic medical modalities to a practice or opening a medispa allows physicians to collect fees in advance, ensuring they get fully paid for the services while providing in-demand aesthetic medicine procedures.

To assist physicians in entering this lucrative market, The International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine’s (http://www.iapam.com) Aesthetic Medicine Symposium (http://www.aestheticmedicinesymposium.com) is designed by physicians for physicians to support the addition of aesthetic medicine modalities, including botox, to an existing practice, or launching a medical spa. This 2 day educational event showcases the most important clinical and business aesthetic medicine training. Physicians who complete the IAPAM’s Symposium have a competitive advantage!

Over 1000 physicians (MDs, DOs, PAs, NPs, and DDSs), as well as their medspa managers, registered nurses, and assistants, have attended the IAPAM’s hands-on Aesthetic Medicine Symposiums (http://www.iapam.com/botox-training) and hCG Training (http://www.hcgtraining.com) seminars since 2006. Today, the IAPAM announces the 2013 dates for its Aesthetic Medicine Symposiums in beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona:

January 26-27, 2-13
March 23-24, 2013
May 4-5, 2013
June 15-16, 2013
September 21-22, 2013
October 26-27, 2013
December 7-8, 2013

The IAPAM’s Aesthetic Medicine Symposium provides physicians:

– dedicated instruction from two board-certified dermatologists, who are true experts of the skin and cosmetic injectables.
– hands-on practice in the best injection techniques.
– botox training at a multi-million dollar medical practice, not in a hotel room.
– an environment that does not allow exhibitors, giving doctors more time for education.
– the opportunity to attend the Symposium’s Aesthetic Practice Startup Workshop (http://iapam.com/aesthetic-practice-startup-workshop) on the Monday after each Symposium, a program highlighting the latest information on medspa business development and social media marketing.
– the opportunity to attend the IAPAM’s hCG/Medical Weight Management (http://www.hcgtraining.com) on Friday before each Symposium, which covers hCG for weight loss, prescription appetite suppressants, ketogenic diet based programs, meal replacement and B6/12 injections.

Dates for the 2013 hCG Medical Weight Loss Training showcasing the IAPAM’s NEW and IMPROVED Clean Start hCG Weight Loss Program (http://iapam.com/aesthetic-resources/clean-start-weight-loss-program), in Scottsdale, Arizona, have also been announced:

January 25, 2013
March 22, 2013
May 3, 2013
June 14, 2013
September 20, 2013
October 25, 2013
December 6, 2013

For additional information and to register for a 2013 Aesthetic Medicine Symposium and/or hCG Medical Weight Management Training session, please contact the IAPAM, at 1-800-219-5108 ext. 704, or visit http://iapam.com/aesthetic-medicine-symposium-botox-training or http://www.hcgtraining.com.

Botox is a trademark of Allergan, Inc.

About the IAPAM: The International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine

The International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine is a voluntary association of physicians and supporters, which sets standards for the aesthetic medical profession. The goal of the association is to offer education, ethical standards, credentialing, and member benefits. IAPAM membership is open to all licensed medical doctors (MDs), dentists (DDSs/DMDs) doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs), physicians assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs). The IAPAM offers aesthetic medicine and hCG medical weight management programs, including: Botox training, medical aesthetic training, laser training, physician hCG training, and aesthetic practice business training. Additional information about the association can be accessed through the IAPAM’s website (http://www.iapam.com) or by contacting:

Jeff Russell, Executive-Director
International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine (IAPAM)
1-800-219-5108 x704

BNH Services design your Next website with Google Sites

BNH Services, a cloud solution development company, located in the heart of Silicon Valley has just recently announced the Google site development services.

Los Gatos, CA, December 19, 2012 – Google sites are simply a website hosting platform which lets you design your own site without having any prior knowledge of computer programming or any computer skills. Also it will automatically become Google search friendly. However, that is not all that the technology has to offer, with Google sites, you don’t need to pay any fee while setting up the website because it is created under your Google account.

The platform basically makes use of HTML coding, like WordPress and guarantees that you will not be disappointed with the end result. Google sites now have functionalities which help you create just as powerful and popular designs as you could with WordPress. BNH Services knows what Google sites can offer you, and understands and fulfill your needs using their technology.

BNH Services is not just limited to public site building; instead, it also offers you the chance to build intranet websites as well. This means that BNH Services can help you develop a collaborative website which can only be accessed by authorized personnel such the internal staff or partners.

BNH Services presents you with a reasonable price in industry. The base price for Google Site Design Package is $499 (one-time fee) and it includes Google Sites design with two drafts with a slideshow and can decorate up to five web pages. Also, BNH Services offers premade Google site templates with a slide you can instantly create and custom for your website at only $50 and you will get a 20% discount if you order by the end of the year.

“We understand that our customers need assistance to help them migrate from the current traditional websites to a Google based friendly website, so we lend a hand whenever we can to make their site the best among the best using Google sites.” says Harry Jung, director of marketing in BNH Services.

There are many benefits of creating your website with BNH Services and one of the greatest is that BNH Services can expand your Google Site to custom applications. For example, you can run Google Sites as enterprise portal and build cloud based information systems on a Google cloud platform, like the Google app engine.

To learn more about the services that BNH Services has to offer, visit BNH Services website at www.bnhservice.com. BNH Services also has a partner program which works with Google Apps so that the needs of the Google app customers are met.

Location: San Jose, Calif.
Company name: BNH Services, Inc.
PR contact: (408) 982-7363

About BNH Services:
“BNH” stands for Big Dreams and Happiness. BNH Services is an organization which offers you the chance to develop a website using Google Sites. The technology that is being used is free and secure; search engine optimized and has made editing so much easier. With BNH Services, you will able to create websites which are Google integrated and collaborated. PR contact: (408) 982-7363

Contact:
Harry Jung
BNH Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 321417
Los Gatos, CA 95032
(408) 982-7363
billing@bnhservice.com
http://www.bnhservice.com

Online Dental Education Site Raising Money for Local Charity

E-den Education is currently running a charity campaign to support Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Foundation.

Alexandria, New South Wales (Australia), December 18, 2012 — eDen Education is currently raising money to support those with Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s Australia http://www.fightdemetia.org.au Dementia Research Foundation is an organization committed to offering support, education, and information about Alzheimer’s to people with dementia, their families, and those professionals working in the dementia industry.

Alzheimer’s Australia offers national dementia services and programs that are funded by the Commonwealth and provide advocacy and national policy for the 280,000 Australians who are living with dementia. The LWML (Living with Memory Loss Program) offers those within the early phases of dementia with a customized program of advice, information, and peer support to help them in coming to terms with dementia and prepare for their future.

The foundation offers free counseling for the ones with dementia, as well as their families. Counseling offers a chance to discuss problems associated with dementia privately with highly experienced and skilled counselors.

Currently e-Den Education is running a campaign on their Facebook page in which they will donate $1 to the foundation when you “Like” their Facebook page. In the month of November, the company received 61 new “Likes” and so they donated $61 on their supporter’s behalf. Their goal is to raise $1,000 by January 31st, and all those who ‘liked’ will go into a drawing to win one of 5 annual memberships worth $997 each. That’s nearly a $5000 FREE giveaway Please help them to reach their goal and spread the word. Their five lucky winners are going to be announced on Friday, February 15, if they reach their goal for charity! Remember, they need 1,000 ‘likes’ by January 31. To show your support and help raise money and donate to a worthy cause, visit their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/eDen.Dental.Education

About e-Den Education:
e-Den includes an Internet education website specifically designed for dental experts. Karen McDonagh and Jennifer Craig are the directors of e-Den Education. Karen’s background is within marketing, sales, and training within the beauty and health field, and she also has expertise in online learning. Jennifer has been a Dental Prosthetist within private practice for twenty-five years and additionally is a teacher part-time of Dental Prosthetics with TAFE. For more information visit the website: http://www.e-deneducation.com/.

Press & Media Contact:
Jennifer Craig, Director
e-Den Education
Suite 18, 112 McEvoy Street
Alexandria, NSW 2015 – Australia
1 800-773-757
admin@e-deneducation.com
http://www.e-deneducation.com

Online Dental Education Site Promoting New LMS Platform

eDen Education, an online education site for dental professionals, is currently rolling out their new LMS platform.

Alexandria, New South Wales (Australia), December 18, 2012 — eDen Education is currently rolling out their new LMS Dental platform. It’s a Dental LMS (learning management system) specifically designed for large organizations and suppliers to educate their staff members and gain CPD (Continuing Professional Development) This simple, cost effective solution for large groups and companies to offer training in the convenience of an online environment has proven to be a breakthrough in online training.

The platform may be customized to the specific needs of the company, with features including the flexibility to upload your own lectures, presentations, documents, videos and resources, brand it with your own logo, publish your own welcome message, upcoming events, conferences and latest news. Alternatively, you may access the education provided. What is most unique about this system though, is it’s functionality that allows thousands of users simultaneous access to this online training tool.

The comprehensive platform has an extensive reporting system which allows you to monitor and record all the activity of your members if you wish, whilst remaining extremely user friendly. Reporting includes who has accessed the platform, what time of day, how long users stayed active, what topics have been most or least popular among many other things. Upon completion of each module, your users are able to download a certificate of completion.

The LMS platform http://www.elearningden.com is available by invitation only to companies who would like a training session. Should you qualify, eDen Education is offering 20 licenses for 30 days to companies within the health and dental sector. Training sessions are available face to face within Australia or via skype internationally.

According to one satisfied member, Glenda Cowley RDH, Director of Fill The Gap Locum Hygienist Agency Pty Ltd, who has taken advantage of the education eDen has provided on the LMS “I would just like to say how much I look forward to your educational modules and how professional this training platform is. It’s convenient, easy to use and inexpensive. I’d like to take this opportunity to commend you on all that you have done to set up this whole online training concept … which must have been and still is no doubt a massive enterprise that you have embarked on!

It is one of the most professionally presented and managed CPD options available. Being able to tune in from home or wherever one is includes a huge improvement on the old system of turning up at venues etc. etc. So, THANKYOU VERY MUCH for your quality of service and for the speakers that you no doubt ‘hand pick’ for their ability to present prepared quality informative material….I tune into as many lectures as I can, and can see myself becoming an eDen lifetime member! Thank you once again and keep up the marvelous work.”

About e-Den Education:
e-Den started as a Dental education website specifically designed for individual dental Professionals. Karen McDonagh and Jennifer Craig are the directors of e-Den Education. Karen’s background is within marketing, sales, and training within the beauty and health field, and also has expertise in online learning. Jennifer has been a Dental Prosthetist in private practice for twenty-five years and additionally is a teacher of Dental Prosthetics with TAFE NSW and TAFE SA.

eDen education has spent the past 6 months expanding and growing the new e-Leaning Den. For more information on this new and exciting system, visit their personal website: http://www.e-deneducation.com and get in touch, via their Free call number or email

Press & Media Contact:
Jennifer Craig, Director
e-Den Education
Suite 18, 112 McEvoy Street
Alexandria, NSW 2015 – Australia
1 800-773-757
admin@e-deneducation.com
http://www.e-deneducation.com

MOD Spin-out Receives CA £500K Funding for Technology

ProKyma, a spin-out from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and founded by Ploughshare Innovations, today announced a £482K grant from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) i4i programme.

Hampshire, UK, December 18, 2012 – ProKyma, a spin-out from the Defence Science and Technology laboratory (Dstl) and founded by Ploughshare Innovations, today announced a £482K grant from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) i4i programme. The funding will help it to apply its technology to improve the detection of cancer and monitor changes during treatment.

The investment will allow ProKyma to apply its ‘KymaSep’ technology, which automates the manipulation of magnetic particles to purify and concentrate very low numbers of Circulating Tumour Cells (CTCs) from a blood sample. The cancer cell, once purified, can be sequenced using tools developed for the human genome project to find the patient’s specific and individual cancer mutation. This information then allows cost effective measurement of CTC numbers, which should decrease during treatment. Oncologists will use this unique tool to adapt and change therapy in real time if the CTC numbers do not decrease.

ProKyma is working with a world-class multi-disciplinary team in Merseyside to deliver the challenging technical breakthroughs needed in this project. A unique cell capture technology has been licenced from CellCap Technologies, which is currently being optimised to harvest millions of stem cells for cellular therapies. Through a long-standing collaboration with the UK Centre for Tissue Engineering at the University of Liverpool, ProKyma will adapt this technology for the very low-number of cell captures needed for CTC detection (5 CTC cells per test-tube of blood). The Liverpool Pancreatic Biomedical Research Unit will then optimise the method for capture, sequencing and enumeration of CTCs. This will then be translated into a device for routine use, which will be tested against samples from the Liverpool Cancer Trials Unit to measure its usefulness on real patient samples.

Damian Bond, chief executive of ProKyma, stated, “The NIHR support has come at a very good time for us and builds on six years of expertise and development. We are excited to collaborate with the teams from CellCap and the University of Liverpool to develop this much needed, but challenging technology.”

KymaSep is a small, portable system that is based around an injection moulded device, providing simple operation at low cost – making it ideal for clinic or point-of-care use. It is the result of six years development at ProKyma that started from Dstl’s work to develop continuous detection systems for biothreat agents. It has been funded by investment from the Rainbow Seed Fund; Merseyside Special Investment Fund’s Liverpool Seed Fund; and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA).

With the funding and support of NIHR, ProKyma is looking to develop its technology to a point where it can raise a Series A funding round to begin manufacture of the CTC monitoring product in Merseyside by the end of 2014.

Notes to the editor:

For further information, please contact Damian Bond on 07798 600 833 or e-mail damianbond@prokyma.com

CellCap Technologies (www.cell-capture.com)

CellCap is an early stage business developing products to harvest adult stem cells from body tissues for research and cellular therapies. Supported by grants from the Technogy Strategy Board and imvestment from the NWFund Biomedical LP, its lead product is due to start external evaluation in 2013.

Dstl (www.dstl.gov.uk)

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is a centre of scientific excellence for the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Its 3,500 strong workforce includes some of the nation’s most talented and creative scientists with the brief to ensure that the UK Armed Forces and Government are supported in-house by the very best impartial scientific and technological advice. Dstl’s position at the heart of the MOD means that its advice is trusted by overnments academia, industry and international partners. It offers timely and accurate advice at all levels of military planning and operations, both overseas and on the home front.

NESTA (www.nesta.org.uk)

NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts. With endowed funds of over £300 million, our mission is to transform the UK’s capacity for innovation. We do this in three main ways: by working to build a more pervasive culture of innovation in this country; by providing innovators with access to early-stage capital; and by driving forward research into innovation, with a view to influencing policy.

The Liverpool Seed Fund

Merseyside Special Investment Fund’s (MSIF) Liverpool Seed Fund is a £27m fund which invests in companies with new ideas, innovations and intellectual property. Seed funding can support three stages of development: proof of concept (£50,000 to £100,000) commercialisation (up to £350,000) and first round venture capital (up to £750,000). Liverpool Ventures, a subsidiary of MSIF, was set up specifically to provide pre and post investment support to businesses invested in by the Seed Fund to help give them the best possible chance of success.

About Rainbow Seed Fund:

http://www.midven.co.uk/Rainbow-Seed-Fund/

The £8.5m Rainbow Seed Fund was established in 2001 with funding from the Office of Science and Innovation to commercialise scientific research in a leading group of the UK publicly funded institutions, our partners. The Fund, which is independently managed by Midven Ltd, made its first investment in 2002, and currently has a portfolio of 16 companies with one exit.

The Fund invests at the earliest stages of a technology’s development, and helps to turn an idea into a business by actively identifying and supporting experienced management and facilitating additional coinvestment. Rainbow’s partners spend over £1 billion on research and development every year giving the Fund privileged access to high quality investment propositions at the earliest stage.

ProKyma is a spinout from Dstl. Founded by Ploughshare Innovations in 2006 with initial investment from the Rainbow Seed Fund, it has developed novel approaches in sample handling to enhance diagnostic technologies to provide improved information and simplified handling.

About Ploughshare:
Ploughshare Innovations manages the commercial licensing to industry of intellectual property developed by the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). Ploughshare’s goal is to give clients a competitive edge, by lowering technology risk, reducing R&D costs, speeding time to market, and maximizing the business opportunity. It provides leading edge, application focused technology, backed up with the assurance of advanced IP support and protection. Ploughshare is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dstl.

Contact:
Chris Goff
Ploughshare Innovations Ltd.
Unit 2, Nine Mile Water Business Park
Nether Wallop, Stockbridge
Hampshire SO20 8DR
+44 (0) 1794 301602
info@ploughshareinnovations.com
http://www.ploughshareinnovations.com