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Press Release Source: UCSD CONNECT
UC San Diego CONNECT Announces Most Innovative New Product -- MIP -- Award Winners
Wednesday December 11, 5:00 pm ET
Winning Products Illustrate San Diego's Continued Innovation and Success in the Technology and Life Science Industries
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 11, 2002-- San Diego's technology and life science industries continue to produce highly innovative new products, as demonstrated by the seven winners of UCSD CONNECT's 15th annual Most Innovative New Product Awards, announced today.
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The seven winners were chosen by a distinguished panel of judges from a field of more than 130 companies. The categories included: hardware, software, telecommunications, life sciences, general technology, technology research and development, and the new category of biotechnology research and development, recognizing the important discoveries that are occurring in San Diego's biotech/life sciences community.
The 2002 MIP Award winners are:
Hardware:
AERONEX Inc. -- Micro INFINITY Gas Purification System -- A system that removes gaseous contaminants such as moisture, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide from process gases.
Software:
Akonix Systems Inc. -- Akonix L7 -- A perimeter security gateway that detects and controls rogue protocols at the network edge.
Telecommunications:
Ethertronics -- DualNet MPCI Internal Antenna Module -- Designed for mini-PCI cards, the DualNet antenna module leaves the PC Card expansion slot vacant for other applications.
Life Science:
Gen-Probe Inc. -- Procleix HIV-1/HCV Assay -- An amplified nucleic acid test used by blood banks to achieve earlier detection of both HIV and hepatitis C in one test.
General Technology:
American Technology Corp. -- HyperSonic Sound® (HSS®) -- A proprietary, ultrasonic-to-audio, parametric loudspeaker.
Biotechnology R&D:
Perlan Therapeutics Inc. -- ColdSol -- A bioengineered antibody fusion protein to be used as a nasal spray for prevention and treatment of the common cold.
Technology R&D:
Maxima Corp. -- Long Wave Infra-Red Free Space Optics (LWIR FSO) -- An optical wireless communication system that offers much lower atmospheric losses in fog and other atmospheric obscurants, and is cost-efficient and practical to apply in commercial communications systems.
In addition, each year, CONNECT presents the Bill Otterson Award to honor a San Diego-based company whose product has demonstrated a significant positive impact on society or our quality of life. This year, IDEC Pharmaceuticals, a leader in the development of targeted immunotherapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases receives the honor for its product Rituxan, which was the company's first product to be approved. Rituxan® (Rituximab) is the first monoclonal antibody found to be effective and safe for the treatment of certain types of B-cell non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer in the United States.
The Gray Cary Award for Technology Innovation went to the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance. This award is given to the individual(s) in San Diego who, through business activities and community involvement, have encouraged innovation and diversity of thought, supporting the advancement of San Diego entrepreneurs. The SDRTA is a private non-profit corporation that promotes sustainable technology growth in the region by providing direct business assistance to entrepreneurs and high-tech and biotech companies, programs to bridge the digital divide, and research and education to help shape public policy and forge effective collaborations.
The winners were announced at the MIP Awards Luncheon held Wednesday, Dec. 11, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina. The luncheon drew a sell-out crowd of more than 850 participants.
"I'm quite impressed with the record number of participating entries and the caliber of the winning companies for this year's awards. It just goes to show that in spite of challenging economic times, innovation and success in technology and life sciences are still going strong here in San Diego," said Dr. Fred Cutler, executive director of CONNECT.
Since 1988, the CONNECT MIP Awards program has served as a benchmark for predicting the region's most successful emerging technologies. From early stage biotechnology companies to the first products generated by the region's telecommunications boom, the awards program has been an indicator of the industries and technologies that have fueled the San Diego economy.
Winners were selected based on their ability to demonstrate the technology's innovation, technological advancement, and its potential for commercial success. The distinguished judges for this year's awards included:
Nicholas B. Binkley, partner, Forrest Binkley & Brown
Howard Birndorf, executive chairman, Nanogen
Dr. Sanford Ehrlich, executive director, SDSU Enterpreneurial
Management Center
Anne Evans, president, Evans Hotels
Sanjay Jha, senior VP & general manager, Qualcomm Technologies & Ventures
Robert Kibble, managing partner, Mission Ventures
Dr. Jeffrey Kirsch, executive director, Fleet Science Center
Jessie Knight, Jr., president & CEO, Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce
Rick LeFaivre, executive director, von Liebig Center, Jacobs School of Engineering, UCSD
Dr. Gail Naughton, dean, College of Business Administration, SDSU
Joseph D. Panetta, president & CEO, BIOCOM/San Diego
Cub Parker, executive vice-president, DHR
Dr. John Reed, president & CEO, The Burnham Institute
Duane Roth, chairman & CEO, Alliance Pharmaceutical
Dr. Ivor Royston, managing partner, Forward Ventures
Marco Thompson, president, San Diego Telecom Council
Dr. Mary L. Walshok, associate vice chancellor, UCSD
Julie Meier Wright, president & CEO, San Diego Regional EDC
About CONNECT
UCSD CONNECT is the globally recognized, university-based non-profit organization fostering entrepreneurship in the San Diego region by catalyzing, accelerating, and supporting the growth of the most promising technology and life sciences businesses. Focused on assisting growth companies in the San Diego region, CONNECT has been directly involved with over 900 companies since its inception in 1985, helping them raise more than $11B in capital. Part of the University of California, San Diego, CONNECT has a dual role in accelerating growth: it assists growth companies in the San Diego region and promotes the commercialization of technology from university-based research. CONNECT's programs also help business service providers, attorneys, accountants, bankers, investors and marketing professionals with the knowledge about emerging technologies and access to new business opportunities. CONNECT is entirely self-supporting and receives no funding from the University or the State of California. It is supported by membership dues, course fees and corporate underwriting for specific programs. For more information, visit connect.org.
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Contact:
UCSD CONNECT
Theresa Cervantes de Torres, 858/964-1317
tcervantes@ucsd.edu
or
Fleishman-Hillard
Connie Roloff, 619/237-7718
roloffc@fleishman.com
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Source: UCSD CONNECT
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