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Boston, Mass., May 7, 2007 –The Connecticut Pavilion at this year’s BIO 07 convention caps a year of lively development in the state’s bioscience sector. Connecticut’s biotech and pharma companies, its major research universities, and its network of bioscience support organizations all reported significant progress.

Organized by CURE (Connecticut United for Research Excellence), together with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development and Connecticut Innovations, Inc., the Connecticut Pavilion features posters and exhibits by established pharmaceutical and biotech companies such as Bayer Pharmaceuticals, CuraGen Corporation, and Neurogen Corporation, as well as smaller but fast-growing firms such as HistoRx, Inc. MannKind Corporation, and Cara Therapeutics, Inc. The University of Connecticut and Yale University, as well as several bioscience support organizations, are also represented.

“Bioscience continues to thrive in our state, and BIO 2007 is a great opportunity to showcase all that Connecticut has to offer," said Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell. "Connecticut is already home to some of the leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the world, but it is our business-friendly tax and regulatory climate, top-ranked research institutions, tech-savvy workforce, and continuous focus on innovation that keep us one step ahead of the competition.”

Activities at the Pavilion include repeated presentations of Promise: The Future of Stem Cell Research, a television program taped before a Connecticut audience in connection with the highly successful stem cell symposium held last March in Hartford. Networking opportunities include a DNA Game with prizes and a Connecticut-made wine and cheese tasting hosted by Jonathan M. Rothberg, founder of CuraGen, 454 Life Sciences, and Raindance Technologies, Inc.

The most recent published survey of CURE members shows bioscience organizations directly employing more than 17,400 people in Connecticut, and spending more than $7.6 billion on operations within the state.

World-class research at the state’s universities supplies a steady stream of know-how and technology to Connecticut bioscience, and Connecticut consistently ranks within the top five states in patents issued, and within the top ten nationwide for monetary value of National Institutes of Health grants received.

Recent news from this year’s exhibitors reveals that Connecticut, “the land of steady habits,” is also the land of steady progress in the bioscience industry.

• Governor Rell and state legislative leaders joined the media and top scientists from around the world at StemCONN 07 last March, confirming the state’s emergence as a worldwide center of excellence in stem cell research. Planned and led by CURE together with the Connecticut Department of Health and the Connecticut Stem Cell Coalition, and organized and implemented through CURE with primary financial support from CURE as lead sponsor, the StemCONN event attracted more than 650 registered participants to packed sessions.
• 454 Life Sciences of Branford and Roche have signed a definitive agreement under which Roche will acquire 454, currently a majority-owned subsidiary of Cura Gen Corporation. 454 has established itself as a leader in gene sequencing. Its Genome Sequencer FLX System™ (GS FLX) improves upon its predecessor, the Genome Sequencer 20™, a system that enables one individual to prepare and sequence an entire genome, irrespective of its size. Researchers using the GS FLX will have expanded capacity to discover and develop comprehensive solutions for complex research programs and will benefit from the new system’s longer reads, higher throughput, and greatly improved single read accuracy, the company says.
• Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (New Haven) recently presented data validating the clinical antiviral activity of its NS4A antagonist ACH-806, for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection. The antiviral activity of the compound validates NS4A as a novel therapeutic target and supports continued work with its partner Gilead to identify and evaluate next-generation compounds with the same mechanism of action, the company says.
• Cara Therapeutics, Inc., which has announced plans to move to Shelton, CT, secured $19 million in Series C financing last November. Cara's first patented compound, CR665, has entered clinical testing for acute pain. This best-in-class compound possesses unique analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities appropriate for multiple therapeutic applications. In addition, Cara aims to develop a future pipeline of first-in-class molecules at novel analgesic and anti-inflammatory targets using its proprietary drug screening technology.
• Connecticut Innovations, Inc. (Rocky Hill), the state’s quasi-public authority responsible for technology investing and innovation development, has completed a $500,000 investment in Ipsogen Inc. of Windsor. It is the first instance of CI helping to establish a subsidiary of a foreign corporation in Connecticut. Ipsogen SAS, of Marseilles, France, is a life science company focused on the development and commercialization of molecular diagnostic tests that help oncologists determine the effectiveness of cancer treatments and guide therapeutic options.
•  CuraGen Corporation (Branford) recently provided updated financial guidance for 2007. “The transformation of CuraGen into an oncology-focused biotechnology company continues throughout 2007 as we anticipate important clinical trial results from all three of our late stage clinical programs: velafermin, belinostat, and CR011-MMAE, which will drive our decision to bring one or more of these oncology drugs into Phase III next year,” stated Dr. Frank Armstrong, President and Chief Executive Officer of CuraGen.
• HistoRx, Inc. (New Haven) took part in yesterday’s BIO panel on companion diagnostics and targeted therapies. HistoRx is developing and commercializing pioneering quantitative histopathology technology that provides exceptional measurement and localization of protein biomarkers in their natural context within tissue. The HistoRx proprietary AQUA® technology is the first platform capable of measuring biomarker concentration with subcellular resolution to generate more precise, efficient, and cost-effective answers about the safety and effectiveness of new therapeutics in development as well as enable the development of companion diagnostic tests for targeted therapies.
• MannKind Corporation (Danbury) recently held a job fair in Danbury to fill 62 positions with salaries ranging from $30,000 to $200,000. MannKind is gearing up to manufacture and distribute its Technosphere insulin and inhaler from its Danbury plant once clinical tests are successfully completed and pending regulatory approval.
• NanoViricides Incorporated (West Haven) has leased 5,000 sq. ft. of an R&D facility in Woodbridge, CT. The company’s anti-viral drugs in development include FluCide-I™, targeted against human influenza. The goal for the drug is to neutralize and disable viral particles in the bloodstream and lungs.
• Neurogen Corporation (Branford) has completed a single ascending dose, first-in-human study with NGD-4715, the company's leading drug candidate for the treatment of obesity. NGD-4715 works as a small molecule antagonist at the melanin concentrating hormone receptor-1 (MCHR1) The compound was safe and well tolerated at all doses studied in this clinical trial. MCHR1 represents a new biological target for treating obesity and is the subject of research programs at many major pharmaceutical companies. Neurogen believes its MCHR1 program may be the most advanced in the industry.
• Raindance Technologies, Inc. (Guilford) recently raised $23.7 million in first-round financing. The company aims to create the laboratory equivalent of a personal computer. Using nanodroplets, 100 of which can fit on the end of a human hair, its devices can perform any experiments or test performed in a laboratory, the company says.
• The University of Connecticut (Storrs/Farmington) recently announced it will build a $35 million stem cell institute, to be housed near the university’s health center in Farmington, along with a technology business incubator. “Our goal is to maximize the state's investment in stem cell research and establish an internationally recognized program focused on human embryonic stem cells and regenerative medicine,” said Dr. Marc Lalande, chair of the university’s department of genetics and developmental biology. Separately, two state-of-the-art research labs will be available at the UConn Storrs Incubator starting this summer.
• Researchers at Yale School of Medicine (New Haven) have received a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study neurons that play a major role in narcolepsy. The grant will further Yale research into disorders linked to neurons that produce the peptide hypocretin.

CURE (Connecticut United for Research Excellence, Inc.) (www.curenet.org) is a statewide, member-supported coalition of over 100 educational and research institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and other supporting businesses. It is dedicated to promoting the growth and increasing public understanding of biomedical research and science in Connecticut.

Connecticut Innovations (CI) (www.ctinnovations.com) is a quasi-public organization dedicated to driving a vibrant, entrepreneurial, technology-based economy in Connecticut. CI stimulates high-tech growth by investing in: early-stage Connecticut technology companies; university/industry research collaborations; technology transfer; and, clean energy initiatives through the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. CI also fosters collaboration among government, business, non-profit and academic organizations to advance technology growth and promotes public policies consistent with CI’s mission.

The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) (www.decd.org) develops and implements strategies to attract and retain businesses and jobs, revitalize neighborhoods and communities, ensure quality housing and foster appropriate development in Connecticut's towns and cities.