Larta Institute NIH Success Stories Featured in 2011 California Biomedical Industry Report

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A report on the California biomedical industry published last week by the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) highlights success stories from Larta Institute, a consulting firm that helps government-funded emerging entrepreneurs bring their technologies from lab to market.

According to CHI's 2011 California Biomedical Industry Report, the industry has become a growing force in the past few years in the state, despite the overall decline in the economy. Much of the industry growth can be attributed to the emergence of new biomedical ventures, as well as government funds supporting California's life sciences companies. In 2010, this resulted in the development of 876 products in California alone, making up 12% of the total worldwide biopharmaceutical product development pipeline.

The report features five successful California companies that have participated in the Larta-managed National Institutes of Health Commercialization Assistance Program (NIH-CAP): a 10-month mentoring and partnering-oriented effort geared to accelerate the commercial and market readiness of award-winning life science companies supported by NIH institutes across a variety of health care areas. One success story includes the San Francisco biomedical company, Wave 80 BioSciences. In 2007, this company developed a handheld diagnostic device for malaria, and is currently working on a similar technology to detect HIV in newborns. Wave 80 participated in Larta's NIH-CAP, and upon completion, was awarded a $7.5 million contract by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Larta has mentored more than 700 NIH-funded companies since the organization began managing the NIH-CAP in 2004. Larta has also assisted 105 NIH-CAP companies raise over $397 million in capital, and has had 10 acquisitions result from the program. Larta's commercialization programs are designed to support early stage entrepreneurs and drive entrepreneurship across the nation. In addition to NIH, Larta also partners with the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Energy (DOE).

About Larta Institute

Larta is a professional services firm that helps turn government-funded innovations into enterprises. Our clients range from federal agencies in the U.S. to governments and regional authorities across the globe. We increase the market and investor readiness of emerging entrepreneurs supported by these institutions. Larta has over 17 years of experience designing and managing customized mentoring programs to help innovators reach commercial markets. We credit our proven track record of success to our unrivaled expertise and extensive global network of subject-matter experts, seasoned entrepreneurs, investors, and Fortune 1000 companies. Since 1993, we have assisted hundreds of entrepreneurs to raise over $1.5 billion in capital.

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SOURCE Larta Institute