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For immediate release
Contacts:
Alan Fogg (FCEDA), 703-790-0600 (o), afogg@fceda.org
Sally Dobkin (Enlightened Technologies Assoc.), 703-359-4447
Christian Bunke (SmartBead Technologies), 011-44-1223-496730
Fairfax company countering sleep disorders
will wake up soon in a British business incubator
Enlightened Technologies developing special eyeglasses to restore internal body clock; Cambridge, U.K., biotechnology company will head to Fairfax County incubator
Fairfax County, Virginia, November 4, 2002 – Enlightened Technologies Associates Inc., a Fairfax company that has developed a drug-free product to counter sleep disorders, won a competition among Virginia companies to land a place in a British business incubator, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) announced today. Enlightened Technologies won a year’s free rent at the York Science Park in the north of England.
At the same time, a Cambridge, U.K., biotechnology company called SmartBead ranked first in a reciprocal competition among British companies to win a year’s free rent and business development services at the BioAccelerator, the FCEDA’s bioscience business incubator. SmartBead has developed a method to etch a barcode on molecules to accelerate the drug discovery process significantly. SmartBead will be the first foreign company to take space at the BioAccelerator.
The FCEDA and several British business groups organized the two-way competition to spur translantic business development and boost Fairfax County’s presence overseas. Four companies from Virginia and five from the U.K. entered the competition. Awards will be presented Nov. 13 at a dinner in London.
To counter sleep disorders, Enlightened Technologies has developed and patented Somnavue ™, which is a pair of eyeglasses fitted with optical fibers in the lenses and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in the frames. Batteries power the LEDs, which provide extra light and help restore a patient’s internal clock or circadian rhythm. ETA sees the drug-free therapy as a boon to the one-quarter of senior citizens who suffer from sleep deprivation and anyone who suffers from Seasonal Affected Disorder during the winter.
ETA has received grants from the National Institutes of Health to develop Somnavue ™, and has conducted clinical trials in New York, Chicago and Seattle.
“Yippee!” said Sally Dobkin, Enlightened Technologies executive vice president, about winning the competition. “This gives us a great opportunity to have a research presence and market launch into the U.K. and European markets far more quickly that we could have by ourselves.” The company intends to occupy space in the York incubator by spring 2003.
SmartBead officials hope to occupy space in the FCEDA BioAccelerator before spring 2003. “Winning a place in the BioAccelerator is a godsend for us,” said SmartBead CEO Robert Booth. “We wanted to begin operations in the U.S. but this will allow us to do so much earlier than planned. We also wanted to go to Fairfax because of the quality of life there.”
“Enlightened Technologies will be a great ambassador for Fairfax County and SmartBead will be able to tell colleagues in the UK about the business environment here and the opportunities we’ve created,” said Gerald L. Gordon, president and CEO of the FCEDA.
About the FCEDA
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org) promotes Fairfax County as a business and technology center. The FCEDA assists businesses by identifying possible sites and facilities, and is a source for up-to-date demographic and economic statistics. The FCEDA also has marketing representatives in London, Frankfurt and Tokyo.
About Enlightened Technologies Associates Inc.
Founded in 1995 and based in Fairfax, Virginia, Enlightened Technologies Associates Inc. (www.etai.com) develops medical devices and technology that enable physicians to alter patients’ human circadian (body clock) cycles. The Somnavue™ technology will enable physicians to treat sleep disorders, seasonal depression, jet lag and other disorders without the use of drugs. ETA has patented its technologies, developed prototypes, run NIH-sponsored clinical trials, put a management team in place and is in the process of preparations for FDA clearance.
About SmartBead Technologies Ltd.
Founded in 1999, SmartBead (www.smartbead.com) has developed a microparticle array technology, UltraPlex™, based on barcoded microparticles, which, in effect barcodes molecules. SmartBead will be a preferred solution provider of these multiplexing technologies for the drug development and diagnostics industries, and will lead the way in new approaches to analyzing multiple parameters through barcoded bioassays. SmartBead was founded to exploit technology developed by Sentec Ltd, a Cambridge, U.K., company, and the Cavendish Laboratories, University of Cambridge.
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