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WWJ Radio Tech Tour Spotlights Vestaron

Written by Administrator
Friday, 03 May 2013 16:24

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nancy Newman, Chief Financial Officer
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Phone: (269) 372-3108


(5/3/13)
WWJ Radio Tech Tour Spotlights Vestaron

The annual WWJ Radio (CBS Detroit) Tech Tour stopped in Kalamazoo on May 2 for a visit with Vestaron’s Steven Hartmeier and Robert Kennedy. The tour files news reports about technology leaders from across Michigan. The reports appear in the online daily Great Lakes Innovation & Technology Report and on air on WWJ, one of the largest radio stations in the state.

Below is reporter Matt Roush’s feature on Vestaron. For the complete report, click here. 

*   *   *   *

(Excerpted from Great Lakes Innovation & Technology Report, © WWJ-AM and CBS Local Media)

I headed to the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center, a biotech incubator in Western Michigan University’s Parkview research campus. There, I met with a SMIC tenant, Vestaron Corp., and its chief scientific officer, Robert M. Kennedy.

Vestaron is developing a new generation of insecticides using natural peptides from spiders. Products under development have a unique mode of action, meaning they’re effective against insects who have developed resistance to artificial chemical insecticides. Helpfully, they’re also highly effective against insects and related pests and are harmless to non-target species, including humans.

Kennedy said Vestaron is on track for regulatory approval of its products in the third quarter of 2013. That should lead to a soft product launch in 2014 and a full commercial launch in 2015, he said.

Vestaron is also developing a novel formulation that allows it to use less active ingredient in its products, and is moving beyond spiders as the source of its natural insecticide to the venom of other species that prey on insects.

Vestaron is currently at 12 employees, and Kennedy said it’ll stay based at the SMIC for the foreseeable future. The company plans to outsource its commercial production. Right now, Kennedy said, the company is looking for interns who are students in molecular biology.

As for Kennedy, his story is a familiar one in Kalamazoo — he’s a former Pfizer employee left jobless when the company closed down laboratories in the city. He didn’t want to leave West Michigan, so he put his Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry to work for a startup in the SMIC.

Vestaron CEO Steven Hartmeier said the recent decision of the European Union to ban neonicotinoid insecticides, derived from tobacco and suspected in the recent mass deaths of bee colonies, “will create a huge void that hopefully our product can help fill.”
 

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BBC Radio Interviews Vestaron CEO

Written by Administrator
Tuesday, 05 March 2013 14:39

Vestaron CEO Steven Hartmeier recently sat down with BBC Business Daily reporter James Melik to talk about Vestaron’s research. Melik’s story focused on innovative trends in agriculture, particularly green technologies. You can read the story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21296132.

 

Click to download in MP3 format (8.31MB)

   

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Vestaron Raises $10.2 Million From Series B Preferred Stock Financing

Written by Administrator
Tuesday, 08 May 2012 00:00

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May 08, 2012 12:37 ET

Vestaron Raises $10.2 Million From Series B Preferred Stock Financing

KALAMAZOO, MI--(Marketwire - May 8, 2012) - Vestaron Corporation is pleased to announce that it has completed a Series B Preferred Stock financing, totaling approximately $10.2 million, with participation by major new investors and existing investors.

New investors in the Series B financing include Pangaea Ventures, Michigan Accelerator Fund, and two private investment organizations. Existing investors include Open Prairie Ventures and Southwest Michigan First, in addition to private investors. Keith Gillard of Pangaea Ventures has joined the Board of Directors. Mr. Gillard commented, "Pangaea is very impressed with Vestaron's team, technology and sharp focus on the enormous market opportunity. Vestaron is an excellent fit for our investment thesis that advanced materials drive superior cleantech opportunities."

Proceeds from the Series B financing are being used for continued commercial development of Vestaron's biopesticide peptide based product, accelerated research for synthetic mimics to these peptides, and expanded agricultural biotechnology research and development of the use of Vestaron's peptide as a Bt replacement in GMO portfolios.

"We are very pleased with the confidence demonstrated by investment from new investors and existing investors, especially with over half of the round funded from new investors. Their size and prominence as well as the amount funded recognize our rapid progress toward introducing products to the marketplace, unsurpassed pipeline, and unique long term proprietary opportunities," said Steven Hartmeier, Vestaron's President and CEO.

Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP served as legal advisor to Vestaron in the transaction.

About Vestaron Corporation

Vestaron is developing a new generation of insecticides using natural peptides from spiders. Products under development have a unique mode of action, are highly effective against insects and related pests and are harmless to non-target species, including humans. Target markets include agriculture, animal health and specialty non-crop uses such as household insects. Vestaron cleantech products will be ideally suited for the environmentally conscious twenty-first century. For more information visit www.vestaron.com.

About Pangaea Ventures Ltd.

Pangaea is a venture capital company investing in early-stage cleantech companies with world-class advanced materials technology. Established in 2001, Pangaea is now investing out of its third fund. Pangaea has offices in Vancouver BC and Hillsborough NJ. Pangaea's Limited Partners include some of the world's most successful materials companies: Asahi Glass, Asahi Kasei, BASF, Bekaert, CoorsTek, JSR, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, Murata, Nitto Denko, SABIC, Solvay, Toyota Tsusho and Umicore.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Information in this press release, which is not historical, is forward looking and involves a number of risks and uncertainties. Investors are cautioned not to put any undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. Vestaron's actual results may differ materially from Vestaron's historical results of operations and those discussed in the forward-looking statements for various reasons, including, but not limited to Vestaron's ability to carry out its business plan, successful development and commercial acceptance of its products, ability to fund development necessary for existing products and for the pursuit of new product opportunities, ability to hire required personnel, the risk of whether products result from development activities, protection of Vestaron's intellectual property portfolio, the risk associated with obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, the ability to obtain foreign regulatory approvals for products and to establish marketing arrangements in countries where approval is obtained, and other potential factors.

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Vestaron Corporation Announces Filing of Insect Control Patents

Written by Administrator
Thursday, 15 March 2012 00:00

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March 15, 2012 09:00 ET

Vestaron Corporation Announces Filing of Insect Control Patents

KALAMAZOO, MI--(Marketwire - Mar 15, 2012) - Vestaron Corporation announces today it has filed worldwide patent applications claiming a broad genus of insecticidal triazines and pyrimidines. Vestaron is developing environmentally friendly products for insect control markets. The patent discloses a novel template that was uncovered during a search for synthetic molecules that mimic the action of peptides isolated from spiders.

"We are delighted that this project has progressed as rapidly as it has, and we are exploring potential partnering opportunities for both crop and public health uses with this new class of molecules," said Robert Kennedy, Vestaron Corporation's Chief Scientific Officer. Development of these molecules and discovery of additional leads is funded by a grant from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health through the Vector-Based Transmission of Control: Discovery Research program of the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative.

The filings are part of a series of global patents and patent applications sought by the Kalamazoo, Michigan-based biotechnology company. "This milestone demonstrates the value of Vestaron's technology platform from which we are developing natural and synthetic insect control products, and into the future, genetically modified crops," added CEO Steve Hartmeier.

About Vestaron
Vestaron is developing a new generation of insecticides using natural peptides from spiders. Products under development have a unique mode of action, are highly effective against insects and related pests and are harmless to non-target species, including humans. Target markets include agriculture, animal health and specialty non-crop uses such as household insects. Vestaron CleanTech products will be ideally suited for the environmentally conscious twenty-first century. For more information visit www.vestaron.com.

Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this announcement contain forward-looking statements that are based on management's expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "scheduled," "estimates" and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results and trends may differ materially from what is forecast in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors.

Contact Information

 

   

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