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NewGen Technologies to Merge with Prolong International
NewGen Technologies (www.nwgntech.com/), a Charlotte-based producer of biofuels that use technology to produce a more complete combustion, has signed an agreement to merge with Prolong International, a consumer products holding company based in California.

Current NewGen shareholders will own approximately 93.6% of the new company, with the balance owned by current Prolong shareholders. Additional terms were not disclosed.

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aaiPharma Acquires German Clinical Development Operation
Wilmington-based aaiPharma Inc. (www.aaipharma.com), a science-based pharmaceutical company focused on pain management, has acquired a German-based clinical development team through its German subsidiary. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

aaiPharma is acquiring a clinical research team of Rentschler Biotechnologie GmbH & Co. KG, a contract manufacturer of drugs containing recombinant proteins. aaiPharma will carry out a number of existing contracts with Rentschler on a subcontract basis. The firms will also work together to expand their range of technological and clinical expertise to customers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

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Smart Online Completes Acquisition of iMart
Smart Online, Inc. (www.smartonline.com), a leading provider of software-as-services for the small-to-medium size business market, has acquired iMart, a leading solutions provider of multi-channel eCommerce systems, for $3.4 million in cash and 205,767 shares of stock. The deal marks the company's second acquisition in the fourth quarter of 2005.

In the coming year, Smart Online will integrate iMart's eCommerce Storefront application into its OneBiz Conductor™ platform and make other upgrades to provide a full-featured commerce solution for selling goods over the Internet. Once completed with the integration and other enhancements, the OneBiz Conductor platform will offer online applications for accounting, customer relationship management, eCommerce Storefront, human resource management and sales force automation.

Smart Online is a CED member.

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NC Biotechnology Center Awards Triad Grants
RTP-based North Carolina Biotechnology Center (www.ncbiotech.org) has awarded 3 grants totaling more than $134,000 to foster regional biotech development in the Triad region of North Carolina. The grants were made through the Center's Regional Development Grants program.

The Greensboro Chamber of Commerce received $25,000 to create a “Biotechnology Academy” with UNC-Greensboro, Guilford Technical Community College and North Carolina A&T State University. Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem received a $72,776 grant to track student progress in biotech training programs there and at Alamance Community College. Salem College in Winston-Salem received a grant, worth $36,861, to support undergraduate student internships and class projects with biotech companies in the Triad.

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3-C ISD wins Phase I SBIR Contract
Cary-based 3C Institute for Social Development (3-C ISD, www.3cisd.com), a research firm specializing in the development and delivery of scientifically validated assessment and intervention tools which promote positive social development and mental health in children, has been awarded a $100,000 Phase I SBIR Contract from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Since its inception in 2001, 3-C ISD has received 13 SBIR research awards, totaling over $10 million, to develop assessment and intervention tools for children.

The task of the contract will be to adapt an existing research based curriculum for social skills training that will advance social functioning for children with High Functioning Autism (HFA). The flagship 3-C ISD product, S.S.GRIN, will be the model and foundation in development of this new intervention program specifically for elementary children with HFA.

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Constella Group Awarded $25 million Contract
Durham-based Constella Group, LLC (www.constellagroup.com/), a global provider of professional health services, has won a five-year, $25 million contract with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to provide information technology and data management services to the organization’s Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention (CSAP). CSAP works with states, regions and communities to develop, implement and measure the effectiveness of their substance abuse prevention programs.

Constella will support CSAP’s Data Coordination and Consolidation Center (DCCC), a centralized repository used to store all information related to establishing and monitoring substance abuse prevention programs, and will partner with CDM Group, Human Services Research Institute and McFarland Associates to execute the contract.

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Metabolon Lands Contract with CDC
Metabolon, Inc. (www.metabolon.com), an RTP-based company focused on the discovery of biomarkers using metabolomics, has been awarded a contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct a study that will identify disease biomarkers for multiple sclerosis.

In the study, blood samples from a group of patients diagnosed with MS and exposed to environmental factors will be compared with blood samples taken from a group of healthy subjects exposed to similar conditions. Metabolon scientists will then analyze the samples to identify disease biomarkers that indicate a metabolic difference between the two subject groups. Results from this study could potentially lead to more effective diagnostics and treatments for the disease.

Metabolon is a CED member.

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Biolex Therapeutics Successfully Completes Phase 1 Clinical Trial
Pittsboro-based Biolex Therapeutics (www.biolex.com), a protein therapeutics company, has successfully completed a Phase 1 clinical trial of BLX-883, a form of alfa interferon. Alfa interferon is used in the treatment of hepatitis C and B, and multiple types of cancers.

The study, designed to test the safety and pharmacology of BLX-883, was conducted under an IND submitted to the US FDA and a CTA filed with the United Kingdom MHRA.

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Events Update

7/21 Fast 50 Nominations Deadline
8/1 Tech 2006 Demo Application Deadline