Biotech world converges at show

SAN DIEGOUniversity of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center researcher James McGinnis will prowl the floor of the BIO 2008 convention this week at the San Diego Convention Center without a defined agenda.

"This is the first time I've gone to such a meeting,” McGinnis said last week before departing Oklahoma City. "I'm used to going to scientific meetings. My major objective is to learn what other people are doing and how they are doing it.”

McGinnis is co-founder of Oklahoma City-based Nantiox, a startup company working to advance patented technology he developed that shows promise in treating people suffering from diabetic retinopathy and other diseases that cause blindness. He will join almost 90 other Oklahomans and 23,000 participants from around the world attending the giant convention that focuses on everything biotechnology-related.

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NANTIOX

Nantiox placed first in the undergraduate division and won a $25,000 cash award.
The Nantiox team was sponsored in the competition by the University of Oklahoma’s Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth, which serves to broaden exposure to the entrepreneurial process and give interested students the opportunity to engage in real-world enterprise. Nantiox qualified for the Tri-State by winning second place and $10,000 in the Oklahoma Governor’s Cup competition.

“The Governor’s Cup is one of the greatest programs that Oklahoma has to offer to students. The judging and feedback sessions are so potently constructive that students can almost take away more from the competition than they put in.” - Kim Saylor, Nantiox

Nantiox Inc. is developing a therapeutic compound that will be used to prevent ophthalmic diseases, neurological diseases, and cancers. The company’s initial focus will be on diseases such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy that cause age-related blindness.

Pictured below [See source] is team Nantiox: from left to right: James McGinnis, researcher and inventor, William Cunningham, Lloyd Hildebrand, faculty advisor, Chris Shilling, Derek Perkins, Kim Saylor and Tri-State honored guest, Michael Carolina, OCAST. (not pictured team member John Woodson)

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