News Briefs

Development

Micron to open downtown Fitchburg offices

FITCHBURG- Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority has announced plans for Micron Products to take over two owned parcels of land at 1 and 15 Summer St. to be converted into offices. The $175,000 deal is expected to close within a few weeks. Micron Products is a subsidiary of Arrhythmia Research Technology, a worldwide operation with a Fitchburg home base. It makes disposable snaps and the sensors they hold for use in electrodes for electrocardiograph equipment. Micron Products occupies a recently renovated 92,000-square-foot space at 25 Sawyer Passway and employs about 75 people.

Worcester to get new streets

WORCESTER - The Worcester City Council Public Works Committee has approved a street-naming plan for the CiutySquare area. As part of the development, three new streets will be created as part of the project, and city officials want to restore some of the historic names of streets that were eliminated the mid-1960s when Worcester Center was built. Three new streets will be created: Mercantile Street, running from Front Street to Foster Street; and Trumbull Street and Eaton Place, taking their names from prominent 19th-century Worcester individuals.

Casella seeks to expand

HARDWICK - Casella Waste Systems Inc. is seeking approval to rezone 48 acres at the Patrill Hollow Road facility, allowing it to take in refuse at the Hardwick landfill for up to 12 more years before it would have to shut down. The proposal calls for a 48-acre solid waste district, with 30 acres used for landfill while the remaining 18 acres would serve as a buffer zone. The Planning Board must convene a public hearing on the matter and would require a two-thirds vote to change the zoning.

Fay Mountain operators to end lease

CHARLTON - The operators of the historic Fay Mountain Farm are seeking to terminate their lease with the town by yearend, citing a breach of the covenant of "quiet enjoyment." Richard and Donna Gilmore cite numerous occasions of trespassers and interference with farm operations, among other items. The farm participated in an organic-produce program called Community Sponsored Agriculture, until alleged vandalism on July 8 of this year caused loss of crops. The farm reportedly made refunds to 35 paying customers, and withdrew from the program.

Fitchburg Airport negotiating lease

FITCHBURG - City officials and Bullock Charter, Fitchburg Municipal Airport’s largest tenant, could reportedly reach a lease agreement soon. Bullock seeks a $300,000 loan guarantee from the City Council as a condition of signing. The loan would fund repair of the roof and doors on a 10,000-square-foot hanger that housed Bullock’s Lear jets. Bullock pays $2,500 in monthly rental fees and subleases part of the hangar to other plane owners. Bullock also contributes about 52 percent of the airport’s annual revenue by buying between $100,000 and $200,000 in fuel.

Best Buy comes to Leominster

LEOMINSTER – Best Buy will begin construction at Orchard Hill Park after the Planning Board unanimously approved the project. The store will contain approximately 30,000 square feet and joins Target, Kohl’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Dick’s Sporting Goods as major anchors at the Orchard Hill Park Complex.

Biomedical

ACT settles patent suit

ALAMEDA, CA – Biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology, which has operations in Worcester, says it has settled a complicated, two-year-old suit with a California company over who held the rights to use a novel approach for cloning embryos with the potential to create stem cells. ACT claimed to have licensed the technique, call nuclear transfer cloning, from UMass Medical School. However, those rights to the patent were challenged by Menlo Park, CA-based Geron Corp., which had licensed a similar patent from the UK-based Roslin Institute . Both Geron Corp. and ACT were founded by ACT Chief Scientific Officer Michael West. Last year, the U.S. Patent Office had initially ruled in favor of Geron, Roslin and another affiliate, but ACT and UMass had appealed that decision. Under the agreement, ACT will receive $500,000 in initial payments and $750,000 in milestone payments in exchange for transferring to Geron its rights to the portions of the UMass patent covering animal cell nuclear transfer. ACT will keep the rights to use the technology for human embryo cell cloning.

New drug firm Aristan to open in Framingham

FRAMINGHAM - Five venture capital firms and a Japanese drug company have put $39 million into pharma startup Artisan Pharma Inc. The company plans to license late-stage drugs and bring them to market, with a concentration on treatments for blood clots. The investors include Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp in Osaka, Japan and New York City-based NGN Capital LLC. Under an agreement with Asahi Kasei Pharma, Artisan will take over North American and European development and commercialization of a biologic called ART-123, an experimental treatment for blood clots, which affect 30 percent of the nearly 2 million U.S. and European patients who develop sepsis each year. Asahi Kasei retains rights to sell ART-123 in Japan, China, Taiwan and Korea.

Genzyme retries bid for Canadian company

FRAMINGHAM - Genzyme Corp. has gone public with a $380 million cash offer to buy Vancouver, Canada-based AnorMed Inc., a drug-development company. AnorMed’s board has rejected the bid twice, saying the company is worth more than the $8.55 per share Genzyme is offering. AnorMed’s stock price rose from $5.03 to $9.90 per share following news of Genzyme’s offer. AnorMed’ experimental drug Mozobil is being tested in 600 patients with blood cancers such as lymphoma and multile myeloma. It could be approved by 2008. AnorMed says it is willing to negotiate with Genzyme for a higher price and has retained the investment bank Goldman, Sachs & Co. to evaluate Genzyme’s bid and pursue more attractive offers.

Stent registry enrollment growing

NATICK – Boston Scientific Corp. reports that enrollment has exceeded 13,000 patients in the TAXUS OLYMPIA registry, designed to evaluate the safety and performance of the company’s second-generation, drug-eluting coronary stent, TAXUS Liberte, in a real-world setting. OLYMPIA is the world’s largest DES registry and plans to enroll up to 27,000 patients treated for complex coronary lesions, at more than 500 centers worldwide. The multi-center, prospective, observational registry will evaluate a variety of safety and performance measures, including the rate of repeat procedures, rates of heart attack and death, and in-stent thrombosis. Additionally, sub-analyses on complex patient groups such as diabetics, patients with multi-vessel disease,in-stent re-blockages or a prior history of heart attack will be performed.

Boston Scientific will launch new stent line

NATICK - Boston Scientific Corp. will launch Promus, a drug-coated stent, in 2008. The device comes from Guidant Corp., which Boston Scientific acquired this year for $27 billion. Promus is not yet FDA-approved. Boston Scientific will compete with Abbott Laboratories on Promus, now made by Abbott, which bought Guidant’s stent business for $4.1 billion, but which agreed to share the first version of the product with Boston Scientific. Abbott is already selling the stent in Europe under a different brand name, Xience and hopes to launch its brand in America as well.

RenaMed Biologics nets $40 mil

WESTBORO – RenaMed Biologics Inc. has secured $40 million in late-stage venture financing that it will use to develop a treatment for renal failure in intensive care patients. The company is collaborating with Cambridge-based biotech firm Genzyme Corp. on a clinical trial for the treatment, called Renal Bio-Replacement Therapy. RenaMed will also use the money to relocate its headquarters and manufacturing plant within Westboro. This latest round of so-called "mezzanine level" financing – typically the final round before a private company goes public – was led by TVM Capital and Lurie Investments, and included four new investor groups as well as previous investors in the company. RenaMed has expanded its board to include representatives from two of the groups, TVM Capital and MDS Capital.

Abbott seeks approval to sell Humira for Crohn’s

ABBOTT PARK, IL - Abbott Laboratories has filed an application with the FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) to market HUMIRA as a treatment for Crohn’s disease. The drug, developed and manufactured at the Abbott Bioresearch Center in Worcester, is already approved to treat arthritis. The new request is based on three trials of the drug that Abbott claims showed strong results in treating patients with moderate to severe cases of Crohn’s.

Neuroptix device helps target Alzheimer's protein

ACTON - Medical device maker Neuroptix Corp. says it has successfully helped detect the presence of a protein occuring in mice’s eyes prior to the buildup of toxic plaque in their brains. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston used Neuroptix’s Optiscan diagnostic platform, which uses laser technology to examine the eye. Results of the tests were announced at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, held in Spain.

Psychemedics wins MGM MIRAGE contract

ACTON – Psychemedics Corp. has won a five-year contract renewal with hospitality giant MGM MIRAGE to drug-test job applicants at the company’s 23 properties. Psychemedics serves the drug-testing needs of various properties for MGM MIRAGE, which employs more than 70,000. Psychemedics’ patented hair test can detect drug use over a period of months and is highly resistant to evasion, Psychemedics says.

Environment

DEP fines Cumberland Farms $12K

HUDSON – Cumberland Farms Inc. got a $12,000 fine from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection because of a delay in cleaning up a 10 to 20-gallon oil spill that occurred in March 2005. The spill occurred during a late-night delivery of gasoline to the store at 200 Washington St. The driver left without notifying anyone and the gasoline entered a storm drain. The following day Cumberland Farms investigated the incident and performed the cleanup, following notification to the state DEP. But regulations require that sudden releases of gasoline be reported within two hours, and that cleanup procedures begin immediately. In addition to the fine, the company has to ensure its emergency spill procedures are current and properly implemented by its drivers.

Health care

State sets new healthcare premiums

BOSTON - State regulators approved new healthcare rates for low-income families, who will pay anywhere from $18 to $106 a month for healthcare services. The state’s new health insurance law requires all residents to have health insurance by July 1, 2007, or face tax penalties. However, concerns have been raised that if the state charges lower-income people too little, employers that offer insurance could drop it, sending workers to seek state-subsidized insurance, which could bankrupt the program. Co-pays will vary from $20 for a visit with a specialist to $250 for a hospital stay. The state would subsidize premiums for those earning between 100 and 300 percent of the poverty level, while paying full premiums for uninsured residents who earn less than the poverty level.

Fallon Community Health Plan buys UltraBenefits Inc.

WORCESTER – Fallon Community Health Plan Inc. has purchased UltraBenefits, Inc., a privately held Worcester-based benefits administrator that manages the benefits of 20,000 members. FCHP says the acquisition will broaden its reach to the self-insured market. UltraBenefits, Inc. provides medical, dental and disability claims processing, claims management, premium and fee-billing services and administration of Flexible Savings Accounts, Health Reimbursement Accounts and COBRA. The 20-employee company will operate as a wholly owned subsidy of FCHP, and current president Phillip E. Soule will remain in his role. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Lahey Clinic joins FCHP network

WORCESTER – Fallon Community Health Plan Inc. has added the Lahey Clinic Medical Group to the network of hospitals and providers available to members of its Select Care plan. The addition gives members access to the Lahey Clinic Medical Centers in Burlington and in Peabody, for a total of more than 541 doctors.

High tech

National Sensor Systems purchased by BAE

ACTON - National Sensor Systems has been acquired by BAE Systems, an international aerospace and defense firm for $8.7 million. The purchase of requires regulatory approval. BAE, which has operations in Nashua, NH, recently announced plans to sell its 20 percent stake in aircraft-manufacturer Airbus to beef up acquisitions in the defense sector. National Sensor Systems is a technology firm specializing in the development of electro-optical sensor systems for aerospace and defense applications.

Nuance to power car-navigation systems

BERLIN - Nuance Communications will contribute its RealSpeak voice technology to car navigation systems built by Germany-based klikTel AG to read aloud directions and safety conditions to drivers. RealSpeak is a text-to-speech technology that Nuance says will reduce distractions to drivers by allowing them to keep their eyes off their navigation systems and on the road. It will debut at the beginning of 2007 in klickTel’s Navigator K6000 series, and will provide street directions, dangerous driving conditions, speed limits, and speed camera locations in seven languages.

Process Software acquires Tenebril

FRAMINGHAM – Process Software , a unit of HALO Technology Holdings Inc. and supplier of communications software solutions to mission-critical environments, has acquired antispyware pioneer Tenebril of Boston for an undisclosed amount. The purchase of Tenebril enables Process Software to offer a comprehensive spyware detection and prevention solution to customers as part of its portfolio of enterprise security products and services. Tenebril is a privately held company providing Internet and spyware protection to consumers and organizations. The company’s SpyCatcher(TM) Enterprise is the first and only spyware solution that protects enterprise computers from the most insidious category of evasive threats - hyper-mutating and custom-coded spyware.

Hanover partners with LoJack

WORCESTER – The Hanover Insurance Group will waive up to $25k of a policy deductible on stolen construction equipment if it is equipped with, but cannot be recovered by, a LoJack security system. Hanover customers will also receive a $100 discount for the first 15 vehicles fitted with the police-activated trace equipment sold by Westwood-based LoJack Corp. LoJack says it helped police to recover more than $15 million in stolen construction equipment last year.

SEPATON product powers physicists’ group

MARLBORO – The American Institute of Physics (AIP) will use a virtual tape library built by SEPATON Inc. as part of its data-protection efforts, SEPATON says. That data comprises databases of AIP’s members, circulation, journal, and business operations. The SEPATON system will replace a tape library system which will run with EMC Corp. software.

Marathon Technologies, PC-PLUS in pact

LITTLETON – Marathon Technologies Corp., provider of high availability software for Microsoft Windows environments, has signed a distribution agreement with Auburn-based PC-PLUS Technologies, a technology solutions provider that serves companies throughout central New England. PC-PLUS will offer Marathon’s everRun line of high availability products in conjunction its comprehensive technology solutions. The two will work cooperatively on joint marketing and sales of the products.

GlassHouse launches e-mail archiving technology

FRAMINGHAM – Computer consultant firm GlassHouse Technologies Inc. has launched a new service, Email Archiving Strategy, enabing clients to store and recall archived email in way that complies with new legal requirements. In this custom solution, GlassHouse consultants analyze the client’s business needs and IT capabilities and design a flexible system around those needs.

Crossbeam expands to Tel Aviv

BOXBORO – Crossbeam Systems Inc., provider of unified threat management for the world’s largest networks, has opened an office in Ramat-Gan, Israel to serve its growing Israeli customer base, which includes Israel’s Ministry of Defense, Bank Leumi, Clal Insurance, Phoenix Insurance and Cellcom. Crossbeam offers applications to end-users that cater to their specific security needs, providing virtualized services such as firewall, VPN and intrusion prevention from leading vendors. Through a close partnership with Israel’s Taldor Communications, a leading provider of comprehensive data communications systems, Crossbeam X-Series and C-Series Unified Threat Management platforms have been widely deployed in Israel’s largest enterprise and telecom networks since 2004.

Stratus acquires Emergent Network Solutions

MAYNARD – Stratus Technologies Inc. has acquired Emergent Network Solutions of Allen, TX, a telecommunications software maker, for $11 million. Emergent’s focus on products and solutions for VoIP and IP Multimedia Subsystem builds out Stratus’ strategic business initiative and current solutions for fixed mobile convergence and service mediation.

EMC releases web management system

HOPKINTON – EMC Corp. has unveiled an internet content management system called Documentum Page Builder designed for creating corporate websites. The new software enables enterprises to lower website development costs and was designed with eye toward non-technical business users, the company says.

Labor

UMass nurse strike could be imminent

WORCESTER- The Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents 900 nurses at UMass Memorial Medical Center, could call a strike at the facility this month. At press time, 700 nurses had reportedly signed a petition to CEO John O’Brien, demanding that it remove all concessionary demands for pension and health-insurance benefit cuts from the bargaining proceedings. At press time, a bargaining session had been set for Sept. 18. UMass management has acknowledged the hospital’s preparation for a strike by hiring a company that provides replacement nurses. While the previous three-year contract has a no-strike provision, it would become void if either side declared a formal impasse.

Bill for triple damages before governor

BOSTON – Employers could be fined for up to three times the damages if they fail to pay employees in a timely manner, under a bill passed by the state Legislature. It’s now headed for Gov. Mitt Romney to be signed into law. It contradicts a Supreme Judicial Court decision last year that argues judges should decide if employers that violate state wage laws should be forced to pay three times the amount of money they are owed in back pay.

Finance

DOB cites four mortgage companies

BOSTON – Two Worcester-based mortgage firms were among the four handed temporary cease and desist orders by the state Division of Banks. The DOB forbids them to solicit or accept new mortgage loan applications. The DOB cited Worcester-based firm Achieva Home Loans Inc., with a branch office in Auburn, for significantly overstating mortgage applicants’ income. Worcester-based Equity Solutions Inc., with an office in Grafton, was charged with submitting applications to lenders with applicants’ stated gross monthly income and liabilities differing from the documentation available to them. State banking commissioner Steven L. Antonakes has also issued emergency amendments to regulations which govern the supervision of mortgage lenders and brokers, expanding the number of existing prohibited acts and practices that would draw cease and desist orders and license suspension or revocation.

Intel-Hudson TIF intact despite job cuts

HUDSON – Intel Corp. has trimmed its Hudson workforce from about 2,500 to 2,350 as part of a companywide workforce reduction and expects to cut 90 more this fall, but the tax incentive finance package it signed in 1999 will be unaffected because the company exceeds the employment level specified in the TIF, even with the cuts. When it was signed, it called for the addition of 450 new jobs to the then-1,200 person workforce. Hudson is part of a companywide effort to cut 10,500 jobs companywide, to save $2 billion in 2007 and $3 billion in subsequent years.

Sepracor restates 2001-2005

MARLBORO - Sepracor Inc. restated certain financial results covering five fiscal years, related to discrepancies in the timing of stock option grants to employees, officials and directors. The changes, announced in a federal filing, added $16.6 million in noncash charges for stock-based compensation expenses from 2001 through 2005, with an additional $22,3000 for the three months ended March 31, 2006. The changes cut Sepracor’s 2005 profit to $3.93 million from $4.97 million, the company’s first-ever profitable year. In other years, the changes deepened Sepracor’s losses.

Manufacturing

Nypro takes bigger stake

CLINTON – Plastics molder Nypro Inc. said Sealaska Corp. of Juneau, Alaska, has purchased a majority share in Nypro Kanaak Alabama, one of three plants it owns jointly with Nypro. The other factories are in Iowa and Mexico. The Dothan, Ala., plant employs more than 100 and operates 32 molding machines and a moldmaking and maintenance shop. With this investment, Sealaska now owns 51 percent of all three Nypro Kanaak factories. Sealaska is the largest regional native corporation in Alaska, and its subsidiary, Kanaak Corp., is a certified minority owned business.

Consigli wins grant to train workers

MILFORD – Consigli Construction Co. Inc. has won a $203,100 grant from the Massachusetts Workforce Training Fund. It will use the grant to train workers in areas such as sustainable design and construction methods, surveying, accident prevention and leadership preparation.

Morgan wins Hyundai bearings contract

WORCESTER – Steel mill maker Morgan Construction Co. has received a contract for multiple sets of MORGOIL bearings from Korea-based Hyundai Steel. Terms of the contract were undisclosed. Hyundai will use the bearings, which are for bearing assemblies, as spares for a Mitsubishi hot strip mill. Morgan says it expects to make the first delivery in June 2007 and the rest in 2008.

AMSC books $4.6M in orders

WESTBORO – American Superconductor Corp. has received $4.6 million of new orders for its D-VAR votage regulating system from wind farms in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The new orders should enable AMSC’s Power Electronic Systems business unit to achieve its forecasted 50 percent growth in revenue for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007, the company says. They also increase the amount of wind-generated electricity served by AMSC’s power electronics products to more than 1,800 Megawatts, close to the company’s 2,000-Megawatt goal for fiscal year-end.

Some of the material in the News Briefs and Small Business sections was originally reported by Banker & Tradesman, The Boston Business Journal, The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, The Clinton Courier and Lancaster Times, The Griffin Report of Food Marketing, IndUS Business Journal, Mass High Tech, The MetroWest Daily News, New England Real Estate Journal, Sentinel & Enterprise, Southbridge Evening News, Telegram & Gazette, and/or Worcester Magazine. If you have a news tip, please call 508-755-8004 ext. 256, fax it to 508-755-4734, or e-mail it to coneill@wbjournal.com.

Corrections

A story in our Sept. 4, 2006 edition about CogniScent Inc. of North Grafton inaccurately described the company’s role in the upcoming launch of Scentaur, the first product using CogniScent’s patented e-nose technology. Hamilton Thorne Biosciences, a Beverly-based company that began collaboration with CogniScent last year, will begin selling the Scentaur, a hand-held device that can detect mold in buildings, in the next six months.

Our August 21 Ad & Media list contained the wrong e-mail address for Choice Words/Chisolm & Co. The correct one is ChisolmChoice@aol.com

Clarification

In the Sept. 4 news story on Worcester Regional Airport, a quote at the end of the story mistakenly used the word "hub." Due to a miscommunication, the word was incorrectly used to describe the Airport.