The U.S.-Israel Science and Technology Foundation
(USISTF), Chicago Microtechnology &
Nanotechnology Community (CMNC), ARCH Venture
Partners, Ardesta LLC, O'lala Foods, and the
Trendlines Group were the competition's sponsors.
The award winners will receive business
development services from Trendlines, a VIP
invitation to the NanoBusiness Conference in New
York, and private meetings with leading
nanotechnology VCs. The award ceremony
recognizing the companies and their technologies
will be held in Chicago, after the shortly to be
held NanoBusiness Conference.
The program is underwritten by USISTF, which
promotes collaborative opportunities in high
technology for American and Israeli entities.
Originally, there were to have been only two
winners but, according to O'lala Foods CEO Neil
Wyant, "the USISTF and CMNC agreed to add a third
award winner because of the high-quality of
candidates in Israeli nanotech."
Cima NanoTech develops conductive ink jet
printing systems and transparent conductive
coatings (TCC). The company's nano-metal
dispersions represent enabling technology for
next-generation digital inkjet printing of
microcircuits and transparent conductive coatings
for electronics. Applications include plasma
displays, EMI shielding, electroluminescence, and
other conductive coatings. Cima NanoTech Israel
is located in Caesarea. Dr. Fernando de la Vega
is the company's CEO.
Nutralease focuses on microemulsion technology
for liquid nano-encapsulation of nutraceuticals,
cosmeceuticals,and essential oils and drugs for
incorporation into food, pharmaceuticals, and
cosmetics. Applications include functional foods,
flavor houses, and nutraceutical preparations.
The company is located in Mishor Adumim. Dr. Eli
Pinthus is the company's CEO.
Sol-Gel Technologies develops UV PearlsTM, the
world's first nano-encapsulated sunscreen. It is
the only product that enables absorption of UV
light without any contact of the UV filters with
the skin. This product utilizes the company's
unique nano-engineering technology that allows a
range of active ingredients to be encapsulated in
highly transparent silica glass matrices or
nanospheres. Sol-Gel is located in Bet Shemesh.
Dr. Alon Seri-Levy is the company's CEO.
£450,000 Grant for NanoPass
Called the MicroPyramid technology, this method
offers the possibility to effectively and
painlessly administer vaccines intra-epidermally.
Conventional needles are too large to do this,
and other transdermal technologies are either
incapable of, or are inefficient at delivering
large molecules.
NanoPass founder Shuki Yeshurun noted that,
"there is potential this technology may lower the
amount of dose required to provide the same
immune response, reduce the need for booster
shots, or potentially improve the protection rate
by stimulating multiple immune pathways."
NanoPass CEO Dr. Yotam Levin MD said that grant,
"will support our development efforts for the
next two years, and will allow us to expedite our
progress. Britech officials have been extremely
supportive throughout the process of the
application and its approval."
NanoPass has several active collaborations
underway in various application fields and is
about to launch a new round of financing. Founded
in 2000, the company is venture backed by the
Israeli Ofer Group.
The Britech Foundation is a government-backed
bilateral organization providing active support
for collaborative R&D ventures between UK and
Israeli companies.
Most innovative Nanotech Winners
Start-ups CimaNanoTech Israel Ltd., Nutralease
Ltd., and Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. have been
awarded this year's Most Innovative Israeli
Nanotechnology (MI2NT) prize.
Start-up NanoPass Technologies announced that
it, together with GlaxoSmithKline's
Biopharmaceutical Centre of Excellence for Drug
Discovery, has secured a £450,000 grant from the
Britech Foundation to optimize a new method of
vaccine delivery.