Innovation + Job News

A very common element forms the basis for a breakthrough portable power source. Philadelphia's AlumiFuel Power Inc. has developed a portable power system based on the chemical reaction of aluminum powder and water, according to CEO David Cade.

Using proprietary technology to strip the oxides from aluminum particles, the hydrogen generated is five times the density of a lithium battery, says Cade. "Our particular focus is portable, mobile and remote applications. We do on site, on demand power." The Alumifuel container is prefilled with aluminum powder. "The canister can be stored for years," says Cade. "You don't get hydrogen until you get water." A perfect application of the new fuel source is for the U.S Navy, which will pilot the hydrogen battery to propel unmanned undersea vehicles. Alumifuel is partnering with Ingenium Technologies for the project.

Cade is also excited by PBIS-1000, Alumifuel-powered weather balloons created in partnership with Kaymont Weather Balloons.

While Alumifuel is still "under the radar screen," and taking on a 100 year-old battery industry, Cade looks to continuing partnerships with major players like Ingenium and Kaymont to get the word out about a power source that provides 5-10 times the power of a lithium battery, is in no danger of exploding, and does not rely upon overseas oil and gas supplies.

"No one has ever commercialized this technology," says Cade. "There have been patents for years, but they have all been laboratory curiosities." The early stage company, based at the University City Science Center, is currently valued at under $100,000 and is in late development, early production stage. Cade says his partner, Henry Fong, is currently out raising capital, and if Alumifuel is awarded government grants, Cade and Fong's company could see serious growth.

Source: David Cade, Alumifuel Power Inc.
Writer: Sue Spolan

On the banks of the Delaware River, a green data center is set to rise from the remains of an old steel mill. David Crocker, CEO of Steel Orca LLC, says that while demand for data centers is growing at about 18 percent per year, supply is growing at only 5 percent every year. With many older data centers becoming obsolete in the face of new technology and increased power requirements, Steel Orca's goal is to build the greenest data center in the world, powered entirely by renewable energy sources. "Three to five percent of all energy generated in the United States goes into data centers. You can appreciate that data centers have a responsibility to be as efficient as possible," says Crocker.

As power density increases, so do cooling requirements. Steel Orca's planned center near Fairless Hills in Bucks County will require 100 megawatts of power, with an ultimate goal of 300,000 square feet of 'white space,' the term coined to describe the area where the servers are located, with a total footprint of 730,000 square feet.

The data center is in now the planning stage. HP has signed on to lead the design and construction team, with help from GE, Gilbane Construction and Villanova University Professor Alphonso Ortega. Ideas in the works include a triple failsafe power system, river water as a cooling mechanism, solar panels and and wind turbine generation.

Crocker terms the future center "a source of technological renaissance in the Delaware Valley," eventually creating 1,100 jobs in Bucks County. Steel Orca has completed a first round of funding with more than 50 investors, and Crocker projects that the first phase of the center, with at least 50,000 square feet of white space, will go online in the second quarter of 2012.

Source: David Crocker, Steel Orca
Writer: Sue Spolan

Maybe you take a couple of different prescription medications. If you don't now, chances are that as you get older, you will. And the interaction between drugs can be a wild card. That's where Absorption Systems rides in like a pharmaceutical cavalry. Based in Exton, the privately held company is a pioneer in the field of pharmacokinetics. As CEO Patrick Dentinger explains, there are two areas of preclinical drug research: pharmacodynamics, or what a drug does to your body, and pharmacokinetics, which is what your body does to the drug. The latter is Absorption Systems' specialty. "The FDA has gotten tougher in trying to understand what a drug does when it hits your body," says Dentinger. The company researches the path that singular and multiple meds take through the body.

In a series of buildings filled with lab coated technicians and millions of dollars of equipment, Absorption Systems is big pharma's first stop on the way to developing a drug that will eventually go to market, perhaps a decade down the line. Many compounds don't even make it out of the research phase, and Dentinger reports that most of the time, pharmaceutical clients do not share the purpose of the proposed drug, just the chemical compound.

Once a compound is submitted to Absorption System's lab, it goes through rigorous testing involving human tissue to simulate the interaction. Absorption Systems grows intestine, liver and skin cells, and out of a scene from the classic Woody Allen film Sleeper, the company has even used human noses (harvested from cadavers) to measure the way a molecule does or doesn't get into a body.

"The industry has changed in general," explains Dentinger, who describes formerly high walls of privacy surrounding pharmaceutical research crumbling in recent years with outsourcing to biotech startups and contract research organizations (CROs) like Absorption.

While Dentinger, whose sole partner is Ismael Hidalgo, does not disclose details of the privately held company's revenue, Absorption Systems is certainly growing, with over 200 customers and 115 employees, a satellite lab in San Diego and direct interaction with the FDA. The company hopes its future proprietary data collection technology can revolutionize the way all scientific research is documented and potentially create a spinoff company.

Source: Patrick Dentinger, Absorption Systems
Writer: Sue Spolan

Heard of slow food? In the age of instant communication, there is a slow words movement at hand. The Philadelphia based literary magazine Apiary is set to release its second issue on June 3 with a First Friday launch party at The Painted Bride Art Center, which includes a screening of Apiary's public access show, The Apiary Mixtape.

The 150 plus page illustrated semiannual, brought to life by a $4,000 Kickstarter campaign, has quickly attracted top names in the city's literary community, including Jim Cory, Lamont Steptoe, Nina 'Lyrispect' Ball and Janet Mason, but even more impressive are Apiary's young contributors, who represent the great diversity of culture to be found in Philadelphia.

Lillian Dunn is one of the founders of Apiary and serves on the editorial team, which, she says, reflects the diversity of Apiary's content. "Two of us live in South Philly, one in North Philly, and one in West Philly." Apiary was partially inspired by a multicultural reading series run by co-editor Tamara Oakman.

"We started out of a desire to read something exciting," says recent Swarthmore College graduate Dunn, who considers Apirary a much needed central location for writing not seen elsewhere. "Literature is one way to access other people's reality. It makes your brain light up in a way that statistics don't."

The Apiary website has a comprehensive local literary calendar that will have your head spinning, listing multiple events nearly every day of the month.

Apiary's upcoming launch party at the Painted Bride promises a cross section of Philly literary scenes, a mission the magazine takes to heart, with MC J Mase III, members of the Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement, readings from Apiary authors, plus live music from Kuf Knotz and jazz trio Peace Love Power The Unity. Issues of Apiary will be available at the event or at these local outlets: Bindlestiff Books, Penn Book Center, Brickbat Books and Wooden Shoe.

Source: Lillian Dunn, Apiary Magazine
Writer: Sue Spolan

It's mobile punk rock ice cream with the cutest darn name. Little Baby's is pedaling into Philadelphia, courtesy of three guys who approach the creamery craft like a rousing cymbal crash. Little Baby's makes its debut on May 21, when the fledgling company rolls out its custom built multimedia tricycle at The Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby, a fitting location for what is sure to be a steampunk delivery system complete with music, lights and an ingenious regulatory-compliant system that provides hot running water, created by local sculptor Jordan Griska.

Little Baby's flavor roster reads more like a set list for a show, with options that include Earl Grey Sriracha, Balsamic Banana and Cardamom Caramel. And that makes sense, since co-founders Pete Angevine, Martin Brown and Jeffrey Ziga are musicians and artists, not formally trained chefs.

"It's been mind over matter," says Angevine, who is also a drummer. "It's a strange, engaging, intriguing kind of fun."

Based in East Kensington, Little Baby's is already generating buzz, with articles in Zagat's, Meal Ticket and Thrillist. The fledgling outfit has a loose agreement with Pizza Brain, which will provide storage for Little Baby's full offering of twelve to fifteen flavors. At any given time, the Little Baby's trike will offer 6 of those flavors on a rotating basis. Little Baby's will also set up at private parties and events, tricycle optional. And Angevine reports that Green Aisle Grocery, on East Passyunk Avenue, will carry the frozen confection if you need your fix and the trike's not out and about. For up to the minute info on Little Baby's whereabouts, check them out on Twitter and Facebook.

Source: Pete Angevine, Little Baby's Ice Cream
Writer: Sue Spolan

Medical device company Echo Therapeutics has set up corporate headquarters in Philadelphia, and plans to hire 25 employees in the next year, according to CEO Patrick Mooney. The company is developing two devices, Prelude and Symphony, which offer a painless alternative to both blood glucose monitoring and drug delivery. The company has just announced the appointment of a CFO, creating a third member of the management team.

Life as a diabetic involves the sight of one's own blood, and a little bit of discomfort every time the needle pierces skin. Now imagine that part of the equation removed, replaced with a needle-free mechanism that can test blood sugar levels transdermally. Echo's Synmphony device gathers information transdermally and transmits it wirelessly.

"The tip looks like a little thimble, and there's a microprocessor inside the device that calculates the level of resistance. The thimble spins, removing dead skin. You don't feel anything, but it stops when it gets to live skin. Now you are literally on top of blood vessels and nerve endings, just microns away from live tissue," explains Mooney, a former surgeon who left medicine to work on Wall Street, and is now marrying his two career paths at the helm of the life sciences startup.

Echo's other device is a transdermal drug delivery system. The Prelude also takes advantage of that exact spot at the juncture of dead and live tissue to get drugs to the body without needles. Right now, the Prelude is being tested with lidocaine, a numbing agent, but the possibilities are vast.

The technology for the Prelude and Symphony was developed at MIT in Massachusetts by Dr. Bob Langer, and the manufacturing side of the business will remain in the Boston area. "I am from Philadelphia originally," says Pat Mooney of the corporate move to this area. "Philadelphia is in a great spot for biotech." Mooney calls the city a sweet spot for his pre-revenue company, citing the proximity of major pharmaceuticals, money managers in New York City, regulators in Washington, DC, and labs in Boston. Echo has just released its first quarter results, showing positive numbers across the board.

Source: Patrick Mooney, MD, Echo Therapeutics
Writer: Sue Spolan

Betsy Casanas is planting seeds in North Philadelphia. Using art as a catalyst for social change, Casanas has opened A Seed On Diamond Gallery on Norris Square. This past weekend, Casanas opened the gallery to the public with a show featuring two Philadelphia artists: Spot Lights Strobe Lights Street Lights is a multimedia work by Daniel Petraitiis, and H.O.O.F., Horse Owners of Fairmount, photography from Amanda Stevenson.

Norris Square is not your typical Philly arts destination, yet if you look on a map, Casanas' gallery is in an area surrounded by urban renewal, with Kensington to the east, Temple University to the west, and Fishtown to the south. Casanas, a muralist, teacher and community gardener, also co-founded Semilla Arts Initiative. "We've been taking over areas that have been neglected and abandoned," says Casanas, who along with fellow artist Pedro Ospina creates cultural celebrations, urban clean up projects, after school programs and student run community gardens. "I've lived in North Philly all my life," says Casanas, who was born at 4th and Somerset, an area unaffectionately dubbed the Badlands, with some of the highest crime rates in the city. Casanas got her degree from Moore College of Art and was the first in her family to graduate college.

A Seed on Diamond is housed in a formerly grand home overlooking Norris Square. Casanas and her two home schooled children live upstairs. "I was able to convert the first floor into gallery space," explains Casanas. Casanas neighborhood experience forms the basis for all her work. "I was painting when I was 14 and no longer allowed outside," explains Casanas, whose paintings are on a massive scale, sometimes stretching 13 feet in height.

Casanas is planning live events at A Seed on Diamond, and along with gallery shows, is bringing a new crowd to a formerly forgotten neighborhood.

Source: Betsy Casanas, A Seed on Diamond Gallery
Writer: Sue Spolan

For every dollar spent on tourism marketing, Philadelphia sees $100 in revenue, according to a new study highlighting the long term success of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Corporation's ad campaigns. The report, released by Longwoods International, provides dramatic evidence that marketing the city's image is serious business.

But wait, there's more ROI: according to the report, for every dollar spent on advertising, visitor spending created $6 in state taxes and $5 in local municipal taxes, a remarkable ratio of 11:1 in government dollars. Leisure hotel room nights have tripled in Center City, and since 1997, the city welcomes an additional 10 million visitors each year. In 2010, 37 million tourists came not only to see the Liberty Bell and the Rocky statue, but also to sample some of the local cuisine and enjoy the region's arts and culture.

The Power of Destination Marketing, written by Longwoods' CEO Bill Siegel, measures the impact of two tourism efforts in the United States: Pure Michigan and With Love, Philadelphia XOXO. Siegel, who has been charting Philadelphia's tourism marketing since 1995, spent a day in town recently to share the results of his study. "In 1994, Pew commissioned a study to find a replacement industry for job loss," says Siegel, who reports that results of the study pointed to a push for hospitality, something of an intangible in a city formerly known for Stetson hats and Botany 500 suits, among many other world famous manufacturers that closed or relocated in the 20th century.

Philadelphia's tourism marketing budget is between $10-12 million annually, the majority generated by a one percent hotel tax, with other sources that include funding from The Delaware River Port Authority, a regional marketing partnership with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and an assortment of grants. In 2010, tourism was responsible for $8.7 billion in visitor spending here. Siegel says of his findings, "It's an increase that runs against the rest of the nation."

Meryl Levitz, President and CEO of GPTMC, added that the city's post 9/11 campaign, Philly's More Fun When You Sleep Over, was the most successful of any tourism effort in the United States. "Philadelphia does better when times aren't as good." Levitz terms Philadelphia a resilient destination, and credits social media. "In travel, word of mouth is the most important determinant for success," says Levitz, who looks forward to a summer of tourism love, with upcoming events that include Philly Beer Week in June and the annual Welcome America celebration in July.

Source: Bill Siegel, Longwoods International; Meryl Levitz, GPTMC
Writer: Sue Spolan

It was like swimming in a sea of money. On May 4, The Greater Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies hosted the 18th Annual Enterprise Awards. About a thousand business leaders and executives attended. Beginning with a VIP reception, the kudos flowed as easily as the cocktails, while down the hall a larger food and drink fest filled with tuxedo and evening gown clad representatives from Philadelphia's top law and finance firms, who networked with the area's best and brightest entrepreneurs and incubators.

Out of 27 nominees, these are the results: the Life Sciences Startup Company award went to CareKinesis, Philly's top Technology Startup Company of 2011 is Monetate, an eCommerce leader that runs websites for Urban Outfitters and QVC; the area's Emerging Life Sciences Company was NuPathe, which works on branded therapeutics for diseases of the central nervous system; SevOne was named Emerging Technology Company, following a 2009 PACT award for Tech Startup, and this year's award for a MedTech Pioneering Company was sewn up by medical device provider Teleflex.

The award for MedTech Product Innovation went to Siemens Healthcare. The venerated Morgan Lewis attorney Stephen M. Goodman received the Legend Award for his many years assisting entrepreneurs; the IT Innovator Award of Excellence went to Lockheed Martin, Information Systems & Global Solutions � Defense, based in Maryland but with offices in King of Prussia. The Investment Deal of the Year went to Safeguard Scientifics for the acquisition of Clarient Inc., formerly in Safeguard's portfolio, purchased by GE Healthcare for $144 million. "It was a spectacular dinner," says attorney Michael Heller, one of the evening's presenters and Chair of Business Law at Cozen O'Connor. "It was wonderful to see such a terrific turnout among the venture capital community. The region is more active today than it was a year ago, and there's more excitement in the air regarding the VC community."

PACT judges named James Walker of Octagon Research Solutions Technology CEO of the Year; Life Sciences Company of the Year was Health Advocate, and ICG Commerce beat out HTH Worldwide and Qlik Tech to win Technology Company of the Year.

Prior to the event, three CleanTech Companies to Watch were named: ElectroPetroleum, NovaThermal Energy, and Viridity Energy. Video of the entire event is available here.

Source: Michael Heller, Cozen O'Connor; PACT Enterprise Awards
Writer: Sue Spolan

Photo : Attorney Stephen M. Goodman

There's a new smartphone game in town, literally. If you've had enough of the aggravated avians, get on your virtual two wheeler and pedal over to Hipster City Cycle. And unlike Angry Birds, Hipster City has a narrative. "You start out living in Center City with a job as a paralegal," explains Port 127's design and coding team leader Michael Highland. "The goal is to blow all of your savings partying with friends and buying bike parts. As you move from neighborhood to neighborhood, the rent gets cheaper. We're turning the normal game progression around so that in Hipster City, you do something and get less." The final goal is to turn Binky McKee into a penniless cycling legend.

Highland sees Hipster City as more of an art piece, with an original throwback 16 bit soundtrack and very basic graphics that do a remarkably good job depicting the details of Philly neighborhoods. Graphic designer Keith McKnight faithfully recreated the orange tables at Pat's King of Steaks in South Philly, and in West Philly, you ride past hipster/student landmarks Koch's Deli, Allegro Pizza and Clark Park. At one point in the Northern Liberties map, you get to ride right on the El tracks, which Highland admits he's done in real life.

Highland says the game will officially launch for iPhone on May 19, and will take the average user about 10 hours to get to the end of the game, which also allows for competition with other players if you get lonely on the open road. Hipster City is simple to pick up, and meant to be played a few minutes at a time, taking the play through four Philadelphia neighborhoods in the process.

Highland, Kevin Jenkins and Keith McKnight all met at the University of Pennsylvania, and Alex Alsup went to Skidmore but is from this area. "Biking is nice, but harrowing at times," explains Highland when asked why the team chose cycling as a focus. "When I bike in Philly, my adrenaline is really high and I am in fight or flight mode."

Hipster City, which is entirely self-funded, also touched on a great marketing initiative which has brought them a lot of buzz without a lot of cash. Last fall, the group set up photo booths at events around the city, includings First Friday, and captured images of hundreds of local hipsters vying to become pixelated characters. There's a contest right now on the website: Visitors vote for their favorite three real people, and the top vote getters get to live forever in Hipster City. And, says Highland, cyclists from all over the world are spreading the buzz on biking forums.

"We're getting a lot of attention on international cycling boards and we're hearing that people in Taiwan and Dubai are excited to have the game."

Hipster City is unique among iPhone games in that it features a real world location, and Highland hints that other cities may soon be hipsterized as well.

Source: Michael Highland, Hipster City Cycle
Writer: Sue Spolan

Some creative types are great with ideas, but not so great with promotion. That's where Philly Side Arts steps in to offer career building marketing and promotional services for individuals and businesses in the world of art. It's run by C. Todd Hestand, who is also a part time instructor at The Corzo Center for the Creative Economy at The University of The Arts.

"About five years ago, a group of friends and I would get together to talk about our artwork. None of us had a website or representation," says Hestand.

Hestand put up the starting capital to build a site in which every artist had his or her own page with images and contact information. "We found opportunities at a better pace as a network than being frustrated individually," reports Hestand, who has just relaunched the Philly Side Arts site with tiered membership levels. Basic membership is still free. For individuals, the initial entry level allows you to upload five images, contribute to the blog, write your own profile and identify yourself as a Philly Side Artist. Businesses, such as galleries and collectives, can post basic information and a logo. A Premium level upgrade, which is just $5 a month for artists and $10 for businesses, greatly increases the amount of information on member pages.

Growth since the tiered launch surprises even Hestand, who reported that during our short interview, two new premium members signed up.

"Membership doubled in April 2011," says Hestand, who counted at the time of the interview 500 artists and 100 businesses on the roster, with about 25 percent at the premium tier. "The point is that the economy is changing. We have to accept what the new economy is going to look like, and where the growth potential really is," says Hestand. "The easiest thing for people to approach as a new source of revenue or employment is to be creative and just make something. It's a huge emerging section of our economy."

Side Arts allows people to spend time creating, not looking for opportunities. As for the name, Hestand drew inspiration from Tony Hawk's skateboarding video game series. One of the skate parks in the game is based on Philadelphia's JFK Park, but for legal reasons, was renamed Phillyside Park. Hestand separated the word because he envisions a future where there will be a multitude of cities in the Side Arts franchise. Watch out, Chicago Side.

Source: C. Todd Hestand, Philly Side Arts
Writer: Sue Spolan

With ebooks on the rise, The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania has launched Wharton Digital Press. Under the direction of Professor Stephen J. Kobrin, who is also an international economics expert at the school, Wharton is going full speed into the digital world in a partnership with Constellation, a division of the Perseus Books Group, which will handle distribution as well as print on demand requests for hard copies of books.

"I took over Wharton School publications 3 years ago," says Kobrin. "A year ago, a depression hit the market. Given our size, having published 81 books in a seven-year period, we got every excited about digital and ebooks and see it as a tremendous market opportunity which can bring a lot to the school in terms of understanding and participation."

Kobrin says that going electronic allows for the addition of graphics, video and animation.

"We think there is a lot of potential for ebooks, and demand will build over the next few years."

He adds that in addition to the multimedia aspect of electronic publishing, there's a lot of flexibility with book length, and does not think the typical 250 page book is the way to go. "We want authors' ideas expressed exactly in the way they should be." Shorter titles may be ten thousand words; longer books can approach sixty thousand. You might think that authors are all from the Wharton faculty. Not so, says Kobrin, who reports that 60-70 percent of writers will be unaffiliated with the school, but the editorial board is made up of Wharton faculty. Kobrin points to the demise of brick and mortar bookstores, and says that the Digital Press will use all the Wharton name has to offer regarding marketing and promotion, responding to the rapidly changing world of book sales.

Wharton Digital Press will launch three business titles in June, from authors Michael Useem, Peter Fader, and Mauro F. Guillem.

Source: Stephen J. Kobrin, The Wharton School
Writer: Sue Spolan

Rosacea is not a life threatening condition, but the facial redness of the disorder can be embarrassing enough to make a sufferer want to die. Rosacea is characterized by a red blush, spidery veins and acne-like pustules on the face. The condition may be intermittent or long term. Malvern-based Vicept is a specialty biopharmaceutical startup that has developed a topical cream that treats the most obvious symptom of the facial condition.

"There's nothing right now on the market that's strictly indicated for the treatment of the redness of rosacea," explains Vicept Director, President and CEO Neal Walker, MD. With $16 million in Investigational New Drug (IND) capital raised during a very tough time for the economy and for life sciences investment in particular, Vicept's prescription cream is an easy fix compared to other rosacea treatments on the market, none of which address the symptom of redness. Laser procedures are considered cosmetic and are not reimbursed by insurance; Oracea, a low dose antibiotic in pill form, affects the whole body and only targets the bumps and pimples, not the redness, according to Walker.

In contrast, Vicept's as-yet unnamed product goes after receptors in facial blood vessels, clamping them down with a vasoconstrictor mechanism and blanching out the redness. Walker is a practicing dermatologist and reports that the active ingredient in the cream has been around since the 1960s, and was originally in Afrin nasal spray.

Vicept has completed Phase 2 clinical studies and is ready to move on to Phase 3 as it continues to move the product along in development, talking with different types of potential partners for distribution both in North America and globally. The fast track company, founded in 2009, has seven full time employees and is nominated for a PACT Enterprise Award this year. Walker says he expects the prescription cream to be available within the next few years.

Source: Neal Walker, MD, Vicept
Writer: Sue Spolan

There's nothing like a little product placement to set fire to sales figures. When reality sensation Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino donned tops made by South Philadelphia clothing designer Street Star Lifestyle Brand, sales jumped, says founder Bobby Scalia, who personally creates each garment in his father's silkscreen studio on Passyunk Avenue in South Philadelphia.

Designs, some of which are embellished with Swarovski crystals, are flashy and heavy on graphics and text. "I started by accident," says Scalia. "I never meant to get into designing clothing. I am a computer technician." With no formal training, Scalia has created such popular clothing that the company's next step is to cut back on supply, with the goal of creating even more demand and exclusivity. Scalia and partner Jenn Tavares hand pick the boutiques around the US that are authorized to carry Street Star. The full line is also available on the company's website, and online sales have generated an international clientele.

Scalia designs tops for both men and women, introduced a line of studded hot shorts and mini skirts for ladies who can rock that look, and also designs for children under the Charmed & Dangerous label. It all started one day when he was helping out his dad in the silk screen shop and someone came in with a custom order. When word got out, more and more people came looking for Scalia's magic touch. "I started out with tattoo-like stuff and skulls, when Ed Hardy was popular, but I don't want to do that anymore," says Scalia, who's moved on to designs featuring scantily clad women, saints, sinners, crosses, Christ, the devil, the seven deadly sins, and an upcoming series of globally themed tops, each celebrating a country. Street Star is about to add a West Coast rep to the staff, and there's been some interest in getting Scalia himself on TV, who adds, "Everything's going pretty good."

Source: Bobby Scalia, Street Star Lifestyle Brand
Writer: Sue Spolan