James Planka

3D Biomatrix, Inc. designs and manufactures three-dimensional scaffolds for cellular assays in drug discovery. It offers 96-well hanging drop plates, 384-well hanging drop plates, 384-well spheroid transfer tool, hanging drop plate sample packs and assay kits. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI.

Essen Instruments, Inc. engages in the development and manufacture of cell and bead based screening solutions. It offers phenotypic drug discovery, antibody discovery and in vitro toxicity testing. The firm’s proprietary technologies, instrumentation, assays and software products address the pervasive need to provide turnkey solutions that increase productivity in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life science research. The company’s products are used in biologics discovery, small molecules, in vitro tox and cellular research antibody applications. The company was founded by R. Terry Dunlay, Larry A. Sklar, and Bruce S. Edwards in 2006 and is headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI.

ViroCyt, Inc. develops life science instrumentation and assays products for the analysis of viruses and microorganisms. The company was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Broomfield, CO.

Celsee Diagnostics, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets integrated comprehensive single-cell analysis solutions. It provides identification, analysis, and retrieves single cells from blood and tissue. The company was founded by Priyadarshini Gogoi, Saedeh Sepehri, and Christopher Siemer in 2011 and is headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI.

SwitchGear Genomics, Inc. provides products for studying regulatory elements in the human genome. It launches LightSwitch Synthetic Response Element which is used for understanding transcription factor activity in living cells. The firms endogenous human promoter vectors are used in primary screening assays to understand how drug candidates may affect biological pathways. The company was founded by Richard M. Myers, Nathan D. Trinklein and Shelley Force Aldred in 2006 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA.

Carterra, Inc. engages in provision of innovative technologies designed to accelerate the discovery of novel therapeutic candidates. It offers Kinetics software, Epitope mapping, therapeutic areas, and antibody formats. The company was founded by James Smith and Josh Eckman in 2005 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT.

NanoCellect Biomedical, Inc. develops flow cytometry and cell sorting technology solutions for life science researchers to perform cellular analysis, develop molecular diagnostics, and improve personalized medicine. Its products include wolf cell sorter and N1 single cell dispenser. The company was founded by Nate Heintzman and Yuhwa Lo in 2009 and is headquartered in San Diego, CA.

KromaTid, Inc. provides products and services for mutation detection and disease diagnosis. Its services include high resolution screening of individual genes to the entire genome, sequence, location and orientation from a single assay, cost effective discovery of inversions and translocations, rapid assay development and data delivery. The company was founded by Andrew F. Ray, Susan M. Bailey, Michael Cornforth, Edwin Goodwin, and Joel S. Bedford in 2007 and is headquartered in Longmont, CO.

American Medical Association engages in promoting the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health. It offers services to physicians, residents, medical students, and patients. The company was founded by Nathan Smith Davis in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

Michigan State Medical Society is a professional organization that provides membership, advocacy, education, and insurance services to physicians, their families, and office staff. The society is based in East Lansing, MI, and has subsidiaries in the United States. The society offers a health law library, which is a premier health law resource tailored to the physician perspective. The society also has a physicians insurance agency that offers insurance coverage to physicians and their families.

American Academy of Ophthalmology, Inc. is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons. The non-profit company is based in San Francisco, CA, and has subsidiaries in the United States. The company advocates for patients and the public and set standards for ophthalmic education. The organization provides information about managing a practice, clinical pearls, and how to thrive in residency for young ophthalmologists. The company also offers an Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award and have committees that are essential to the establishment and implementation of the organization's mission and strategic goals. The Academy's website, EyeSmart, provides information on eye diseases, treatments, news, and tips for lifelong eye health. The company also has a faculty development program for their annual meeting and offer a program called Eyecelerator that advances eye care innovation by connecting creative entrepreneurs with mission-driven investors and access to markets.

Tyball Associates, Inc. provides medical device consulting services. The private company is based in Northville, MI.

Swift Biosciences, Inc. develops molecular biology reagents. It offers Next Generation Sequencing sample preparation for Illumina and Ion Torrent platforms. The firm?s products include Accel-NGS and Amplicon Panels and myT Primer. The company was founded by David C. Olson and Vladimir L. Makarov in February 2010 and is headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI.

Johnson & Johnson Innovation JJDC Inc (Johnson & Johnson Innovation JJDC) is a venture capital subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson founded in 1973. The firm is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. develops and markets prescription drugs in various therapeutic areas, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, pain management, acid reflux and infectious diseases, women’s health, and mental health (bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia); and neurologic, including Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and migraine prevention and treatment. Its products include Axert, Darzalezx, Invokamet XR, Invokana, Remicade, Reopro, and Risperdal Consta. The company was founded by Paul Janssen in 1953 and is headquartered in Titusville, NJ.

ViaCyte, Inc. develops a stem cell-derived islet replacement therapy for the treatment of diabetes. Its development portfolio includes VC-01 product candidate, a cell replacement therapy for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in San Diego, CA.

Fjord Ventures Inc (Fjord Ventures) is a venture capital firm founded in 2005 by Olav B. Bergheim. The firm is headquartered in Laguna Hills, California.

Prelude Corp. provides health related services. It offers new paradigm, predictive DCIS test, precision medicine, and clinical evidence services. The company was founded by Troy Bremer in 2009 and is headquartered in Laguna Hills, CA.

Metronom Health, Inc. develops and markets continuous glucose monitoring systems for diabetes management. The company was founded in 2009 Elliot B. Botvinick and Troy Bremer in 2009 and is headquartered in Laguna Hills, CA.

Renova Therapeutics, Inc. operates as a biopharmaceutical company. The firm is developing definitive, one-time gene therapies and peptide infusion treatments to restore the health of people suffering from chronic diseases. Its product, RT-100, is a treatment that delivers a therapeutic gene directly to the heart during a routine outpatient procedure and has the potential to increase heart function in patients with CHF. The company was founded by Jack W. Reich, H. Kirk Hammond and Craig Andrews in 2009 and is headquartered in San Diego, CA.

Part of Procter & Gamble Co., Gillette Canada, Inc. is a Canadian company that manufactures razors. The company is based in Kirkland, Canada.

The NutraSweet Co. manufactures and distributes sweetener products. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL

Northwestern University is a private institution founded in 1851 to serve the Northwest Territory, an area that now includes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota. Northwestern has three campuses

Accuri Cytometers, Inc. develops and manufactures personal flow cytometers for researchers. It operates as a life sciences company which develops and markets high performance cell analysis systems designed to bring the power of flow cytometry into life science and biomedical laboratories. The firm offers C6 Flow Cytometer, a bench-top cell and bead analysis system used in various applications, such as immunophenotyping, bacteria analysis, cell cycle analysis, proliferation assays, apoptosis, DNA analysis, target multiplexing, gene expression, lineage analysis, viability, absolute cell counts, intracellular cytokines, membrane potential, yeast and algae analysis, and phagocytosis. The company was founded by Jennifer A. Baird and Collin A. Rich in 2004 and is headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI.

Amnis Corp. provides cell imaging and instrument development, manufacturing and marketing services. The Company's ImageStreamX and FlowSight imaging flow cytometers combine the speed and sensitivity of flow cytometry with the power of digital microscopy serving a broad spectrum of Life Sciences research market needs. The company was founded by David A. Basiji, William E. Ortyn and Harold H. Kawaguchi in 1999 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA.

Molecular Probes, Inc. has manufactured fluorescence-based detection solutions for use in labeling molecules for biological research and drug discovery. The company was headquartered in Eugeme, OR.

Orchid Cellmark, Inc. provides DNA testing services. It generates genetic profile information by analysing an organism's unique genetic identity. The firm also offers non-DNA forensic laboratory services. The company was founded on March 8, 1995 and is headquartered in Princeton, NJ.