Business and community leaders joined in celebration of San Diego’s spirit of innovation and collaboration at the 2007 Most Innovative New Products Awards ceremony.
The gala event was hosted by CONNECT, a public benefits organization co-founded by UCSD with the mission of fostering technology and life science entrepreneurship in the San Diego region. This year marked a seminal year for the MIP Awards: the 20th anniversary.
CONNECT CEO Duane Roth began the festivities by praising the unique “culture of collaboration” that has made San Diego a hotbed of successful new companies.
“People came together to work and help each other make all their businesses more successful,” Roth said. “While many of the people that came here to start these new, innovative companies were in fact competitors, they worked together in a collaborative means.”
Mayor Jerry Sanders also applauded the unique business atmosphere of San Diego, saying, “It’s that culture of creativity that sets San Diego apart. It’s the leadership that developed CONNECT, and developed our universities, and developed the companies that are the mainstay now, that is allowing us to develop even further.”
The MIP awards are given for products developed in the San Diego region that demonstrate vision and the potential to change the world. To be considered, nominees must have become commercially available within the last year. Of more than 100 nominations, 22 finalists in seven categories were selected by a distinguished panel of judges. The winner of each category was announced at the ceremony, held Dec. 14 at the Torrey Pines Hilton.
While the promise of some winners is easily apparent, the judges also selected new technologies that consumers may not directly use but nevertheless have the potential to shape our world.
In the category of Communications Technology and Hardware, this year’s award was claimed by Luxtera for its product Blazer, a CMOS Photonics 10Gbps transceiver. This next-generation optical fiber is both cheaper and more efficient than existing cables and enables computer networking and Internet access at speeds faster than ever before.
A new category, Clean Technology, debuted in 2007 and was awarded to TrailerTail, designed by Advanced Transit Dynamics Inc. TrailerTail modifies the rear end of semi-trucks to reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency by 5 percent, helping to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
The winner of the third category, Security Technology, was Seacoast Science Inc. Its device, named SC-210, is a small, lightweight, inexpensive chemical sensor that can detect a wide range of organic chemicals, gases and chemical warfare agents.
Life-Sciences “” Medical Products was the fourth award, which was given to Artes Medical for ArteFill, the first FDA-approved injectable filler that can permanently correct smile lines, those wrinkles that form around the mouth. Unlike other injection treatments, which are absorbed by the body over time, ArteFill actually improves in appearance after five years.
In the category of Life Sciences “” Diagnostic and Research Tools, RegeneTOX by RegeneMed Inc., took home the award. RegeneTOX provides a system to test new drug candidates in human liver tissue. Since the majority of new drugs fail safety tests by causing liver damage, RegeneTOX will decrease the cost of drug development by determining liver toxicity very early in the drug development process.
The sixth award, Software and Industrial Technology, was awarded to Airsis Inc. for PortVision. This new seaport monitoring process collects data from the collision avoidance systems required on all commercial ships and makes this information available to customers. PortVision will increase safety, efficiency and communication at shipping ports.
From the wide range of new devices in the final category, General Technology, the Senomyx Savory Flavor Ingredients, made by Senomyx Inc., was selected as the winner. Designed to replace monosodium glutamate (MSG) in savory foods such as meats and cheeses, the Savory Flavor Ingredients were developed using Senomyx’s innovative assays based on taste receptors.
In addition to new products, the awards ceremony also recognized individuals for their role in advancing the technology and life sciences industry in San Diego with the Distinguished Contribution Award. Ted Roth, managing director of Roth Capital Partners, and Mary Walshock, associate vice chancellor of UCSD, were this year’s winners.
The ceremony concluded with the William W. Otterson Award. Named after the founder of CONNECT, the award salutes new technologies from San Diego-area businesses that have profoundly transformed the world. The 2007 prize was awarded to Cymer, which coincidentally won the first MIP award 20 years ago. The ultraviolet laser developed by Cymer is now used in the construction of semi-conductor chips that are essential for nearly all consumer electronic products.
According to Cymer CEO Robert Atkins, “You can walk down the aisles of Best Buy or Circuit City, and all the video games, laptops, iTouches, iPhones and cell phones ” all of them contain chips that were built in part using Cymer lasers.”
For more information on CONNECT, visit www.connect.org.