Science in the Triangle

This week, the Triangle scored a major research accomplishment, watched a homegrown company test Wall Street and learned that Raleigh is better than Silicon Valley for reasons that have nothing to do with state government or the Cameron Village sewer worms.

UNC-led research team deconstructs HIV genome
Bad news for the human immunodeficiency virus, the fickle virus that continues to spread AIDS despite more than 20 years of research to stop it. Good news for patients - potentially.

A research team lead by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill figured out the patterns on the virus’ genome, a single strand of genetic information, also known as RNA, that is intricately folded and produces 15 proteins essential to the virus’ life cycle.

Knowing the RNA patterns of the virus opens up new possibilites to fight HIV/AIDS. The UNC researchers are, for example, beginning to understand the genetic tricks the virus employs to infect without detection and they’re considering making changes aimed at slowing growth.

Read more here and here.

Inspire offers $100 million in stock
Inspire Pharmaceuticals is offering 22.2 million shares of its publicly traded stock for sale to raise about $100 million by Aug. 10. The Durham company, which develops and sells eye and respiratory medicines, needs to bolster its cash reserves to continue development of three experimental drugs in clinical testing.

Product sales Inspire generates have yet to make up for operating expenses and the company expects to remain unprofitable for several years, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

At the end of June, Inspire had about $41.7 million left in cash and investments, down from $72.2 million a year earlier.

The stock sale follows job cuts and the announcement that Christy Shaffer, Inspire’s chief executive, plans to make way for a successor.

Other Triangle companies in the news:

• Icagen gets the green light from regulators to test its experimental epilepsy drug in patients. The Food and Drug Administration had partly blocked further development of the drug.
• Liquidia takes in $7 million in venture capital to work on chemotherapy that does not harm healthy tissue. The Durham company is developing tiny vessels that deliver poison to cancerous cells only.
• Labcorp completes $107 million purchase of Monogram Bioscience, a Bay Area diagnbostics company.

Raleigh is plain-vanilla now more
The Triangle is experiencing a technological groundswell. Driven partly by the fallout from the recession, techies are looking for the next exciting computer program their former or current bosses can’t get their heads around and businesses are looking for new marketing tools to raise sales. What they are finding are grassroots get-togethers across the Triangle where they are learning about social media tools, such as Twitter and Google Wave.

The get-togethers are organized by OurHashtag, a Raleigh company that is made up of four entrepreneurs, marketing strategists, bloggers and business consultants. Events are monthly, quarterly and semi-annually or annually and draw as many as 500 people.

Here is what Wayne Sutton, one of the four OurHashtag partners, had to say at the first Ignite production in Raleigh.