Helping people heal themselves
Local company seeks early position in $80 billion industry
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| Tissue Genesis President and CEO Anton Krucky
Photo: David Croxford |
Honolulu-based Tissue Genesis is taking self-help a step further with its patented cell isolation system. In less than two hours, a patient’s own regenerative cells can be put back into their body to heal diseased tissue. “You’re not putting anything into the body that wasn’t in there before,” president and CEO Anton Krucky explains.
The Procedure To isolate 30 million cells, all a doctor needs is 60cc of fat (roughly 4 tablespoons) from a patient. The fat is squirted into the portable machine, which can function right in the operating room. After the doctor closes the machine and presses the start button, the system takes over.
The system The Tissue Genesis system first washes the fat to remove waste such as blood, and adds anenzyme solution to break down the fat. Using centrifuge technology, the broken-down fat is spun at precisely the right temperature and speed to isolate regenerative cells, such as adult stem cells. When the doctor returns a little more than an hour later, a clean syringe filled with a solution of the extracted cells will be ready for use.
The future Approval for the system will come after the Food and Drug Administration performs clinical trials for each of its potential applications. Krucky is expecting FDA approval by the end of this year for one of the system’s most promising uses-building vascular grafts for patients who need vessel replacements, particularly those suffering from peripheral vascular disease. “We can take a scaffolding material, coat it with the patient’s own cells using cells from the cell isolation system, and build a vessel for them in less than two hours,” Krucky says. He is confident the system can also treat heart disease, peripheral artery disease, spinal injuries and medical problems in animals.
The market Jain PharmaBiotech, which studies healthcare innovations worldwide, estimates the global market for stem-cell-based therapeutics and platform technologies will be $81.3 billion by 2012. “We see ourselves positioned at the very early stage of what has potential to be a very big deal,” Krucky says.
Tissue Genesis 539-9331 www.tissuegenesis.com From Hawaii Business October 2009 issue
Doris Duke’s Shangri La
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When you step into Doris Duke’s oceanfront getaway at Black Point, you immediately understand why the heiress named the sprawling property Shangri La. Duke, once nicknamed the “richest girl in the world,” traveled the globe collecting Islamic art and rarities to decorate her Hawaii home.
The extravagantly luxurious estate boasts painted ceilings, ornate tapestries, exotic gardens and a private yacht harbor. Carol Khewhok, program manager for the Doris Duke Foundation of Islamic Art, says her favorite feature is the Turkish room. “The room is like the interior of a jewel box with all of the intricately carved and colored walls, ceilings and intricate marble flooring.”
Kamaaina tours are $20 and can be reserved at www.honoluluacademy.org.
From Hawaii Business October 2009 issue
Top 10 Google tools for the workplace
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| Courtesy google, istockphoto.com |
Everyone knows Google as a useful search engine, but try some of Google’s lesser-known services and you may wonder how you managed without them.
Analytics: Tracks your Web site traffic, checks effectiveness of your ads, compares your site against competitors’ sites and more. Plus, Google’s in-depth, easy-to-read charts and graphs make it painless to share Web reports with employees.
Alerts: Tells you when your company or product is mentioned on the Web. Great for managing customer feedback or keeping an eye on the competition.
Docs: Allows you to create and share company documents, invite others to collaborate on a posted file, such as a slideshow presentation, or publish your documents as Web pages.
Desktop: Finds the file you need by searching your computer for files, downloads, e-mails, bookmarks and anything else that’s there. Bonus: personalize your desktop with Google Gadgets.
Reader: Subscribe to your favorite Web sites and read them all in one place. Keeps track of what you’ve read and alerts you of new content.
GOOG-411: Dial 1-800-GOOG-411, say your location and the company name or service you’re looking for, and get connected. Bonus: You can request directions to be sent to your phone.Groups: Create a group for company discussions. You can post a question, pitch ideas, collaborate on an event or just keep employees in touch.
Blogger: Easy way to start a blog and keep your business on the map of online social networking.
Scholar: Searches academic publications such as journals, articles, books and theses. Cuts some of the grunt work out of research.
Book search: Searches thousands of books, including the obscure and out of print. Many books are available to read entirely online.
You can find them all easily with the Google search engine.
From Hawaii Business October 2009 issue
Building Jobs
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| Photo: istockphoto.com |
With Hawaii’s construction industry facing hard times, the state Senate hopes a new task force will come up with creative ways to save jobs and generate new ones.
“We wanted to make sure that we did whatever could be done to provide direct support to Hawaii’s families given the economic situation we face, and we thought that this was one piece that has real potential,” says Sen. Dwight Takamine (Hamakua, S. Hilo), who helped introduce the bill in March.
In 2008, the construction industry contributed $3.6 billion to Hawaii’s economy, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ regional economic accounts. Construction also employed more than 6 percent of the state’s workforce in 2008, according to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. However, the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) is forecasting that construction spending will fall by 30 percent from 2009 to 2010, dropping the number of construction-related jobs by 17 percent.
The task force will take a closer look at construction’s value to the local economy and propose ways the state can help preserve the income and jobs that construction provides. Takamine says that while the state government has little control over the economy, construction can be an exception. “One area in which we do have more control is capital improvement projects: increase cash flow into the economy through capital improvement projects,” he says.
The group consists of 17 local leaders, including Don Horner, president of First Hawaiian Bank; Ronald Taketa, financial secretary of the Hawaii Carpenters Union; Harry Saunders, president of Castle & Cooke; and Kamehameha Schools Trustee Micah Kane.
From Hawaii Business magazine September 2009 issue
Virtual Offices
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Photo: David Croxford |
Local company Resource Suites is partnering with one of the nation’s largest real estate firms to redefine where you work.
With tools such as the Internet and smart phones, more small companies are discovering that they save money and time by functioning virtually — that is, skipping out on a typical office and using technology to conduct business from wherever is convenient.
To support them, Resource Suites and similar companies offer temporary workspaces with color copying, scanning and a receptionist, plus space for meetings, online seminars and video conferences. “I think virtual offices are the future, but at some point you’re going to need to meet with people and you want to do it in a professional setting,” says Resource Suites founder Daniel Kaneshiro.
To further his mission of business convenience, he is working with Keller Williams Realty to open temporary workspaces in more than 700 business districts and suburbs across the U.S. “We want this to be 1,000 locations so that you can go anywhere that’s the most convenient for you,” Kaneshiro says.
Besides convenience, the pay-as-you-go pricing may be the answer for companies desperate to save money in these hard times.
Resource Suites888-979-8881 1888 Kalakaua Ave., Suite C312 Honolulu, HI 96815 |
When Jeanilou Torrado’s company, Monarch Talent and Consulting, began growing, she needed a place for meetings, but was not ready for a high rent. She has been using Resource Suites for nearly a year. “It’s a great way to inch your way and build your business without having to put down the money for an office,” Torrado says.
From Hawaii Business August 2009 issue
