Five Chicago Companies Prepare for Innovate Illinois Finals Competition

• Harrison Custom Harmonicas produces customized, professional quality harmonicas. Harrison uses patent-pending reed technology coupled with patent-pending designs to solve the production problems many of its competitors have. There are no other harmonica manufacturers in the world producing the reeds that Harrison does.

• SanoGene Therapeutics, Inc. utilizes breakthrough RNA interference technology to develop biopharmaceutical products for incurable cancers. The company’s patent-pending platform technology exploits a natural mechanism of preventing gene activity to ultimately stop tumor progression, block tissue invasion, and promote cancer cell death. SanoGene will employ its proprietary technology to develop its lead candidate, SG-1311, for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme, the most deadly form of brain cancer.

• Vesseltek BioMedical is a start-up medical device company commercializing new vascular devices for use on patients who undergo procedures with a high risk of blood vessel blockage. The company’s leading product will consist of a biocompatible, clot-resistant vascular graft that will release, in a controlled manner, compounds that inhibit clotting and vessel scarring.

• CallPod, Inc. is an emerging technology company that has created and patented unique audio conferencing and content sharing technologies for wireless consumer electronic devices and cellular telephones. CallPod became a finalist for its lineup of new products, which includes: Dragon, a Bluetooth headset that allows users to be 250 feet from their cell phones; Chargepod, which charges six devices at the same time; Phoenix, the first mobile conferencing device in the world; and Drone, a Bluetooth USB antenna for computers.

• Salare Security develops and markets VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) security appliances and OEM (original equipment manufacturer) security software for use in IT infrastructures supporting all types of enterprises. The company’s products directly address two key strategic goals of the Department of Homeland Security: awareness and protection as they relate to critical infrastructure in the U.S. Salare’s innovation is licensed by the Illinois Institute of Technology and stops data such as trade secrets and product plans from flowing through a VoIP network.

More than 130 companies applied to Governor Rod R. Blagojevich’s entrepreneurial innovation competition, Innovate Illinois. From there, 32 companies were selected by the state’s Entrepreneurship Centers to participate in the semifinals on Sept. 26. The finalists were announced that evening at WIRED NextFest, the premier showcase of global innovations transforming our world, presented by Wired Magazine.

Finalists are divided in two categories: early stage, a company with an idea for an innovative product, service or process; and later stage, a company that recently implemented an innovative product, service or process. Chicago early stage finalists include: Harrison Custom Harmonicas, SanoGene Therapeutics, Inc., and Vesseltek BioMedical. Chicago later stage finalists include: CallPod, Inc., and Salare Security.

The finals will occur Nov. 18 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the University of Chicago’s Gleacher Center (450 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive). The Innovate Illinois program is administered jointly by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, a nonprofit affiliate of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, which works to accelerate high-growth entrepreneurial companies. To learn more about the program, visit www.innovateillinois.org.

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About the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center

The CEC seeks to make a perceptible and lasting economic impact on the Chicagoland region by helping entrepreneurs and high-growth businesses build viable, sustainable and profitable enterprises. The CEC works with entrepreneurs to create and sustain opportunities for business success, job growth and profitability.

In The Media

11/20/2008
Innovate Illinois Winners Strike Right Note - Chicago Sun-Times
11/19/2008
Carbondale Company Wins $10,000 in State Competition - The Southern Illinoisan
11/17/2008
Need for Innovative Start-Ups Stronger In Economic Downturn - Chicago Tribune
http://www.innovateillinois.org/

11/16/2008
2 Champaign Firms Headed for Finals in Business Competition – Champaign News-Gazette
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2008/11/16/2_champaign_firms_headed_for_finals_in_business_competition

11/8/2008
High-Tech Firm Has a Drive to Succeed
http://www.sj-r.com/archive/x1772939659/High-tech-firm-has-a-drive-to-succeed