Hershey Center for Applied Research Completes Occupancy of Building One Technology Suites with Addition of Medical Device Company Apeliotus Vision Science

For Immediate Release

Media Contact:
Jen Bannan
412-580-3675
jen@0to5.com

Start-up develops diagnostic for the detection of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

HERSHEY, PA – December 2, 2008 – The Hershey Center for Applied Research (HCAR) announced today that Apeliotus (a-PEL-ee-oh-tis) Vision Science has leased the last available Technology Suite at HCAR, bringing the Technology Suites, which are supported by the Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania (LSGPA), to full capacity. Apeliotus Vision Science is a developer of a diagnostic for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of adult vision loss and blindness in developed countries. Apeliotus Vision Science is a spin-out of Apeliotus Technologies, a Georgia-based company that develops and commercializes medical devices based on university inventions.

The company’s move to HCAR was triggered, in part, by the $500,000 investment that the LSGPA made last month in Apeliotus Vision Science to help develop and commercialize its diagnostic.

“We were very impressed with the resources available in this region, including the facilities at HCAR,” said John Edwards, CEO of Apeliotus Technologies “The amenities, the business acumen, the openness and willingness to put the right connections in place – these have been as much a pleasure to discover as the availability of state-of-the-art wet and dry labs and excellent connections to Penn State Hershey.”

In the U.S. alone, an alarming 1 in 6 people over age 65 have AMD, a figure that reaches 1 in 3 for people over age 75. While there is a growing array of treatment options, there is unfortunately currently no practical, low-cost way to detect AMD at the early stages of the disease. Apeliotus Vision Science’s objective is to provide a simple, cost-effective tool for early diagnosis of AMD, before patients have suffered significant visual impairment.

“From our first encounter with Apeliotus Vision Science at a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) training session that we held, HCAR felt that this company would be successful,” said Laura Butcher, Executive Director of HCAR. “Apeliotus has secured National Institutes of Health (NIH) and SBIR funding, venture financing, and has begun a clinical study at Penn State, Johns Hopkins and Harvard to validate use of its diagnostic for early AMD. Furthermore, the company is assembling a strong management team – we are very pleased to have the Apeliotus presence here at HCAR, a solid addition to our research park community.”

Apeliotus's new address will be:

Apeliotus Vision Science
Hershey Center for Applied Research
1214 Research Boulevard, Suite 1013
Hummelstown, PA 17036

About the Hershey Center for Applied Research
Hershey Center for Applied Research (HCAR) provides resident organizations with state-of–the-art facilities and high-value business and research resources that enable growth escalation. In addition to its wet and dry lab facilities and office space in a campus-like setting in Hershey, PA, HCAR provides facilitated access to research expertise, especially in the areas of research discovery, development and commercialization; access to Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine, a major research institution with amenities that include core facilities, clinical trial participation, researcher sponsorship and research advisers; and assistance in obtaining necessary business resources, like venture capital, human resources, including Penn State M.D.s and Ph.D.s, and access to business advisers. For more information, go to www.hersheyresearch.com.