Dec. 15, 2004 — Ann Arbor-based Velcura Therapeutics Inc. said Tuesday that it had established a new Bone Therapy Evaluation Group to act as a service component of the company and allow rapid testing of potential therapies for osteoporosis and other bone diseases. Velcura has pioneered the use of human bone cells as targets for drug discovery applications. The evaluation group will use Velcura's cell-based technologies to provide rapid drug optimization studies, drug target identification, method of action analysis and more. Velcura has also developed an OsteoChip, a customized DNA array that uses the Affymetrix GeneChip microarray technology and which contains 1,500 genes that are modulated in human bone formation. "The availability of the Bone Therapy Evaluation service allows Velcura to assist biopharmaceutical companies in their drug development process," said Velcura CEO Michael W. Long. "We have had many requests for access to our technologies and our new OsteoChip to speed r esearch to help fight bone diseases. Establishing a drug evaluation program allows us to more rapidly respond to questions of our pharmaceutical clients in a straightforward and simple manner."

Nov. 11, 2004 — ANN ARBOR — Velcura Therapeutics has been awarded nearly $1.5 million by the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, which will include a look-see at stem cells found in the bones of children and adults – not the controversial embryonic stem cells.

Aug. 9, 2004 — Ann Arbor-based Velcura Therapeutics Inc. said it had been awarded $1.452 million to study the mechanisms by which primitive cells develop into mature bone-forming cells. The grant was awarded by the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases based on its interests in endocrinology, metabolic diseases, and stem cells. Velcura investigates how human bone cells function as part of its work developing novel therapies for bone diseases such as osteoporosis. The latest grant investigates the control of stem cells found in the bone marrow of children and adults (as opposed to embryonic stem cells) and their relationship to early and mature bone cells. Bone marrow stem cells are known to produce blood cells. However, recent evidence points to a capacity for marrow-derived stem cells to produce other cells, such as bone.

July 31, 2004 — Velcura Therapeutics Inc. will use a more than $1.4 million grant to study the role stem cells play in building strong bones.The Ann Arbor biotechnology company received the grant from the National Institutes of Health. Velcura is conducting research into treatments for bone diseases, such as osteoporosis, but has not yet released any medicinal products.

July 23, 2004 — Ann Arbor-based Velcura Therapeutics Inc. Thursday announced that it had worked with Santa Clara, Calif.-based Affymetrix Inc. (Nasdaq: AFFX) to develop a new "gene chip" array that should speed up research into bone disease. The device enables researchers to follow changes in gene expression during human bone formation. Approximately 1,500 genes are included on the chip -- about 1,250 bone-related genes discovered by Velcura scientists, as well as 250 more reported in scientific literature as bone-related.