Feb. 7, 2007 — Velcura Therapeutics, Inc. will be recognized as one of the "Michigan 50 Companies to Watch," an award designed to shine the spotlight on second-stage companies that is sponsored by the Edward Lowe Foundation. The award will be presented April 12, 2007 at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in Lansing, MI.

Aug. 30, 2006 — Ann Arbor-based Velcura Therapeutics Inc. was to announce today a $274,000 federal Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute of Aging. The grant is intended to further identify the genes or protein networks modulated during human bone formation. Velcura was the first company in the world to grow human bone in tissue culture and has multiple patents on this process. The company uses its platform bone-growth technologies to discover and optimize drugs stimulating bone formation for use in treating diseases such as osteoporosis. Velcura's first drug, VEL-0230, is scheduled to begin human clinical trials in late 2007. "This NIA grant allows us to significantly advance our understanding of how genes and their protein-products work together inside a cell to bring about bone formation," Velcura's President and CEO Michael W. Long said in a statement. "Velcura's scientific team had identified about 1,200 genes involved in this process by 2004. Yet, only knowing the names of these key genes without understanding their functional interactions, just makes us hit the wall faster. To succeed in fighting osteoporosis and other diseases, we have to understand how these genes work together and which ones are crucial to the bone formation process."

Aug. 30, 2006 — Velcura Therapeutics, Inc. has received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $274,000 from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to further identify the genes and or protein networks modulated during human bone formation. SBIR is a competitively awarded, three-phase Federal Government program designed to stimulate technological innovation and provide opportunities for small business.

June 16, 2006 — Ann Arbor-based Velcura Therapeutics Inc. announced that it has selected Hurley Consulting Associates Ltd. to assist Velcura with clinical trial data collection and analysis, submissions to the federal Food and Drug Administration and development program design. Hurley has already worked successfully with sponsors in designing development programs and prepared new drug applications for osteoporosis drugs in the United States and Europe. Velcura CEO Michael W. Long said his company selected Chatham, N.J.-based Hurley because of its depth of experience in osteoporosis drug development, including extensive regulatory agencies and international collaborations. Velcura is focused on drug therapies that stimulate bone growth for the treatment of osteoporosis, bone fractures and other bone disorders. Velcura's first drug both stimulates human bone formation and inhibits its loss, making it a unique compound for treating osteoporosis. It can be formulated as a pill, has completed animal safety studies, and is planned to start Phase I clinical trials in 2007. The company received $3.3 million in funding from the Michigan Life Sciences Corridor in 2002 and more than $3.8 million from the National Institutes of Health.

June 15, 2006 — As it prepares to move into clinical trials on a new drug for osteoporosis, Velcura Therapeutics, Inc. has chosen to work with Hurley Consulting Associates, Ltd, which will assist the biotech company with the development program design, FDA submissions and clinical trial data collection and analysis. Hurley Consulting already has successfully worked with sponsors in designing development programs and prepared osteoporosis new drug applications (NDAs) for submission in the U.S. and Europe.