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Carilion Biomedical Institute to Invest in Anti-Obesity Pharmaceutical Company Start-up |
Carilion Biomedical Institute to Invest in Anti-Obesity Pharmaceutical Company Start-up
Company is developing compound that lowers effective dietary fat calories FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Roanoke, VA (March 8, 2005) -- The Carilion Biomedical Institute (CBI) is pleased to announce an investment in ZPRO Pharmaceutical Inc. (abbreviated as ZPPI), a company dedicated to developing affordable anti-obesity products without negative side effects. As a result of this investment and the work that CBI has done with ZPPI over the last year, the company will begin implementing plans to set-up operations in Roanoke, Virginia. "We are very pleased to welcome ZPPI to Roanoke. Obesity is a disease with life-threatening co-morbid conditions that impacts nearly half a billion people world-wide. We believe that ZPPI has tremendous potential in the fight against this deadly disease", states Daniel Barchi, President of the Carilion Biomedical Institute. The first product that ZPPI intends to market is an affordable over-the-counter nutritional supplement, Compound Q. This compound removes large amounts of fat during digestion by acting as a “fat sponge”, effectively eliminating fat calories without producing negative side effects. By physically removing fat from the digestive process, Compound Q dramatically lowers dietary fat calories, in turn creating cardiovascular health benefits and assisting the body with weight control problems. ZPPI’s relationship with the Carilion Biomedical Institute allows the company to work with Carilion Health System, University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. "CBI is an excellent resource for early-stage life science companies such as ZPPI. This partnership grants young companies direct access to well-developed assets that would otherwise be very difficult, risky and expensive to outsource or to develop in-house. We have immediate access to clinical trials, medical experts and basic scientific research that we can manage directly. This important relationship will allow ZPPI to more quickly establish itself in this region and to grow at a much more rapid pace," states Jay Mullins, ZPPI President and founder. Use of proceeds from the investment will primarily be used for pre-marketing technical research at Virginia Tech. Financial terms of the deal are undisclosed.
ZPRO Pharmaceutical Inc. (ZPPI) is a company dedicated to developing affordable anti-obesity products without negative side effects. ZPPI’s first product is an over-the-counter nutritional supplement, Compound Q. Compound Q removes large amounts of fat during digestion by acting as a “fat sponge”, effectively eliminating fat calories without producing negative side effects. By physically removing fat from the digestive process, Compound Q dramatically lowers dietary fat calories, in turn creating cardiovascular health benefits and assisting the body with weight control problems. Carilion Biomedical Institute (CBI) is dedicated to improving the health and lives of people worldwide by partnering with scientists, researchers, and the medical and business communities to create major advances in healthcare. CBI fosters biomedical research at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech and brings promising technologies to market through rigorous medical, financial, operational and market analysis. CBI also connects early-stage companies to venture capital, strategic real estate, management talent, manufacturing partners and healthcare customers. Start-up biomedical companies, entrepreneurs and inventors with a business plan or biomedical concept that are interested in working with CBI should contact the Carilion Biomedical Institute at biomedicalinstitute.com. ### |