WIN: Emerging cancer drug and treatment companies to be featured at April 28 WIN-Madison

Three examples of Wisconsin’s growing cluster of cancer drug development and treatment companies will be featured at the Tuesday, April 28 luncheon meeting of the Wisconsin Innovation Network in Madison.

The luncheon will be held at the Sheraton Hotel on Madison’s John Nolen Drive. Registration and networking begin at 11:30 a.m., lunch at noon and the presentation at 12:30 p.m. The cost is $25 for WIN members, $35 for non-members and included with WIN corporate memberships. To register go to http://www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com/events/win/.

A number of Madison-area companies, as well as related research institutions, are engaged in the fight against cancer. Their progress underscores the fact that Wisconsin is emerging as a place where drug development and medical device companies can thrive. Hear about advancements from leaders of three early stage companies:

* Shawn Guse, CEO of Compact Particle Acceleration Corp., which is developing a compact proton therapy system for the treatment of cancer, using dielectric-wall accelerator technology. CPAC is a spin-off from TomoTherapy, one of a handful of companies worldwide that makes specialized radiation machines for treating cancer.

* Laura Strong, president and COO of Quintessence Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company focused on development of novel protein-based therapeutics as anti-cancer agents. Quintessence recently began Phase 1 clinical trials of a human protein that has been genetically modified to be toxic to cancer cells.

* Jim Prudent, founder and CEO of Centrose, which enhances drugs with specialized sugars. Centrose is pioneering scientific breakthroughs in the understanding of sugar chemistry and sugar biology in order to rapidly develop a diverse pipeline of proprietary therapeutics.

WIN is the membership arm of the Tech Council, the independent, non-profit science and technology adviser to the governor and the Legislature. It has chapters in Milwaukee, Madison, Northeast Wisconsin, Central Wisconsin, the Lake Superior region and Western Wisconsin.

Sponsors of the event are: Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., and Grant Thornton, LLP.