Kiger's Notebook

Mayo linked heart regeneration biotech touts good data

Cardio3, a Belgium-based biotech firm that licenses Mayo Clinic research, is touting the results from the first three months of the clinical trial of its regenerative heart treatment in humans.

Using stem cells from a patient's bone marrow, this company treats cardiac problems by regenerating heart tissue with a therapy called C-Cure.

Here's some from the announcement released Tuesday.

Results showed C-Cure to have a very good safety profile with no adverse events related to C-Cure, as assessed by an independent board. The study is also examining a number of measures of efficacy.

With three month follow up data in-hand, Cardio3 BioSciences has observed positive and encouraging trends in a number of physiological and clinical parameters.

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Cardio3 Biosciences intends to publish the study results once the full six month dataset is available and has been analysed.

Dr Christian Homsy, CEO of Cardio3 BioSciences said: "The data so far from our trial is very encouraging. We showed that C-Cure is safe at three months. We also saw positive trends in other measures that suggest that C-Cure, as anticipated from animal model data, is acting on heart muscle in a way that could yield important clinical benefits. We now look forward to seeing the full six-month follow-up data and completing the analysis of the trial."

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Dr. Jozef Bartunek, Associate Director of the Cardiovascular Center in Aalst, Belgium and Co-Principal Investigator of the C-Cure trial commented: "C-Cure could represent a major breakthrough in the field of cardiac regenerative medicine offering the potential of a life-saving treatment potentially avoiding the need for heart transplants. This trial represents a "first-in-man" therapy using cells 'programmed' to become heart cells. The early stage data that we have seen are encouraging and provides us with very valuable insights that we can use in the design of larger studies to fully examine the efficacy of C-Cure in heart failure patients."

The current C-Cure study is a randomised, prospective, multi-center trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of C-Cure beyond optimal clinical care in patients with heart failure. It recruited 45 patients in Belgium and Serbia.

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Using the insights from the trial and input from regulators in Europe and the US, Cardio3 BioSciences is now designing a pivotal clinical trial program for C-Cure expected to start in 2011.

"Groundbreaking" in downtown Roch.

A ceremonial groundbreaking is slated to happen at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in downtown Rochester.

It is for the nine-story apartment and mixed-use complex being built by GH Holdings on First Avenue Southwest.

That's the big hole across First Avenue from the Minnesota BioBusiness Center and Dooley's Pub.

A lot of ground has already been broken, obviously. But this is event for the collaborative partners – G.H. Holdings, City of Rochester and the University of Minnesota Rochester – to officially kick off the almost $28 million project.

Interesting thing about the announcement of this event. The complex is called 318 Commons.

I think that is a new name. At least, I've not heard it used before.

Merchants Bank picks up Spring Grove bank

Here's a little from a press release that just popped into my e-mail box. Looks like Winona-based Merchants Bank is expanding its reach some in southeastern Minnesota.

Merchants Bank has reached an agreement to purchase the current Central Bank in Spring Grove, according to Merchants Financial Group, Inc., President and CEO Richard L. Mahoney and Central Bank President Larry Albert.

 The sale will include more than $22 million in deposit relationships and the physical locations of the bank in Spring Grove.

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Through an agreement with the FDIC, Central Bank had assumed all the deposits of Jennings State Bank and its two locations in Spring Grove and Stillwater in early October of 2009. Central Bank is headquartered in Stillwater.

The sale is pending regulatory approval. Barring complications, Mahoney said he expects the sale to be completed in late Fall. Terms of the sale have not been disclosed. Merchants Financial Group, Inc., has about $1.1 billion in assets and is the holding company that owns Merchants Bank.

When the sale is complete, Spring Grove will become the Bank’s 18th location.

Last call at Billy Mac's

It appears northwest Rochester has one less bar at the moment.

Here's what was posted on Billy Mac's Facebook page today. Thanks Jeff Hagge for pointing this out:

It was a sad day on Sunday night at 7pm when Billy Mac's locked its doors for the last time.

Linda and Bill did so with tears in their eyes.

Thanking everyone who was leaving the bar for all of their support.

Sometimes things happen that you can't control.

We would like to thank everyone who ever supported us. The owners and staff will miss you all.

Thank you brad.

I remember back in 2007 when the former virtual golf center/bar, The SandTrap, shifted gears and became Billy Mac's. Billy Mac's was located in the 19th Street Business Park West, near the Rochester Athletic Club.

It will be interesting to see if another bar will take over the spot.

Hot dog cart for sale, just after anniversary

Here's something interesting.

Not quite a week after celebrating his first anniversary of being in business, the Government Center's "hot dog guy" is putting his cart and license up for sale.

This is Mike Rothman who sells hot dogs to police officers, lawyers, people appearing in court and Mayor Ardell Brede.

A good out-of-state job opportunity just came and he is hoping to re-locate in the next few weeks.

To prepare, he is advertising his cart for sale. His asking price is $12,000.

Here's some from Kimberly Van Brunt's recent Quick Bites column on his first anniversary on June 22:

One year ago, Mike Rothman decided that after nine months being laid off, it was time to take matters into his own hands — and realize a long-held dream of owning his own business. On Tuesday, he celebrates an entire year of being "the hot dog guy"…

"I feel very fortunate to have been in business for an entire year," Rothman says. "Between the hard work of my wife, Pamela, and me, we made it."
Rothman's success may have to do with his diverse offerings.

He touts "a taste of Chicago" and serves up Chicago-style hot dogs (of course), chili cheese dogs, Italian or cheesy beef sandwiches, nachos, as well as a variety of beverages and candy.

"I get a lot of my ingredients from Chicago," Rothman says. "I'm offering things I used to eat when I was a kid growing up in Chicago."

Roch. Realtors switch to Keller William, make purchase offer

Here's the follow-up to my tease about a change coming in the Rochester real estate market:

Two Rochester Realtors — a husband and wife duo — did some moving recently, but not for a client.

David and Lois Marris, along with their assistant Damon Doty,  joined the Keller Williams Real Estate office in Rochester on June 18 after working with Edina Realty for nine years.

"Our relationship with Edina is still very good. I loved working there under Marilyn Stewart. With her retiring, we looked at possible opportunities, and this is a good opportunity," he says.

Moving offices, changing property listings and getting new business cards might not be the last of the changes stemming from this deal.

"I put an offer in for the purchase of the local Keller Williams office," David Marris says. "We're negotiating a possible purchase."

While the couple may or may not become owners of Keller Williams in Rochester, they say switching nameplates make sense.

K.W. is the fastest growing real estate company in the United States and it is very focused on helping Realtors through training, they say.

Harley CEO to stop in Roch. while riding to Sturgis

Here's something a little different. The Harley-Davidson CEO is revving up his own machine in August to ride to the Sturgis Bike Rally.

Along the way, he'll stop by Rochester Harley-Davidson on 7180 East U.S. 14 at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 7.

Here's some on this from a piece written by Cyril Huze on his extensive motorcycle news blog:

Harley-Davidson CEO Keith Wandell, contrary to most of his predecessors who had a motorcycle background because promoted from inside the company, was criticized for not being a biker with the innuendo that he could not fully understand his clients.

Well, on Thursday August 6 he will stradle one of the company touring models to be part of the group of Harley-Davidson executives riding to Sturgis Bike Week. 

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Harley-Davidson executives scheduled to ride from Milwaukee to Sturgis will also include President and COO Matt Levatich, Senior Vice President and Chief Styling Officer Willie G. Davidson, Vice President of the Harley-Davidson Museum Bill Davidson and SVP and Chief Marketing Officer Mark-Hans Richer.

Harley-Davidson riders and customers are welcome to join the ride and relax with the group at various stops and dealer events.

Roch. Maid-Rite opens today

For the first time in decades, a Maid-Rite Diner is scheduled to open its doors in Rochester at 11 a.m. today and start serving loose-meat sandwiches and milkshakes.

Don and Noreen Sanford and their daughter, Reann Blumers, cooked up the new version of the 1950s-style diner in the Crossroads Plaza across from the Olmsted County Fairgrounds.

The new eatery will be open until 8 p.m.

$2M Funeral home center construction rolling along

Construction of a new 11,300-square-foot chapel and family center by a southeast Rochester funeral home is rolling along.

Macken Funeral Home, a 100-year-old family business, is building the $2 million center near its main facilty at 1105 12 St. S.E.

The new building near Bear Creek will be divided into three sections. In the middle will be a chapel that will hold up to 300 people, says Tim Macken.

That’s important with today’s families needing more space for services than in the past, says Daniel Macken.

On the south end of the building will be a place for friends and families to gather and the north end will offer a food service area.

IBM Roch.'s Blue Gene P beats Bulgarian students

IBM's Blue Gene P, a product of Rochester and one of the fastest computer in the world, took played chess against three Bulgarian students on June and it rolled over them.

An article on TheSportsCampus.com website (which took a little time off from covering the World Cup) says that Stephanie Kovacheva, Todor Kossev and Kalin Zlatanski, students in the first Bulgarian college for English secondary education played the three rapid fire matches against Blue Gene/ P (I'd guess this is the JUGENE member of the P family) at IBM's office in Bulgaria.

The students lost the first and third matches. With the help of Bulgarian Super Grand Master) Veselin Topalov, the trio of chess sacrificial lambs battled P to a draw.

JUGENE Blue Gene/ P was the third fastest computer in the world in June of 2009 and fifth this June. This year it was in the top ten with IBM's Roadrunner, Blue Gene/ L and another Blue Gene/P.