At the "baby shower" for incubator companies held each year at the Center Club in Baltimore, industry and investor leaders have awarded three spinoff companies from the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) among the seven 2009 winning firms.

The Maryland Incubator Company of the Year awards celebrate the achievements by current incubator tenants and graduates of the 24 Maryland business incubators. The annual event provides support services and a forum for the 18 finalists to increase their visibility in the business, technology, and investment communities.

Winner of Best New Incubator Company for 2009 is Gliknik, Inc., located at the University of Maryland BioPark Bioinnovation Center, located at UMB. Gliknik develops immune modulators that boost the body's immune response to tumor antigens or decrease the body's overactive immune response in autoimmune diseases.

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration granted the company the much-coveted orphan drug designation for two immune modulators in multiple dose clinical trials in patients with advanced head and neck cancer, which might speed up drug development. The drug candidates were licensed from UMB by Gliknik. They were co-invented by Scott Strome, MD, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Esteban Celis, MD, of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa Bay, Fla., when both were at the Mayo Clinic.

Gliknik's CEO David Block said, "This is certainly a nice tribute to the effort of our employees and collaborators and a nod to our considerable progress toward finding novel drugs to help patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases."

Winner of the 2009 Best Technology Transfer Company is Encore Path, Inc., located at the Emerging Technology Center in Baltimore. Encore Path develops stroke rehabilitation technologies.

It recently introduced the Tailwind, an innovative, easy-to-use device invented at UMB to help stroke survivors improve their arm movement. Kris Appel, President of Encore Path, said, "The tech transfer experience with UMB was easy and straightforward, and the supportive relationship I enjoy with the UMB inventors has made this a truly rewarding endeavor for me."

The device and associated therapy were co-invented by the School of Medicine's Jill Whitall, PhD, a professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, and Sandra McCombe-Waller, PhD, Pt, NCS, an assistant professor in the same department.

And the winner of the 2009 Best Graduate Company is A&G Pharmaceutical, Inc., of Columbia, Md., in recognition of the company's innovative diagnostic products that are in development. They are based on a unique biological target, or biomarker, discovered by A&G researchers known as GP88, which plays a critical role in helping cancer to grow and proliferate.

"We are very pleased that the Maryland business community has bestowed the honor of Best Graduate Company on A&G," said Ginette Serrero, PhD, chief executive officer of A&G, and former full-time University of Maryland School of Pharmacy faculty researcher.

Jim Hughes, MBA, vice president for research and development at UMB. said "Maryland has a growing cadre of innovative entrepreneurs. We are delighted that three of the best are developing UMB technologies."

The other winners are Envisionier Medical Technologies, LLC, for Best Life Science Company; Oculis Labs., Inc., for Best Information Technology Company; Lurn, Inc. for Best Technology Service Company; and WGS Systems, LLC., for Best Homeland Security Company.

The web site of the Maryland Incubator of the Year awards states: "Business incubators support new and early-stage businesses in Maryland. ý Recognizing the economic challenges facing new companies, business incubators are facilities that provide reasonable market rents, shared services, and technical assistance to start-ups and early-stage companies, including manufacturing, biotech, service, and technology firms. Sponsors may be private developers, community developers of incubators corporations, public agencies, and universities."

The yearly event is sponsored by the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, RSM McGladrey, the Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development, and Saul Ewing LLP.