Martin Health System Unveils Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot™ more

Jesuit High School Alumnus Donates Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot to His Alma Mater more

BiO2 Medical Announces Successful Completion of the Angel® Catheter Pivotal Clinical Trial more

Xenex Awarded Premier, Inc. Group Purchasing Contract to Offer Germ-Zapping Robot™ Room Disinfection Technology to Premier Member Hospitals more

SA bioscience companies strike new deal to expand scope of stem cell research more

TFS Corporation share price flat despite soaring earnings more

TFS Corporation doubles quarterly profit more

Innovation makes money grow on trees more

Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot™ Destroys Ebola Virus & Anthrax Spores in New Study Performed at Texas Biomed Biosafety Level 4 Lab more

Indian sandalwood oil producer ramps up production to supply new markets more

Cytocentrics Inc. wins Innovator Award at recent event more

Key Opinion Leader (KOL) Calls for New Standard to Close Port-Site Hernias in Lap and Robotic Surgeries more

Surgical Site Infections Decrease 100% after Trinity Medical Center Implements Infection Control Bundle more

Court Order Requires Tru-D to Cease False and Misleading Statements more

Merck and DNAtrix Announce Phase 2 Immuno-Oncology Collaboration more

San Antonio biotech firm CEO is heading west more

Sandalwood grower smells a fortune more

Explore the UV LED market that is expected to reach USD 369.58 million by 2020 more

Ten Life Sciences Companies to Watch in Central Texas more

San Antonio’s Xenex signs national contract with HealthTrust more

Xenex Signs Agreement with HealthTrust; Germ-Zapping Robots™ Added to the HealthTrust Portfolio more

Benzac® Intensive Spot Treatment Named Best Acne Treatment of 2015 by HEALTH Magazine more

neoSurgical® Reports Commercial Milestone of 2000 US Procedures more

Launch of latest hyaluronic acid based filler range more

Galderma Laboratories Announces the Nationwide Availability of Benzac® more

BioMed SA Celebrates 10th Anniversary more

TFS completes US pharma acquisition more

Finally, Good News for Anyone Looking for a Gentle Acne Treatment more

4th Peer-Reviewed Study to Credit Xenex Germ-Zapping Robots for Infection Rate Decrease more

A pair of biotech VCs take aim at raising SA’s status more

BiO2 Medical raises $4M for device that prevents embolism more

How SA landed Cytocentrics more

Sandalwood firm sticks to forecasts more

Two New Studies Show Decrease in Hospital Acquired Infections after Xenex Germ-Zapping Robots Used for Room Disinfection more

Xenex Offers Industry’s First HAI Reduction Guarantee; Multiple Hospitals Report Decrease in Infection Rates When Using Xenex Germ-Zapping Robots for Room Disinfection more

Xenex to expand sales of ‘germ-zapping robots’ to more European nations more

West Australian Indian sandalwood oil producer purchases American drug companies more

Sandlewood grower to buy US-based pharmaceutical firms more

Cytocentrics has big plans for San Antonio more

TFS Corporation Limited jumps on acquisitions: What you need to know more

Australian firm acquires multiple San Antonio bioscience companies; Deal could be worth $270 million more

TFS To Acquire ViroXis And Santalis Pharma - Quick Facts more

DNAtrix Collaborators Present Data on a Novel Oncolytic Adenovirus Expressing OX40 Ligand that Promotes Antitumor Immunity more

San Antonio expected to become bigger global research player as result of Cytocentrics deal more

Cytocentrics Wins $1 Million Incentive and Warm Welcome to San Antonio more

San Antonio approves major incentive deal to lure German biotech firm more

German Biosciences Company Relocating Headquarters to San Antonio more

Cytocentrics looking to relocate HQ to San Antonio, create 300 jobs more

Cytocentrics CEO: Biotech company passed up bigger financial offers to move to San Antonio more

Milwaukee VA center cleared to use germ-zapping robots more

GAO Affirms VA Contract for Mercury-Free UV Disinfection System, Milwaukee VA Hospital Orders Xenex Full-Spectrum™ Germ-Zapping Robots™ more

Pivotal Investigation of BiO2 Medical's Angel Catheter Exceeds Enrollment Expectations more

Alcyone Lifesciences and DNAtrix Enter Clinical Collaboration for Brain Cancer more

Here’s why these 4 companies are soaring higher today more

Harvard gets wood more

2 Works for You helps teen diagnosed with brain cancer denied access to experimental treatment more

Harvard University sees the good oil in NT sandalwood plantation more

San Antonio bioscience companies to team up on critical research more

Germ-zapping R2-D2 look-alike works at Renown more

Are TFS Corporation Limited shares an absolute bargain? more

Med tech start-up exits Bank of Ireland Seed Fund with US$21m valuation more

Galway-based NeoSurgical exits Kernel Capital more

Xenex sells Germ-Zapping robot to Iowa nonprofit hospital more

Broadlawns Employs Xenex Robot to Eradicate Germs more

Benzac® Acne Solutions Premieres Its First-Ever “Insta-Dramedy” Webseries more

Sandalwood grower enlists F1 star more

StemBioSys closes $8m in funding to help launch its stem cell culture system more

Irish start-up neoSurgical has just signed an exclusive distribution deal for the US market. But, as founder and CEO Barry Russell explains, it has taken persistence and courage to get the company this far more

Xenex exporting hospital-cleaning robots to Europe more

Xenex Germ-Zapping Robots Arrive in Spain; Clece Chooses Xenex for Hospital Disinfection more

Takes $8M to Build Homes For Stem Cells more

San Antonio biomedical company StemBioSys scores major funding more

Lexington Fire Department chosen to conduct trial on new EMS Equipment more

Xenex Rebuts Clorox Attack Following NAD Press Release more

San Antonio’s Xenex files lawsuit against Cloroxn more

Lexington Fire Dept. Among First In Kentucky Testing New Device more

Here’s why today is a good day to buy TFS Corporation Limited shares more

Over-the-counter (OTC) remedies rescue consumers from skin and health issues that are—at the time—more pressing than fine lines and wrinkles more

Germ-zapping Dalek-like robots trialed at King’s Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital to reduce the spread of infection more

Seven Women Run Tech Startups in San Antonio to Watch more

UV light from robots disinfects hospital rooms more

TFS rises on upgraded guidance more

Biological assets boost valuation for TFS more

NPSF Patient Safety Coalition Welcomes Xenex more

UV Disinfection Equipment Market is Expected to Reach $2.8 Billion by 2020 – Allied Market Research more

Scent of success

Land use is changing as more water infrastructure becomes available. Col Jackson reports on how increased water storage can benefit the northern tropics

Upriver from Ayr and Home Hill on the Burdekin River, and downstream from the massive Burdekin Dam and its water storage area are the farming communities of Clare, Millaroo and Dalbeg that came into being after World War II as soldier/settlements.

The major crop at that time was tobacco, and while scattered ghostly reminders remain the industry has been deleted from the national agricultural landscape.

Then came sugar cane, and with the completion of the life-giving dam in close proximity, production grew throughout the area. Alternatively, some farmers switched to small cropping.

Since 2012 the landscape has again been changing as vast tracts of land are given over to sandalwood, a crop that requires a copious supply of water.

For an area renowned for its underground supplies, recharging of the aquifers has been necessary to ensure reliable supplies. Thus, water is essential if agriculture is to expand.

While not an isolated example, it gives credibility to Federal agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce’s national initiative to discuss the opportunities and barriers for investment in water infrastructure and dams in Australia.

On October 29, 2014, more than 80 experts involved in water infrastructure across Australia — investors, representatives of irrigators, mining and power industries, financiers, state and territory governments, local governments and construction companies — met in Canberra to discuss this important first step in getting these nation-building projects off the ground.

“Water is wealth and stored water is a bank,” is the minister’s mantra.

“We have before us some great opportunities to build capacity in water infrastructure,” Joyce says.
“We need to strategically plan our future water infrastructure so we can better utilise this precious resource to drive prosperity and improve sustainability in rural industries and regional economies.”

He sounded a warning: “If no new dams are built in the future, Australia’s water storage capacity will fall to 2.6 millilitres per person by 2050. This is a serious issue for us all, and one that the Coalition Government is committed to tackling.”

Another example of how investment in water infrastructure has led to the release of valuable agricultural lands is in the north of Western Australia, where the completion of the Ord River scheme in the late ’60s created Lake Argyle, Australia’s largest artificial lake by volume.
This brought with it not only agricultural development, but research into suitable crops for the tropical north, ranging from melons, pumpkins, chick peas and tropical fruits. Till seven years ago, the Kununurra region — the major town — was the major supplier of pumpkins across the nation.

Another major crop grown the region and marketed worldwide is chia, a small seed that offers the highest combined plant source of omega-3, fibre and protein, alongside a range of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants.

Bordering on ‘superfood’ status, chia delivers the maximum amount of nutrients with minimum calories. The nutritional benefits of chia are essentially fibre, omega fatty acids, calcium, anti-oxidants and protein, an excellent source of whole food nutrition.

The expansion of the agricultural scope in the Ord Valley beyond the traditional encouraged tax lawyer Frank Wilson, who has an agriculture and forestry background, to investigate the potential of developing sandalwood plantations in the area.

Sandalwood is a long-term investment taking some 15 years for the tree to reach maturity — that’s before any income after expending an initial $70,000 per hectare to establish the plantation, plus about $5,000 annually in upkeep and maintenance.

Alternatively, when the tree matures and the wood is chipped, between 200kg and 300kg of oil can be expected from each hectare. Each tree will give approximately the equivalent of a bottle of wine in sandalwood oil. The return on investment is massive.

According to a report from the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) titled Flood Irrigated Tropical Timber Trials in the North of Western Australia there are future prospects that can grow out of the sandalwood industry.

“Sandalwood will create an industry in which the product will be grown and processed in the Ord River Irrigation Scheme before export,” the report states.

“Sandalwood waste from harvesting, together with host biomass that will be removed at the site, may be a product itself and needs to further exploration.

“Like the rum industry, sandalwood could also attract a tourist trade. The industry will thus provide work for a varied range of skills.”

Wilson’s faith in the future potential of a sandalwood industry led to the establishment of the Perth-based Tropical Forestry Services (TFS), the first Australian company to anticipate the future potential of sandalwood.

The initial plantation in the Ord River investment venture began 15 years ago, and was harvested this year.

The entire sandalwood tree is chipped and dispatched to the Mount Romance sandalwood distillery at Albany, in the far south of the state. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TFS, and the world’s largest sandalwood distiller.

TFS Corporation is also the world’s largest vertically integrated grower, processor and distiller of Indian sandalwood, a fragrant and medicinal tree valued at more than $100,000 per tonne of heartwood.
The minimum price for sandalwood oil has been US$2,500 per kilogram (A$2,833/kg), but TFS is currently selling for US$4,500/kg (A$5,100/kg). Alternatively, oil from the Australian sandalwood sells for around the US$1,000/kg (A$1,133/kg) mark. It’s the quality of the oil that determines its value.

While the spindly Australian sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) grows naturally and has been harvested in the west since about 1840, the Indian variety (Santalum album) is essentially a rainforest type.

The latter is the more productive traditional type of tree that grows to about 3m, and is a much more prolific provider of sandalwood oil making it a more valuable long-term crop.

From this reasoning, TFS bought the technology to grow Indian sandalwood and set out to raise investment.

Indian sandalwood grows wild across Asia and can be found in parts of Timor.

Sandalwood has been traded for many thousands of years across the subcontinent, and has established religious and spiritual links that are especially significant to the Hindu and Buddhist faiths.

The oil is used in Chinese medicine, steam distilled to create a resin resembling tobacco that is used for chewing and as a breath freshener, and is commonly used in funeral ceremonies in India.

In more modern times, sandalwood products have become the basis for popular high-end European perfumes and cosmetics. TFS supplies oil to the world’s largest fragrance creator.

Yet sandalwood derives its highest value from pharmaceuticals.

While there is a huge demand for sandalwood oil across the globe, supplies of the primary product — the wood — are diminishing in India due to the inability to grow plantation sandalwood in the country. Additionally, the high cost of sandalwood has fostered an illegal harvesting industry and led to the establishment of a black market across the subcontinent. Illegal poaching also takes place — and this extends into Australia.

Being a hardwood makes it more in demand, but it is the precious oil and its scarcity across the globe that has led to Australia becoming the world major supplier — and TFS is arguably the largest producer of plantation-grown sandalwood in the nation.

Finding the right land and ample supplies of water is a major challenge.

Sandalwood cultivation is water-intensive, and the Ord River scheme holds all the necessary water for such crops. Being a tropical/sub-tropical tree, climate is a major factor in its growth.

Over the past 15 years, new sandalwood plantations have continually been developed in the Ord River Valley. By 2013, some 1,500ha have been planted.

Again, TFS is finding that vast areas across the tropical north where water is plentiful are wide-open to the development of sandalwood plantations. The consortium already has four properties covering 1,500ha in the Northern Territory, where it is establishing new plantations at a cost of $17 million.

Now the Clare/Millaroo/Dalbeg area is taking-on a new vista as sandalwood plantations change the landscape.

The sandalwood is a semi-parasitic tree that must be surrounded by host trees (legumes), enabling the roots to intertwine. It can be categorised in a similar way to how bees host flowers.

For the sandalwood tree to grow, it needs all the support of its host trees, and over the lifetime of the plantation, will draw the life from its hosts.

On the Dalbeg plantation currently undergoing development, farm manager Nigel McGrath takes me through the processes of creating a new plantation.

Starting at the farm shed, a massive array of seedlings create a green mass from which farm workers gather the alternate varieties for delivery into the field.

The starter supply of sandalwood seed was purchased from overseas, but since that time TFS has harvested its own seed. While the company has its own specialist team in place, research and development takes time due to the slow growth factor of the sandalwood trees.

Out in the paddocks, a group of mainly Korean backpackers, adequately protected from the blazing sun and glare from the sandy loam soil, follow a tractor hauling the constantly renewed supply of plants that have been delivered from its seedling facility.

Up to 50 casual and contract employees complement the 10 full-time staff at the Dalbeg operation.
There are 505 trees to the hectare, and by the end of this year, there will be more than 900ha under sandalwood in the Dalbeg area. This is in addition to 2,000ha in the Northern Territory and 7,000ha in the Ord River Valley.

Host seedlings are planted by hand, while the sandalwood seedling is mechanically planted via a tube-like apparatus with a foot-operated treadle that creates a hole, inserts the seedling encased in its white tube, and then recovers the earth around it — a simple yet ingenious operation.

Overall, sowing the plantation is a labour-intensive operation.

Then comes the need for a copious supply of water delivered from the Burdekin River nearby.

A few kilometres away are plantations that have experienced prolific growth since the initial planting of the area in 2012. It can be difficult to define the sandalwood from the host trees so early in the growing period.

In the longer term, trees will be pruned to avoid fungal attack, and trunks drilled to determine the strength of the ‘heartwood’, the darker part of the timber that is oil-bearing and hence the most valuable.

The rest of the tree is not wasted, and is used in everything from beads made in China to cremations in India.

A spokesman for TFS says the sandalwood industry has come out of nowhere and is showing enormous prospects for a high-value sustainable market.

“We have the land and the knowledge, and TFS is now consolidating itself in an effort to own more of the plantations rather than lease,” he says.

Currently, 30 per cent of plantations are owned by TFS, and the rest is in the hands of investors.

“Initial investment covers the 15 year life of a plantation,” he adds.

Water infrastructure is the key to expanding agriculture across the tropics.

Source: http://www.bluescountry.com.au/

February 23rd 2015 back

BiO2 Medical Begins Enrollment for the Pivotal Investigation of the Angel® Catheter more

Baptist Health's new germ-zapping robots use untraviolet light as a disinfectant more

Baptist Health adds "cleaning robots" more

The Only Full Spectrum™ Pulsed Xenon UV Disinfection System more

Benzac® Acne Solutions Launches in the US more

State of health care: Xenex CEO says company is winning war against deadly infections more

The Health Cell to present event focusing on San Antonio’s health care and biosciences sector more

San Antonio developing biotech executive talent more

Xenex’s latest funding exceeds expectations, expands international opportunities more

San Antonio bioscience company Xenex secures major funding more

Germ-Zapping Robot Makes House Call for Texas Baby more

Hospitals name their disinfecting robots to add personality more

The robot will clean up now: More hospitals buying automated systems to reduce infections more

New Study Shows Pulsed Xenon UV Light Effective in Reducing C. diff, MRSA and VRE in the Hospital Environment more

Forecast: Three San Antonio biomedical companies to watch in 2015 more

Here’s why these 4 stocks are soaring higher today more

Sandalwood the good oil for US funds more

Oil Investment Could Put A Smile On The Faces Of Harvard Students more

Harvard takes stake in TFS more

Aromatherapy at home can be easy more

TFS up on US acne product launch more

BiO2 Medical Receives IDE Approval to Initiate Pivotal Investigation of the Angel® Catheter more

StemBioSys Inc. to Present at Biotech Showcase™ 2015 more

Galderma Laboratories Launches Its First Over-the-Counter Acne Regimen, Benzac® Acne Solutions more