TruTag recognized for its development of the “edible bar code” for combating pharmaceutical counterfeiting and many other applications
(Honolulu, Hawaii, June 15, 2011) TruTag Technologies announced today that it is a grand prize winner of the prestigious Launch: Silicon Valley 2011 conference. “TruTag was selected by a vote of the VC panelists and the audience combined, as the company ‘most likely to succeed’ in the Life Science session at Launch: Silicon Valley,” said Chris Gill, President and CEO of Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs. “Both the VC panelists and the audience thought the TruTag technology has the potential for a wide range of applications in the food & drugs industries, and the team to make this a success. We are delighted that TruTag chose the Launch: Silicon Valley event to introduce their product to Silicon Valley investors, corporate executives, bloggers & press, and wish them every success.”
Launch: Silicon Valley, co-sponsored by Microsoft, Garage Technology Ventures and The Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs (SVASE), is the premier product launch platform for ‘Hot’ Emerging Tech Companies around the globe. TruTag Technologies emerged the winner against nearly 400 companies ready to publicly launch their products with presentations to Silicon Valley’s most influential venture capital and Angel investors. TruTag was chosen “most likely to succeed” in the field of life sciences at the event.
TruTag Technologies is a provider of item-level product verification and authentication solutions. A portfolio company of Skai Ventures of Honolulu, TruTag Technologies recently completed a spin out as a standalone company and a first closing of a multi-million dollar financing. It has developed a high security, covert, pure silica microtag that is heat-resistant and edible. The company is initially targeting its “edible bar code” at the $80 billion counterfeiting problem in the global pharmaceutical industry, though the technology platform is applicable to authenticating a wide variety of high value items such as electronics, industrial parts, luxury goods and food as well.
TruTag Technologies’ Chief Operating Officer, Peter Wong, a seasoned veteran of Silicon Valley tech startups, was thrilled to receive the award. “This competition brings together sponsors and judges of the highest level of sophistication in finance and technology to evaluate nearly 400 emerging companies and products from around the world, said Wong. To have TruTag Technologies come out on top is a great accomplishment.”
Additional sponsors for the Silicon Valley event included: Cooley LLP, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Global Media Strategy communications, Mintz Levin LLP, the Band of Angels, Sand Hill Angels, Wilmer Hale LLP, the Angels Forum, The Kauffman Fellows Program, PR Newswire, Halosys Technologies, Life Science Angels, Foglifter Media, Alchemy Search Partners, Hawaii High Technology Development Corporation, LeadFormix, Link Silicon Valley, and VentureDeal.
Past event finalists have gone on to raise more than $150 Million following their selection as Launch: Silicon Valley award winners. The monetary value is actually higher since private companies do not need to disclose financials publicly.
About TruTag Technologies
- June 2011 -- Winner, “Most Likely to Succeed,” (Life Sciences) Launch: Silicon Valley 2011 competition for ‘Hot’ Emerging Tech Companies Worldwide
- February 2011 -- Grand Prize winner, Hawaii Entrepreneur Competition for Venture Ready Companies at the Nasdaq OMX: Road to IPO
- March 2010 – 2010 North American Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Innovation of the Year by Frost & Sullivan
TruTag Technologies has developed a covert, low-cost, heat-resistant, and edible silica microtag (called TruTagTM) that can help to prevent counterfeiting, improve tracking and authentication, add efficiency to clinical trials administration, provide informatics for product and component tracking through the supply chain, and assure product quality in consumer goods like computer chips, medicine and aircraft parts. The unique physical properties of TruTag microtags allow for potential application in a variety of markets with high-value items, including pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, medical devices, electronics, industrial parts, textiles, food, and cosmetics. Log on at www.trutags.com
Paula Page
Public Relations
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