The program, Pharmacy Health Network, enables pharmaceutical, over-the-counter, consumer health and other product manufacturers to run video advertisements and health education content on 32-inch, flat-panel LCD screens placed in retail pharmacies within direct reach of consumers. “This is a brand-new offering that will get us into a [direct-to-consumer, audio-visual] space we were not in before,” said Jeff Foreman, vice president of strategic purchasing for Cardinal Health. “It’s a powerful, consumer-reaching [tool] that can be customized right down to the zip code.”

Emergency code boxes, also known as crash carts, contain life-saving medications and emergency supplies. Urgicode uses cellular and Web technology to tell medical staff members whether medicine in a kit has been used or is reaching its expiration date. The system is capable of notifying pharmacies via Internet or Intranet when medications need to be replaced. The product’s official launch is planned for January.

The Ghannoum Law Firm focuses almost exclusively on transactions and intellectual property for the life-science industry. The businesses relies on a virtual workforce and unique compensation method to provide lower costs, and its founder thinks the medical industry has grown enough to support a medically focused firm.

Tony Shipley of Queen City Angels says the old-school approach to starting a business is new again because of the dearth of private equity. Investors have become much more discerning — even among the companies they’ve invested in. “People casually thinking about entrepreneurship must be really committed to operating effectively and efficiently or else they’re better off keeping their day job,” Shipley said in an interview.

The newly developed “lab on a tube” is a catheter equipped with multiple sensors capable of continuously monitoring numerous physiological and biochemical changes in the brain, simultaneously. The device is designed to also drain cerebrospinal fluid — the liquid which the brain floats in — as well as deliver medications directly to the brain.