FluoroPharma Medical, Inc. (FPMI) CEO Provides Special Shareholder Address

FluoroPharma Medical, Inc., a company specializing in the development of breakthrough diagnostic imaging products that utilize positron emission tomography (PET) technology to detect and assess pathology before clinical manifestation of diseases, released a company overview as presented by FluoroPharma's President and CEO, Thijs Spoor. This "State of the Union" address provided shareholders with a complete picture of the company, its evolution and future potential.

Mr. Spoor began the communication by stating, "Our company vision, financial position and management team are strong, and our product portfolio holds great promise.

"As we advance our business model, we recognize the importance of keeping shareholders informed, and it is with this intention that I present before you today. To understand where we are going, it is important to understand where we have come from. And to understand our founding principles, it is helpful to look at the evolution of the Imaging industry.

"Doctors at a community hospital review x-ray films to better understand the cause of a patient's symptoms… a cardiologist completes an angiography to diagnose the severity of disease involving her patient's heart… a man awaits his discharge from the hospital outpatient center having completed the procedure that may help him beat prostate cancer with a minimum of side effects… using a special camera and injected radioactive imaging agent, a nuclear radiologist evaluates blood flow in the heart of a patient who has been experiencing chest pain.

"These cases represent only a few of millions where we believe innovative diagnostic imaging has changed the way internal medicine is practiced by providing the healthcare industry with a safe, minimally invasive, and cost effective means to rapidly diagnose and treat patients."

Evolution to more effective and efficient care:

Mr. Spoor continued, "Looking beyond today's successes, the future for diagnostic imaging procedures with higher sensitivity and specificity is extremely promising as they provide early and more accurate information to enable more effective treatment and follow-up of its efficacy. Early treatment means saving the patient from long and expensive hospital stays, which results in less time away from family and work. That's not just cost-effective medicine, that's better medicine."

Focus on advancing personalized medicine and personalized care:

"Looking ahead, patients will see medical diagnostic products matched closely to therapeutics, such that they are more likely to be prescribed the exact treatment for their condition," stated Mr. Spoor. "This will improve chances for cure and reduce unnecessary costs and side effects. As we look forward to advances in science and medicine, FluoroPharma's goal is to enable personalized medicine by enabling the physician to prescribe the right medicine, for the right person, at the right time for the right outcome. This is only possible with the right diagnostics.

"Just imagine a day when therapies are tailored to an individual's genetic and cellular makeup. Imagine the ability to detect disease before it becomes apparent. At FluoroPharma, we are working to become an important player in the rapidly changing face of medicine worldwide. We are working on diagnostics that will make the invisible, visible."

High growth market provides burgeoning opportunities:

"Our future is defined by the potential of the market, and that too is strong and growing," noted Mr. Spoor. "According to a report issued by the Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (GIA), 'The world imaging agents market is projected to cross $15 billion by 2015, primarily driven by the growing volume of diagnostic examinations and widening applications… the market for molecular imaging agents currently exceeds $1.7 billion annually and promises rapid growth for the foreseeable future.' The report further supports this by acknowledging the increasing focus on diagnostic examinations that help in the early identification of disease in order to enable more effective treatment."

Our initial focus is on cardiology, the largest segment of the nuclear medicine market:

"Molecular imaging fulfills numerous unmet diagnostic needs by enabling visualization, characterization and measurement of biological processes at the molecular and cellular level," emphasized Mr. Spoor. "Unlike the traditional imaging modalities of MRI, CT and ultrasound, which reveal anatomical abnormalities, PET provides insight into physiology and can detect disease before anatomical manifestation is identified. The combination of both modalities is becoming a more powerful tool.

To view the rest of this shareholder address, visit the following link: FluoroPharma CEO Provides Shareholders With a "State of the Union" Communication

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (VSTA) Enters Strategic Collaboration with Synterys to Strengthen Drug Rescue Initiatives

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company applying stem cell technology for drug rescue and cell therapy, and Synterys, Inc., a medicinal chemistry and collaborative drug discovery company, jointly announced a strategic medicinal chemistry services agreement signed between the two companies. The collaboration will further VistaGen's stem cell technology-based drug rescue initiatives with the support of Synterys' medicinal chemistry expertise.

VistaGen's drug rescue activities involve the combination of its human pluripotent stem cell technology platform, Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube™, with modern medicinal chemistry to generate new chemical variants (drug rescue variants) of once-promising small molecule drug candidates that pharmaceutical companies, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) or university laboratories discontinued during preclinical development due to toxicity issues. VistaGen's drug rescue model leverages prior investment and preclinical development completed by others as well as the predictive toxicology and drug development capabilities of its stem cell technology platform.

"Our collaboration with Synterys directly supports the drug rescue applications of our Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube™ platform," stated Shawn Singh, VistaGen's Chief Executive Officer. "This strategic collaboration represents another important link in the ecosystem we are building around our cutting-edge technologies and innovations from industry and academia focused on transforming drug development."

"After evaluating several high quality candidates, we are happy to have selected Synterys as the medicinal chemistry partner of choice for our drug rescue programs," added Ralph Snodgrass, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer of VistaGen. "Synterys' scientists bring significant experience in medicinal and synthetic organic chemistry to our collaboration, as well as the skills and infrastructure necessary to drive our programs forward successfully and cost effectively."

"We are very pleased to be entering into this collaborative relationship with VistaGen," commented John Kincaid, Synterys' founder. "Our company anticipates great success to result from the combination of VistaGen's stem cell technology platform and our decades of combined experience advancing compounds from early preclinical development into human clinical trials."

In addition to providing flexible, real-time medicinal chemistry services in support of VistaGen's drug rescue programs, the new agreement anticipates collaborations through which VistaGen and Synterys will identify novel drug rescue opportunities and drive them through preclinical development.

9 Year-end Tax Tips for 2011

Time is running out to take your 2011 tax breaks. With tax changes looming, financial advisers say some long-standing deductions may soon disappear.

"We're moving into a new tax era. Even if the Bush tax cuts don't expire in 2013 you'll see 'backdoor' tax increases, like limits on deductions," stated Eleanor Blayney, a McLean, Virginia adviser. "We usually say to save deductions for a high-tax year - but if they may disappear, you want to take them in 2011 or 2012 if you can."

Fortunately, there's still time to lower your tax bill now by maximizing your pretax savings, adjusting your income, adjusting your investments and considering your donations.

1. Increase your 401(k) contribution if you're under the limit ($16,500 in 2011; $22,000 if you're 50 or older), by calling your plan administrator and asking to boost your payroll deduction. Your employer's plan may have lower limits if it caps contributions at a percentage of salary.

2. If you have self-employment income, you can boost your savings to the full limit by also contributing to an individual 401(k) plan. They're available at big brokerage and mutual fund companies. The deadline is December 31 to open one, but you have until April 15, 2012 to fund it.

3. Top off your health savings account if you have one. The 2011 contribution limit is $3,050 for an individual, $6,150 for a family, and an extra $1,000 for anyone over 55 but not yet enrolled in Medicare. Many people assume HSA contributions are fixed at open enrollment, but that is not so. Tom Billet, a principal at employee benefits consultant Towers Watson, said, "You can ask to change a payroll deduction, or write a check to the HSA and take it off your taxes." Contributions and earnings are tax-free, as are withdrawals for qualified medical expenses.

4. Make your 529 college plan contributions by year-end if you live in one of the 34 states that gives you a tax break for them. Among the most generous: Indiana, Iowa and Vermont.

5. Do a 2011 Roth conversion, especially if your income fell dramatically this year. A big income drop often leaves a taxpayer with high-deductible expenses in the low-income year. The upshot: Your Roth conversion might be tax-free.

6. Sell losers in your taxable investment account. A capital loss offsets up to $3,000 of ordinary income on your 2011 return. But wait 30 days before buying back the same security, or the 'wash sale' rule says you can't claim your loss. Consider selling some winners, too, to take advantage of today's very low capital gains rates, advises Loretta Nolan, a financial planner in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. "There's no wash sale rule for gains. You can lock in gains at low rates and buy back stock you intend to hold for years."

7. Make a charitable donation directly from your IRA if you're over 70 1/2. The gift qualifies as your required annual distribution, but it does not increase your adjusted gross income. A lower AGI can result in advantages ranging from a lower Medicare premium to a zero capital gains rate. This tactic is especially useful for people who don't itemize deductions.

8. Clean your closets. You can take a tax deduction for donated household items worth under $5,000 without a formal appraisal of their value.