Oklahoma business briefcase for Jan. 28, 2020

i2E leads $1.25M investment

i2E Management Co. Inc. recently led a $1.25 million seed-round investment in Tulsa based MS Pen Technologies Inc. to advance and commercialize its MasSpec Pen System, which identifies the difference between cancerous and normal tissue during surgery.

A subsidiary of MS Pen Technologies Inc., Genio Technologies Inc., will lead the effort.

The MasSpec Pen System, developed in the University of Texas lab of Livia Schiavinato Eberlin, Ph.D., is composed of a handheld and biocompatible pen-like device connected to a mass spectrometer that rapidly identifies the molecular profile of tissues during surgery.

“We will build upon the incredible accomplishments and momentum created by Dr. Eberlin and her lab over the past five years,” Genio CEO Shannon D. Green said. “As we continue to collect and validate the incredible data from ongoing pilot studies at Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, we will work to refine the versatility and adaptability of the MasSpec Pen, leading to great advancements in diagnostic accuracy and surgical precision, resulting in significant reductions in length of surgery and patient time under anesthesia, ultimately improving the outcomes for cancer patients and reducing associated costs.”

The investment round included $500,000 from the Oklahoma Seed Capital Fund managed by i2E and $750,000 from angel investors.

Gas proration given more time

Oil and gas operators are being given more time to submit comments about whether the formula the Oklahoma Corporation Commission sets to control the production of natural gas from unallocated wells should be changed.

Officials said Monday that company operators and any other interested persons now have until 4:30 p.m. Friday to submit comments. They also have pushed back the scheduled hearing where elected members of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission will consider the issue to 10 a.m. Feb. 28.

The commission has had the power to control the production of natural gas in Oklahoma since the 1930s under state law and rules enabling it to conserve natural resources, protect public safety and to promote economic development.

The agency exerts that control by setting a proration formula it has revisited and revised many times throughout the years.

Staff reports