BUSINESS JOURNAL EVENT

2008 Health Care Conference: Frontiers of Health Care

Wednesday, November 12, 2008, 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel & Spa, Santa Rosa

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The News in Brief

Raptor closes $10M private placement

NOVATO – Raptor Pharmaceuticals (Bulletin Board: RPTP) closed a $10 million private placement of stock, netting the company $9.3 million to fund development of drugs proposed to treat cancer, disorders that attack the nervous system and infectious diseases.

Co-founder and CEO Christopher Starr, Ph.D. said Raptor will use the proceeds to move forward with clinical testing programs acquired in the last 10 months and preclinical programs developed in-house. The company expects to have three clinical trials in progress in the next six to nine months.

“We are pleased to have closed this private placement, especially given the challenging financing environment for development-stage biotech companies,” Dr. Starr said.

The private placement includes 20 million shares of common stock at 50 cents a share and two-year warrants to purchase 10 million shares at 75 cents each the first year and 90 cents a share the second. Limetree Capital of Zurich was the lead placement agent.

For details, visit www.raptorpharma.com.

Sonoma County puts planning maps online

SANTA ROSA – The Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management Department launched Internet access to General Plan, zoning, flood zone, geologic hazard and other land development maps of unincorporated areas. The information is accessible via the ActiveMap system at www.sonomacountypermits.org.

Agricultural appraiser sells stake in firm

SONOMA – Tony Correia, 63, a notable North Coast agricultural appraiser for the past 10 years, sold his stake in Fresno-based Correia-Xavier Inc. to Stanley Xavier Jr., 47.

Mr. Correia will continue to appraise North Coast properties from his office in Sonoma. Mr. Xavier assumed the role of president and CEO of the 15-year-old, 10-appraiser firm, which offers litigation support as well as estate planning and succession consulting.

Mr. Correia first started appraising North Coast vineyards when they were selling for an average of $30,000 an acre in Sonoma County and just crossed $100,000 an acre for prime Napa Valley vineyards. Now, choice vineyards in Sonoma County sell for $75,000 to $125,000 an acre and in Napa Valley for $150,000 to $300,000 an acre.

Scott Simon to keynote leadership awards

NORTH BAY – National Public Radio’s “Weekend Edition Saturday” anchor and novelist Scott Simon will be the keynote speaker at the North Bay Leadership Council’s Leaders of the North Bay Awards luncheon.

From ground zero in New York to refugee camps and snipers’ roosts, Mr. Simon has reported in all 50 states and on every continent, including coverage of campaigns, sieges, famines, hurricanes, earthquakes and civil wars. He has interviewed and profiled people such as Mother Teresa, Ariel Sharon and Wyclef Jean.

The Leaders of the North Bay Awards event will honor individuals, businesses and organizations making outstanding contributions to the quality of life and prosperity in the North Bay. Nominations will be accepted through July 11

in the following categories: individual leadership, community building, environmental stewardship, innovative or entrepreneurial spirit and empowering the Latino community. To nominate, go to www.northbayleadership.org.

The event will be on Oct. 30 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in San Rafael. For more information, call 707-283-0028.

St. Helena hospital orders power fuel cell

ST. HELENA – St. Helena Hospital ordered the next-generation PureCell Model 400 fuel-cell system from Conn.-based UTC Power. The system will provide the hospital with 400 kilowatts of continuous clean power and will be in full production in the summer of 2009.

The fuel cell was partially funded by a grant from the California Self Generation Incentive Program, which provides incentives for the installation of new, clean and energy-efficient on-site distributed generation.

The waste heat that is a natural byproduct of the fuel-cell process will be used to supply hot water and space heating for three of the hospital’s buildings. This will reduce its burden on the power grid and minimize the operation of existing mechanical systems.

“Full-service hospitals are a very good application for fuel cells because of the facility’s requirement for reliable power and thermal energy around the clock,” said UTC Power President Jan van Dokkum. “Besides helping the hospital achieve significant year-round energy savings, the highly energy-efficient PureCell Model 400 fuel cell meets the strict California emissions standards and demonstrates the hospital’s commitment to environmental responsibility.”

St. Helena Hospital, part of Adventist Health, is a 181-bed full-service hospital serving Napa, Lake, Solano, Sonoma and Mendocino counties. It is building a 24,000-square-foot cancer center and outpatient surgery center funded by nearly $25 million in community contributions.