Loan Gives Venafair a Leg Up

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center has awarded a $30,000 low-interest Company Inception Loan to a young Asheville medical therapeutics company, Venafair.

Vascular surgeon Richard Bock, founder of the firm, said the loan is key for the company's plans for commercial development of vascular agents for treatment of varicose veins, usually in the legs.

"On behalf of everyone at Venafair," he said, "we are delighted at the news, excited about moving forward, and humbled by (the Biotechnology Center's) confidence in us. We look forward to making our company and our ideas a success story for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center."