28 Companies From 12 States to Present at 2005 InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In life and investing, it's not all about the money. It's about substance. And venture capitalists, angel investors and investment bankers seeking investment opportunities will learn about the substance behind 28 high-growth companies from 12 states when they present their businesses at the 2005 InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum.

Presenters were selected from among more than 80 firms that applied to have the opportunity to introduce their businesses to prospective investors at InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum, the Midwest's premier venture capital forum. The sixth annual InvestMidwest this year will be in Kansas City, Mo., on April 20-21 at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

"It's gratifying that the entrepreneurial community recognizes that InvestMidwest provides them a great platform to reach investors in search of good opportunities," said Chris Walsh, Executive Director of InvestMidwest.

A committee representing legal, business management, investment and banking firms screened applications to select the firms to present at the 2005 InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum. Presenters were chosen based upon their potential to generate $20 million in annual revenue growth within five years, their management teams, products or services, marketing strategies, market opportunities and financial summaries. Firms selected will receive presentation guidelines and guidance to ensure that presenters meet the forum's professional presentation standards.

"With two tracks presenting concurrently this year for the first time - a life sciences track and an information technology and general business track - we increased the number of presenters by nearly 50 percent over previous years," Ms. Walsh said. "Our dual-track approach will help venture capitalists focus on growth companies that represent their specific areas of interest."

Life sciences-based companies selected to present at this year's forum are:

airPharma of Overland Park, Kan.
Akermin, Inc., of St. Louis, Mo.
Chlorogen, Inc., of St. Louis, Mo.
Cytovance Biologics, Inc., of Princeton, N.J., and Oklahoma City,
 Okla.
Encore Pharmaceuticals of Riverside, Calif. and West Chester, Ohio
Graphic Surgery, LLC, of St. Louis, Mo.
Immune Cell Therapy, Inc., of Chicago, Ill.
Inverseon, Inc., of San Francisco, Calif. and Overland Park, Kan.
ISW Group, Inc., of St. Louis, Mo.
Kereos Inc. of St. Louis, Mo.
OpGen, Inc., of Madison, Wis.
Proteon Therapeutics, LLC of Kansas City, Kan.
Quintessence Biosciences, Inc., of Madison, Wis.
VasoGenix Pharmaceuticals of Lenexa, Kan.

Information technology and general business track companies selected to present are:

Alert Logic, Inc., of Bellaire, Texas
AssistGuide, Inc., of Kailua, Hawaii and St. Louis, Mo.
Global Velocity of St. Louis, Mo.
Griffin Technologies, LLC of Lawrence, Kan.
Handmark, Inc., of Kansas City, Mo.
kozoru Inc., of Overland Park, Kan.
NanoScale Materials, Inc. of Manhattan, Kan.
Netchemia, LLC of Prairie Village, Kan.
Phonetics, LC of Wichita, Kan.
RelyData, LLC of Chicago, Ill.
Tech Guys of Overland Park, Kan.
The Spirit Ice Cream Co. LLC, of Omaha, Neb.
Tsunami Research of St. Louis, Mo.
X-COM Systems, LLC, of Reston, Va.

"I believe investors attending this year's InvestMidwest will be impressed by the substance of these firms," Ms. Walsh said. Those investors are expected to include more angel investors than in any of the event's previous five years as well as venture capitalists from the prestigious Kauffman Fellows Program.

"The attendance of Kauffman Fellows at InvestMidwest adds tremendous power to this year's event," said Ms. Walsh. "Kauffman Fellows hold solid positions in prominent venture capital firms on both the East and West coasts as well as in top firms here in the Midwest and in other countries."

Since the first InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum in May 2000, presenting companies have raised more than $200 million in equity investments.

The 2005 InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum's Founding Sponsors are the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Danforth Foundation. Organizational Sponsors are the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, KCSourceLink, the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC), the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA), Missouri Venture Forum and RCGA's Technology Gateway Council. For more information or to make reservations to attend InvestMidwest, visit www.investmidwestforum.com or call 314.444.1151.