Corporate report

Sun Hydraulics licenses digital valve tech from Sturman Industries
Sun Hydraulics Corp. and Sturman Industries Inc. have entered into a technology license agreement. The agreement calls for Sarasota-based Sun Hydraulics to manufacture and sell valves, which incorporate Sturman digital valve actuation technology, used in fluid power markets.

“Customers are asking for products which are smaller in size, lighter in weight, use less power, are less expensive and operate faster,” Allen Carlson, Sun's CEO and president, says in a press release. “New electro-hydraulic cartridge valves under development as a result of Sun teaming up with Sturman will provide these features and create new markets for Sun.”

Tampa Bay Rowdies change executives, name Quraishi president, general manager
Rowdies principal owner Bill Edwards has named Farrukh Quraishi president and general manager of the North American Soccer League franchise.

After completing a college soccer career at Oneonta State where he was a three time All-American and 1974 Hermann Trophy winner, Quraishi began his professional soccer career when the Tampa Bay Rowdies selected him first overall in the NASL college draft in 1975. That season he was named to the NASL All Star First Team and was a key member of the Rowdies Soccer Bowl championship team.

“Farrukh and I share a vision of what the Rowdies can and should be,” Edwards says in a press release. “He has the experience, the skills and the drive to achieve that vision.”

Off the field, Quraishi was involved in the original development of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the creation of the Tampa Bay Mutiny. He served as the Mutiny's president and general manager for the inaugural season. He also served as the venue executive director for Orlando's 1994 FIFA World Cup, was executive vice president and chief operating officer for Massachusetts Professional Soccer and oversaw the management of three United Soccer League clubs.

Away from soccer Quraishi served as the director of public relations for Caspers Co., the largest McDonald's franchisee in the southeastern United States, and most recently was the executive director of the HCC Foundation.

“The opportunity to return to my soccer roots is especially sweet and to do so with an owner who is willing to spend the money needed to bring entertaining soccer here for our fans is the ultimate for someone in my position,” Quraishi says in a press release. “There is so much that is already in place but my goal will be to field an entertaining and winning team.”

At the same time, Lee Cohen has also been promoted to vice president and chief operating officer. He will oversee both team and stadium operations, including the $1.5 million stadium renovation program currently underway.

The Rowdies announced that its Head Coach Ricky Hill would not coach the team in the for the 2015 season. It did not release who will replace Hill.

HedgePath Pharmaceuticals applies to test possible skin-cancer treatment
HedgePath Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Tampa-based clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, has filed an investigational new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The application covers the proposed clinical development of a specialized formulation of the anti-fungal drug itraconazole to treat the skin cancer basal cell carcinoma.

If the application is approved, HedgePath Pharmaceuticals expects to start recruiting patients for a clinic trial in the first quarter.

“Based on existing third-party data, we believe that itraconazole has the potential to inhibit the Hedgehog Pathway, a major regulator of many fundamental cellular processes, which could in turn impact the development and growth of certain cancers,” Nicholas Virca, HPPI's president and CEO, says in a press release.

Further, he says, patients with basal cell carcinoma nevus syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that makes people more susceptible to skin cancer, are an ideal patient group to study, because there is no effective treatment without significant side effects.

Guy Harvey RumFish Grill opening location at Amalie Arena
The St. Pete Beach restaurant Guy Harvey RumFish Grill has opened a branded concession area at Amalie Arena, formerly the Tampa Bay Times Forum, home to the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning and the Arena Football League's Tampa Bay Storm. Along with food, the RumFish Grill also has a full-bar area across the aisle.

As part of the sponsorship with Amalie Arena and the Tampa Bay Lightning, RumFish Grill will also host food samplings in select areas, have a representative at all home games to promote TradeWinds, and participate in promotions during the games and on the post-game radio show.