BOULDER – Three Boulder companies and another one that started in Boulder are finalists for the “Rising Star of the Year” award from the Colorado BioScience Association, an industry trade group.

Young companies that had a major achievement during the year are eligible for the award, April Giles, president and chief executive of the Colorado BioScience Association, said in a press statement. The award will be given at the group’s annual dinner on Thursday, Dec. 6, at the Hyatt Convention Center, 650 15th Street, Denver.

“We’re so very proud of our younger bioscience companies in the state and feel it’s particularly important to showcase those companies experiencing an outstanding year,” Giles said in a press statement.

The finalists are: biotechnology research company InDevR Inc. in Boulder, which makes diagnostic tests; medical device company Sophono Inc. in Boulder, which makes a hearing aid device; research company Mosaic Biosciences Inc. in Boulder and Aurora, which makes a gel bandage; and medical-device company Surefire Medical Inc. in Westminster, which makes a microcatheter used in procedures to treat liver and kidney cancer. Surefire started in Boulder in 2009.

The Colorado BioScience Association has about 350 members, many of them Boulder and Broomfield companies. The group advocates for a better business environment for the bioscience industry and works to promote growth of the industry. Other awards also will be presented at the dinner.

The dinner includes the keynote address, “Why Giving Matters,” by George Sparks, president and chief executive of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Tickets are available for $150 each, or $1,250 for a reserved table for eight for members. Register at  http://www.cobioscience.com/events-calendar/annual-awards-dinner.