Corrections or additions?
These articles were prepared for the February 7,
2001 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Life in the Fast Lane: Genomics Firm
Stephen Anderson and Gaetano T. Montelione merged their
genomics business, Structure Function Genomics LLC, with San
Diego-based
GeneFormatics in mid January. A virtual company based on Springdale
Road in Princeton, Structure Function Genomics has software that uses
nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to automatically
determine
the structure of proteins.
Function genomics is figuring out what is useful about genomic
sequences,
says Anderson. “Proteins are the actual product of the gene that
does the work and that drugs would be directed against. Proteins are
where the rubber meets the road for new pharmaceutical products. We
thought determining structure of the proteins would be useful for
pharmaceutical companies. We looked for partners and backers and had
some success but never got off the ground before GeneFormatics decided
they wanted to merge.”
Montelione, an alumnus of Cornell, teaches and does research at
Rutgers.
Anderson, the son of a federal malpractice attorney, majored in
molecular
biology at Harvard, Class of 1972, and also has his doctoral degree
from Harvard, He was a scientist and manager at Genentech until he
came to Rutgers in 1988.
The Princeton company is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of
GeneFormatics,
which has research and commercial license arrangements with
Montelione’s
lab at Rutgers. Stephenson and Montelione signed over the non-cash
portion of the royalties to Rutgers, but they get stock in the merged
companies. “We get equal stock with the other executives at
GeneFormatics
and are being paid as consultants,” says Anderson. “The
attraction
is that the sum is greater than the parts.” Geneformatics had
raised $15 million and Anderson’s company had $10 million (from an
undisclosed source) and “this all went into the pot.”
“GeneFormatics is now poised to take the lead in protein structure
and function determination for drug discovery,” says John Chiplin,
president and CEO.
Structure Function Genomics LLC, 158SpringdaleRoad, Princeton 08540. 609-497-9093; fax, 609-497-9391. Home page:www.geneformatics.com.Top Of PageNew Business: WOW!It is difficult to hear about Joe Parnett’s businesswithout saying its name. WOW Entertainment, a six-month old companywith offices on State Road, provides attractions to the IMAX theaterin Las Vegas, Ripleys in Atlantic City, and, mostly, to corporateevents and social affairs.Hoarse after supervising a party the previous night, Parnett describesone of the attractions he has purchased or licensed in travels aroundthe world. “It takes a picture and puts it on a boxing glove,”he says. Friendly combatants, be they children attending a bar mitzvahor sales reps at a team-building retreat, don gloves bearing eachother’s pictures and slug away.If the mood is more love than war, the attraction might be a machinethat combines the facial features of lovers to project what theiroffspring might look like. In another attraction, individuals entera phone booth and record a short message that is then transferredonto a key chain.Parnett, a 1991 graduate of Tulane University, worked at his family’sbusiness, Community Liquors on Witherspoon Street, until it was soldin 1994. He then went to American Alpha in Monmouth Junction, a firmin the entertainment attractions business.”I started WOW Entertainment part time in 1997,” Parnett says.”I went full time last August.” Already profitable, Parnetthas three fulltime employees, but goes up to 10 to 12 people on theweekends.Parnett says most of his business is in Manhattan, Long Island, andWestchester. His business stationery just arrived and he is preparedto start marketing in central New Jersey now. So far, most of hisbookings have come through relationships with event planners,orchestraleaders, and others in the business.Striving to build an inventory of unique attractions, Parnettfrequentlytravels to Europe and to Asia to scout out amusements others areunlikelyto have.Parnett lives in Montgomery with his wife, Nina, a native of theformerYugoslavia who holds a PhD. in chemical engineering, and their son,Shon Aleksandar, 2. They are expecting another child in March.WOW Entertainment, 947 State Road, Suite 207,Princeton08540. Joe Parnett, owner. 609-279-1679; fax, 609-279-0391.Top Of PageStart-UpsDiehl Financial Group, 812 State Road, Suite 102,Princeton 08540. John Diehl. 609-252-9666; fax, 609-252-9633.John Diehl opened a financial planning practice focusing on incometax preparation and retirement planning. A graduate of NiagaraUniversity,Class of 1968, he worked for Coopers & Lybrand and spent 20 yearsdoing real estate banking in Miami, Florida. After moving to Princetonfor personal reasons he made a career change — working for anotherfinancial planning firm before opening his own practice in December.”Most of my clients are long-term investors,” he says. Hisadvice: “Pay very close attention to your 401k, especially ifit is concentrated in your company’s stock.”Friendly Consultants, 666 Plainsboro Road, Suite608, Plainsboro 08536. Sriram Pasupuleti, owner. 609-750-9157; fax,609-897-9593. Home page: www.friendlyconsultants.com.Sriram Pasupuleti has worked as a programming consultant for suchfirms as Paragon Consultants and Cambridge Research. The son of abank employee, he has a bachelor’s degree from Osmania Universityin Hyderabad, India, Class of 1996, and he came to this country in1998. He also has a brand-new firm, Vibgyor Solutions.Friendly Consultants, which he founded with a friend, has sixprogrammersworking at customer sites in such languages as Java, Visual Basic,and Unix. “We are filing for visas and are expecting to grow,”he says.Paging Source of Princeton, 217 Nassau Street,Princeton 08542. Laura Gan, manager. 609-924-8225; fax, 609-924-8229.Laura Gan, 38, made a career change to open the wireless phone salesand service store with the help of a Manhattan-based silent partner;she had been managing a Chinese restaurant and “wanted somethingdifferent.”A native of Canton, South China, she came to this country with herfamily when she was a teenager. She studied at the Fashion Instituteof Technology, is married, and has two school-age children. Amongher brands are Voice Stream, MCI, Sprint PCS, Cingular (Cellular One),and Nextel.Top Of PageNew in TownCareer Quest Associates, 731 Alexander Road, Suite202, Princeton 08540. Hank Schoeffel, president. 609-951-9700; fax,609-951-9125. Home page: www.cqassociates.com.Career Quest Associates, an 18-person career consulting and executivemarketing firm, moved into 2,300 square feet on Alexander Road lastfall. Greg Gichan, vice president and co-founder, is a graduate ofFordham University (Class of 1985).According to Gichan, the firm is “the opposite of arecruiter.”It works as an agent for individuals seeking new jobs, managing theirmarketing efforts. Career Quest serves individuals in every industry,Gichan says, ticking off law, accounting, finance, and informationtechnology. Lately, he says, the firm has been seeing a number ofexecutives “who were in very high positions in E-commerce.”T. Hasegawa USA Inc., 666 Plainsboro Road, Suite1171, Plainsboro 08536. Robert Taylor, eastern sales manager.609-716-1100;fax, 609-716-6800.The branch office of the firm based in Ceritos, California, takesorders for flavors and fragrances. It opened here last year.Insurance Services International (ISI), 15 RoszelRoad, Princeton 08540. Anne D. Kravitz, director of operations.609-452-0990;fax, 609-452-8965.Business Insurance Services International, endorsed by InternationalSchool Services, moved into offices at 15 Roszel Road last year.Foundedby Howard Kravitz, who holds a business and accounting degree fromthe University of Indiana (Class of 1966) and an MBA from theUniversityof Maryland, the company sells employee benefits and businessinsuranceto schools around the world that educate both American expatriatesand local students.Kravitz’ wife, Anne, a 1970 graduate of William Paterson University,is director of operations. She says the company, with clients”whereverthere are American schools,” including Europe, South America,the Far East, and Africa, is now moving into a new business area —offering employee benefits to local companies with overseas-basedemployees.Living Improvements, 7 Route 31 North, PenningtonSquare, Pennington 08534. Fred Bastedo, owner. 609-730-1850; fax,609-730-0577.Fred Bastedo moved Living Improvement, his water treatment company,into space in Pennington Square last year. The business, whichperformswater testing and sells and services water treatment units for homesand businesses, is a second career for Bastedo, a retired vocationaleducation teacher. A graduate of Trenton State (Class of 1976),Bastedotaught automotive repair at the Mercer County vocational schools for25 years. He founded Living Improvement in 1993.Community Association Management Partners, 33 WallStreet, Princeton 08540. 609-430-9404; fax, 425-928-9290.Robert Barlow opened this office last fall. His firm brokers services,including insurance and banking services, for homeowners and condoassociations.Pro Commerce Technologies Inc., 2525 Route 130,Building B, Cranbury 08512. Siva Annaparedy, president. 609-409-4255;fax, 609-409-4256. Home page: www.procti.com.Pro Commerce Technologies Inc., a software consulting and developmentcompany, moved into 2,500 square feet on Route 130 in Cranbury lastfall. Siva Annaparedy, founder and president, says the company, whichalso has an office in India, employs five or more part-time employeesdepending on the project. While most of Pro Commerce’s business nowcomes from consulting, according to Annaparedy, who holds a PhD incomputer science from the India Institute of Science in Bangalore,the company also has software products.Its first product, a business-to-business tool, enables employeesto communicate with one another via the Internet regardless of theirphysical locations. This software is undergoing testing. A secondproduct, software that authorizes different degrees of website accessto different categories of users, is under development.Stephen Gould Corporation, 310 Horizon Drive,Robbinsville08691. Tom O’Hara, sales manager. 609-890-4646; fax, 609-890-4674.Tom O’Hara opened a sales office last fall for a Whippany-basedmanufacturerof packaging materials. The company is 60 years old.Top Of PageExpansionsBicycle Rack ABS, 683 Route 33, Hightstown08520-0011.Van Delfino, owner. 609-371-1554; fax, 609-371-7133. Home page:www.abs-sports.com.Anton Zevenbergen sold his bicycle seat-making business to a retailer,Van Delfino, who took over last month. The seat company moved fromWindsor Corporate Park to Delfino’s location, the Bicycle Rack, onRoute 33 in Hightstown.Zevenbergen still owns the patent to the special saddle seat, buthe sold the name, name, website, inventory, customer list for anundisclosedprice. The special anatomically correct seats that he invented areparticularly important for those with prostate sensitivity, becausethey don’t crush the arteries in the groin. The seats are being madein the Netherlands, as before, and Delfino is selling them wholesaleand retail. Retail cost is $100.DelFino opened his own shop in 1983. He has a full line of bikesincludingUnivega, Diamondback, Giant, Mongoose, and Bianchi.Edward Jones Investments, 145 Route 31 North, Suite16, Pennington 08534. Matthew J. Doherty, investment representative.609-333-1363; fax, 877-222-6361. Home page:edwardjones.com.Matthew Doherty nearly doubled his space with a move from 680 squarefeet at Pennington Point to a office at Pennytown previously heldby another Edward D. Jones representative. It is a branch of the St.Louis based brokerage with 5,500 offices in 50 states.Doherty, whose late father was a manager for the Port Authority,graduatedin 1996 from the College of New Jersey and worked as a publicaccountantfor J.H. Cohn on Lenox Drive. “When my father passed away,”he says, “I had a friend who helped our family with all theunexpecteddetails and I liked what he was able to do for us. Now I can helpothers with their business and personal financial goals.”InsureHiTech.com Inc., 100 Village Boulevard, Suite200, Princeton 08540. Richard A. Maloy Jr., president CEO.609-987-0221;fax, 609-987-0490. Home page: www.insurehitech.com.Early in January Rick Maloy moved his web-based insurance businessfrom 2,500 square feet at 228 Alexander Road to 26,000 feet at thebuilding formerly occupied by Bovis Construction in Forrestal Village.His fully functional web platform connects the broker with thecustomerand the insurance company.Though many portals geared to small business will take onlineapplications,Maloy insists on having one of his agents interview each applicantand to fill out the application. “We are dealing with verysophisticatedcompanies with sophisticated technology risks,” he says (U.S.1, August 16, 2000).Garland and Associates, 3100 Princeton Pike,Building1, Suite J, Lawrenceville 08648. W. Thomas Garland MD, principal.609-895-1492; fax, 609-895-0274.The pharmaceutical product/consumer product testing and evaluationcompany has become a Radiant Research clinical testing site. W. ThomasGarland is a native of Berkeley Heights who earned a bachelor’s inchemistry in 1974 and a medical degree in 1978, both from TulaneUniversity.Top Of PageManagement MovesBroadbeam Corp., 600 Alexander Road, Princeton08540. Boris Fridman, president. 609-734-0300; fax, 609-734-0346.Home page: www.broadbeam.com.Sri Sridharan, former COO of ServiceNet, has replaced R. Barry Bordenas the president and chief operating officer for BroadbeamCorporation,the wireless application infrastructure provider formerly known asNettech. He will manage Broadbeam’s aggressive growth and rapid globalexpansion and will report to Boris Fridman, chairman and CEO ofBroadbeam.Borden will be a consultant to Broadbeam.In 1985 Sridharan had co-founded and managed an IT Services firm,Global Technology Limited. At IBM, starting in 1995, he developedand executed the business plan for IBM’s Network Based Applicationson a subscription basis, and he also had responsibility for marketfor IBM Network Services. As COO of ServiceNet, owned by Accenture(previously Andersen Consulting), Sridharan’s responsibilitiesincludedmanaging 180 professionals worldwide and overseeing eight global ASPsites.Top Of PageDeathsRev. Victor S. Preller, 69, on January 19. An Episcopalpriest, he was on the faculty at Princeton University until 1995.Harold James “Jim” Baughman, 52, on January 21.He had been manager of the plastics division of General Motors inEwing.Gladys G. Lange, 85, on January 22. Until 1988 she workedat the New Jersey Bankers Association on Harrison Street.Alexander Jacobs III, 48, on January 22. He owned achimneyrepair company in Pennington.Roger F. Schnell, 61, on January 22. He retired in 1998from Lockheed Martin on Princeton Hightstown Road.Karen Crawford, 57, on January 23. She worked asNASA-certifiedwirer at EMR Photoelectric.Philip Carbone, 54, on January 28. He was a warehousesupervisor for Techne Inc. on Alexander Road.Dennis F. Wasniewski, 50, on January 28. He was anaccountantwith Deloitte & Touche and taught at Rider University.Roberta H. Lewis, 64, on January 28. She was an assistantsupervisor at the New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company onSullivanWay in West Trenton.Clara A. Annucci Foster, 63, on January 29. Until lastyear she worked for the Lakeview Childcare Center.Frederick L. Huffman, 53, on January 29. He was acarpenterat Princeton University.Woldemar von Jaskowsky, 85, on January 31. He was aretiredsenior research engineer and physicist at Princeton University.Bertha Glembocki Rostas, 75, on February 1. She was abuyer with Educational Testing Service.Annemarie Gianvito Ashley, 41, on February 2. She wasa manager with Federal Express on Sloan Avenue.Pedro Nieves Sr., 53, on February 2. He worked at KingstonTrap Rock.Chester Rapkin, 82, on February 4. He was a professorof urban planning at Princeton University.Corrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
