Biotech Target: Pompe’s Disease
Corrections or additions?
This article was prepared for the July 25, 2001 edition of U.S. 1
Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Biotech and Real Estate Moves
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Biotech Target: Pompe’s Disease
The building at 353 Nassau Street, formerly occupied
by the Center for Healthcare Strategies (CHS), now houses Novazyme
Pharmaceuticals Inc, a drug development firm. CHS is a nonprofit that
administers health care programs funded by foundations, principally
the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It moved from 6,000 feet on Nassau
Street to 12,000 feet on Lenox Drive.
Novazyme, a drug development firm, is doing research on Pompe’s
disease.
The firm has raised $24 million in two rounds of preferred stock from
investors that include Nassau Street-based HealthCare Ventures,
Catalyst
Health & Technology Partners in Boston, and the Perseus-Soros
Biopharmaceutical
Fund and Morgan Stanley, both in New York. Michael Titus, Novazyme’s
new senior director of regulatory affairs, had been vice president
of operations at Cytogen Corporation on College Road.
John Crowley, the CEO, has had two of his three children diagnosed
with Pompe’s disease, a rare form of muscular dystrophy that is the
lead target of this company. The son of a police officer in Englewood,
Crowley graduated from Georgetown University in 1989, earned a law
degree from Notre Dame, and practiced healthcare law in Indianapolis.
He earned his MBA at Harvard and did marketing and business strategy
at Bristol-Myers Squibb before helping to found this company.
Novazyme aims to speed up the clinical development of therapeutic
programs developed by William M. Canfield at the University of
Oklahoma
Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. It has announced "highly
promising results" from pre-clinical studies in laboratory animals
engineered to have Pompe’s disease, which degrades muscles and can
be fatal. About 5,000 people nationwide have this rare, lysosomal
storage disease that is usually fatal in early childhood.
Princeton 08540. John Crowley, CEO. 609-683-4400; fax, 609-683-1771.
Home page: www.novazyme.com
Drive, Suite 204, Lawrenceville 08648. Stephen A. Somers PhD,
president.
609-279-0700 or 609-895-8101; fax, 609-895-9648. Home page:
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Health Expansions
Business
Park, Suite B-1, Box 275, Rocky Hill 08553-0275. Robert Goldman,
director.
609-497-0253; fax, 609-497-0321.
PeproTech provides research materials — vials of
powdered recombinant proteins — to scientists at universities
and pharmaceutical companies around the world, and with the upswing
in biotech research, the company is doing well. The 17-employee firm
started with one suite at Princeton Business Park in 1988 and recently
moved into its sixth space.
The company has but one major competitor, says a spokesperson.
PeproTech
has found an efficient and profitable way to manufacture recombinant
proteins for research use; it expresses the proteins in e-coli
bacteria
and sells the powder in vials worth $65 to $5,000.
Princeton 08540. Jim Wavle, president/CEO. 609-514-7200; fax,
609-514-7219.
additional
square feet at 104 University Square, for a total of 56,400 feet.
"We took a great deal more space, are in the process of
renovating,
and will be moving into it progressively, starting in fourth quarter
and into next year," says Jim Wavle, president and CEO. The
company’s
TheriForm fabrication process involves three-dimensional printing.
Tom Giannone and Robert Bull of Julian J. Studley Inc. represented
Therics in the extension of the existing lease, and Steve Jennings
represented the landlord, Reckson Associates Realty Corp. Giannone
explains that Therics started out with a small sublease in
already-built
out space from Sterling Drug and gradually expanded so it now occupies
all three of the buildings here. It has an 18,000-foot laboratory
and pilot plant on one side. On the other side, it has expanded from
5,600 to 22,600 feet and now occupies the whole building. The latest
acquisition is 16,000 square feet in the largest, center building
that was formerly occupied by LogicWorks, now part of Computer
Associates.
Princeton Softech has the other half of this building.
Hightstown 08520. Bharat Patel, president. 609-448-5500; fax,
609-443-9316.
The generic drug company bought Primedia’s building at 10 Lake Drive
and will expand its manufacturing operations.
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ValiGen Moves To Hopewell
In August ValiGen U.S. Inc. will begin to move its
operations
from 45,000 square feet in Newtown, PA, to 72,000 feet in the former
AT&T building on Carter Road. It is well funded; before the stock
market declined last year ValiGen made a private placement of $26
million. Headed by Douglas Watson, ValiGen works with gene
modification
technology. It has 55 employees in Newtown (13 people at other
locations)
and expects to add about 15 people on Carter Road.
Maryland-based Townsend Properties owns the site and is doing a $10
million fitout job for its new tenant. Townsend also owns the 225,000
building on the same property that is going to be vacated by Lucent.
Townsend recently announced that it will donate an adjoining 190-acre
parcel, which includes a vacant conference center and an employee
dormitory, to Hopewell Township.
Pheasant
Run, Newtown 18940. Douglas G. Watson, president and CEO.
215-504-4444;
fax, 215-504-4545. Www.valigen.com
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Expansions
Princeton
08542. Bill Carty, manager. 609-921-2679; fax, 609-921-1647.
University, Kinko’s Copy Center is moving out on Route 1 and into
Nassau Park, the big box shopping center that has Wal-Mart and Home
Depot. The move to 731 Nassau Park Boulevard is scheduled for
November.
Bill Carty, the branch manager of the Ventura, California-based firm,
will nearly double his staff, from 15 to 25 or 30 employees, in 6,300
square feet. The 24-hour operation will have all the services that
it does now, including oversize copies, computer rental, and a Kodak
PictureMaker kiosk.
The new location may be short distance away in terms of actual miles
but, psychologically, it is leagues away. A spokesperson denies that
Kinkos has given up on the university market and says that, not only
is Kinko’s going to be fulfilling the needs of students but that it
can also now provide services to businesses.
Montrone, vice president. 609-279-2123; fax, 609-279-2150.
over a big chunk of space that Simstar vacated in its move from
Research
Park to the Carnegie Center. This expansion from 1,800 square fete
to 4,500 square feet is due, in large part, to DPRA’s $45 million
contract with the U.S. Postal Service. The Princeton office is one
of eight United States branches of the Kansas-based company that will
service this contract.
The contract involves environmental compliance support to the U.S.
Postal Service and replaces more than 270 existing contracts. Three
other firms — Roy F. Weston Inc., URS Corporation, and Earth Tech
— were also selected for the work. "There is plenty of work
to be shared by the four firms," says Tony Montrone, vice
president
of DPRA’s Princeton office.
An economics major at Syracuse, Class of 1973, Montrone has an MBA
in management from Michigan State, and spent 12 years at the federal
Environmental Protection Agency, where he headed the hazardous waste
enforcement program and the groundwater task force, then worked for
10 years in the Arthur D. Little environmental group in Cambridge.
He spent 18 months as a principal in Environ before opening the
Princeton
office of DPRA. For one of his earlier jobs he spent a year in -50
degree weather checking out the Trans Alaska Pipeline System for the
U.S. Congress.
"New Jersey is one of the few states segmented into two different
postal service areas," says Montrone. We are part of the New York
Metro area, and south of Trenton is the Middle Atlantic area, with
its headquarters in Pittsburgh. We service both areas as well as the
headquarters in Washington."
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New in Town
Independence
Way, Princeton 08540. Crystal Murphy, manager. 609-734-9216. Home
page: www.catrainingcenters.com
Crystal Murphy has opened a branch of the firm that equips and rents
rooms for computer training. Based in suburban Chicago, it has 22
sites around the country, including in Philadelphia and Parsippany.
The decision to open an eight-room site in Princeton is, in part,
based on a contract with Educational Testing Service to provide venues
for test scoring.
"Hotels don’t typically tend to the needs of the instructors who
are looking to set up a room," says Bob Stokes, spokesperson.
Founded by Birger Nyborg, the company has 30 people at its
headquarters
in Chamberg, a suburb of Chicago, and nearly 40 workers distributed
among the branches.
The company aims for a rental rate of 60 percent. Its rooms rent for
from $900 to $1,200 per day including all the equipment, an LCD
projector,
a high-speed Internet connection, and catering for the students —
continental breakfast and afternoon snacks. Custom-made desks allow
for two students per computer terminal and monitors mounted low in
the desks so the teacher is easily visible.
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Crosstown Moves
Building
C, Box 1016, Pennington 08534. 609-737-7976; fax, 609-430-0631. Home
page: www.mertzarchitects.com
Gary Mertz moved his four-person firm back to 1,000 square feet in
Pennington Office Park, 65 Main Street, after a short period in a
stand-alone building in Lawrence. "This is where our client base
is, and this space is more conducive to a professional
environment,"
he says.
The firm focuses on residential work but also does such commercial
work as additions to Lakeview Child Centers, the NovaSoft building
on Quakerbridge Road, an adult day care center in Orange, a 40,000
square foot building for Joe Pintinalli diagonally across from
NovaSoft,
and various residential projects.
Mertz, age 44, grew up in Bergen County, where his mother is a
gerontologist
and his father worked for National Industries for the Blind. As a
result of vocational testing he worked as a carpenter for four years,
then went to North Carolina State, and studied architecture at Drexel.
He started this company in 1996. His wife, Sarah, is associate
executive
director for the American Red Cross on Alexander Road.
Box 6710, Lawrenceville 08648-6710. Douglas C. Borden, president.
609-896-3434; fax, 609-895-1468. Home page: www.bordenperlman.com
Borden Perlman Insurance, a property and casualty agency, moved from
3 Princess Road to Brunswick Pike. The company offers insurance,
bonds,
risk management, and it is the result of a 1995 merger between WS
Borden Co., which originally specialized in industrial and
manufacturing
insurances and operated at 224 West State Street, and Perlman
Insurance,
which sold mostly commercial and retail insurance from 133 Franklin
Corner Road.
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Down-Sizing
08540. Lisa A. Mosso, project director. 609-466-1234.
The Mosso Group has closed its office in Research Park and continues
operating at its office at 109 Cherry Brook Drive. Lisa Mosso’s
father,
Gus Mosso, founded the company in 1990; it specializes in planning
medical symposia.
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Stock News
Road, Suite 1, Box 183, Princeton 08542-0183. John Short, CEO.
908-281-5100;
fax, 908-281-5103. Www.opinionresearch.com
On Wednesday, July 18, the market research firm’s share were to begin
trading on Nasdaq as ORCI. Shares had been trading on the American
Stock Exchange (AMEX) under the symbol "OPI." "This is
part of our plan to increase the visibility of Opinion Research within
the investment community and to improve our stock’s liquidity,"
says John F. Short, chairman and CEO.
Founded in 1938, Opinion Research bills itself as "a
measurement-based
global marketing services firm" with market intelligence,
consulting,
training and teleservices.
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Haase Makes Good
When Steven Haase invested the proceeds from selling
Princeton Learning Systems into Trainfans, a company that sells videos
of moving trains, he had high hopes of landing an important contract
with Amtrak to produce videos of the then-new high-speed Acela. Now
he has it, a video production and merchandise distribution agreement
featuring Amtrak’s Acela Express, the nation’s first high-speed train
service.
Trainfans will produce and distribute video and DVD products about
Acela Express and release them this fall. Amtrak has already begun
to leverage its Amtrak and Acela brand names with other merchandise.
Trainfans also has alliances with NJ Transit and Southeastern
Pennsylvania
Transit Authority (SEPTA).
"Aligning with Trainfans regarding this video and merchandising
venture allows us to create entertaining products that have great
appeal to the growing train enthusiast marketplace — which is
a significant revenue opportunity for both parties," says Deborah
Varnado, Amtrak’s director of merchandising.
"The launch of Amtrak’s Acela Express has represented a defining
event for American transportation," says Haase. "We are
delighted
to work with Amtrak to produce exciting video and DVD products that
will capture an inside look at the superior amenities, speed,
world-class
service and the overall launch of the Acela Express, which is
responsible
for changing the way people travel."
"We worked hard on this," says Barbara Wasylyk, vice president
of Trainfans, "and now that it has come through, we are thrilled
to have this opportunity."
08525. 609-466-0880; fax, 609-466-8114. Steven T. Haase, principal.
E-mail: stevenh@trainfans.com Home page: www.trainfans.com
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Contracts Awarded
200, Princeton 08540. Richard A. Maloy Jr., president and CEO.
609-987-0221;
fax, 609-987-0490. Home page: www.insurehitech.com
major win that will bolster its chances of success. The E-business
property and casualty insurance brokerage received a second round
of financing worth $4.35 million from a trio of investors that include
J.P. Morgan Corsair II Capital Partners, a $1 billion private equity
fund that contributed $10 million to the first round. The firm will
expand its technology platform for middle market technology clients
and add to its brokerage sales and service team.
"In the worst fund raising market in 10 years," says Richard
A. Maloy, founder and CEO, "InsureHiTech was able to secure
funding
from our initial investor and our partners within the industry. That
sends a very strong message that our solution will change the way
commercial insurance data processing will be delivered."
Road, Princeton 08540-0001. Judith D. Moore, president & CEO.
609-720-6500;
fax, 609-720-6550. Home page: www.chauncey.com
agency testing services to the Liaison Council on Certification for
the Surgical Technologist, the national certifying body for surgical
technologists and first assistants, based in Englewood, Colorado.
Some 5,000 candidates seek certification each year.
After the Chauncey Group does job analyses, it will develop certifying
examinations, administer them as computer-based tests through its
Baltimore-based partner, Prometric, and handle the scoring and
reporting
of the results. Last year the Chauncey Group — a for-profit
spinoff
of Educational Testing Service — administered certification and
licensing examinations to over 2 million candidates via
paper-and-pencil,
computer-based, and Internet-based testing in 35 countries.
Princess
Road, Lawrenceville 08648. Dennis P. Wilkinson, president and CEO.
609-912-9400; fax, 609-912-0044. Www.pvimage.com
An Australian firm, Pineapplehead Ltd., has agreed to distribute
Princeton
Video Image’s advertising images and solutions in television markets
in Australia and New Zealand. In December PVI had bought a Mexican
company for the purpose of using its virtual advertising technology
in soccer telecasts. The company develops, makes, and sells computer
hardware and software for video processing for television advertising
production.
Lawrenceville
08648. 609-620-5800; fax, 609-620-5801. Www.statementone.com
Cambridge Investment Research, based in Fairfield, Iowa, has agreed
to use StatementOne’s financial data consolidation and performance
reporting platform. StatementOne, a web-based platform for delivering
consolidated financial statements and performance reporting, manages
account data for more than 13,000 financial advisors and 1 million
investors. Cambridge is an independent broker dealer with 400
advisors.
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Office Closed
105, Princeton 08540. Karen Smith-Moore, branch manager. 609-243-8960;
fax, 609-243-8970. Home page: www.careerresourcegroup.com
Career Resource Group, a placement firm formerly known as the Cittone
Group, closed its office at 214 Carnegie Center in early June. Michele
Mayer, office manager of the company’s Marlton office, says Princeton
operations will be handled from that office. "It just wasn’t there
for us," she says of the reason the three-person firm decided
to leave the Princeton area.
The downturn in business began even before recession talk began some
six months ago, according to Mayer, who says none of the employees
from the Carnegie Center office made the move to Marlton. She declined
to provide details on whether they had been laid off.
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Leaving Town
08512.
609-655-3700; fax, 609-655-4888. Home page: www.dopak.com
At the end of June this petrochemical-based business moved to 9572
Kempewood, Houston TX 77080, 713-460-8311; fax, 713-460-8578. None
of the 10 people here accepted transfers.
"Our main business is in the Gulf Coast area, so the decision
was made to move the office," says a spokesperson. Martin Ball,
vice president, is in charge of this part of a Dutch company named
Dovianus. Dopak makes and sells liquid process samplers to the
petrochemical
industry.
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