Expansions: Integra Buys Boston Firm
HDTV Ruling: Good for Sarnoff?
Corrections or additions?
This article by Barbara Fox was prepared for the August 7, 2002 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Gyros Shrinks the Lab Even More
For a lab worker, to do something faster probably means
using a smaller quantity. Reduce the size of the test tube and the
test will process more quickly.
One of the first companies to be successful in the miniaturization
effort was Orchid Biocomputers, which pioneered in microfluidic technology
(“Honey, I Shrunk the Lab,” U.S. 1, January 29, 1997). Now
a Swedish company is entering the microfluidic/microchip area, a market
that is estimated to be worth $1.2 billion in two years.
At Princeton Corporate Plaza on Deer Park Drive, John Shomers has
set up the United States office of a Swedish-firm, Gyros AB. “We
are a biotech tool supply company,” says Shomers, director of
sales. “We are not looking to find cures, just to speed the research
process along. In general, we develop microfluidic technology on a
plastic disk or CD.”
Initially the firm will work in the proteomics area, by doing sample
preparation prior to maldi mass spectroscopy analysis. “We’ve
taken test tube or micro titerplate technology, reduced the volumes,
and can do the same types of assays that are being done in the major
institutions and pharmaceutical companies,” says Shomers. “It
is usable in high throughput or low throughput laboratories. We are
doing protein digest cleanup for now, and are looking at other applications,
such as point of care diagnostics, for the future.”
Shomers points out that Gyros does not sell the mass spectrometer,
just the detection system. “We just launched our first product,
the Gyrolab Workstation, which facilitates the liquid handling portion
and processes within the disk, and we have the MaldiSP1, the application
disk,” says Shomers.
MALDI (matrix assisted laser desorption ionization) is a term for
a type of mass spectrometry. It measures the mass of molecules in
relationship to each other by measuring the movement. The movement
is triggered by the laser that ionizes the molecules. “In this
case we are measuring their time of flight over a set distance within
a tube. Larger molecules travel slower than smaller ones.”
The company has its roots in laboratories at Pharmacia, which merged
with Amersham. Two years ago Gyros spun off from Amersham Biosciences,
based in Uppsala, Sweden. Its name comes from the Greek word for “round”
or “spin,” says Shomers. “We carry out the liquid movement
on the disk — getting the liquid to go from one microstructure
to another — by using centrifugal force and modifying the surface
chemistries on the plastic disk.”
The Gyros workstation and disk can do protein identification for drug
development, protein characterizations, and protein/protein interactions.
“These identifications can help to differentiate normal cells
from disease cells,” he explains. “A breast cancer cell can
express a protein pattern different from a healthy call. Down the
line, this information could help researchers find new treatments
for a particular disease.”
The CD he uses is the same size as an ordinary CD, but it does not
look like one. It is run, not in a computer, but in a special work
station. “The CD has specifically designed microstructures —
integrated, and reproduced in parallel around the disk — so all
the assays can be run in parallel,” he says. “We have grown
cells on the disk and foresee being able to do cell-based assays,
assays in the genomic area, and bioaffinity assays.”
The son of a fire captain, Shomers majored in chemistry and biology
at State University of New York at Brockport, Class of 1972, and did
graduate work in clinical chemistry at SUNY Buffalo. After six years
in academe he went into a sales job, selling lab equipment and reagents
for Pharmacia Biotech from 1980 to 2000. After a year with LGL Biosystems,
which was acquired and is now Molecular Devices Corp., he was recruited
to set up this Gyros laboratory. The five people working here focus
on sales, applications, and service.
Shomers does not see his company as a direct competitor to Orchid
BioScience, which is currently working in SNP microassay technology.
But Gyros’ new tool, he claims, offers reduced volumes, increased
sensitivity. higher throughput, and reduced use of reagents and samples
— which results in cost savings.
Gyros Microlabs, 11 Deer Park Drive, PrincetonCorporate Plaza, Suite 100, Princeton 08540. 732-438-9400; fax, 732-438-8881.Home page: www.gyros.com.Top Of PageExpansions: GPC BiotechGPC Biotech, a genomics and proteomics-driven drug discoverycompany, has sextupled its space and hired three former Bristol-MyersSquibb executives.In a move from 1,500 square feet on Deer Park Drive to an 8,700 squarefoot sublease on College Road, GPC was represented by Bill Barishof Commercial Property Network, and Sab Russo of CB Commercial representedMcKesson HBOC, which left this space and is subleasing it.The expanded Princeton office has 13 employees and will concentrateon clinical development, says Laurie Doyle, GPC spokesperson for theGermany-based firm.Founded in 1997 to enable the government-funded Max Planck Instituteto commercialize its discoveries, the 197-employee GPC raised morethan $118 million when it went public on the Neue Markt stock exchangetwo years ago. Its CEO, Bernd Seizinger, is a former director of theMolecular Neuro-Oncology Laboratory at Harvard/Massachusetts Generaland until 1996 was vice president of oncology at Bristol Myers-Squibb(U.S. 1, December 8, 1999). The United States headquarters is in Waltham,Massachusetts, near Boston.GPC focuses on oncology and has a therapy that, when used with Taxol,treats esophageal cancer. This drug is in Phase II clinical trials.Other projects are in the area of cell cycle control and anti-angionesis.Thomas J. McKearn joined the company as vice president of medicalaffairs, along with Edward F. McNiff, vice president of pharmaceuticaldevelopment, Michael Petrone, vice president of clinical operations,and John R. Slayback, director of analytical and formulation development/outsourcing.McKearn had been founder and CEO of Cytogen Corporation and most recentlywas in charge of strategic science and medicine at Bristol-Myers Squibb’sPharmaceutical Research Institute. McNiff and Slayback were also hiredfrom B-MS, and Petrone came from Roberts Pharmaceutical Corporationand Genaera Corporation.Vice president for bioinformatics Gregory Hamm has directed the molecularbiology computing laboratory at Rutgers and founded the data libraryat the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg.GPC Biotech Inc. (GPC), 101 College Road East,Princeton 08540. Gregory Hamm, vice president. 609-524-1000; fax,609-524-1050. Home page: www.gpc-biotech.comTop Of PageContracts AwardedHealthAtoZ.com, 8 Clarke Drive, Cedar Brook CorporateCenter, Suite T1, Cranbury 08512. Raj Lakhanpal MD FACEP, president.609-409-8200; fax, 609-409-8130. Home page: healthatoz.comHealthAtoZ has teamed with a public company, PacifiCareHealth Systems, to help 3.3 million PacifiCare members manage theirpersonal and family healthcare information.Members can store and access such health information as immunizations,lab tests, prescription and over-the-counter medications, allergies,vitamins, surgeries and hospitalization through the website (www.PacifiCare.com).They can share printed versions with their physicians and scheduleE-mail reminders of appointments, medication times, and immunizations.PacifiCare members live in eight states and Guam.American List Counsel, 4300 Route 1, Building 5,CN 5219, Princeton 08543-5219. Donn Rappaport, CEO. 609-580-2800;fax, 609-580-2888. Home page: www.alc.comALC Data Management has won the contract to manage the ADVO AdvantageResidential Database (www.advolists.com). Known for its saturationmailings, particularly the “Have You Seen This Child” inquiries,ADVO has 127 million addresses and provides virtually 100 percentcoverage for residences.ADVO has its own clients for mailings, and from now on it will sellits lists only through ALC Data Management. “We are the liaisonwith ADVO, and all list sales will ultimately have to go through us,”says Missy Root, vice president of data management.ADVO is based in Hartford, Connecticut. As the nation’s largest directmail marketing services company, it is the single highest volume privatecustomer of the United States Postal Service. It updates the databasevia direct feed from the USPS and edits it in-house. So accurate isthis database, says the company, that the USPS uses ADVO data to cleanits databases.Top Of PageExpansions: Integra Buys Boston FirmIntegra LifeSciences paid $5.4 million for the neurosciencesdivision of NMT Medical in Boston, which generated $12.7 million inproduct sales last year. The deal also includes a distribution centerin Atlanta and a manufacturing and packaging facility in Biot, France.Integra’s favorable earnings report showed a net income of $4.25 millionfor the quarter ending June 30, compared to $2.8 million last yearat the same time. Revenues were $26.4 million, up from $22.9 million.Though the purchase will reduce earnings about 1 cent per share, itcould increase Integra’s sales by $2.5 million per quarter.Integra LifeSciences develops, makes, and markets medical devices,implants, and biomaterials for treatment of cranial and spinal disorders,soft tissue repair, and orthopedics.President and CEO Stuart Essig, formerly an investment manager withGoldman Sachs, has an MBA and PhD in financial economics from theUniversity of Chicago and was senior merger and acquisitions advisorto a wide range of domestic and international medical technology,pharmaceutical, and biotechnology clients.Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (IART),311 Enterprise Drive, Plainsboro 08536. Stuart M. Essig, CEO. 609-936-3600;fax, 609-799-3297. Home page: www.integra-ls.comTop Of PageDownsizingMedPointe Inc., 265 Davidson Avenue, Somerset 08875.Anthony H. Wild, CEO. 732-564-2200; Home page: www.medpointeinc.comFirst MedPointe Inc. bought the health care divisionof Carter Wallace for $408 million. Now it has sold part of that,Wampole Laboratories, to Inverness Medical Innovations. Based in Waltham,Massachusetts, Inverness is a publicly held firm that makes productsfor the women’s health market. Inverness paid $70 million in cashand will keep Wampole’s current management team.MedPointe will retain Wallace Labs and 600 employees, including morethan 300 sales representatives. It moved from the former Carter Wallacecampus to Somerset in May.Pharmacopeia Inc. (PCOP), 3000 Eastpark Boulevard,CN 5350, Princeton 08543-5350. Joseph A. Mollica, chairman and CEO.609-452-3600; fax, 609-452-3672. Home page: www.pcop.comIn an effort to save $8 million this pharmaceuticalsoftware company will lay off 80 of its 750 employees by the end ofnext month. About 200 people work at the Eastpark Boulevard location,but how many of those jobs will be lost was not disclosed.The firm offers pharmaceutical software and drug discovery services,not only in South Brunswick but also in San Diego, California, andCambridge, England.The second quarter loss, just announced, was $5.1 million, or $0.22per share. Drug discovery revenue increased 14 percent and softwarerevenue increased five percent.Berlitz International (BTZ), 400 Alexander Park,Princeton 08540. Jim Kahl, CEO. 609-514-9650; fax, 609-514-9675. Homepage: www.berlitz.comBowne Global Solutions, a subsidiary of Bowne & Co., Inc., will buyBerlitz’s GlobalNET translation, localization and interpretation businessfor $75 million.”This transaction will let Berlitz concentrate on its core businessesof teaching languages while ensuring that the customers and employeesof our GlobalNET business in translation, localization and interpretationare well cared for,” says James R. kahl, CEO of Berlitz. Berlitz’international headquarters is at Alexander Park, and it has more than450 locations in over 50 countries worldwide.Top Of PageHDTV Ruling: Good for Sarnoff?By 2004, everyone who buys a large television set willalso be buying a digital tuner. And that might be good news for theSarnoff Corporation, which could license its receiver technology totelevision set manufacturers.The Federal Communications Commission, in a three to one vote on August8, required TV makers to build in the digital tuners. The requirementapplies to sets with screens from 25 to 30 inches in two years andsmaller sets (screens measuring 13 inches or larger) by 2007.Though Sarnoff’s major job — to set the standards for HTDV —has been completed, it has technology available for sale. “Wehave a broad range of receiver technology that can be put on chips,”says Sarnoff spokesperson Tom Lento. “One of our strengths isthe technology for chips that can be used in converter boxes for theolder analog TV sets.”The market for these converter boxes is huge, says Lento. There are250 million analog sets in the United States, and new ones are sellingat the rate of 30 million a year. “With this converter box, theolder sets can receive the digital programming and display a goodpicture.”Originally the FCC had hoped that market forces would spur the adaptationof the more advanced technology. In an effort to ease the transitionfrom analog to digital, the FCC assigned extra channels to each televisionstation five years ago, so the stations could broadcast both ways.Only when 85 percent of United States households own digital televisionscan the commission take those stations back and sell them, nettingan estimated profit of $5 billion to $10 billion.The only supporters of the FCC ruling are Zenith and Thomson Multimedia,companies that own some of the patents for the tuners. Other TV makers,represented by the Consumer Electronics Association, claim that installinga digital tuner in a small television will increase the cost by $250,doubling or tripling the cost of the set. They threaten to appealthe ruling in federal court.Sarnoff Corporation, 201 Washington Road, CN 5300,Princeton 08543-5300. Satyam Cherukuri, president & CEO. 609-734-2000;fax, 609-734-2040. Home page: www.sarnoff.comTop Of PageNew CEO at Johnson FoundationRisa Lavizzo-Mourey, 47, will succeed Steven A. Schroeder as president and CEO of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the nation’s largest health philanthropy. Schroeder is due to retire in December, and Lavizzo-Mourey joined RWJF as senior vice president and director of the health care group last year. She is the first woman and the first black to head the largest health and healthcare philanthropy in the United States. The $8 billion foundation paid out $560 million to various causes last year.A native of Seattle, Washington, Lavizzo-Mourey studied at the University of Washington and the State University of New York at Stony Brook before going to Harvard Medical School. She did her internship and residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital inBoston, and she earned an MBA in health care administration from theWharton School in 1986. That year she began teaching at the Universityof Pennsylvania Medical School and became Sylvan Eisman Professorof Medicine in 1997. She directed the Penn’s Institute on Aging andheaded the school’s geriatric medicine division.From 1992 to 1994 she was as deputy administrator of the federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (now Agency for Health Care Quality). She has lectured and published extensively on issues of health care and health policy.The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, College RoadEast, Box 2316, Princeton 08543-2316. 609-452-8701; fax, 609-627-6422.Home page: www.rwjf.orgTop Of PageDeathsWilliam S. Kaduson 55, on August 10. He was a CPA withKaduson, Strauss and Company on Quakerbridge Road.Next StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
