January 2008

COOL CONNECTIONS "Somehow, suddenly, Philadelphia got cool." This quote comes from a travel magazine but it applies equally well to the life sciences in Greater Philadelphia. The city has been transformed "to a place teeming with stellar restaurants, comfortable cafes, world-class museums and some stunning architecture." Likewise, the region has an abundance of top-drawer academic institutions, a heavyweight pharma presence, a developing biotech base, and an impre

Drexel University: Basic Research, Inspired by Use Drexel University is a comprehensive national research institution in Philadelphia that has grown substantially in the past 10 years. In 2004, the Drexel University College of Medicine (formerly MCP Hahnemann College of Medicine) was consolidated into Drexel University, and in 2006 the Drexel University College of Law was established. During this period, Drexel experienced significant growth in its research enter

Did you know? ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined A Rich Life Science Cluster Greater Philadelphia's Big Pharmas A Robust Support Infrastructure Barbara Schilberg: Champion for the region Bridging the Gap Brenda Gavin: Making a venture capitalist Investment Momentum Building Update Those Resumes Creating Roots Ramping Up Tech Transfer

Covance: The Friendly Giant By Kathryn Ward Louis Gutierrez ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined A Robust Support Infrastructure The infrastructure ECRI Laureate Pharma Quest Pharmaceutical Immunicon Fox Chase Cancer Center Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Coriell Paragon Chemical InstaMed Covance is a goliath of a company, both in the Greater Philadelphia region and worldwide. Headquartered in Princeton, NJ, and with an office in

A Region Defined The Greater Philadelphia life science cluster is a powerhouse of human capital spread across a wide network of big pharmaceutical companies, research-intensive institutions, top-notch academia, emerging biotech giants, and a strong infrastructure of support services. This section highlights each component of the network, the region's commitment to commercialization, and the challenges its leaders are working hard to resolve. A Region Defined Did

A Rich Life Science Cluster By Mike May This region is a powerhouse of human capital in a network of research institutions, academia, pharmaceuticals, biotechs, and industry-support services. RELATED ARTICLES A Region Defined Did You Know? Greater Philadelphia's Big Pharmas A Robust Support Infrastructure Barbara Schilberg: Champion for the region Bridging the Gap Brenda Gavin: Making a venture capitalist Investment Momentum Building Update Those

Greater Philadelphia's Big Pharmas By Mike May A wide range of large pharmaceutical companies make up a strong foundation for life science in the region. RELATED ARTICLES A Region Defined Did You Know? A Rich Life Science Cluster A Robust Support Infrastructure Barbara Schilberg: Champion for the region Bridging the Gap Brenda Gavin: Making a venture capitalist Investment Momentum Building Update Those Resumes Creating Roots Ramping Up Tech Tr

Laureate Pharma: A Company on the Rise By Kathryn Ward Michiel Ultee ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined A Robust Support Infrastructure The infrastructure ECRI Quest Pharmaceutical Immunicon Fox Chase Cancer Center Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Covance Coriell Paragon Chemical InstaMed In January 2007, Laureate Pharma announced record growth for 2006, with 14 new agreements signed and a business backlog increase of more than 240

Quest Pharmaceutical: A Global CRO By Kathryn Ward ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined A Robust Support Infrastructure The infrastructure ECRI Laureate Pharma Immunicon Fox Chase Cancer Center Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Covance Coriell Paragon Chemical InstaMed T. Ben Hsu Quest Pharmaceutical Services is in pursuit of excellence. This contract research organization (CRO) - a provider of bioanalytical services for pharm

Immunicon: Advanced Anticancer Technology By Kathryn Ward ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined A Robust Support Infrastructure The infrastructure ECRI Laureate Pharma Quest Pharmaceutical Fox Chase Cancer Center Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Covance Coriell Paragon Chemical InstaMed Byron Hewett Fighting cancer is a mission at Immunicon. Founded in 1983 by a professor at Thomas Jefferson University, a leading Philadelphia

var FO = { movie:"http://www.the-scientist.com/supplementary/flash/54078/54078.swf", width:"520", height:"580", majorversion:"8", build:"0", xi:"false"}; UFO.create(FO, "ufoDemo"); Slideshow: Monkeypox in the Congo By Alison McCook Epidemiologist Anne Rimoin battles rebel forces, an Ebola outbreak, and air disasters to conduct the most ambitious disease surveillance program in the equatorial rainforests of the Congo (see related story). Here’s

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Attorneys for Life Science By Kathryn Ward Joanne SoslowCourtesy of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined A Robust Support Infrastructure The infrastructure ECRI Laureate Pharma Quest Pharmaceutical Immunicon Fox Chase Cancer Center Covance Coriell Paragon Chemical InstaMed Founded in Philadelphia in 1873, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius is one of the United States'

Fox Chase: Outfoxing Cancer By Kathryn Ward ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined A Robust Support Infrastructure The infrastructure ECRI Laureate Pharma Quest Pharmaceutical Immunicon Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Covance Coriell Paragon Chemical InstaMed Louis Weiner Like the Greater Philadelphia region itself, Fox Chase Cancer Center has a long and impressive history. Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as the American Oncolo

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania By Mike May ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined Bridging the Gap First State Innovation Keystone Innovation Zones NJIT's Enterprise Development Center Rowan University's CIE The Science Center In 2004 Charles Picardi attended a biomedical conference arranged by Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/SEP) in Philadelphia. As the chief tec

Bridging the Gap By Mike May Getting technology out of a lab - or even a scientist's mind - and on the market takes a wide range of resources, from a productive business plan and management team to office space and funding. In the Greater Philadelphia region, a variety of groups and organizations aim specifically at helping beginning entrepreneurs to bridge this gap. The following pages detail just a few of these firms. A Region Defined Bridging the Gap Be

First State Innovation By Mike May ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined Bridging the Gap Ben Franklin Technology Partners Keystone Innovation Zones NJIT's Enterprise Development Center Rowan University's CIE The Science Center Although well-known companies such as DuPont and AstraZeneca call Delaware their home, the state has lacked a reputation as a high-tech area. Consequently, Delaware has not always attracted new life science companies. "It s

Keystone Innovation Zones By Mike May ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined Bridging the Gap Ben Franklin Technology Partners First State Innovation NJIT's Enterprise Development Center Rowan University's CIE The Science Center Innovation comes from more than flashes of insight. A few years ago, Denise Polacek began experiencing hot flashes, which sparked the birth of an innovative solution for this widely encountered problem. "Far fewer women ar

New Jersey Institute of Technology's Enterprise Development Center By Mike May ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined Bridging the Gap Ben Franklin Technology Partners First State Innovation Keystone Innovation Zones Rowan University's CIE The Science Center Working from his basement, Miguel Perez struggled to start Morpholytics. He wanted to connect companies with analytical problems with people who could solve them. To get Morpholytics moving,

Two paths for a preadipocyte By Bruce Spiegelman Click to view infographic PDF  Related Articles The Skinny Fat Energy-burning baby fat

Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Rowan University By Mike May ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined Bridging the Gap Ben Franklin Technology Partners First State Innovation Keystone Innovation Zones NJIT's Enterprise Development Center The Science Center For Thomas Pote, massaging his clients makes up more than a business tactic. At the age of 19, he studied massage at the Lourdes Institute of Wholistic Studies in Collingswood, NJ. At

The University City Science Center By Mike May ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined Bridging the Gap Ben Franklin Technology Partners First State Innovation Keystone Innovation Zones NJIT's Enterprise Development Center Rowan University's CIE In 1963 the nonprofit University City Science Center took over four blocks, between 34th and 38th Streets along Market Street, in Philadelphia. Dean Lewis, the center's interim president and C

1 Getting students to the region is not so much the issue as is keeping them here after graduation. To that end, the region's academic institutions are taking steps to counter any trend of brain drain. The partnership, Campus Philly, seeks to match students with local employment opportunities and maintains Careerphilly.com, where students can find information on jobs and internships in the region. "We work with the Life Science Career Alliance (a local organization that promotes workforce

Modeling with model organisms Eye of Science / Photo Researchers, Inc Fruit fly genetics may help us understand how organisms can - or can't - adapt to climate change. By Andrea Gawrylewski Related Articles: 1 Hoffman's team reported that on the East Coast of Australia, the classical latitudinal genetic clines of Drosophila have shifted over the past 20 years an equivalent of 4 degrees latitude (some 400 km), which means that genetic clines are now found in f

Compromising Coral Immunity Increasing oceanic temperatures are driving epidemics of coral disease. By Edyta Zielinska Related Articles: Climate change focus Climate change and the biosphere A sensitive reaction Shielding from the storm Modeling with model organisms Compromising coral immunity Slideshow: Climate change and corals The hole is disease modeling Hot Papers: Climate change and frog deaths In the summer of 1983, hundreds of square meters of grac

1 The report, conceived by the venture capital working group of the region's CEO Council for Growth, compares the Greater Philadelphia area to peer regions with strong life science industries and suggests strategies for advancing the region's commercialization potential. With so many excellent universities and research institutes in the area, more innovations should be ending up in the hands of entrepreneurs who can develop them into products, the report finds. In response, business leader

The Hole in Disease Modeling Why don't most studies of climate change include molecular methods? By Jonathan Scheff Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a common scourge in India, recently found in the warming ocean waters of Alaska. Related Articles: 1 "This was probably the most convincing evidence to date of the impact of climate change on pathogen outbreaks in North America," says McLaughlin. Average daily marine temperatures in the sound had been rising steadily, the

var FO = { movie:"http://www.the-scientist.com/supplementary/flash/54072/54072.swf", width:"520", height:"580", majorversion:"8", build:"0", xi:"true"}; UFO.create(FO, "ufoDemo"); Slideshow: A Waiting Trial In October, Deputy Editor Ivan Oransky traveled to Fargo, North Dakota, to interview Doug Bergman in the hospital. Bergman had developed leukemia a little more than a year after taking part in a clinical trial of stem cells to repair his heart. (For a st

A Waiting Trial In the summer of 2006, Doug Bergman had a needle plunged into his heart 10 times for science. Now he has leukemia. By Ivan Oransky Photographs by John Borge Related Articles: Trial of the Heart Scientist to Watch: Amy Wagers - Setting the record straight Slideshow: A Waiting Trial When I knock on the door of room 733 of the MeritCare Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo, ND, Doug Bergman is sitting up in his bed. He's been expecting me, but it's n

Successful Strategies In this section you will meet some of the region's most successful entrepreneurs who discuss how their companies first stayed alive, then flourished over time. The region is well-known for its collaborative spirit, but collaboration is also a strategic move that has brought forth innovative technologies in Greater Philadelphia. One such long-term partnership is on its way to a treatment for Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. Margaret F

Mark Tykocinski By Karen Pallarito Open doors lead a scientist to his calling. RELATED ARTICLES Successful Strategies Margaret Foti: Devoted to cancer research The Launch and the Exit Entrepreneurs Boldly Break New Ground Shire Pharmaceuticals: A Study in Exponential Growth Many Happy Returns: Cephalon celebrates its 20th year Creative Collaboration DUSTIN FENSTERMACHER / WONDERFUL MACHINE In the summer of 1971, Yale undergraduate Mar

Shire Pharmaceuticals: A Study in Exponential Growth By Charles Q. Choi RELATED ARTICLES Successful Strategies Margaret Foti: Devoted to cancer research The Launch and the Exit Entrepreneurs Boldly Break New Ground Mark Tykocinski: Open doors lead a scientist to his calling Many Happy Returns: Cephalon celebrates its 20th year Creative Collaboration It's not every company that can go from $7 million in revenues to more than $1.7 billion

Daniel Skovronsky By Anne Harding A physician-scientist and business leader. RELATED ARTICLES Innovative Technology Turning Tobacco into Therapies Biofuel: The Potential Magic Bullet Britton Chance: Still searching for answers Art Caplan: Penn's renowned ethicist Technology Roundup DUSTIN FENSTERMACHER / WONDERFUL MACHINE Imagine spotting the pathology of a disease - say, the amyloid plaques characteristic of Alzheimer's or the death of pan

Turning Tobacco into Therapies By Jeffrey M. Perkel RELATED ARTICLES Innovative Technology Daniel Skovronsky: Scientist and leader Biofuel: The Potential Magic Bullet Britton Chance: Still searching for answers Art Caplan: Penn's renowned ethicist Technology Roundup The Delaware Technology Park in Newark just may be the site of the next revolution. There, in a two-story building aptly named "9 Innovation Way," the Fraunhofer USA Center for Mo

Biofuel: The Potential Magic Bullet By Tabitha M. Powledge RELATED ARTICLES Innovative Technology Daniel Skovronsky: Scientist and leader Turning Tobacco into Therapies Britton Chance: Still searching for answers Art Caplan: Penn's renowned ethicist Technology Roundup DuPont's experimental station in Wilmington, Del., sprawls over more than 150 acres, one of the largest nonacademic research campuses in the world. Its roots lie in the 19th c

Britton Chance By Pamela Gannon Still searching for answers, after all these years. RELATED ARTICLES Innovative Technology Daniel Skovronsky: Scientist and leader Turning Tobacco into Therapies Biofuel: The Potential Magic Bullet Art Caplan: Penn's renowned ethicist Technology Roundup © Chaofei Deng and Lei Chang -- The Palace Wedding Dress Photo, Wuhan, China Biochemist, biophysicist, inventor, educator, patriot, Olympian - all

Art Caplan By Karen Pallarito A conversation with Penn's renowned ethicist. RELATED ARTICLES Innovative Technology Daniel Skovronsky: Scientist and leader Turning Tobacco into Therapies Biofuel: The Potential Magic Bullet Britton Chance: Still searching for answers Technology Roundup DUSTIN FENSTERMACHER / WONDERFUL MACHINE As a Columbia University philosophy student in the 1970s, Arthur Caplan listened to ongoing discussions about the ethics of

Matching the Drug to the Tumor By Jack Lucentini ARTICLE EXTRAS Innovative Technology Technology Roundup Rutgers-Camden Institute Neuronetics Temple University Absorption Systems University of Pennsylvania Tengion Kimmel Cancer Center Orphagenix BioNanomatrix When scientists at Bristol-Myers Squibb Research Institute in Princeton, NJ, recently studied whether a new drug could fight colorectal cancer, they started with a

Drano for the Arteries By Jack Lucentini ARTICLE EXTRAS Innovative Technology Technology Roundup Greater Philadelphia Innovation --> Bristol Myers-Squibb Rutgers-Camden Institute Neuronetics Temple University Absorption Systems Tengion Kimmel Cancer Center Orphagenix BioNanomatrix If it works as hoped, it could be the next blockbuster drug: one that shrinks artery-clogging atherosclerotic plaque, the leading cause of the

As Anna Dhody tells it, sometime in 2000 or 2001 she and her supervisor Steven LeBlanc, director of collections at Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, were discussing ways to obtain ancient DNA from secondary archeological finds over lunch. Recalling her training as a forensic anthropologist, Dhody, now curator of the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, mentioned how things like cigarette butts or discarded coffee cups from crime scenes

Lacayote squash Credit: Courtesy of Thomas Andres" />Lacayote squash Credit: Courtesy of Thomas Andres Last fall, Thomas Andres was wandering around New York City's Chinatown when he happened upon the subject of his doctoral dissertation: the lacayote, Cucurbita ficifolia, a South American squash rarely sold in the United States. He was happy to shell out $6 for the mottled green gourd. Twenty-five years ago, he had dreamed of discovering its wild ancestor on some scrubby hillside in

Credit: Courtesy of Fawzi Razem" /> Credit: Courtesy of Fawzi Razem The paper: F.A. Razem et al., "The RNA-binding protein FCA is an abscisic acid receptor," Nature, 439:290-4, 2006. (Cited in 82 papers) The finding: Scientists searched for the receptor for abscisic acid hormone in plants for almost 45 years until Robert Hill at the University of Manitoba and colleagues used antibodies to find it. They identified a candidate protein called

Credit: Left: David Hall / Photo Researchers, Inc" /> Credit: Left: David Hall / Photo Researchers, Inc The paper: F. Delsuc et al., "Tunicates and not cephalochordates are the closest living relatives of vertebrates," Nature, 439:965-8, 2006. (Cited in 116 papers) The finding: Using a data set of 146 nuclear genes, including tunicate data from the Oikopleura dioica genome project, Frédéric Delsuc and his colleagues from the Univers

Three primary human neutrophils within a microfluidic channel responding to a gradient of Interleukin-8 (labeled with a green fluorophore) by chemotaxing to a higher concentration (left). Panels are frames from a movie, taken 10 minutes apart. Credit: Courtesy of Mary Lokuta / University of Wisconsin, Madison" />Three primary human neutrophils within a microfluidic channel responding to a gradient of Interleukin-8 (labeled with a green fluorophore) by chemotaxing to a higher concentration (left)

Innovative solutions with small-scale microfluidics.

Why aren't there many women in the top spots in academia?

A female scientist gives her top 10 list for men, and our readers respond with tips of their own.