January 2008

Cephalon: Twenty Years of Building a Life Sciences Enterprise In 1987, a young researcher decided to seize the opportunity to build on the promise of molecular biology that had helped to create a critical mass of companies in the biotech arena. At that time, research into central nervous system disorders was in its infancy and Cephalon founder, scientist and CEO, Frank Baldino, Jr. PhD envisioned creating a different kind of company that would be a hybri

Introduction from Regional CEOs Dear Readers: As the CEOs of leading life science companies located in Greater Philadelphia, we are proud to be a part of this publication that showcases the rapidly growing life sciences industry in our region. The Greater Philadelphia region, which encompasses 11 counties in three states - southern New Jersey, southeastern Pennsylvania, and northern Delaware - is home to an unparalleled combination of resources supporting biopharmaceutic

Introduction from James C. Greenwood Dear Readers: As the president and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), it is my privilege to represent an industry that is saving and improving the lives, health, and well-being of billions of people around the world. Innovative biotechnology products are transforming the fight against disease, hunger, and pollution. I am proud to be associated with the dedicated men and women who make up the biotechnology industr

Fox Chase Cancer Center "I strongly believe that there will be a totally different way to treat cancer patients in the next 10 years," declared Michael V. Seiden, MD, PhD, shortly after he became president and CEO of Fox Chase Cancer Center in June 2007. "I think tumors will be removed and analyzed in a much more molecularly-based way. This is already being done at the research level, but in 10 years, therapies will be selected for people based on the molecula

ECRI Provides Answers By Kathryn Ward Jeff Lerner Courtesy of the ECRI Institute ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined A Robust Support Infrastructure The infrastructure Laureate Pharma Quest Pharmaceutical Immunicon Fox Chase Cancer Center Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Covance Coriell Paragon Chemical InstaMed Wondering about the track record of a medical device? Have questions about a clinical procedure? Curious about the e

InstaMed: Streamlining Healthcare Payments By Kathryn Ward ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined A Robust Support Infrastructure The infrastructure ECRI Laureate Pharma Quest Pharmaceutical Immunicon Fox Chase Cancer Center Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Covance Coriell Paragon Chemical Some of the most complex issues in healthcare today involve healthcare payments, and Philadelphia’s InstaMed is working to address these issues.

A Robust Support Infrastructure By Kathryn Ward An impressive group of companies service the life sciences in the Greater Philadelphia region. This infrastructure "is another essential ingredient of the region's life sciences sector," according to The Milken Institute. The region's support infrastructure is ranked second in the nation. If employment figures are any indication, (growing from 310,200 in 2003 to 327,000 in 2004), this support, which undergirds the region's

Paragon Chemical: A China Connection By Kathryn Ward Fereydon Abdesaken ARTICLE EXTRAS A Region Defined A Robust Support Infrastructure The infrastructure ECRI Laureate Pharma Quest Pharmaceutical Immunicon Fox Chase Cancer Center Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Covance Coriell InstaMed “Paragon” means “a model of excellence,” and Paragon Chemical Technologies, located just north of Philadelphia in Horsh

Coriell: Banking on Cells By Kathryn Ward Michael Christman In the late 1940s, a medical doctor and scientist used cell cultures to help bring the Salk polio vaccine to the public. Impressed with his work, business leaders in the Greater Philadelphia region enabled him to establish a basic research facility in 1953. The man was Lewis Coriell. The facility is the Coriell Institute for Medical Research, which today is an internationally known, independent, nonprofit biom

Barbara Schilberg By Anne Harding A champion for the region DUSTIN FENSTERMACHER / WONDERFUL MACHINE RELATED ARTICLES A Region Defined Did You Know? A Rich Life Science Cluster Greater Philadelphia's Big Pharmas A Robust Support Infrastructure Bridging the Gap Brenda Gavin: Making a venture capitalist Investment Momentum Building Update Those Resumes Creating Roots Ramping Up Tech Transfer When Barbara Schilberg was wrapping up her

Energy burning baby fat Related Articles The skinny fat Two paths for a preadipocyte Click here or on the image to launch the flash infographic.

The Skinny Fat FRANKLYN RODGERS / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY All Fat Cell images courtesy of Patrick Seale What if you could make fat cells burn energy rather than store it? By Bruce Spiegelman Related Articles Energy-burning baby fat Two paths for a preadipocyte From an outsider's perspective, obesity seems like a simple problem to solve: Eat less, exercise more. But, the body regulates food intake and feelings of satiety as part of a tightly regulated home

Brenda Gavin By Karen Pallarito The making of a venture capitalist. RELATED ARTICLES A Region Defined Did You Know? A Rich Life Science Cluster Greater Philadelphia's Big Pharmas A Robust Support Infrastructure Barbara Schilberg: Champion for the region Bridging the Gap Investment Momentum Building Update Those Resumes Creating Roots Ramping Up Tech Transfer DUSTIN FENSTERMACHER / WONDERFUL MACHINE Long before Brenda Gavin began i

1 Chris Cashman, president and CEO of Protez Pharmaceuticals, a Malvern, Pennsylvania, maker of new antibiotics to fight drug-resistance, recalls the 2001 to 2002 "washout period," when the market for biotech and many small-capital companies fell apart. "Raising money was very difficult. Lots of companies failed," he says. For Cashman and other biotech entrepreneurs, the recovery began with Pennsylvania's move in 2001 to use its tobacco settlement funds to create capital for life scie

Climate ChangeAs Earth's climate warms, the effects are showing up in the planet's biological systems, from the lowliest soil microbes to the grandest coral reefs. We set five of our writers loose to find research probing this dynamic. They turned up studies exploring everything from shell formation of tiny marine organisms to fruit fly genetics to coral immunity to the dynamics of soil decomposition to the spread of human diseases. We also enlisted the help of University of Alaska, Fair

var FO = { movie:"http://www.the-scientist.com/supplementary/flash/54070/54070.swf", width:"520", height:"580", majorversion:"8", build:"0", xi:"true"}; UFO.create(FO, "ufoDemo"); Climate change and corals By Edyta Zielinska As part of our package on the effects of climate change on the biosphere, associate editor Edyta Zielinska took a look at coral disease. Ernesto Weil from the University of Puerto Rico has worked with coral reefs in the Caribbe

Climate change and the biosphere © Momatiuk - Eastcott / Corbis From corals to human disease, scientists watching the effects of global warming are convinced: It's time to act. By F. Stuart Chapin Related Articles: 1 Global warming spells danger for Earth's biomes, which in turn play an important role in climate change. On the following pages, you will read about some of the specific changes, from fruit flies to microbes, that scientists have observed. The ef

1 The career ladders document the types and levels of positions in each job family - discovery research, clinical development, regulatory, quality, product/process development, manufacturing, and facilities - a supervisory pathway, required education and experience, and a typical salary range. Cassie also recommends getting about six to 10 years of Big Pharma experience before moving to a smaller company, "or else you won't bring much to the party. A scientist coming from Merck will bring d

A Sensitive Reaction Global warming could speed up decomposition, but how much might decomposition speed up global warming? By Kerry Grens 1 "In a sense there's some kind of natural break in the system that would bring this positive feedback to a halt," says Jerry Melillo at the Marine Biological Laboratory. For example, in a 10-year study Melillo led in the Harvard Forest, the response to warming, as measured in carbon flux, jumped an average of 28% in each of the firs

Shielding from the Storm Courtesy of Russ Hopcroft Scientists search for genes that help calcifying organisms weather the effects of climate change. By Alla Katsnelson The pteropod Limacina helicina, sometimes referred to as a sea butterfly, has a translucent shell and a pair of swimming wings called parapodia, and is plentiful in polar seas. Climate change focus Climate change and the biosphere A sensitive reaction Modeling with model organisms Compromis

Margaret Foti By Anne Harding Devoting her life to cancer research DUSTIN FENSTERMACHER / WONDERFUL MACHINE RELATED ARTICLES Successful Strategies The Launch and the Exit Entrepreneurs Boldly Break New Ground Mark Tykocinski: Open doors lead a scientist to his calling Shire Pharmaceuticals: A Study in Exponential Growth Many Happy Returns: Cephalon celebrates its 20th year Creative Collaboration When Margaret Foti became the first chief

THE LAUNCH AND THE EXIT By Susan Brown There's an art to creating - and selling - a life science company. Pick an invention that solves a problem and then think the enterprise through to the end so you will attract the needed investors to launch a life science company. That is the advice of Gary Kurtzman who has helped to start dozens of companies over the past 16 years. Kurtzman picks winning ventures for a living as vice president for the life sciences group

Entrepreneurs Boldly Break New Ground By Clare Kittredge Early-stage funding is oxygen to young life science companies struggling to keep their companies afloat and research moving forward. RELATED ARTICLES Successful Strategies Margaret Foti: Devoted to cancer research The Launch and the Exit Mark Tykocinski: Open doors lead a scientist to his calling Shire Pharmaceuticals: A Study in Exponential Growth Many Happy Returns: Cephalon celebrates its 20th

Rutgers University - Camden: Anchoring Bioscience Research in Camden and the Delaware Valley The early home of recorded sound and the birthplace of technological innovations that changed the world, the City of Camden is establishing a new role for itself as a thriving center for the biosciences in the metro Philadelphia region and the State of New Jersey. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, anchors that growing reputation. Respected internationally for

Collaboration Brings Research Breakthroughs Lisa Staiano-Coico, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs At Temple University, interdisciplinary collaboration plays a vital role in the success of research programs. Seventeen schools and colleges, along with specialized research centers and institutes, make Temple an excellent place for investigators to exchange ideas, assist one another in the design of joint projects, and benefit from the existen

Many Happy Returns By Charles Q. Choi Cephalon marks its 20th year 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 Shire Pharmaceuticals: A Study in Exponential Growth Creative Collaboration Cephalon, the leading independent biotechnology firm in Pennsylvania and the Greater Philadelphia region

Creative Collaboration By Clare Kittredge Teaming up to move science forward. 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 Shire Pharmaceuticals: A Study in Exponential Growth Many Happy Returns: Cephalon celebrates its 20th year THE CHOP - WISTAR INSTITUTE - MERCK PARTNERSHIP In 1

Innovative Technology All three states in the Greater Philadelphia region - Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware - are homes to institutions and companies performing outstanding R&D. This section contains a sampling of some of the science in area pipelines and the people behind the bench. Innovative Technology Daniel Skovronsky: Scientist and leader Turning Tobacco into Therapies Biofuel: The Potential Magic Bullet Britton Chance: Still searching

Lab-on-a-chip Technology Goes Nano By Jack Lucentini ARTICLE EXTRAS Innovative Technology Technology Roundup Greater Philadelphia Innovation --> Bristol Myers-Squibb Rutgers-Camden Institute Neuronetics Temple University Absorption Systems University of Pennsylvania Tengion Kimmel Cancer Center Orphagenix Science is moving from an age in which researchers can sequence genomes, to one in which doctors can use them in deve

Technology Roundup By Jack Lucentini One of the Greater Philadelphia region's strengths is its robust science and technology research. This sampling of efforts underway at the area's institutions reveals projects ranging from basic science to cutting-edge technologies in clinical development. Many of the products under development represent part of a growing trend: a shift toward personalized medicine. Innovative Technology Greater Philadelphia Innovation -->

Rutgers-Camden Institute to Focus on Integrative Biology By Jack Lucentini ARTICLE EXTRAS Innovative Technology Technology Roundup Greater Philadelphia Innovation --> Bristol Myers-Squibb Neuronetics Temple University Absorption Systems University of Pennsylvania Tengion Kimmel Cancer Center Orphagenix BioNanomatrix Nervous about narrowing product pipelines and costly clinical trial failures, big pharmaceutical companies

Magnets in Medicine By Jack Lucentini ARTICLE EXTRAS Innovative Technology Technology Roundup Greater Philadelphia Innovation --> Bristol Myers-Squibb Rutgers-Camden Institute Temple University Absorption Systems University of Pennsylvania Tengion Kimmel Cancer Center Orphagenix BioNanomatrix The technique of treating sick people with magnets might not seem ripe for Food and Drug Administration approval, given that its m

Taking the Bite out of COPD By Jack Lucentini ARTICLE EXTRAS Innovative Technology Technology Roundup Greater Philadelphia Innovation --> Bristol Myers-Squibb Rutgers-Camden Institute Neuronetics Absorption Systems University of Pennsylvania Tengion Kimmel Cancer Center Orphagenix BioNanomatrix In dry medical jargon, it's called an exacerbation. For the patients, it's a frightening, wrenching assault on the body that som

Testing Transporters By Jack Lucentini ARTICLE EXTRAS Innovative Technology Technology Roundup Greater Philadelphia Innovation --> Bristol Myers-Squibb Rutgers-Camden Institute Neuronetics Temple University University of Pennsylvania Tengion Kimmel Cancer Center Orphagenix BioNanomatrix FDA expectations for preclinical drug testing as part of new drug applications are growing. That promises good business for Exton, Pa.-b

Epidemiologist Anne Rimoin (left) investigates a case of monkeypox in Lomela, Congo. The patient eventually died from monkeypox-related complications. Credit: © Lynn Johnson / National Geographic" />Epidemiologist Anne Rimoin (left) investigates a case of monkeypox in Lomela, Congo. The patient eventually died from monkeypox-related complications. Credit: © Lynn Johnson / National Geographic For University of California, Los Angeles, epidemiologist Anne Rimoin, 2007 was a ro

Two images of the nisin PLA polymer, outer surface (left) and cross-sectional (right) views. Nisin is evenly distributed, ensuring its slow but continuous release. Credit: Courtesy of Tony Jin" />Two images of the nisin PLA polymer, outer surface (left) and cross-sectional (right) views. Nisin is evenly distributed, ensuring its slow but continuous release. Credit: Courtesy of Tony Jin Food scientist Tony Jin's dissertation had something most don't: A picture of a Jack in the Box rest

A confocal image of endothelial cells cultured in one of the microcapillaries of the biochip. Credit: Cellix Ltd." />A confocal image of endothelial cells cultured in one of the microcapillaries of the biochip. Credit: Cellix Ltd. User: Garry Walsh, University of Aberdeen School of Medicine, Scotland. Project: Examining adhesion of eosinophils under conditions of blood flow in the lungs. Problem: Eosinophils are relatively rare and difficult to

Phase contrast image of human microvascular epithelial cells grown in a single layer microfluidic cell culture chip under constant perfusion. Credit: Courtesy of Divya Nalayanda and Fizan Abdullah / Johns Hopkins Children's Center, Baltimore, Md." />Phase contrast image of human microvascular epithelial cells grown in a single layer microfluidic cell culture chip under constant perfusion. Credit: Courtesy of Divya Nalayanda and Fizan Abdullah / Johns Hopkins Children's Center, Baltimore, Md.

Florescent probes mark chromosomal breakpoints in FISH-on-a-Chip. Credit: Courtesy of Linda Pilarski / University of Alberta" />Florescent probes mark chromosomal breakpoints in FISH-on-a-Chip. Credit: Courtesy of Linda Pilarski / University of Alberta User: Linda Pilarski, University of Alberta Project: Investigating chromosomal breaks and translocations in individual cells from patients with multiple myeloma. Problem: An ideal technique for t

Related Articles Let it flow Source and sink Membrane interface Conservation max Scaling down Collaborate. Microfluidic engineering labs and even commercial companies often look for academics to "cross-validate" their work, notes Robert Freedman, CEO of HμREL Corporation, which is working on a prototype for cellular experiments. Comb the literature and ask around to find who is working on something your lab might need. Also, check out the MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Syst