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Chaperone Technologies Our November Meeting is the second installment of PCCI's new mentoring program. The featured presenter is Ken Kovan, CEO for Chaperone, another early-stage company with a huge potential upside. Mr. Kovan has asked us to comment on three areas of interest:
Here is how the new format works:
The November Panel includes members: Joe Patterson - on the Business Model, Donna Lombardo - on the Development Program Expansion, and Mike Pischl - on Defining the Competitive Market. Background on Chaperone For years, scientists and health experts have warned that the overuse of antibiotics, often when they are not needed, is leading to more and more drug-resistant pathogens. Such resistant bacteria, or superbugs, are particularly dangerous in hospitals, where the lethal microbes can colonize via surgical wounds or from the frequent use of catheters. In the past few years, there has been an unprecedented increase in the rate of the worldwide spread of bacterial strains that are resistant to conventional antibiotics. This increasing problem has driven a sustained search for new antimicrobials that can combat a range of resistant bacteria, especially for those that act on a new target. Intracellular bacterial targets, especially proteins essential to the life cycle of bacteria, have tremendous potential as targets for a completely new family of antimicrobials. Technology that can successfully attack these superbugs would have a significant impact on patients health and treatment costs. Founded in June 2002, Chaperone Technologies Inc., applies its expertise in bacterial target analysis, compound synthesis, purification, and small molecule compound screening to develop novel products, based on a proprietary target and mechanism of action, for difficult-to-treat and drug-resistant organisms across a broad range of infectious diseases.
A Special Thank You from Don Skerrett Good Company! Good Fun!
Monday, October
25, 2004
(minutes of September meeting after report) Cira Discovery Science Our October Meeting will kick off PCCI's new mentoring program. The featured presenter is Wade Rogers, the CEO for Cira, an early-stage company that discovers biomarker patterns for medical diagnostics, prognostics and therapeutics. Mr. Rogers has asked us to comment on three areas of concern: 1) Cira's Business Model Here's how the new format will work: Cocktails and Dinner The October Panel includes: Bob Smith - on the Business Model, Lou Surden - on Reimbursement, and a Guest Expert - on Regulatory Affairs. Please see the report of the last meeting below for details about the new, one-time fee of $20 as a reorganization fee and a report about the future of PCCI from our last meeting. This fee will be collected the next time a member attends a dinner. Dinner fees also need to be raised. Winberie's monthly dinners and private room charges amount to about $28. Parking is free. The group decided dinners would be a flat $30, with the extra money going first towards the speaker's dinner and expenses, and then into the Treasury. Lifetime dues for new members will remain at $100. All in all, PCCI meetings are expected to be livelier than ever and all agreed the group has a lot to offer -- both to the outside world, and to each other, so let's keep the spirit: PCCI Lives! Winberie's can accommodate up to 40 members and guests! So Come One! Come All! Bring a Business Colleague! Good Company! Good Program! Good Food! Good Fun! RSVP to: MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER MEETING: About 30 members gathered in Wayne, just off 202, at Winberie’s Restaurant, on Monday evening, September 13. The group reached a milestone in PCCI’s history and talked about how to keep moving forward. Don Skerrett organized the event and called it: “PCCI Lives!” Past President Dick Dresher was on hand to help with the transition to new leadership and Dick kicked off a lively discussion on the value of the PCCI. The group quickly made some key decisions: · Monthly meetings would continue
at Winberie’s The group unanimously elected Don Skerrett as the new president and Don lead the discussion for the remainder of the evening. One of Don’s main thrusts was adding a new kind of monthly program to the mix of guest speakers and member presentations. Don suggested a series of presentations by industry professionals with a new twist. Don called it a “Mentor” format and it works, as follows. After a guest speaker addresses our group, he or she would have the advantage of hearing from a small panel of PCCI members with expertise in the speaker’s topic. These “consulting” panels would offer their professional comments before opening to general discussion. In this way, we can spread our reputation as a group with significant expertise and help spark new ideas for the presenters. Don had already looked into this possibility and suggested companies such as BioAdvantage, Innovation Philadelphia and Benjamin Franklin Technical Partners as possibilities. Other program ideas included inviting Masters and Ph.D. candidates to present, as well as continuing to host presentations by our members. PCCI does continue to live on – but finances need to be in order first. The 15th Anniversary in June depleted the Treasury. Treasurer Lynn Childs reported a balance of approximately $600. The group talked about ways of replenishing and decided that each member would be assessed a one-time fee of $20 as a re-organization fee. This fee would be collected the next time a member attended a dinner. The lifetime dues for new members would remain at $100. Dinner fees also need to be raised. 23rd St. Café always was a bargain, but most other restaurants cost more, especially for a private room. Winberie’s dinners are about $28 (parking is free), so the group decided dinners would be a flat $30, with the extra money going first towards the guest speaker’s dinner and expenses and then into the Treasury. All in all, the PCCI meeting was as lively as ever and all agreed the group has a lot to offer – if not to the outside world, at least to each other, so let’s keep the spirit. Good Company! Good Fun!
Monday, September 13, 2004
Let's get together and discuss where PCCI
can go from here, how we can give
it new life, satisfy the needs of all our members... AND
ATTRACT NEW ONES!
Let's
All Get Together Like Old Times LIKE
TO ATTEND AS A VISITOR?
MEET THE SPEAKER & PROGRAM:
Tuesday,
March 16, 200423rd
Street Cafe 6:30 to 10:00 pm "Homeland & Corporate
Security Following September 11, 2001"Speaker:
Ralph Earl Sponsor: Dick Dresher Good
company! Good drink! Good food! Good Program! Good
fun! MEET
THE SPEAKER:
Tuesday, February
17 , 2004
23rd
Street Cafe 6:00 to 10:00 pm "An
Introduction to Visual Edge Consulting & Software"Speakers:
Edward Kellar - CEOJames Loch
- President & CTO Good
company! Good drink! Good food! Good Program! Good
fun! MEET
THE SPEAKERS & PROGRAM:
Tuesday,
January 20, 200423rd
Street Cafe 6:00 to 10:00 pm New
Year Kickoff"The
Value of Medicines"Why
Do the Good Guys Shoot Themselves in the Feet? Speaker:
Paul Findling, Chief of Staff, GSK Sales - Phila.Sponsor: Tom Thompson Good
company! Good drink! Good food! Good Program! Good
fun! THE
SPEAKER AND PROGRAM: Unfortunately, public perception of the good guys in the pharmaceutical industry hasn't improved over past decades. High prices mask the benefits to the healthcare system. GSK is trying to stem the tide of sinking public opinion by reaching professional groups and associations to tell a different story with "The Value of Medicine" program. Sales representatives and managers are encouraged to make presentations to local groups face-to-face and put the issues into perspective. Bill Collier will talk about this program and answer questions about doing business in today's tough climate. Bill entered the pharmaceutical
industry in the UK in 1981 as a Beecham sales
representative. At the time of the SmithKline
Beckman and Beecham merger in 1989, he was
in antibiotic marketing. For a brief time,
Bill joined Abbott Laboratories and then left
and went to Wellcome. To his good fortune,
Glaxo merged with Wellcome and Bill continued
to gain experience in numerous commercial management
positions with international responsibility,
including Area Director for Africa. Following
the GSK merger, Bill became responsible for
the former SmithKline Beecham product line.
Bill now oversees sales strategies for the
largest of GSK's business units. Bill likes
good discussion and looks forward to answering
challenging questions facing the pharmaceutical
industry.
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23rd Street Cafe 
