Group to discuss issues of importance to sector, stage of growth on regular basis.
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (Wednesday, January 24, 2007) – At a time when growing a life sciences start-up requires more resources than ever before, leaders of fourteen Indiana life sciences companies with venture capital investment have formed a CEO Roundtable. The group will convene regularly to network and to share practical guidance, experiences and other helpful information with one another.
The CEO Roundtable is being led by James F. White, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Claire Deselle, Chief Executive Officer of CS-Keys, Inc. The group is supported by BioCrossroads, Indiana’s life sciences initiative. BioCrossroads serves as the ‘go to’ place for the life sciences entrepreneurial community in Indiana and has provided support to over 150 life sciences businesses and collaborations over the past several years.
This roundtable is expected to help create a “community” of emerging life sciences businesses and business leaders in Indiana. Their successes and challenges will help encourage others to pursue entrepreneurial activities and help demonstrate the time, money and effort it takes to build a burgeoning cluster of smaller life sciences companies.
Joining White and Deselle on the CEO Roundtable is:

  • Chad Barden, President and Chief Executive Officer, QuadraSpec, Inc.
  • Andrew Cittadine, Chief Executive Officer, SonarMed, Inc.
  • Ron Ellis, President and Chief Executive Officer, Endocyte, Inc.
  • Fritz French, Chief Executive Officer, Marcadia Biotech
  • Ron Henriksen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Semafore Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  • Mark Leuchtenberger, President and Chief Executive Officer, Targanta Therapeutics, Inc.
  • Jennifer Marcum, Chief Executive Officer, Sentry Logistic Solutions, Inc.
  • John Mills, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BioStorage Technologies, Inc.
  • Tracy Nolan, Chief Executive Officer, TGX Medical Systems
  • Laila Razouk, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, BioVitesse, Inc.
  • Robert B. Truitt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ash Access Technology, Inc., HemoCleanse, Inc.,
  • Roger Wall, Chief Executive Officer, DCL Medical Laboratories, Inc.

As venture capital becomes more readily available to life sciences entrepreneurs in Indiana, through efforts like the $73 million Indiana Future Fund and $6 million Indiana Seed Fund, more life sciences companies are able to start and grow in Indiana.
These successes also bring other challenges; including the need for additional seed funding resources to help companies in the very earliest stages develop and a need for sufficient entrepreneurial talent and expertise to grow these companies. This roundtable is expected to address these issues, among others.
About CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CoLucid Pharmaceuticals is an early stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and discovery of therapeutics for migraine, pain and other neurological disorders. The company is also exploring a unique chemistry platform that will produce bifunctional neuromodulators to treat a variety of brain disorders. For more information, please contact CoLucid Pharmaceuticals.
CS-Keys, Inc. is creating cancer-specific biomarkers using advanced protein chemistry technologies (proteomics). The company is developing a new series of diagnostics to detect the occurrence or re-occurrence of cancer leading to more effective individualized treatment strategies for primary and metastatic disease, with an initial focus on breast cancer.
Additional Resources:
QuadraSpec, Inc. – www.quadraspec.com
SonarMed, Inc. – www.sonarmed.com
CS-Keys, Inc. – www.biocrossroads.com/pdf/2006/06-07-06%20CS-Keys%20release%20FINAL.pdf
Endocyte, Inc. – www.endocyte.com
Marcadia Biotech – (www.marcadiabiotech.com)
Semafore Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – www.semaforepharma.com
Targanta Therapeutics, Inc. – www.targanta.com
Sentry Logistic Solutions, Inc. – www.sentrylogistic.com
BioStorage Technologies, Inc. – www.biostorage.com
TGX Medical Systems – www.tgxmedical.com
BioVitesse, Inc. – www.biovitesse.com
Ash Access Technology, Inc., HemoCleanse, Inc. – www.ashaccess.com; www.hemocleanse.com
DCL Medical Laboratories, Inc. – www.dcla.com
CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – (919-806-4304)