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Nancy Briefs changes SmoothShapes to Eleme' Medical
Nancy Briefs changed the name of her company from SmoothShapes to
Eleme'
Medical, Inc.
The new name
reflects the
evolution of the
company from
product
development to
broad
commercialization
and the intent
to become a
major company in
the $4.5 B body
shaping market.
To support this
intention Nancy
hired two senior
executives from
the aesthetic
laser industry,
William
McGrail from
Candela and
Peter D'Errico
from Aesthera,
and she closed
on $7.5 m
venture lending
facility to
complement the
$15m Series B
she closed seven
months ago.
The company's
first product,
SmoothShapes
100, has proven
in objective
scientific
studies
to reduce
cellulite by
81%. The
product is based
on the
pioneering
technology,
Photomology(TM).
Congratulations
to Nancy. This
is a bold move
to build a
standalone
aesthetics
company in the
global market.
We know that you
can do it!
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Mark
Leuchtenberger, CEO
of
Targanta
Therapeutics,
filed for a
$92.6 million
IPO at $12–$14
per share. The
company has said
that in early
2008 it would
make
the FDA submission
for oritavancin,
an antibiotic
for the
treatment of
certain skin
infections. The
filing is
reported in
Mass High Tech.
Congratulations to Mark and his team for achieving this
milestone. |
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Ron Ranauro,
CEO of
GenomeQuest,
closed on a $4M
Series B round
of financing.
This round was
led by Mosaic
Ventures and
included
previous backers
Cross Atlantic
Partners,
Milestone
Venture Partners
and Paris-based
Societe Generale
Asset
Management.
GenomeQuest developed a Web-based search tool to help
scientists and
patent attorneys
track down the
widely scattered
data on genetic
mapping. Biogen
Idec is one of
more than 100
customers using
GenomeQuest's
tools.
The news was reported in MHT, Sept. 21.
Congratulations to our fellow CEO Roundtable member and
his team. |
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Walter Ogier, CEO of
Arbios Systems,
reported
completion of a
successful
feasibility
clinical trial
for the SEPTET™
Liver Assist
Device. This
medical device
filters blood to
help damaged
livers continue
to function. In
the trial, 79%
of patients with
chronic liver
failure met the
primary clinical
effectiveness
endpoint. Many
of them
responded within
five hours of
initial
treatment.
The results
strongly support
expanded
trials. SEPTET
is intended to
be a bridge
technology
for patients who
are waiting for
liver
transplants.
The full results
were published
as part of the
9th
International
Symposium on
Albumin Dialysis
in Liver Disease
(ISAD). For
more
information, see
www.arbios.com.
Improving
quality of life
and giving hope
to critically
ill patients
have
their rewards.
Congratulations
to Walter and
his team. |
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Jeff Wager,
CEO of
Artisan Pharma,
announced that
his company is
starting a Phase
2b trial for
ART-123, a
treatment for
disseminated
intravascular
coagulation (DIC)
in sepsis
patients. The
drug will be
trialed in 800
patients in
North America,
Europe, New
Zealand, India,
and Argentina.
See
www.artisanpharma.net
Congratulations to Jeff and his team on reaching this
milestone. |
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Anika Therapeutics
just received
FDA approval for
its wrinkle
filler,
Elevess.
Anika already
markets this
injectable
treatment for
skin wrinkles in
Europe through
Galderma Pharma.
Chuck Sherwood, CEO of Anika,
is a member of
CEO Roundtable.
Anika is a
public company. |
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OmniSonics |
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OmniSonics
Medical
Technologies
in Wilmington,
Mass has closed
on the first
$10m of its
Series D round
of financing,
according to an
article in
MHT on July
20. Prism
Venture and New
England Partners
are the lead
investors.
Rich Ganz is the CEO of OmniSonics and
a member of CEO
Roundtable.
OmniSonics
is focused
on medical
devices to
treat
vascular
disease.
Its OmniWave
System uses
a catheter
to deliver
acoustic
energy via a
wire to
clear
hardened
arteries and
break up
clots. See
www.omnisonics.com.
Congratulations to Rich and his team as they continue
to build the
company.
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Mercia Tapping and her company, AllergyBuyersClub.com,
continue to
climb the
Boston
Business
Journal's
list of Largest
Woman-Owned Companies.
This year
the company
is listed as
#13, moving
up from #15.
Mercia has been a member of CEO Roundtable since she
started her
company with
a vision and
a credit
card in the
basement of
her home.
We celebrate
her
continued
success.
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Scott Gillis,
the CEO of
Nucryst
Pharmaceuticals,
a public
company, has
been elected to
the board of
Mass Biotech
Council.
Scott joins
fellow CEO
Roundtable
members
Mike Webb,
CEO of Ascent
Therapeutics and
Chair of MBC and
Mark
Leuchtenberger,
CEO of Targanta
Therapeutics and
Vice Chair of
MBC.
Also joining the
expanded Board
of MBC is
Errol De
Souza,
CEO of Archemix
Corp., and
Frank
Thomas
, CEO of
Critical
Therapeutics.
MBC expanded its
board following
an announcement
by Gov. Deval
Patrick that
$1billion in
state funding is
to be provided
for the growth
of the life
sciences
industry.
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Member in the News: Sarah Fuller does it again!
Sarah Fuller, founder and President of Decision Resources
Inc. of
Waltham
announced that a
majority share
of the company
has been sold to
Providence
Equity Partners.
This is the
second time that
a private equity
firm has bought
a majority share
of the company.
Sarah will again
continue as
President and
minority share
holder.
The additional
funds will be
used to continue
the growth of
DRI through
acquisitions and
internal
developments.
The news is
reported in
today's on
line issue of
Mass High Tech.
"Decision
Resources is a
privately held
provider of
research and
advisory
services to the
pharmaceutical
and health care
industries. It
also owns
research firms
HealthLeaders-InterStudy,
focused on the
managed care
industry, and
Millennium
Research Group,
which provides
market
intelligence on
the medical
device
industry".
Sarah Fuller has
been a member of
CEO Roundtable
for many years.
We can remember
when ...
Sarah was our
CEO of the Year
in 2006 for the
exemplary manner
she demonstrated
in the careful
and principled
way she took in
a majority
partner the
first time and
integrated the
several new
companies into
DRI.
Congratulations
to Sarah
Fuller. We
couldn't be
happier for her
or prouder of
her
accomplishments.
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Walter
Ogier, CEO of Arbios Systems, has
reported that
his company
closed on
$4.8m
in a private
stock offering.
The funding was
led by
MicroCapital and
included
existing
investor,
Bristol
Investment. The
company trades
on the
over-the-counter
market under the
symbol "ABOS".
Arbios Systems is the developer of artifical liver
systems SEPET
Liver Assist
Device and
HepatAssist
Cell-Based Liver
Support System.
The new funds
will be used for
product
registration of
the SEPET system
in Europe and
for clinical
trials in the
United States.
Walter is a member of CEO Roundtable.
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David Chen, Founder and CEO of NextWorth, Inc.,
is featured in
an article on
his company in
Mass
High Tech
(April
3, pg 9).
NextWorth's
business model
has evolved from
the time David
founded the
company while a
student at
Babson College
but the vision
of helping
buyers of
consumer
electronics
maximize the
value of
their investment
by providing an
economic
incentive to
recycle old
products as they
upgrade to newer
models is still
the same. The
company has
narrowed its
focus to iPods
and broadened
its sourcing to
large consumer
electronic
stores. These
stores accept
older iPods as
trade-ins on new
models and
NextWorth
refurbishes them
and sells them,
primarily on the
internet all
around the
world. NextWorth
just completed
another round of
funding to
expand its
operations.
David Chen is a
member of the
CEO
Roundtable's
high tech peer
group. |
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Todd Hoffman's company,
Collegia,
is
included
in an
article
in the
The
Wall
Street
Journal
about how
Philadelphia
is
aggressively
marketing
itself
to
college
students.
Collegia
works
with
public-private
partnerships
to
market a
whole
region
to new
college
students. The
Philadelphia
program
is
called
"Campus
Philly"
and it
promotes
the 84
colleges
in the
Philadelphia
area as
well as
the city
and its
industry.
In
addition
to
promoting
Philadelphia
to new
college
students
it also
works
hard to
retain
the
college
graduates
from
the 84
campuses
to work
in the
area and
help
attract
more new
students.
Collegia is doing this type of regional marketing in
several
midsize
cities
across
the
country,
including
Pittsburgh
and
Cleveland,
but
it
started
by
promoting
Boston
in
the
same
way --
with
results
that
Todd
is
very
proud
of
and
many
of
us
are
thankful
for.
But
he
warns
that
Boston
is
now
complacent
and
lacks
the
urgency
that
helped
it
achieve
its
current
status.
Congratulations to Todd and his team for this
well-deserved
recognition
in
The
Wall
Street
Journal.
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Ron
Ranauro
announced
that he
has
changed
the name
of his
company
to
GenomeQuest
to more
accurately
reflect
it's
long-term
mission
of
providing
comprehensive,
easy
access
to gene
sequence
and
related
information
to
improve
the
quality
of life.
The
company
was
formerly
named
Gene-IT.
GenomeQuest
is a
sequence
search
solution
that
enables
biologists
to
evaluate
novel
gene
sequences
and
allows
IP
lawyers
to
evaluate
freedom-to-operate,
patentability,
and
competitive
landscape
features
for the
same
sequences.
The
solution
uniquely
combines
easy-to-use
sequence
search
and
analytics
with
public
and
proprietary
sequence
content,
including
the
industry's
largest
and most
complete
indexed
archive
of more
than 40
million
patented
sequences.
You can
learn
more
about
Ron's
company
at its
new Web
site:
www.genomequest.com
Ron is a
member
of one
of the
CEO
Roundtables
for
biotech/pharma
companies.
The
members
support
this
name
change!
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Nancy
Briefs
is
featured
in the
Boston
Globe,
Thursday
March
25, in a
long
story
about
her new
company
SmoothShapes,
Inc.
The
company's
first
product,
SmoothShapes
100, has
been
proven
effective
in
clinical
trials
in
substantially
reducing
cellulite
in
women's
legs,
hips and
buttocks.
It uses
a
patented
process
of
infrared
lasers
to melt
the
cellulite
fat and
automated
massage
to
channel
the
fluid
toward
the
lymphatic
meridians
which
act as
the
body's
natural
drainage
network.
The
product
was
approved
for
distribution
in the
United
States
last
July.
Nancy is
quoted
as
saying,
"Women
want
something
that
works
and are
willing
to pay."
The
SmoothShapes
machines
will be
manufactured
by a
Welsh
company,
Chromogenex,
Ltd.,
that
will
also
distribute
the
product
in the
European
Union.
Nancy
Briefs
is a
member
of CEO
Roundtable.
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Peter Savas, chairman of
Boston
Life
Sciences,
announced
that
Robert
Langer,
a well-known MIT
professor
and
prolific
inventor,
has
been
named
chairman
of
the
new
science
and
technology
committee
of
the
company.
Other members of the company's new committee include
Henry
Brem
of
Johns
Hopkins
and
Gary
Frashier
of
Management
Associates.
The three also serve as independent members of the
company's
board
of
directors.
Boston Life Sciences develops diagnostics and therapeutic
products
for
disorders
of
the
central
nervous
system.
The story was reported in Mass High Tech
on
March
23.
Peter is a member of CEO Roundtable®.
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Nancy
Briefs, CEO of SmoothShapes, announced that the
company
has
completed
"Series
B"
financing
of $15m
from
Three
Arch
Partners.
The
funds
will be
used to
support
the
worldwide
launch
of the
company's
first
product,
SmoothShapes(R)
100
System.
The
product
FDA-cleared
to treat
cellulite.
It uses
lasers
at
predetermined
wave
lengths
in the
visible
and
infrared
spectrums
with
vacuum
massage
to
effect
the
treatment
of
cellulite.
Nancy
Briefs
said,
"We take
great
pride in
the fact
that our
claims
about
SmoothShapes
100 are
based
exclusively
on the
results
obtained
in a
rigorous,
independent
clinical
study of
the
System."
The
study
concluded
that 81%
of the
patients
experienced
"significant
volumetric
reduction
in
subcutaneous
fat."
The
SmoothSahpes
100
System
can
smooth
out
bumps
and
decease
the
circumference
of a
women's
thighs,
making
them
feel
firmer
and
smoother.
Targeted
markets
for the
SmoothShapes
100
System
will
include
not only
traditional
practitioners
of
aesthetic
procedures
--
plastic
surgeons
and
dermatologists
-- but
also
non-traditional
practitioners,
such as
ON/GYN
and
primary
care
specialists,
as well
medi-spas,
aseptic
clinics
and
health
clubs.
The
story
was
reported
in
today's
issues
of Mass
High
Tech
and in
Medical
Device
Daily.
Nancy is
a member
of CEO
Roundtable.
SmoothShapes
is
headquartered
in
Merrimack,
NH.
Congratulations
to Nancy
and her
team on
the
successful
(and
fast)
closing
on the
Series B
and the
very
rapid
move to
commercialization.
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Steve
Damalas, owner of New England Data Services (NEDS),
and
Tim
Lawlor,
owner of
RetroFit
Technology,
partnered
to win a
contract
from
Watertown
Public
Schools
for
its data
systems
and
network
maintenance.
Both
Steve
and Tim
are
members
of CEO
Roundtable.
Steve
Damalas
started
NEDS to
leverage
the
investment
he had
made
in internal
data
systems
and make
use of
the
excess
space
in his
company,
Electronic
Fasteners,
in
Waltham.
He then
invested
to build
a top
class
network
hosting
site. Craig
Brenner
is the
President
of NEDS.
Tim
Lawlor's
company,
RetroFit, is
thirty
years
old
and has
been a
major
state
contractor
for
years.
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Kirtland Poss, CEO of VisEn
Medical,
announced
that
his
company
has
begun
a
multiyear
research
and
development
program
with
Merck
& Co.
to
develop
fluorescence
imaging
agents
to
image
biomarkers.
The
program
involves
the
use
of
imaging
agents
to
measure
disease
progression
in
cardiovascular
disease.
Other
disease
targets
include
oncology
and
bone.
The
story
is
reported
in
Mass
High
Tech,
March
6.
Congratulations to Kirt and his team as they continue
to
build
the
commercial
strength
of
VisEn
Medical.
Kirt is a member of CEO Roundtable.
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Mark Leuchtenberger, CEO of Targanta Therapeutics,
was
in
the Boston
Globe
and
Mass
High
Tech
on
Friday,
February
9.
MHT reported that Targanta Therapeutics
of
Cambridge,
closed
a
$70M
third
round
of
financing.
Targanta
Therapeutics
is
asking
The
FDA
for
approval
of
its
new
antibacterial
drug,
Oritavancin.
The
drug
is a
treatment
for
complicated
skin
and
skin
structure
infections
that
are
often
acquired
in
hospitals
and
are
very
resistant
to
other
anti-biotics.
The
drug
has
already
cleared
two
Phase
3
clinical
trials.
This
round
of
financing
was led
by
Brookside
Capital,
Skyline
Ventures,
Radius
Ventures
and
OrbiMed
Advisors.
The Boston Globe featured
Targanta
on
the
front
page
of
its
Business
section
in a
story
on
how
new
drugs
are
being
developed
from
microbes
discoverd
in
soil.
The
search
for
new
antibiotics
has
been
receiving
much
more
attention
as
the
"superbugs"
that
resisit
known
treatments
increase.
The
Globe
story
details
some
of
the
long
journey
of
this
new
drug
from microbes
in
the soil
of
Haiti
to
the
next
new
thing
awaiting
FDA
approval.
Mark Leuchtenberger is a member of CEO Roundtable.
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Mass High Tech included the
photos
of
six
members
who attended the CEO Roundtable seminar
on
the
book
The
Leadership
Talk,
led
by author,
Brent
Filson
last
month.
Pictured
were
Sarah
Fuller,
President
of
Decison
Resources,
Mike
Webb,
CEO
of
Ascent
Therapeutics
(and
Chairman
of
the
Mass
Biotech
Council),
Anita
Myer,
CEO
of
Boston
Neurofeedback,
Bonni
DiMatteo,
President
of
Atlantic
Consulting,
Nancy
Kolligian,
CEO
of
Distributor
Corp.
of
New
England,
and
Ben
Ticho,
Executive
Director
of
Big
Brothers/Big
Sisters
of
Central
Mass.
(MHT,
Jan
12,
page
19)
Brent Filson's book The Leadership
Talk:
The
Greatest
Leadership
Tool, was
a
National
Book
Award
finalist
and
was
named
a
Best
Book
of
the
Year
by
the Bay
Area
Publishers
Association.
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Errol DeSouza, CEO of Archemix Corp., announced that
his
company
has
signed
an
agreement
with
Merck
to
team
up
on a
multiyear,
multitarget
program
that
focuses
on
aptamer-based
technologies
to
treat
cancer.
Aptamers
are
single-stranded
nucleic
acids
that
can
be
formed
into
3-D
shapes,
allowing
them
to
bind
target
molecules
in a
manner
similar
to
that
of antibodies.
See
www.archemix.com - the story is reported in Mass High Tech,
Jan.
18.
Congratulations to Errol and his team on this business
success.
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Peter Savas, Chairman and CEO of Boston Life Sciences,
announced
that his
company has
acquired the
rights to
develop and
commercialize
Cethrin, a
promising
Phase II
spinal cord
injury
drug. BLS
bid $35M for
this license
from
BioAxone
Therapeutic
of Montreal,
Canada,
according to
the story in
Mass High
Tech,
1/4/07.
Boston Life Sciences is focused on diagnostic and
therapeutic
products for
central
nervous
system
disorders.
Cethrin will
be a
complementary
addition to
BLS's
product
line. It
has
demonstrated
very good
trial
results in
the
treatment of
acute spinal
cord
injury. The
FDA has
designated
Cethrin as
an 'Orphan
Drug' which
could
accelerate
certain
regulatory
approvals
and gives
BLS a
seven-year
market
exclusivity.
Peter Savas is a member of CEO Roundtable.
Congratulations
to Peter and
his team for
the success
they have
had in
turning
around BLS.
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