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VIROLOGY RESEARCH AND THERAPEUTIC PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Paul D. Olivo, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer
893 N. Warson Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63141
314/812-8056
www.apath.com
 DR.
PAUL D. OLIVO. M.D., PH.D., Apath, LLC
Apath, LLC, is a biotechnology company specializing in human diseases
caused by viruses. It is engaged in the commercial application of
virology and viral genetics to discover and develop a broad range
of novel diagnostic and therapeutic products for viral infections.
“We are particularly focused on the discovery of drugs to treat
viruses such as hepatitis C,” notes Paul D. Olivo, M.D., Ph.D.,
president and chief scientific officer. Apath’s founder, Dr. Charles
M. Rice, is a world-renowned expert on the hepatitis C virus and
the company has an exclusive license to several key patents in the
field of hepatitis C.
Olivo believes the company’s research is also helping America’s
war on terrorism. “Apath’s expertise in medical virology places
us in a key position to contribute to the national effort on bioterrorism.
Many of the important potential bioterrorism agents are viruses
and Apath has responded to the call for proposals from government
agencies to address better ways to diagnose and treat a number of
bioterrorism agents,” he states. The company, which was founded
in 1997, is located in the Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise
and has 15 full- and part-time employees.
LIFE SCIENCES INSTRUMENTATION DEVELOPMENT
Douglas L. Martin, President & CEO
5918 Evergreen Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63134
314/552-3194
www.coretech-holdings.com
Coretech Holdings, LLC, develops and sells highly specialized instrumentation
used in life sciences research, as well as some clinical applications.
In all, the company markets more than 800 highly specialized products
to university researchers around the world. Doug Martin, president
& CEO, says what sets Coretech apart is its business model of bricks
and mortar manufacturing and distribution with the “best of” Internet
company operations. “We rely on heavy investments in research and
development to identify and fulfill unmet needs in the laboratory
research marketplace. Our customer service staff includes research
Ph.D.s who provide technical support on every product the company
sells,” he says.
One of Coretech’s products in development targets the brain. “One
of the things we’re most proud about these days is our work on a
new, first-of-its-kind, brain injection device that we’re developing
in collaboration with Harvard Medical School. This tool is expected
to improve outcomes on both stem cell research and the treatment
of Parkinson’s disease, Huntington disease and other neurological
ailments.” The National Institutes of Health is helping fund its
development. The company, founded in 1999, has 20 employees that
founded and run a charity called Angel Wishes.
NEMATODE RESEARCH AND CONTROL
Derek Rapp, CEO
893 N. Warson Road
St. Louis, MO 63141
314/812-8024
www.divergence.com
“We focus on solutions and the control of parasites, particularly
nematodes—the round worms that infect plants, animals and humans,”
says Derek Rapp, CEO. Divergence, Inc., was founded in 1999 and
has 15 employees working to safely minimize the damage nematodes
inflict. “Approximately $9 billion in plant damage in the United
States is done by nematodes,” Rapp points out. Nematodes are the
heart worms that infect dogs and the pin worms that infect children.
Rapp notes that 200,000 people die each year throughout the world
due to nematode-related illness.
The company works with publicly-available genetic information to
identify ways to shut off the gene within the nematode sequence
to minimize the damage it does or to kill it. Thousands of species
of nematodes exist and Rapp says the world may wonder why it should
care if the company succeeds in its current plant-specific research.
“Current compounds have toxic elements and some growers won’t use
them and just deal with the yield loss, or others will use these
compounds and have to deal with the toxicity,” he states. The company
will eventually take this genetic information on nematodes to help
animals and, eventually, humans.
In March, Rapp was praised by President George W. Bush for his civic
leadership in a speech given to hundreds of small-business owners
at a roundtable at Albers Manufacturing Company. Rapp is the founder
of St. Louis Cares, a United Way agency that matches volunteers
with groups and projects in need of help. Bush said: “Derek is the
CEO of a small bio-tech firm. He is an economic entrepreneur. But
I’m heralding Derek today because he’s also a social entrepreneur.
He’s a person that understands that with freedom comes the responsibility
to love a neighbor like you’d like to be loved yourself. And I appreciate
that spirit, Derek.”
WHOLESALE NUSERY AND PLANT RESEARCH
Hugh Steavenson, Executive Vice President
88 Keeling Lane
Elsberry, MO 63343
573/898-5571
www.fknursery.com
Founded in 1949, Forrest Keeling Nursery grows a million container
plants and four million bare-root plants for the wholesale nursery
market. Situated on 700 acres 50 miles outside of St. Louis, the
company is actively researching how to make roots stronger for transplant
and resistant to heat, drought and cold. “We have a patent pending
on our root production method, which is all natural and helps plants
grow stronger, faster,” says Hugh Steavenson, executive vice president.
He gives an example: “An oak tree may grow one foot in a year, but
with Forrest Keeling’s root production method, it can grow five
feet in a year.” Steavenson says this is done by eliminating the
taproot and developing a mass of fiber feeder roots that can take
on more nutrients and water.
The company has also developed a soil-less mix for planting. “We’re
doing ongoing research on mixes and fertilization rates that will
produce the greatest results in mixed species,” he notes. The family-owned
business employs 100 people and ships its plants throughout the
continental US and Canada.
ORTHOBIOLOGIC THERAPY RESEARCH
Joseph Feder, Ph.D., Chairman, CEO & President
1155 Olivette Executive Parkway, Suite 200
St. Louis, MO 63132
314/995-6049
www.istotech.com
Isto Technologies, Inc., is a biotechnology company that seeks to
develop products for the repair, replacement and regeneration of
human tissue that has been injured or destroyed by trauma or disease.
The company’s primary focus is on orthobiologic therapies, and its
initial product is an in vitro cultured cartilage graft for
the repair or replacement of injured or diseased cartilage of the
knee or other joints. Other products include a natural surgical
adhesive, a human tissue transglutaminase enzyme for bonding soft
tissues, neocartilage test plates for drug discovery, and a bone
tissue-derived allograft material for inducing bone repair in orthopaedic
and spinal surgery.
Joseph Feder, president, CEO & chairman, says, “What sets us apart
from the competition is the company’s unique technology for producing
a biologically viable, in vitro cultured cartilage, termed
Neocartilage, which has been shown to integrate into the native
tissue and heal an articular cartilage injury. The technology is
based on a unique approach to growing cartilage tissue from cells,
one which exploits the cell’s own potential for forming tissue.”
Founded in 1997, Isto Technologies employs 15 people.
REAGENT DEVELOPER FOR DIABETES AND OBESITY RESEARCH
Ron Gingerich, Ph.D., CEO
14 Research Park Dr.
St. Charles, MO 63304
636/441-8050
www.lincoresearch.com
Since 1978, LINCO Research, Inc., has been devoted to developing
assays that meet the needs of scientists working in areas of diabetes
and obesity research. This year LINCO introduced the LINCOplex human
cytokine kit for simultaneous multi-analyte detection and measurement
of 11 cytokines. This kit is the first in the LINCOplex line of
immunoassay products. In the coming months, LINCO will introduce
a murine cytokine panel and endocrine panels for diabetes/obesity
research. LINCO develops and performs immunoassays on human and
animal research specimens. This expertise is offered to its pharmaceutical
and academic customers as an additional support of laboratory projects.
The company’s most recognizable product offerings, Human, Primate,
Rat and Mouse Leptin RIA Kits are used worldwide. Other LINCO RIA’s
include its insulin-specific assay that measures “true” insulin
and does not cross-react. Its Rat Insulin RIA continues to remain
the premier assay for measurement of rat and mouse insulins.
This is the fourth year Linco has been ranked in the Top 50.
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
Nathan Lakey, President & CEO
4041 Forest Park Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63108
314/615-6977
www.oriongenomics.com
Orion Genomics, which is housed in the Center for Emerging Technologies,
is an agricultural research company dedicated to the improvement
of crops through a better understanding of the structure and function
of plant genes. “The company was started to take many of the technologies
that were developed during the Human Genome Project and to apply
those technologies to the agricultural sector,” says Nathan Lakey,
president and CEO. The company’s Gene Thresher platform technology
enables rapid discovery of genes responsible for important agronomic
traits in crops such as corn, wheat and soy at a cost and time reduction
of two- to 30-fold. “We develop technologies that address bottlenecks
in the product development in agriculture,” he notes. For example,
Orion is working to construct gene networks and discover traits
such as drought resistance, making corn more tolerant to less rain
for longer than normal periods.
In addition to improving plant production, the company also researches
renewable energy. Orion, which was founded in 1998 and has 16 employees,
recently received a $15 million cost-sharing grant from the Department
of Energy to enhance sorghum, so its contribution to ethanol and
plastic production is improved.
One of the four founders of Orion, Richard K. Wilson, Ph.D., associate
professor of genetics and of molecular microbiology, was recently
named director of the Genome Sequencing Center at Washington University
School of Medicine in St. Louis. Last year, he played a significant
role in the mapping and sequencing of the human genome, and in the
mapping of the mouse genome, completed earlier this year.
DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING
D. Skip Sallee, M.D., President & CEO
893 N. Warson Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63141
314/812-8050
www.qs-r.com
Quick Study Radiology (QSR) is a technology-driven services company
targeting the needs of hospitals, imaging centers and physicians
associated with and working in the diagnostic imaging sector of
healthcare. QSR offers digital imaging services to community hospitals
and imaging centers, and billing services for imaging centers and
radiologists. Skip Sallee, president and CEO, says five parameters
set it apart from the competition: a lower cost structure that enables
a lower price with appropriate margins to ensure long-term viability,
integration services and rigorous project execution, per exam pricing
model (which eliminates the large capital expenditure requirement),
comprehensive offerings, and a clear market focus on community hospitals.
Headquartered in the Nidus Center (but is expected to move out on
its own by year end), QSR was founded in May 2000 and has more than
50 employees. The company is proud of the ROI it provides community
hospitals that use its services, which includes a 90 percent reduction
in film and chemical costs after five months, a 20 to 40 percent
increase in technologist productivity, and a minimum of two percent
lost film recovery that translates to a minimum of $30,000 in average
annual new revenue.
LIFE SCIENCES PRODUCT DEVELOPER
David R. Harvey, Chairman, President & CEO
3050 Spruce St.
St. Louis, MO 63103
314/771-5765
www.sigma-aldrich.com
Sigma-Aldrich (NASDAQ: SIAL) is a leading life science and technology
company. Its biochemical and organic chemical products and kits
are used in scientific and genomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical
development, the diagnosis of disease and chemical manufacturing.
The company has customers in life science companies, university
and government institutions, hospitals and industry. Headquartered
in midtown St. Louis, Sigma-Aldrich operates in 34 countries and
has 6,500 employees providing excellent service worldwide.
In 2001, Sigma-Aldrich added 7,000 new products through purchasing
companies and their products or through producing the products in-house.
This brings the company’s total number of products offered worldwide
to more than 85,000. Sigma-Aldrich recently completed its new $55
million research and development center in St. Louis and is now
home to more than 100 R&D scientists, including many newly hired
life science researchers. Last year the company earned more than
$1 billion in revenue.
Also, in 2001 they won the Spirit of St. Louis Technology Award
in recognition of its long-term commitment to the community and
sustained success in the technology industry.
DRUG DISCOVERY RESEARCH
John P. McAlister, III, M.D., President & CEO
1699 S. Hanley Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63144
314/647-1099
www.tripos.com
DR.
JOHN P. MCALISTER, III, Tripos, Inc.
Tripos (NASDAQ: TRPS) is a leading provider of discovery chemistry,
integrated discovery software products, software consulting services,
and discovery research services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology,
agrochemical, and other life sciences industries. The company combines
information technology and scientific research to optimize and accelerate
molecular research for the discovery of new products by customers.
Tripos’ approach to improving drug discovery provides a seamless
pathway from disease target to validated drug candidate through
a unique combination of core technologies. These include sophisticated
software for molecular design and analysis, high-throughput chemical
synthesis of designed chemical compounds, and informatics consulting
services that tightly integrate the entire discovery process.
Tripos has been a recognized leader for 20-plus years in developing
innovative computational solutions for drug discovery research.
This is their fourth appearance in the Top 50 ratings. The company,
with more than 300 employees, has more than 1,000 customers in 46
countries, including the top pharmaceutical companies worldwide
such as Bayer, Bristol Myers, Merck, Pfizer, Scheering, A.G. and
Squibb.
>>Information Technology
Companies
>>Plant & Life
Sciences Companies
>>Advanced
Manufacturing Companies
>>The Spirit
of St. Louis Technology Award
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