King of Pessinus, a city of Phrygia, Midas he was and everything he touched turned to gold. What then do you call the individual who accounts for nearly $4B in shareholder value creation in less than one-year? …King Freytag is he! So how does one follow-up with directing Myogen’s November 2006 $2.5B exit to Gilead [...]

• 240http://clsdf.com/2007/10/victoria-bc-and-back/Victoria%2C+BC+and+Back2007-10-18+22%3A16%3A00admin

(Amgen logo circa 1983)Thanks to my biobeer buddies who beat me to the punch on this not so small tidbit. Dr. Marvin H. Caruthers professor in the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Colorado donated a whopping $20MM to be allocated towards the construction of the $115MM Systems Biotechnology Building which will [...]

• 216http://clsdf.com/2007/09/now-that-is-giving-back/Now+That+is+Giving+Back%212007-09-14+14%3A28%3A00admin

Continuing the literary theme for a bit… When Jeff Bojar attorney extraordinaire at Snell & Wilmer passed along his recent review of Marc Zimmer’s Glowing Genes: A Revolution in Biotechnology I was quickly transported to a time when I was helping to create a series of Plakoglobin deletion mutants to be used for experiments in [...]

• 199http://clsdf.com/2007/08/an-illuminating-review/An+Illuminating+Review2007-08-08+06%3A01%3A00admin

The following is a message from Dr. J. William Freytag, President and CEO of Aspreva Pharma (NASDAQ: ASPV) and former helmsman of Myogen who lead the $2.5 billion exit to Gilead (NASDAQ: GILD). If one subscribes to the notion of “betting on management” such an investor may be unquestionably moved to pick up some shares [...]

• 196http://clsdf.com/2007/08/following-along-with-dr-bill-freytag%e2%80%a6/Following+Along+With+Dr.+Bill+Freytag%E2%80%A62007-08-01+16%3A12%3A00admin

It appears as though Bill Freytag, Ph.D. former chief executive of Myogen will be assuming the CEO and chair positions with Aspreva Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ASPV) effective immediately. We wish him the best of luck in this next chapter and appreciate all that Dr. Freytag has done for the Colorado life science landscape. Aspreva, based in [...]

• 193http://clsdf.com/2007/07/j-william-freytag-ceo-of-aspreva-pharma/J.+William+Freytag%3A+CEO+of+Aspreva+Pharma2007-07-12+05%3A36%3A00admin

Congratulations to Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA who has been appointed as the Academic Director of the Bard Center Bioentrepreneurship Program. Program details may be found (here). The inaugural Class I Bard Bio Fellows are off to the races. The Fellows among others will be taking Dr. Meyers Fundamentals of Bioscience Technology Transfer course beginning in [...]

• 192http://clsdf.com/2007/07/new-bioentrepreneur-director-at-bard/New+Bioentrepreneur+Director+at+Bard2007-07-11+16%3A05%3A00admin

Congratulations to Leslie Leinwand, Ph.D., who is the recipient of a Marsico Endowed Chair of Excellence. The busy Dr. Leiwand is professor and former chair (1995-2006) of molecular, cell and developmental biology at CU Boulder and of cardiology at CU Health Science Center, directs the CU Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology, was a co-founder of Myogen, [...]

• 148http://clsdf.com/2007/01/leslie-leinwand-marsico-endowed-chair/Leslie+Leinwand%3A+Marsico+Endowed+Chair2007-01-09+20%3A12%3A00admin

I was privileged enough to work briefly with Mr. Paul L. Ray. He was a giant of a man,who to his knowledge or not, taught me many invaluable lessons. Beyond the accolades and business acumen I observed a genuine distillation process of boiling matters down to relationships and one-on-one interactions. What an uncanny way of [...]

• 146http://clsdf.com/2007/01/mr-paul-l-ray-1947-2007/Mr.+Paul+L.+Ray+%281947-2007%292007-01-08+03%3A49%3A00admin

(Kieth R. Porter second from left Harvard 1936, courtesy of KRP Foundation) It has been over a year since I addressed my Colorado Life Science Entrepreneur Profile category (time sure does fly…) where I highlighted some of the contributions of Larry Gold. Feeling a bit nostalgic on this Independence Day not only am I reminded [...]

• 102View 4 Comments...http://clsdf.com/2006/07/keith-r-porter-where-it-all-began/Keith+R.+Porter%3A+Where+It+All+Began2006-07-04+19%3A10%3A00admin

Brandon Shaffer, Colorado State Senator, was presented with the national Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Legislator of the Year Award at the Colorado BioScience Association 2006 Annual Membership Meeting. The award was presented by Amgen Colorado’s Eric Bergenson. Senator Shaffer was singled out nationally for his ongoing and extensive support of the bioscience industry in Colorado.

• 90http://clsdf.com/2006/04/brandon-shaffer-bio-legislator-of-the-year/Brandon+Shaffer+-+BIO+Legislator+of+the+Year2006-04-19+04%3A10%3A00admin

I was recently asked one of those questions that at the same time is both incredibly simple and complex: In a few paragraphs what would you tell someone who is thinking of jumping in and doing their first start up company? Certain aspects are obvious. Do the appropriate research. Make sure what you are offering [...]

• 82View 4 Comments...http://clsdf.com/2006/04/guest-blogger-1-harry-ross/Guest+Blogger+%231+-+Harry+Ross2006-04-03+16%3A13%3A00admin

Dr. Ross has served as managing partner of Aweida Venture Partners since 1996. He is currently the CEO for RxKinetix and holds board positions with RxKinetix, X-Sten, Permacharge Corporation, and the Research Board of The Children’s Hospital-Denver. Previously Dr. Ross was a staff emergency physician at Rose Medical Center in Denver and at Longmont United [...]

• 81View 1 Comment...http://clsdf.com/2006/04/guest-blogger-bio-%e2%80%93-harry-ross/Guest+Blogger+Bio+%E2%80%93+Harry+Ross2006-04-03+16%3A01%3A00admin

Larry Gold that is… I would like to consider this the first in a series focusing upon those serial biopharma-entrepreneurs whose impact extends well beyond the borders of Colorado. Dr. Larry Gold, Ph.D. not only fits the mold rather he is whom the mold was cast. Dr. Gold arrived at the University Colorado, Boulder in [...]

• 10View 1 Comment...http://clsdf.com/2005/06/there%e2%80%99s-gold-in-them-thar-flatirons/There%E2%80%99s+Gold+in+Them+Thar+Flatirons2005-06-22+04%3A25%3A00admin