Guest Entrepreneur Information - January 17, 2006
Focus on Biotech, Life Sciences, Medical Devices
Mitchell Sanders, Ph.D. '88, '92
Founder and President, ECI Biotech, Inc.
6 Park Avenue
Worcester, MA 01605
508-752-2209
E-mail: nfo@ecibiotech.com
Dr. Sanders is a leader in the field of protein engineering, purification and assay development. Before founding ECI Biotech in 1998, he worked as a Senior Scientist II at Genome Therapeutics, where he worked in the Pathogens Program. He holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and completed postdoctoral training at the Whitehead Institute at MIT. Dr. Sanders has secured $5M in private equity and $6.5M in corporate sponsored product development programs.
Albert G. Prescott '90 CM
Founder, President & CEO, Crescent Innovations
6 Park Avenue
Worcester, MA 01605
508-764-8604
Crescent Innovations
Dr. Prescott has held many positions in the technical and customer service field of the polymer, pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device fields. His responsibilities have included all aspects of operations including facility construction management, product development, project management, budget management and personnel management. Mr. Prescott has led numerous cross-functional teams in the areas of new drug/device development from projects as simple as generic drug approval, to devices as complicated as bio-artificial pancreases. Mr. Prescott has worked and consulted for some of the preeminent biotech and biomaterials companies including Genzyme, Genetics Institute, BASF, Bioresearch, and W. R. Grace and Company. He was a senior process development engineer at Anika Therapeutics Inc., a manufacturer of HA-based ophthalmic, orthopedic, and surgical scar reduction products. Mr. Prescott has a Bachelor of Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Biotechnology and a Master of Science from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Crescent Innovations, Inc. was founded in 2000 and incorporated in Delaware in 2001 to develop products using proprietary polymer technology. These state-of-the-art polymers are used to treat both chronic and acute pain, as well as controlled release/drug delivery products.
Ron Ranauro '83 MG, '88 CS
Executive Vice President & General Manager, Gene-IT, Inc.
1700 West Park Drive Suite 260
Westboro, Massachusetts 01581
508-616-0100
Gene-it, Inc.
Ron Ranauro is president and chief executive officer of Gene-IT a bioinformatics company providing sequence search and navigation software to the life sciences. Gene-IT's innovative technology provides relevant answers to questions about the human genome asked by scientists and attorneys today, and by clinicians and physicians in the future. The company's flagship product, GenomeQuest, is an easy-to-use Web-based application that integrates, mines and analyzes sequence data from dozens of scientific and patent sources worldwide. GenomeQuest's proprietary sequence analysis capabilities help the world's leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies make faster and more accurate decisions on their gene and protein discoveries. Its automated alerting, report publishing and knowledge-sharing capabilities enhance the productivity of all users. The company is based in Westboro, Massachusetts.
Mr. Ranauro is a 1983 WPI graduate with a BS in Business Management and an '88 MS in Computer Science.
Lisa T. Sasso
Lisa Sasso is the US founder and past President/CEO of RADI Medical Systems, Inc. RADI is a high tech medical device distributor specializing in the Sales/Marketing of several innovative cardiology products that improve patient care. Lisa's vision and strategic direction were responsible for the company's explosive growth, with annual triple digit revenue since RADI's inception in 1998 and profitability for five out of six. years. By understanding the impact of new technology and the philosophic change required of customers, Lisa was able to market the company and products directly to physicians, hospital staff and hospital administration. Using skills developed in a variety of previous roles in Sales, Marketing, Finance and Accounting, Lisa hired, trained, and developed key employees to execute her business plan, which was founded on being the best in customer service and stressed the importance of education, support, and training.
A strong sales background along with Lisa's innovative approach to Marketing at both USCI (a division of CR Bard) and RADI included launching several new products and programs such as "Cases and Cocktails" and "Meet the Experts", and developing "Educational Abstract Books" for each trade show. These new approaches were recognized by her peers who have now adopted them. However, Lisa's strongest "skill" is her passion. It is this passion that attracted a team of seasoned medical device professionals with over 565 years of combined industry experience. She also shared her passion with her customers and early on Lisa was able to build a strong physician advisory board that was motivated by Lisa's ability to get them excited about new technologies that could assist them in making better treatment decisions.
In December of 2004 she was recognized for her efforts and ranked #28 out of 100 Women Led businesses in Massachusetts.
Prior to RADI, Lisa worked at USCI in both Product Management and Market Research Management roles. While at USCI, she pursued and earned her MBA in Management from Bentley Graduate School of Business and graduated with honors. Prior to Bard, Lisa worked at Filene's (a division of May Department Stores) as an Assistant Buyer in a number of different clothing and accessory departments, and in multiple supervisory roles in both Accounting and Finance. Lisa received both her BBA degree in Marketing as well as a BA degree in Economics from The University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Most recently, Lisa has been working as the Principal for Sasso Solutions, a start-up Medical consulting company connecting doctors, engineers and companies in a collaborative way with the ultimate goal of improving patient care. Sasso Solutions works to identify and assess new concepts and technologies, determine how to address unmet customer needs and define and execute strategies for product development and possible commercialization or partnership efforts. As a result of this effort, a new company was formed in 2005 and Lisa is one of four co-founders of Medical Development Partners, LLC.
Lisa currently serves as a Board Member for two Medical Education Service companies and one non-profit organization, the Medical Device Group (MDG) Forum. In addition to board duties, Lisa is a Co-Program Director for MDG's twenty-two annual meetings.
John A. Sasso
John A. Sasso is the past Chief Financial Officer of RADI Medical Systems, Inc. RADI is a high tech medical device distributor (annual sales of app. $30M) specializing in the Sales/Marketing of several innovative cardiology products that improve patient care. As its' third employee, John was responsible for supporting company growth by developing all the necessary infrastructure and internal functions and establishing close working relationships with legal, audit, banking, and other service firms. As a member of the US Board of Directors, John was an integral part of the strategic planning process; participating in sales forecasting and marketing and sales program creation. John led the organization through the annual review process (performed by PWC) and helped adjust worldwide policies associated with revenue recognition and capital inventory accounting to meet US market requirements.
John received his BSEE and MSEE both from Tufts University and applied his technical skills at MITRE, a Federally Funded Research and Development Corporation. John worked as a member of both an Air Force project team and functional department and excelled in multitasking and working on concurrent projects. While still working at MITRE, John pursued and earned his MBA at Bentley College (graduating as Class Valedictorian) and then pursued a career as a project manager at Iris Graphics. As Iris' first project manager, John's challenge was to implement a philosophical change in business processes. The result was a successful launch of a next-generation proofing quality printer (IrisPRINT(tm)), coupled with new ink and media disposables, improving customer satisfaction, profit margins and revenue.
John has succeeded in product and project driven environments, staying focused on customer needs, and implementing quality systems and processes as required. A common thread in all of John's prior roles was the need for creating and implementing successful business strategies and then defining and executing plans to achieve specific objectives. John has built a successful career by providing leadership, fostering teamwork, and developing processes across multiple departments and functions. He has a solid background in financial management and extensive corporate, international, and educational experience. John possesses exceptional organizational, computing and analytical capabilities and quickly adapts to change. John can be characterized as someone who possesses both breadth and depth of experience, coupled with the innate ability to think and learn.
Having earned the rank of Eagle Scout, John remains active with a local Boy Scout Troop and is also a member of the Reading, MA Community Planning and Development Commission. He has earned numerous awards, including the Professor E. William Dandes Award for Graduate Academic Excellence, and is co-author of "A New Approach to Learning: Strategic Alliances and High Technology," published in T.H.E. Journal (October 1997). John is currently working with AlvaMed LLC, a Medical Device consultant company. He has worked on projects in a number of market segments including Urology, Cardiology, Endovascular and Critical Care, and in companies ranging from $400MM to billion dollar divisions of multi-national organizations.
Maintained by webmaster@wpi.eduLast modified: May 22, 2007 11:25:49