March 2 is the 2010 BioBeers Launch at Twisted Pine in Boulder

Kickoff the 2010 BioBeers Season at "BioBeers - Boulder" on March 2. BioBeers wonderful friends at the Twisted Pine will host (click for details & signup) Note: please arrive promptly at 6:30 p.m.

This will be a special event with a chance to talk and connect with local life science leaders, such as Rick Duke Ph.D. and Kevin Smith of CID4 as well as Robin Shandas, Ph.D., head of the new Bioengineering Department at University of Colorado-Denver and research professor of mechanical engineering at CU-Boulder. All three will be speaking about their ongoing efforts to elevate Colorado bioscience.

Dr. Richard C. Duke, Ph.D. is a biotechnology executive, inventor, biomedical researcher and serial entrepreneur with fifteen years of experience in building, financing, and managing start-up biotechnology companies based on inventions made in Colorado's non-profit research institutions. He is currently Co-scientific Founder, President and CEO of ApopLogic Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Duke is a Co-scientific Founder and former CEO, President and Director of GlobeImmune, Inc. and was involved in the formation of Sierra Neuropharmaceuticals where he was an initial Director. These Colorado-based companies have raised more than $150 million in financing and have multiple products in phase 1 and 2 human clinical trials. In addition to his entrepreneurial activities, Dr. Duke has over twenty-five years of experience in cutting-edge biomedical research and is a tenured faculty member in the Departments of Medicine (Medical Oncology) and Immunology at the University of Colorado Denver. Dr. Duke has provided independent 3rd party life research analysis in the life sciences sector to Janus Capital and to venture capital firms.

Kevin M. Smith was a member of the group that developed the business plan and State Grant proposal which resulted in the creation of CID4. Prior to joining CID4, Kevin was Managing Director of Act Three Consulting, LLC. Act Three was formed in July 2007 to provide consulting services to management teams and their advisors during times of dramatic change. Prior to founding Act Three, Kevin spent nine years as President of Gambro, Inc., the US holding company for the publicly-traded, Swedish-based Gambro Group, until its acquisition by private equity investors in 2006. The US operations of Gambro included the manufacture and distribution of cardiovascular (CV), blood separation and renal dialysis products and the operation of US and international kidney dialysis centers. Before joining Gambro, Kevin was an audit partner in the Denver and New York offices of Ernst & Young, specializing in entrepreneurial services and led the formation of E&Y's Denver Life Sciences Practice. Kevin graduated from Kansas State University in 1970 and worked in New York until his relocation to Colorado in 1988.

Robin Shandas, Ph.D. is the head of the new Bioengineering Department at University of Colorado-Denver and research professor of mechanical engineering at CU-Boulder. This new program will be a driver of economic development in bioengineering fields (Colorado has more than 150 medical device companies). Several companies and jobs have already been created due to bioengineering research in Colorado and this program will continue to grow the medical technology industry and research labs in the state. CU-based startups that could be classified as Bioengineering include: 2C Tech Corp, BioTricity Medical, Cello Bioengineering, EndoShape, Illumasonix, Locomotion, MedShape Solutions, Precision Biopsy, Physical Activities Innovation and TissueFusion. Since 2006, this set of companies has raised more than $20.5 million in grants and seed financing.

For details and to RSVP: http://www.biobeers.com