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Biotech / Medical : Vion (formerly Oncorx) interesting play on Gene Therapy -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Oravetz who wrote (210)	10/17/2000 12:41:12 PM
From: Jim Oravetz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 370

NEW HAVEN — The resumes were piling up on the tables Monday at the bioscience job fair as Vion Pharmaceutical’s Dan Chapman wondered if he’d brought enough promotional material for all the applicants. Chapman, Vion’s director of human resources, said he was amazed at the response to the job fair that featured smaller companies like New Haven’s Vion and Achillion Pharmaceuticals, along with industry titans like Bayer Corp., Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer Inc. Held at the Omni New Haven Hotel, the job fair was one of three events sponsored by CURE, Connecticut’s official bioscience organization. CURE — which stands for Connecticut United for Research Excellence — also held a "Boot Camp" for emerging bioscience firms and convened its 11th annual meeting. The boot camp featured basic training in subjects such as venture financing, strengthening a balance sheet and using options to attract and retain managers. Watching the steady parade of resume-toting job candidates, Chapman called the showing "very, very positive" and said it shows what a growth industry biotechnology has become. "You can tell," Chapman said. "All the companies are here." Like many Connecticut biotechs, Vion, which is developing anti-cancer treatments, wants to expand. Chapman said the company went to the fair to cull applicants with doctoral and master’s degrees for Vion’s research and development efforts. Across the room at Protein Sciences Corp.’s table, Human Resources Manager Elaine Pellegrino was trumpeting the firm’s casual dress policy and talking about last year’s company-sponsored river-rafting expedition. Protein Sciences cannot compete with the mega-salaries offered by large employers, Pellegrino said, but it "can compete in atmosphere." In preparing for Monday’s fair, Pellegrino huddled with the Meriden company’s younger scientists to see what attracts recent college grads. "Casual dress is a big thing," she said. One college student attracted to the fair was Yale University junior Julian Revie. Revie, a molecular, biophysics and biochemistry major dropped by the fair both as a prospective employee and employer. Revie, secretary of the 700-member Yale Entrepreneurial Society, said he showed up "for tips on starting a biotech business." YES is the university’s largest organization, he said, and many students want to replicate Yale’s success in spinning off laboratory research into successful start-ups like Vion, Genaissance Pharmaceuticals and Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Biotechnology as a business, Revie said, "is something that can’t be ignored anymore." The number of attendees at Monday’s events seemed to back up that assertion, said Albert F. May Jr., CURE’s managing director of communications and public policy. May said the day’s events attracted about 450 people, including scientists, entrepreneurs, job-seekers and venture capitalists. CURE’s first meeting in 1989 was "two hours long and had less than 50 people," May said. CURE Co-Chairman Harry H. Penner Jr., told the luncheon crowd he also was pleased at the turnout. Penner, who serves as president and chief executive officer of Branford’s Neurogen Corp., said the attendance indicated a "surge in interest" in the state’s biotech and pharmaceutical industries. "It’s the first gathering where I’ve actually had a hard time meeting everyone," Penner said. zwire.com