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Genstruct, Inc. to lead Knowledge Assembly Panel at the BioIT World Conference
Cambridge, MA - March 14, 2002 - Genstruct, Inc., a pioneer in Digital Systems Biology, will unveil its business strategy and innovative approach to knowledge assembly at the BioIT World Conference in Boston, MA on March 14, 2002. In the company's first public appearance, Navin Chandra, ScD, Chief Technology Officer, will lead a panel discussion on the future of knowledge assembly. Dr. Chandra will detail Genstruct's vision and novel technology approach for enabling biological discovery connections in pharmaceutical research and development.
Though Genstruct is less that a year old, it has deep roots in the biotech and IT industries. The company was established in June 2001 by a team from NewcoGen, a Flagship Ventures Fund. Genstruct's founders include: Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., who is Senior Managing Director and CEO of Flagship Ventures and has been a cofounder of a number of biotech companies including PerSeptive Biosystems, Chemgenics Pharmaceuticals and Celera Genomics; William Strecker, Ph.D., who is Senior V.P. Strategy and Technology at NewcoGen and was Chief Technology Officer at Compaq Computer Corporation and Digital Equipment Corporation; and Genstruct CEO Mike Masterson, who was cofounder and CEO of KMI and V.P. of Parexel. In addition to Masterson, the Genstruct management team includes Chief Technology Officer Navin Chandra, ScD, formerly of Perot Systems and Carnegie Mellon, and Chief Scientific Officer Jeffrey D. Thomas, M.D., PhD, formerly of Pfizer and Millennium Pharmaceuticals.
Genstruct's scientific advisors include Eric Neumann, Ph.D., V.P. Bioinformatics at Beyond Genomics, and Atul Butte, M.D., Professor at Harvard Medical School. The Genstruct Board of Directors includes Afeyan, Strecker, and Roger Heinen, a former Sr. V.P. of Microsoft Corporation and Apple Computer.
"Over the last decade, genomics-driven research and automated assay systems have led to an explosion of data. The challenge of the next decade is to establish and manage meaningful connections between these disparate data sets. Making these connections results in biological knowledge assembly that our customers need to accelerate their research and development programs," Mike Masterson, CEO explained. "Genstruct's mission is to become the leader in providing discovery connection environments based on automated knowledge assembly technologies. We believe these discovery environments will address the connection bottle-neck that is currently the rate-limiting step in progressive discovery organizations," Masterson continued.
"Bioinformatics increasingly focuses on a constructionist approach. It seeks to construct knowledge out of the deconstructed state created by measurement devices", said Dr. Afeyan, Chairman. "We believe that Genstruct's approach of Digital Systems Biology will offer unique capabilities well beyond those provided by other companies marketing databases of biological content or data mining and visualization tools."
About Genstruct, Inc.
Genstruct, the leader in providing Discovery Connection Systems, is the first company to apply a Knowledge Assembly(TM) approach to drug discovery and development. This approach leverages data and content acquisition and analysis infrastructure to provide new insights in order to accelerate drug discovery. Genstruct licenses its proprietary systems, which incorporate knowledge assembly tools and discovery-specific content, across a portfolio of applications in drug discovery, product development and diagnostics. The Company was co-founded by NewcoGen, a Flagship Ventures fund, based in Cambridge, MA. For more information visit www.genstruct.com.
About Flagship Ventures
Flagship Ventures is a venture investment and entrepreneurship firm founded in 1999. The firm has a vision for a new breed convergence between classic venture capital and entrepreneurial venture creation. Flagship Ventures includes a family of venture funds comprising OneLiberty Funds, AGTC Funds and NewcoGen Group. Flagship Ventures is currently investing from $400 million in funds raised in 2000, and manages a total pool of committed capital approaching $600 million. The Flagship Ventures team includes over 25 professionals focused on creating, financing, and building companies in the information technology, communications, and life science sectors. Flagship Ventures is strongly committed to its portfolio companies who have full access to the firm's collective industry expertise and extensive network.
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