June 2, 2009 (Atlanta, GA) – Thomas H. Callaway, M.D., MBA, has been named Chief Executive Officer of AerovectRx Corporation, an Atlanta-based inhaled, aerosol drug-delivery company.

Prior to joining AerovectRx, Tom was founder and President of Life Science Partner, an executive search firm focused on recruiting scientific and managerial leaders for the life sciences industry. He was also a founding partner of Georgia Venture Partners, established in 2004 to make seed and early-stage investments in life sciences enterprises related to Georgia. He is a former partner with Fuqua Ventures (a life science and technology venture capital fund) and two leading recruiting firms Russell Reynolds and Korn/Ferry International.

Before moving to Atlanta, Dr. Callaway held the position of Director, Commercial Development for SyStemix, responsible for business development and marketing for the firm’s proprietary stem cell technology. He began his biotechnology career at Roche Diagnostics and Roche Molecular Systems. During his tenure at Roche, he developed and executed a global marketing plan for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostics technology, a Noble-prize winning solution for sleuthing out specific sequences of DNA and commercializing the tools to map the human genome.

“With the appointment of Tom as CEO, AerovectRx has secured a successful, experienced and highly capable executive,” said P. Kathleen Lovell, Board Chairman.

Dr. Callaway added, “Inhaled drug delivery is emerging as one of the most lucrative segments in the pharma industry and I am very excited to become a part of the AerovectRx team as we accelerate into this opportunity.”

Dr. Callaway earned a medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He holds an MBA and undergraduate degree from Duke University.

Dr. Callaway was recently awarded the 2009 Georgia Bio Industry Growth Award as recognition for his years of service and extraordinary contributions to Georgia’s life sciences community and as a mentor to industry entrepreneurs.

Tom is an active member of the Southeast investment community, serving on the board of Atlanta Venture Forum, Southeast Bio, and the Bio 2009 Executive Committee. He is a member of the corporate board of Aruna Biomedical, Aterain, and Neurop.

May 21, 2009 (Atlanta, GA) – Thomas H. Callaway, M.D., MBA, has been named Chief Executive Officer of AerovectRx Corporation, an Atlanta-based inhaled, aerosol drug-delivery company.

When it comes to biotech, North Carolina and Florida are like the Mac, while Georgia is the PC, said Tom Callaway, referring to the “Get a Mac” television commercials..

"We're a little bit bolted together," quipped Callaway, managing director at Georgia Venture Partners LLC. “We have some private groups that are very interesting, that are innovative, and work. Yet, we don’t quite have it exactly smoothly put together, with the level of support that [North Carolina and Florida] have.” Callaway.

Callaway was speaking at the tail-end of the four day 2009 BIO International Convention. The discussion, Financing the Southeast Biotech Sector, included regional venture capitalists..

North Carolina gradually developed its biotech creds by attracting pharmaceutical giants like Glaxo, Callaway said.

Florida, meanwhile, used the “add water and stir” approach. The state gained instant biotech cred by recruiting The Scripps Research Institute to open a biomedical research facility in Jupiter, Fla., Callaway said.

While Georgia might need work on its coordination, the state has the parts to develop a strong biotech industry. .

Georgia has a "lot of the tools" in basic science and a strong research foundation thanks to Emory University, Georgia State and The University of Georgia, Callaway said.

He referred to Georgia Tech as “probably No. 2 to MIT.”

The Peach State also has an "incredible logistics information backbone" and a strong entrepreneurial culture, Callaway noted.

“We are the place where Ted Turner created his great empire,” he said.

Metro Atlanta has groomed several entrepreneurs in the Internet sector, who have provided mentorship for other technology companies, Callaway said.

“Unfortunately, we have yet to build that same level of expertise within the lifesciences,” he said. “We are working on it.”

The Georgia legislature's short-term focus, however, has hurt the lifesciences business, Callaway said.

March 31, 2009 (Athens, GA) – ArunA Biomedical, Inc., a leader in human embryonic stem cell derived products, announced today that it has co-developed a validated kit to produce induced pluripotent stem cells with Open Biosystems now part of Thermo Fisher.

In the spirit of collaboration ArunA Biomedical and Open Biosystems will launch the complete and fully validated induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) kits containing all the tools and reagents necessary to generate patient and disease specific cell lines for use in research applications in early April. The innovative viPS™ product offerings will include two kit formats and additional supplemental kits designed exclusively by the companies.

ArunA co-founder and CSO, Steven Stice said, “These kits are consistent with the scientific vision of our company. They exemplify ArunA’s commitment to making stem cell research easier thereby enabling investigators the opportunity to make faster advances in the stem cell field. Induced pluripotent cells generated from these kits can help find cures for many genetic disorders ranging from certain types of Alzheimer’s to Huntington’s disease. ”

September 9, 2008 (Athens, GA) – Abeome Corporation, a Georgia-based biotech company, today announced the formation of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to collaborate on the development of Abeome’s ovarian cancer project and to select and guide future therapeutic and diagnostic projects for the company.

The SAB will be led by scientific founder Richard Meagher, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer for Abeome, Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Georgia, and inventor of Abeome’s patented monoclonal antibody technology. The SAB will consist of:

Christine Debouck, PhD, President of Ardennes Biosciences LLC and formerly Senior VP in R&D at GlaxoSmithKline, is renowned for her expertise in target validation, disease knowledge and compound characterizations as well as for her broad scientific applications of biotechnology, genomics and biomarker discovery in pre-clinical and clinical development, and biomarker evaluation with an emphasis in oncology and infectious diseases. Dr. Debouck brings 24 years of experience in directing creative science in diverse areas of research.

Jeff Boyd, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer and Sr. VP at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, has an international reputation as one of the leading scientists in the study of molecular genetics of women’s cancers. Dr. Boyd was named Distinguished Cancer Scholar by the Georgia Cancer Coalition. His long-term research focus has studied molecular genetics of ovarian cancer with emphasis on hereditary predisposition.

Linda Matsuuchi, PhD, Associate Director of the Life Sciences Institute at the University of British Columbia, has a distinguished research career focused on intracellular trafficking and cell signaling of specific membrane receptors on the cell surface of B lymphocytes, the source of antibody production.

“We are pleased to assemble such an incredibly talented team of scientists to serve on our SAB and to participate in target validation on our ovarian cancer therapeutic project. Their active participation provides Abeome with valuable expertise in pre-clinical and clinical trials, unparalleled knowledge of ovarian cancer pathology, and years of immunology experience specific to monoclonal antibody development,” states Abeome CEO, Mike Wanner.

February 28, 2008 (Atlanta, GA) – With nearly 150 companies applying for consideration by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) at the Georgia Technology Summit: Innovation In Transformation heldat the Cobb Galleria Centre ICON was selected.