CEO brings sound financial strategy to biotech firm.

THE HONOREE

Bioscience Leader

Edmond F. Buccellato

Advanced Biotherapy Inc.

HE'S not a scientist, and Edmond Buccellato, 58, will be the first to tell you that. Instead, Buccellato has relied on a strong finance background, as well as a keen interest in medical technologies to help steer once financially troubled Advanced Biotherapy Inc. out of the red and into what is quietly becoming an international player in the field of developing antibody therapies for autoimmune diseases.

Buccellato, born in Detroit but raised in San Diego, was asked to take over the struggling Woodland Hills-based company in 1996. He employed a take-no-prisoners approach to expenses, including outsourcing some development technologies in order to strip the company down to just six full-time employees. And, although it had already been publicly trading, Buccellato led the firm through a successful re-offering in 2002, which raised $4.2 million, despite the fact that Advanced Biotherapy has yet to put a product on the market.

"As I moved on in my career I gained interest in medical technology and I'm kind of driven by a couple of things," said Buccellato, who has a master's degree in finance from the University of Southern California. He is also the former cofounder of Phase Medical Inc., which patented the first intravenous catheter designed to protect healthcare providers form accidental needle pricks. "One is, I'm keenly aware of what healthcare professionals and patients have to deal with. I'm also very fascinated by the technology."

Buccellato was recently asked by U.S. Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, who represents the state of Maryland, to join a team of business executives and other U.S. officials with leaders in Taiwan to help foster future economic relationships between the two countries, including the creation of biotechnology-related employment contracts.

In the meantime, Advanced Biotherapy, which has four issued patents and 10 pending, is nearing the end of a multi-year development phase of its core technologies and clinical trials and preparing to offer them in the marketplace for the first time.

The company has "method of use" patents on antibodies used to treat multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, akylosing spondylitis and cornea transplant rejection.

Few would argue that five years from now, the company will have grown significantly. Exactly what it will grow into is the big question.

"We've just now started business development and are moving toward developing collaborative relationships to move the technology forward," said Buccellato. "Five years from now one of two things will happen. We will be bought by a larger company of we will join in a partnership with someone who is interested in our technologies."

Buccellato and his wife, Leana live in West Hills. They have three children.

When he's off the clock, Buccellato enjoys traveling, particularly if there's a big lake and a boat involved.

The Finalists

Dr. Grant A. Bitter

BitTech Inc.

DR. Grant Bitter's name is a misnomer. The 52-year-old founder of BitTech Inc. a biotechnology research and consulting company founded in 1993 sounds positively sanguine in describing his company's biotech industry prominence in biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, and functional genomics using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

"I originally came into science trying to find out how things work and eventually began doing applied research which is more goal oriented. It's the development of new products that I find to be very rewarding. You tend to work on these things and in research it takes a long time to develop things. It's not until you sit back and look at it sometimes when you realize that you've accomplished something special," Bitter said.

BitTech has developed screening technology to find specific molecular targets that will be able to kill cancerous cells without harming healthy ones.

--Jeff Weiss

Kevin W. Sharer 

Amgen Inc.

THE man who runs Amgen, the largest biotechnology company in the world, spent much of his twenties working as the chief engineer on a nuclear submarine. While the two fields don't seemingly mesh, Sharer's time spent trolling the oceans looking for Russian submarines, undoubtedly taught him the leadership skills needed to steer his multi-billion dollar company.

A global biotech company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets cost-effective human therapeutics based on advances in cellular and molecular biology, Amgen picked Sharer to be its CEO in May of 2002.

Prior to joining Amgen in 1992, Sharer had worked for both MCI and GE, before growing disenchanted with what he perceived to be his scant chances of winning the top job at either company. He moved to Amgen with the hopes of eventually running it, a goal that took eight years to fulfill.

--Jeff Weiss