Biomed Rounds: Those cards give mesomething to remember you by

11/25/2002 07:54 AM

By Dyke Hendrickson

Who says that scribes don’t study those business cards that are thrust at them at crazed, overcrowded tech events?

There is circumstantial proof that some of us do. So after picking over my latest collection of cards, here are some people I am thinking about:

Alain Hanover, managing director, Navigator Technology Ventures. Alain remarked that he was born in France and came to this country at the age of 8. He didn’t speak a word of English. In his early years here, he might have been in a ninth-grade math class but had perhaps a third-grade level of reading. Talk about playing catch-up!

Kiril Stefan Alexandrov, principal, Genigma. Alexandrov was once dubbed the “Renaissance geek” because he was running a literary publication at the same time he was winning the MIT $50K Entrepreneurial contest. Alexandrov recently got an A round of funding for Genigma but is mum about the actual amount.

Mike Plusch, chief technology officer, Clear Methods. Clear Methods is a startup company that “sells advanced Web service and XML technology for embedding within software products.” It’s a big idea. So big that VCs have yet to invest. But Plusch is out there, determined to get someone with money to listen to his story.

Karen Donoghue, principal, Human Logic. Donoghue’s company develops Web user experiences that create business value. “We focus on user experience, strategic planning and information architecture.” She’s also an author (“Built for Use,” McGraw-Hill, 2001). I believe she told me she’d introduce me to her agent if I get ambitious about writing in the long form.

Peter Feinstein, managing director, BioVentures Investors. Here is a find. Feinstein founded the Feinstein Kean Healthcare public relations agency. It served biotech and small pharma very successfully, and the company ended up under the wing of Ogilvy PR Worldwide. Peter made a big buck. Now the veteran entrepreneur invests in life sciences companies. He’s a fine source, even if he is slow to warm to strangers.

Catharine Arnston, vice president, eastern U.S., The British Midlands. Arnston is remembered as the winner of the Lynn CyberDistrict business plan competition almost a half-dozen years ago. Well, that’s really not true. Probably no one remembers her for that victory, but she did prove to be a voluble and effective speaker. Perhaps she can use these skills to help the British Midlands group, which is trying to lure companies to the central Britain.

Renata Bushko, chair, Future of Health Technology Institute. Bushko organizes one of the most interesting presentations in the Hub tech sector. She invites luminaries from around the country, and they present their cutting-edge technologies. Yes, she was responsible for the appearance of “the human cyborg.” One of her most intriguing presentations was from a group promoting telemedicine: A physician in New York, using robotics and the Internet, executed an invasive operation on a woman in France.

Barbara Fox, founder, Addiction Therapies Inc. Fox is working on a product that would provide significant value to society. She is investigating compounds that would blunt the desire for alcohol and drugs. It’s remarkable that she isn’t inundated by money. Last word, though, is that she has received modest National Institutes of Health grant to keep her project alive.

Marc Foster, co-founder, CEO, Reify. Foster is the only executive in the past decade who has asked me for a business card to prove I was a journalist. It’s true! Foster appears to be melding tenacious stealth with deep-seated paranoia. But hey, who knows what works these days?

Dyke Hendrickson reports on biotechnology and medical devices. He can be reached at dhendrickson@masshightech.com.