LipoMed exec snags honor
Triangle Business Journal - by Biz Staff Reports
Dr. James Otvos, the founder of a Raleigh-based startup that can quickly identify those who are at risk of heart disease, has received the $100,000 top award for technical innovation sponsored by the science magazine Discover.
The awards were funded by the Christopher Columbus Foundation, an independent government agency set up to encourage innovative research and discovery. Otvos, chief scientific officer of LipoMed Inc., was selected from more than 4,000 applicants.
Otvos won the award for the company's product, NPR LipoProfile, which can distinguish more accurately between people at high-risk and low-risk for heart disease than traditional cholesterol measures by counting the types of lipoproteins in a person's blood.
Richard Franco, LipoMed chief executive officer and chairman, said the company is beginning to get national and international attention from the award. Reuters news service is among the companies that have called, he said.
Discover will publish a special edition in July featuring several award winners and including "a two- to three-page spread just on LipoMed," Franco said.
The company has rapidly sped its introduction of its lipoprotein test to patients, and it has been available in some doctors offices since January. LipoMed expects to earn revenues of at least $2.2 million this year. Of that, about half are coming from doctors offices with the other half from academic medical centers and pharmaceutical companies, Franco said.
The Council for Entrepreneurial Development gave its 1999 Entrepreneurial Excellence Award to Red Hat, Inc., the Durham-based company whose software is touted as a future competitor to industry giant Microsoft.
Founded by Robert Young, Red Hat sells its own version of Linux, an open source operating system. In less than five years, Red Hat has grown to 130 employees and has forged alliances with IBM, Compaq, Netscape and other industry leaders.
Other 1999 CED award winners include: Deal of the Year, OpenSite Technologies and SciQuest.com; Information Technology Product of the Year, Electrifier Pro by Electrifier Inc.; Spin-Off of the Year, Unitive Electronics; and Startup of the Year, Foveon Corp.
Raleigh-based Triangle Bancorp comes off as the best performing "new" bank from Maine to South Carolina, according to Danielson Associates Inc. of Rockville, Md.
"From an operational standpoint, Triangle clearly stands above everybody else," says Jonathan Holtaway, senior vice president with Danielson. "It has not necessarily been the greatest at creating value for its shareholders, ... though I suspect if you invested in Triangle in 1988 you have done pretty well."
Danielson has kept financial figures since 1984 on new banks created on the eastern seaboard as far south as South Carolina. In a report compiled last month, the company looked at the operational performance of 203 banks that were created since 1984 and remain independent.
With 64 branches and $33.1 million in net income last year, 11-year-old Triangle ranked first. Its closest competitor was Carolina First Corp. of Greenville S.C., which started in December 1986. It has grown to $22 million in net income and 59 branches. Sun National of Vineland, N.J., comes in a distant third with $12.2 million in income and 43 branches.
Danielson says Triangle's growth through merger – including one with Bank of Mecklenburg in Charlotte – does not always build shareholder value quickly. Indeed, Carolina First finishes ahead on market capitalization ($616 million) and assets ($2.6 billion).
In related news, John Ketner Jr., Bank of Mecklenburg's former president, is organizing a Pinehurst institution called Centennial Bank. The proposed bank is raising $7 million and is chaired by retired Sprint Corp. executive Wayne Peterson. Other organizers include Pat Corso, president of Pinehurst Resort & Country Club.
Is there a laptop in the house?
Konover Property Trust Inc. Chief Executive Camm Morton's PowerPoint presentation crashed during the company's recent annual shareholder meeting, forcing employees to scramble for a computer that could complete the show.
After a 20-minute delay and a couple of false starts by Chief Financial Officer-turned-technical-troubleshooter Pat Miniutti, the presentation was revived, greeted with cheers and applause from shareholders.
"Now you know why we're in real estate," Morton said.
The McKimmon Center will take a shine to solar-powered cars on June 21, when the facility off Western Boulevard in Raleigh is the finishing point for the second leg of a race from Washington D.C. to Walt Disney World. The 10-day long Sunrayce features 40 college teams who design, build and drive cars powered only by solar panel electricity.
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