Press Releases
May 19, 1998 |
Contact: Carolyn
Foy |
CED Spinoff of the Year: Paradigm Genetics, Inc.
Research Triangle Park--Paradigm Genetics, Inc is the winner of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development's 1998 Spinoff of the Year Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.
Technology and business excellence are what fuels the Triangle's entrepreneurial environment. This award recognizes the impact that "corporate refugees" who seek the satisfactions of the entrepreneurial life can have on creating exciting new companies.
Paradigm Genetics was incorporated in September 1997 as an agricultural biotechnology company with a research focus in genomics and functional genomics. The company will develop proprietary technology to facilitate discovery in the agricultural chemical and seeds industries. Its founders, Dr. John Ryals, CEO and president, Dr. Scott Uknes, vice president and director of fungal research, Dr. Jorn Gorlach, director of plant research, and Mr. Sandy Stewart, director of biochemistry, are all former employees of Novartis.
Paradigm's mission is to become the leading agricultural functional genomics company, develop the industry's leading agricultural database, and to discover better and safer crop protection compounds and new genes for use in transgenic crops for both input traits and output products.
"Paradigm Genetics epitomizes an important part of the entrepreneurial
energy in the Research Triangle. World class scientists, who have worked for
the big company most of their careers, decide that starting a company is the
only avenue to fulfill their personal and professional goals. They will wind
up advancing science faster, with far fewer resources, because they control
their own destinies."
--Dennis Dougherty, Intersouth Partners
About CED
The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, located at the CED Entrepreneurship Center in Research Triangle Park, NC, was formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the greater Research Triangle region. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs. CED sponsors annual conferences, seminars, workshops and monthly programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. CED also offers the FastTrac entrepreneurial training program, youth programs and other outreach programs.
CED is a private, non-profit organization and is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 3,000 members representing 1000 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms.