About BioLume

Background

BioLume Fact Sheet

BioLume®, Inc. is a privately-held biotechnology company located in Research Triangle Park, NC. Our mission is to develop and commercialize a portfolio of proprietary bioluminescent (light producing) proteins with many first-in-class applications in the food, beverage, cosmetic, and diagnostic imaging markets.

Scientific founder Bruce Bryan, M.D. has discovered, cloned, sequenced, synthesized, and now manufactures a novel portfolio of natural proteins from glowing marine organisms in the deep-sea. These marine organisms generate light by a chemical reaction known as bioluminescence. These proteins have broad, well-established applications in biomedical research and drug discovery, and are currently in use by many of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.

Dr. Bryan’s company, Prolume Ltd, has acquired the world’s largest collection of genetic cDNA libraries and frozen tissues from bioluminescent marine organisms. These tissues have been collected from all over the world and represent a vast genetic resource. Dr. Bryan has cloned, and patented, a number of completely new luciferase genes for exclusive use by Prolume, BioLume, and their partners (see Technology section).

These same genes have clinical potential as diagnostic imaging probes of cancerous tumors. In principle, this imaging approach allows very early surgical intervention to remove such tumors and metastases. Considerable published work of the imaging applications by leading academic investigators using Prolume chemistry in laboratory animals has validated this approach. Furthermore, Prolume has demonstrated the potential of these same “glowing” proteins in a wide variety of food, beverage, and cosmetic applications.

BioLume has the exclusive rights to all diagnostic imaging, and food, beverage, and cosmetic applications of the Prolume technology.

Management

BioLume is guided by successful, serial entrepreneurs from the biotechnology industry.

Terry E. Willard, President and CEO

Terry E. Willard was most recently Executive Vice President of Xsira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Norak Biosciences, Inc) from January 2001 until September 2006. Mr. Willard was primarily responsible for sales, marketing, licensing and business development. He in-licensed Prolume’s fluorescent proteins for life science applications in 2001, and then out-licensed them to many of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Subsequently, he in-licensed a Phase II clinical product in 2005 after Norak’s transition to Xsira.

From 1998 through 2001, he was Vice President, Marketing and Business Development at Medco Research Inc. (NYSE:MRE), a RTP-based biotechnology company. He remained with the firm one year following its acquisition by King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in February 2000 for $350 million.

From 1994 to 1998, Mr. Willard was Vice President, Marketing and Business Development at SONUS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNUS), a Seattle-based biopharmaceutical company with proprietary technology for diagnostic imaging and therapeutic use. He was responsible for licensing and marketing functions and was actively involved in financing the company, including its initial public offering (IPO) in 1995. He out-licensed Sonus’ lead product to Abbott Labs for $80 million in 1996.

Prior to his biotechnology career:

Mr. Willard was Head of Worldwide Marketing at the DuPont Radiopharmaceuticals Division of DuPont Merck. Under his leadership, from 1990-93 worldwide sales increased from $80 million to $260 million. While at DuPont Merck, he launched two major first-in-class cardiovascular diagnostic imaging products, Cardiolite® and I.V. Persantine®.
Mr. Willard conceived, planned, organized and managed a totally integrated generic drug company, DuPont Multisource Products Division. This division evolved into Endo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENDP) in 1998.
Mr. Willard held several increasingly higher finance and marketing management positions for American Hospital Supply Corporation. (acquired in 1985 by Baxter International).

Academically, Mr. Willard holds a Bachelaor of Science degree in Finance and a MBA.

Randall B. Murphy, PhD., CSO/consultant

Dr. Murphy attended Pepperdine University (Los Angeles, CA) from 1967-1969 and received his B.S. (chemistry) from the University of Southern California in 1970. He received his Ph.D. (1975) in chemical physics from the University of California, Los Angeles under Dr. Willard Libby, Nobel Laureate. Dr. Murphy stayed at the University of California, Los Angeles and continued to do postgraduate research in the School of Medicine. He worked under Marshall Urist, M.D. who discovered bone morphogenic polypeptide (BMP) and did research in that area. Dr. Murphy later went to work at The US National Bureau of Standards, Center for Analytical Chemistry, and was a staff Research Fellow, Laboratory of Biophysical Chemistry at the National Institute of Health.

He became Associate Professor of Chemistry at New York University, in 1984 and has interests in biomolecular chemistry, neurochemical pharmacology, and the biochemistry of psychiatry. He was also Associate Professor of Biochemistry in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Cornell University Medical College and now an Associate Professor of Neural Sciences, New York University where he works presently. Dr. Murphy has over 180 publications bearing his name. Dr. Murphy has served as a Senior Consultant to Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies for more than 15 years.

Dr. Murphy has co-founded four successful biotechnology companies: Prolume Ltd. (1996), Achillion Pharmaceuticals (1997), Marinus Pharmaceuticals (2003), and Medkura Pharmaceuticals (2005). In 2000 Dr. Murphy left his academic positions to pursue these business opportunities on a full time basis.

Bruce J. Bryan, M.D., Founder & CEO of Prolume Ltd. (BioLume scientific advisor)

Dr. Bryan is the founder of Prolume and the inventor of the applications that BioLume has acquired. Dr. Bryan received his medical degree from The Chicago Medical School in 1983. Dr. Bryan completed a residency in general surgery, and a fellowship in pediatric surgery, with an early interest and experience in open heart surgery. Dr. Bryan is certified by the American Board of Surgery and is also a member of the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society.

Dr. Bryan has considerable expertise in minimally invasive, laparoscopic surgery. Dr. Bryan can foresee the day when operations become more precise by accurate localization of target tissues with BGS, especially since many of the operating telescopes in use today are easily adapted to visualize light. Dr. Bryan was successful in the private practice of surgery with the establishment of his own solo practice in Arizona. He is licensed to practice medicine in California and Arizona.

Dr. Bryan founder Prolume Ltd in 1996. He self-funded all research involved in the deep-sea organism collection, cDNA library construction, screening and cloning of six novel luciferases and fluorescent proteins. To date, he invested more than $4,500,000 in Prolume.

While still in high school, Dr. Bryan was given a research job in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, Los Angeles. Since the age of 17, he started learning how to do research on the immunology of marine organisms, and later was taught techniques used in human cancer research.