INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- EndGenitor Technologies, Inc. (EGT), Indiana’s first adult stem cell company, announced today that Guido J. Neels has joined its Board of Directors, and received grants from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the 21st Century Research & Technology Fund.
Neels, a distinguished leader with a 35-year career, has played a key role in setting and implementing strategic direction for several major multinational corporations, including Guidant and Eli Lilly & Company. He has led a variety of critical operating and support functions around the world, and his leadership has led to dramatic product innovation and commercialization, market share growth, and brand recognition. He has helped build strong organizations with high-performance cultures with his participatory management style and cross-cultural thinking and vision.
Mr. Neels most recently was Chief Operating Officer for Guidant Corporation, a medical device manufacturer headquartered in Indianapolis and now owned by Boston Scientific. At Guidant, Neels provided strategic direction for global R&D, manufacturing and marketing for its Cardiac Rhythm Management, Vascular Intervention, Cardiac Surgery, and Endovascular Solutions units. Neels held a variety of sales and marketing and general management positions at Guidant, as well as at Eli Lilly & Company. Neels earned his bachelor’s degree in business engineering from the University of Leuven, Belgium, and his MBA from Stanford University.
“We are pleased that Guido has joined our Board of Directors,” said Ronald D. Henriksen, co-founder of EndGenitor and its President & CEO. “His experience in the health care industry will add new perspective and insight to the future development of EndGenitor Technologies.”
EndGenitor was awarded a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant in the amount of $100,000 by the NHLBI. The grant, awarded to EndGenitor and Indiana University (as a subcontract), is for specific aims related to expanding endothelial progenitor stem cells from cord blood ex vivo. The STTR grant was matched in 2006 by a 21st Century Research & Technology Fund grant awarded to EndGenitor.
About EndGenitor
EndGenitor started business February 1, 2005 in the Indiana University Emerging Technologies Center (IUETC), a life science incubator near downtown Indianapolis. The company’s strategy is to rapidly commercialize adult stem cell products for sale to researchers in industry and academia. As it grows its market presence and diversifies its product lines, EndGenitor expects to launch proprietary, novel, adult stem cell therapeutics for the treatment of debilitating chronic degenerative diseases. EndGenitor will not use stem cells from an embryonic source-only cells from adults are used in their research and development, as cells are obtained from donated placenta, umbilical cord, and cord blood. To contact EndGenitor, call or e-mail Marsha Hippensteel, Special Projects Manager, at (317) 278-1563 or mhippens@iupui.edu. Additional information about the company is available on its website, at http://www.endgenitor.com.
Source: EndGenitor Technologies, Inc.
