Corporate Profile
Evolutionary Genomics (EG) has developed a unique, cost-effective technology to identify commercially valuable gene targets by taking advantage of work already done by nature. The Company has a fully operational, patented, gene discovery technology platform, the Adapted Traits Platform, and has been successfully identifying genes for three years. EG’s Adapted Traits Platform screens for gene patterns indicative of adaptation to a strong selection pressure as a powerful data filter to find key genes. EG’s business model is to capitalize on our unique platform by identifying/validating target genes and working with pharmaceutical and agricultural company partners to commercialize these genes.
Business Management
Steve B. Warnecke (President and CEO) – Mr. Warnecke joined the Company in late 2010. Formerly, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Bacterin International, Inc., a public company focused on biomaterials research and development and commercialization of biologics products and medical devices. From April 2002 to April 2009, he served as CFO of The Children’s Hospital Foundation, a Colorado not-for-profit foundation. Mr. Warnecke also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Partners Foundation and serves on the Board of Directors of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In 1983, Mr. Warnecke founded and he remains President of Children’s Business Partners, Inc., a venture capital company. In addition, Mr. Warnecke previously served as Senior Vice President for Strategic Planning for First Data Corp.’s Western Union subsidiary and as Chief Financial Officer for Denver-based Frontier Airlines. Mr. Warnecke holds a B.B.A. from the University of Iowa and passed the C.P.A. exam in 1979.
Scientific Management
Walter Messier, Ph.D. (Chief Technology Officer) – Dr. Messier received his MS from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and his Ph.D. from the University of Albany (State University of New York). He has published in such prestigious scientific journals as Nature, Current Biology, and Science. Dr. Messier is recognized as an authority on the use and interpretation of Ka/Ks algorithms. His research on the detection of molecular-level positive selection in the primates is well known. Dr. Messier also has carried out research to calculate dates of gene duplication in maize. Dr. Messier is currently collaborating with academic colleagues in several areas, including the role of molecular Darwinian selection in human speciation, creation of more powerful algorithms for the detection of molecular Darwinian selection, and the behavior of nuclear pseudogenes during primate evolution.
Board of Directors
Richard Jorgensen, PhD – Dr. Jorgensen is a Professor of Plant Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Arizona (UA). Dr. Jorgensen is a plant geneticist and is a recognized international leader in the fields of epigenetics and functional genomics. His research accomplishments include the discovery of a gene-silencing phenomenon in plants called cosuppression, later shown to be the same as RNA interference in animals and possibly to have major implications for the treatment of diseases such as cancer, hepatitis and AIDS. Dr. Jorgensen was awarded the Martin Gibbs Medal in 2007 for his groundbreaking work in cosuppression and RNA interference by the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB). He was elected an Inaugural Fellow of the ASPB in 2007 and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences in 2005. He has published in numerous scientific publications and is regularly invited to present his research findings at scientific conferences around the around the world. Dr. Jorgensen served as editor in chief of The Plant Cell, the leading research journal in plant biology, from 2003 to 2008. He is series editor for the book series Plant Genetics and Genomics: Crops and Models. Prior to his academic positions at the UA and previously UC Davis, he spent seven years working in the agricultural biotechnology industry in California at DNAP, formerly DNA Plant Sciences. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemistry from Northwestern University and a Ph.D in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin.
Kinney Johnson – Mr. Johnson is a general partner with Sequel Venture Partners, Boulder, Colorado, a venture capital firm in the Rocky Mountain region focused on health care and biotechnology. Prior to forming Sequel, Mr. Johnson was a general partner of Capital Health Management, a venture capital firm focused on the health care industry. He was also a founder of Fisher Imaging Corporation, a leader in the diagnostics imaging industry and held a number of management positions at Fisher, including President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Johnson currently serves on the board of directors of MSHOW, Inc. and Medlink International, Inc. Mr. Johnson received a B.A. in Mathematics and Business Administration from Augsburg College and a M.S. in Mathematical Computer Science from the University of Iowa.
Kenneth J. Collins – Mr. Collins is President and CEO of Replidyne, a public biotechnology company in Louisville, Colorado whose focus is the development of novel therapeutics for treating infectious diseases. Previously, Mr. Collins was President and CEO Pegasus Technology Ventures (Boulder, CO). He was the Chief Financial Officer of Synergen, Inc. from 1983 until Synergen’s acquisition by Amgen in 1994. While at Synergen, Mr. Collins spearheaded a number of private and public offerings that in total raised approximately $500 million. Mr. Collins was also actively involved in structuring a number of significant strategic alliances between Synergen and major pharmaceutical companies. In mid-1994, he led an effort to evaluate strategic alternatives for Synergen, which culminated with Synergen being acquired by Amgen for $270 million in December 1994. Mr. Collins is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Harvard Business School.
