Marcadia Biotech Makes Lead Gift to Establish World-Class Watanabe Biotech Lecture Series at Indiana University

A recognized global leader in biotech and the life sciences, Gus Watanabe, MD was a co-founder and chairman of Marcadia Biotech, a bio-pharmaceutical company focused on product development to treat diabetes and obesity, until his death earlier in 2009. To advance and accelerate Watanabe's scientific vision, Marcadia Biotech made the lead gift to establish a world-class annual biotech symposium at Indiana University. The one-day lecture series will be named in honor of the late visionary scientist and entrepreneur. The first symposium will take place at Indiana University's Bloomington campus in the fall of 2010.

Carmel, Indiana (PRWEB) November 15, 2009 -- Marcadia Biotech has announced that the company will provide major lead grant funding to endow a new Watanabe Biotechnology Lecture Series named in honor of its late chairman and co-founder, August “Gus” Watanabe, M.D. The new annual series will be a one-day symposium focused on cutting-edge advances in biotechnology at the interface of academic and commercial discovery research.

“Gus Watanabe was a visionary scientist and entrepreneur, providing unparalleled support for biotechnology that inspired the discovery of breakthrough medicines,” said Richard DiMarchi, chief scientific officer for Marcadia. “It is our intention to develop this annual symposium to celebrate and accelerate the vision that Gus provided of a better life for all through advances in the life sciences.”

A former colleague of Watanabe at Eli Lilly & Company, DiMarchi also serves as the Linda & Jack Gill Professor of Chemistry at Indiana University. Watanabe co-founded Marcadia Biotech with DiMarchi and Kent Hawryluk, and served as its chairman until his death in 2009.

“Gus was intensively active in furthering the biotech industry and engaged the best and brightest to foster entrepreneurial innovation in the life sciences to the state of Indiana,” said Fritz French, CEO of Marcadia Biotech. “For those of us who had the privilege to work directly with Gus, it seems only fitting that a series of this magnitude be named in his honor.”

Details about the first symposium, to be organized in conjunction with Indiana University, are pending and further information about speakers and content will be forthcoming. DiMarchi made a formal announcement of the new Watanabe Series and Marcadia’s lead funding November 9th at the dedication ceremonies of the new $10 million Indiana University Innovation Center in Bloomington.

About Marcadia Biotech – Marcadia Biotech is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapeutic products that will greatly improve the daily life of people with diabetes and obesity. Marcadia has a robust pipeline of peptide drug candidates for treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity with superior profiles to those of currently marketed blockbuster drugs. The company is also developing a glucagon analog for acute treatment of severe hypoglycemia. It was founded in 2005 and is located in Carmel, Indiana. For more information, please visit www.marcadiabiotech.com.

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