Ben Bowen Email & Phone Number

Berkeley, Ca, Us

Berkeley, Ca

Solicited and executed projects that involved general business planning for start-up companies, advising senior executives on licensing, acquisition or sale of IP (compounds or technology), and performing due diligence. Started an early-stage systems biology company (Gene-fx, Inc.) with an innovative pathway discovery platform based on mathematical dependencies among gene expression profiles instead of conventional statistics.

Launched a new product line targeting the worldwide cell-biology market for this small microbiology-oriented company. Developed strategic marketing plan for mammalian Phenotype MicroArrays and new promotional materials focused on applications in discovery and BioProcess. Expanded international markets by training and engaging distributors from Europe, Middle East, Russia, China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and Brazil. Engaged key early adopters at Pfizer, GSK, MedImmune, Lonza, Boehringer, Broad Institute and VLA. Established R&D collaborations with Broad Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Lab, and Horizon Discovery.

· Negotiated and established strategic alliances with pharmaceutical and agricultural biotechnology companies providing upfront payments, cost-plus reimbursement, and pull-through royalties· Initiated and established joint-development programs with biotechnology companies and academic investigators for co-discovery of disease-specific drug targets and biomarkers· Actively managed alliances with 9 international corporate partners and 10 academic investigators· Redesigned the sales approach from a technology-based presentation to one based on showcase experiments, which contributed to an increase in revenue from $12 to $20 million· Launched Lynx’s internal discovery programs in cardiovascular disease, cancer biomarkers, and complex trait analysis, after winning approval from CEO and Board of Directors

· Launched and managed the agricultural biotechnology industry's first internationally recognized program in plant genomics· Assessed technology at more than 60 genomics/biotechnology companies, performed due diligence, and made technical recommendations on strategic technology acquisitions totaling over $40 million· Managed a group of 20-25 full-time research staff with responsibility for setting goals, hiring personnel, evaluating performance, and administering an annual budget of $2.5 million· Set strategic direction and ensured clear communication channels between service providers, senior management, business development and technical personnel in research and IT· Managed alliances with DuPont, Curagen, Human Genome Sciences, Affymetrix and Molecular Dynamics· Established a new business objective for the company and led a cross-departmental initiative focused on improving the efficiency of plant breeding by integrating genomics with quantitative genetics

· Recognized as a scientific leader in developing enabling technologies for maize genetic engineering· Established two corporate alliances in the area of genome editing with Kimeragen and Pangene· Validated Kimeragen’s technology through the germ line in maize, a feat that was recognized in The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American and independent commentaries in several scientific journals

· Established the first genome editing program in the agricultural biotechnology industry· Validated several new approaches for exploiting transcription factors in engineering plant traits, including use of dominant negative inhibitors, inducible gene expression, and metabolic engineering· Developed several new tools for maize transformation technology, including anthocyanin markers, meristem transformation, and matrix attachment regions for suppression of gene silencing· Anthocyanin marker work was published in Science and included in the classic textbook Molecular Biology of the Cell.· Managed a research group of 7-10 technicians, post-docs and graduate students· Established research collaborations with many leading academic investigators in maize genetics· Published papers in leading scientific journals such as Science, Bio/Technology (now Nature Biotechnology), Cell, The Plant Cell, Plant Journal, Genetics and PNAS

D. Phil.

Ba (Hons.)