Kevin Kimberlin: A lesson in VC and smart business

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Kevin Kimberlin has made a career of recognizingIn 1993, he co-founded Ciena Corporation, which
technological and medical revolutions in their earlycommercialized the first wave division multiplexing
stages. As published in Forbes magazine, Kimberlin has(WDM) system - what George Gilder, author and
distinguished himself by backing "obsessivefuturist, called WDM "comparable in importance to the
missionaries,"such as Dr. Jonas Salk, Dr. Walter Gilbert,integrated circuit."- turning one-lane optical fiber into a
Dr. John Wennberg, and David Huber.multi-lane information highway, an essential catalyst in
Kevin Kimberlin has made a career of recognizingthe explosion of the internet.The Wall Street Journal
technological and medical revolutions in their earlycalled Ciena "one of the biggest jackpots in the
stages. As published in Forbes magazine, Kimberlin hashistory of venture capital."
distinguished himself by backing "obsessivePrior to its public offering, Kimberlin was the general
missionaries,"such as Dr. Jonas Salk, Dr. Walter Gilbert,manager of Next Level Communications, a leader in
Dr. John Wennberg, and David Huber.VDSL, integrated broadband access platform to
In 1982, Kevin Kimberlin structured the first outsidedeliver voice, high-speed data and digital video over
financing for Millicom, helping the company to form itsexisting copper telephone lines. Kimberlin guided Next
joint venture with Racal Electronics which evolvedLevel through its IPO with underwriters CSFB, Merrill
into Vodafone Group Plc , now the world's largestLynch, UBS and Lehman Brothers, achieving a market
mobile telecommunications company by market cap,cap of $17 billion before being acquired by Motorola in
with over 625 million customers worldwide.2002.
In 1986, Mr. Kimberlin co-founded The ImmuneIn 1993, Kimberlin co-founded the first stem cell
Response Corporation with the polio vaccine hero, Dr.company, Osiris Therapeutics. Osiris uses adult stem
Jonas Salk. Immune Response was founded with thecells derived from bone marrow - bypassing the
mission to provide the world with a much-neededethical and moral controversy surrounding this
vaccine for AIDS, a virus that is on track to kill morescientific breakthrough. By regenerating a variety of
people than all the wars in human historyhuman tissue, Osiris is treating heart attacks, Type I
combined. After years of trials at a cost of $350diabetes, Graft versus Host Disease, Crohn's Disease,
million, the company plans to donate the assets toand excessive exposure to radiation.
the AIDS emergency relief fund, [PEPFAR]. Run byIn 1999 Kimberlin financed the healthcare revolution
Dr. Joe O'Neill,the Whitehouse Deputy Global AIDSof Dr. John Wennberg as a Director of Health Dialog -
Coordinator, PEPFAR is the largest international healtha company confronting the rapidly rising cost of
initiative ever dedicated to a single disease.healthcare by exposing unwarranted variation in
Kimberlin co-founded Myriad Genetics, the first humanmedical practice. The company was acquired by
genome company, with Dr. Walter Gilbert, the NobelBUPA in 2008 for $775 million.
Laureate who challenged the scientific community toSome of Mr. Kimberlin's current business endeavors
map the human genome. Kimberlin and Gilbertinclude:
founded Myriad to identify genetic predispositions for    * Prescient Medical - predicting and preventing
killer diseases, rather than mapping the entire humanthe rupture of vulnerable plaque (the cause of 85%
genome. Myriad Genetics first received internationalof all heart attacks).
acclaim by discovering the breast cancer gene,    * Local Matters - Creating a leader in online local
BRCA1. As Dr. James D. Watson, co-discoverer ofsearch.
DNA's double-helix structure, noted: there is "no more    * Vyteris - Developing transdermal medicine to
exciting story in medical science. Now a leader intherapy without pills or needles.
predictive medicine, Myriad Genetics has a Alzheimer's    * InnoCentive - Building the world's leading
Disease therapy in the largest Phase III clinical trial toinnovation marketplace.