Kevin Kimberlin

[http://www.kevinkimberlin.com/ Kevin Kimberlin] is chairman of the venture capital firm, [https://www.spencertrask.com/index.aspx Spencer Trask & Co.] , and a founder of several breakthrough companies in technology and healthcare. [ [http://investing.businessweek.com/businessweek/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=82873 Business Week, Executive Profile] ]

Career

Mr. Kimberlin has made a career of recognizing technological and medical revolutions in their early stages. As published in Forbes magazine, Kimberlin has distinguished himself by backing “obsessive missionaries,” [Gordon, Joanne and Mary Beth Grover.“200 Best Small Companies: Celestial Cast of Characters.” Forbes 2 November 1998: 192.] such as Dr. Jonas Salk, Dr. Walter Gilbert, Dr. John Wennberg, and David Huber.

Technological Innovations

In 1993, Kimberlin co-founded Ciena Corporation, which commercialized the first wave division multiplexing (WDM) system. George Gilder, author and futurist, called WDM “comparable in importance to the integrated circuit.” Because it was a major catalyst to the internet explosion, [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950CE7DC1F31F930A35750C0A961958260&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink New York Times, Fiber Optic Technology Draws Record Stock Value, March 3, 1997.] ] the Wall Street Journal called Ciena “one of the biggest jackpots in the history of venture capital.” [Anders, George. “Success: For Ciena’s Investors, a Jackpot for the Record Books.” Wall Street Journal [New York] 5 June 1998: B1.]

Prior to its public offering, Kimberlin was the general manager of Next Level Communications, a leader in VDSL, integrated broadband access platform to deliver voice, high-speed data and digital video over existing copper telephone lines. [ [http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-01-2003/0001918057&EDATE= Motorola PR: Next Level Partners LLC Tenders Shares to Motorola] ] Kimberlin guided Next Level through its IPO with underwriters CSFB, Merrill Lynch, UBS and Lehman Brothers, achieving a market cap of $17 billion before being acquired by Motorola in 2002. [ [http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-01-2003/0001918057&EDATE= Next Level Communications acquired by Motorola] ]

In 1982, Kimberlin structured the first outside financing for Millicom, helping the company to form its joint venture with Racal Electronics which evolved into Vodafone Group Plc. [“History – Vodafone.” Welcome to Vodafone – Vodafone. 2007. Vodafone Group Plc. 21 June 2007, http://www.vodafone.com/start/about_vodafone/who_we_are/history.html] Now it is the world’s largest mobile telecommunications company by market cap, with over 625 million customers worldwide.

Medical Breakthroughs

In 1986, Mr. Kimberlin co-founded The Immune Response Corporation with the polio vaccine hero, Dr. Jonas Salk. [Hero With Something to Prove, Los Angeles Times, SHERYL STOLBERG, p.1, March 7, 1993] Immune Response was founded with the mission to provide the world with a much-needed vaccine for AIDS, a virus that is on track to kill more people than all the wars in human history combined. [ [http://www.globalhealthreporting.org/diseaseinfo.asp?id=23 Global Health Reporting: AIDS] ] After trials at a cost of $350 million the company was sold to a drug company in India.

Kimberlin co-founded Myriad Genetics, the first human genome company, with Dr. Walter Gilbert, [Breakthrough: The race to find the Breast Cancer Gene] the Nobel Laureate who challenged the scientific community to map the human genome. [ [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9036814/Walter-Gilbert Walter Gilbert, "Encyclopedia Britannica Online"] ] Kimberlin and Gilbert founded Myriad to identify genetic predispositions for killer diseases. Myriad Genetics first received international acclaim by discovering the breast cancer gene, BRCA1. [Waldholz, Michael. “Scientists Say They’ve Found Gene That Causes Breast Cancer --- Study Could Lead to Test For Those at High Risk Of Inheriting Disease.” Wall Street Journal [New York] 14 Sept. 1994: B7] As Dr. James D. Watson, co-discoverer of DNA's double-helix structure, noted: there is “no more exciting story in medical science.” [Brown, Phyllida. “Breast Cancer: a lethal inheritance—Geneticists are close to identifying a gene that can lead to hereditary breast cancer. But at first this breakthrough could raise more problems than it solves.” New Scientist 18 Sept. 1993: 34.]

In 1993, Kimberlin co-founded the first stem cell company, Osiris Therapeutics. Osiris uses adult stem cells derived from bone marrow—bypassing the ethical and moral controversy surrounding this scientific breakthrough. By regenerating a variety of human tissue, Osiris is treating heart attacks, Type I diabetes [ [http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=D89A6457-1279-CFD5-A7A906702DF1B61A JDRF Partners with Osiris on Phase II Trial of Immunomodulatory Cell Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes] ] , Graft versus Host Disease [ [http://www.osiris.com/pdf/pr%2063%2010dec07%20pediatric%20treatment%20refractory%20gvhd%20results.pdf Osiris Therapeutics Reports Positive Results for Prochymal™ asa Rescue Agent in Pediatric Patients with End-Stage Graft vs.Host Disease] ] , Crohn’s Disease [ [http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/174074978.html Osiris receives FDA fast track status for Prochymal in treat Crohn's disease] ] , and excessive exposure to radiation [Washington Post, 1/7/08, U.S. Deal Boosts Radiation Drug, Zachary Goldfarb.] .

In 1999 Kimberlin helped launch the 'power to the patient' healthcare revolution of Dr. John Wennberg. Health Dialog exposes unwarranted variation in medical practice through Informed Patient Decision Making. After distributing a $176 million from a recap, the company was acquired for $77 million. [Health Dialog $775 Million Sale to Bupa Yields 15-Fold Return to Spencer Trask Investors, Press Release, Dec. 18, 2007]

New Initiatives

Some of Mr. Kimberlin’s current business endeavors include:
* [http://www.prescientmedical.com/ Prescient Medical] - Preventing death by vulnerable plaque rupture, the cause of 85% of all heart attacks.
* [http://www.localmatters.com/ Local Matters] - Creating a leader in online local search.
* [http://vyteris.com/home/ Vyteris] - Deliveringl medicine without pills or needles.
* [http://www.innocentive.com/ InnoCentive] - Building the world's leading innovation marketplace.

Education

Kimberlin received his Bachelor of Science in Finance from Indiana University and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Philanthropy

Kevin Kimberlin’s philanthropic endeavors support creativity, education, and science, such as the Audoban Society, the Boys and Girls Club, Harvard University, and Yaddo, the artist community founded 100 years ago by Spencer Trask and his wife. Mr. Kimberlin, currently serves as a Director of Yaddo. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A06E6DD113CF937A15751C1A96E958260 New York Times, 12/24/98] ]

External links

* [http://www.kevinkimberlin.com/ KevinKimberlin.com]
* [http://www.spencertrask.com Spencer Trask & Co.]
* [https://www.spencertrask.com/FrontLogin/Default.aspx?ID=37 Case Study: Health Dialog]
* [https://www.spencertrask.com/FrontLogin/Default.aspx?ID=38 Case Study: Ciena Corporation]
* [https://www.spencertrask.com/FrontLogin/Default.aspx?ID=39 Case Study: Next Level Communications]

References