| Sheridan Snyder | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 October 1936 Long Island, New York |
| Occupation | Chairman and CEO, BioCatalyst International |
Dr. Sheridan Gray "Sherry" Snyder OBE, LLB (born October 20, 1936), often referred to as Sherry Snyder, is an entrepreneurial figure in the biotechnology industry and a philanthropist, who has also made significant contributions to the development of the game of tennis.
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Mr. Snyder graduated from The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey and is a 1958 graduate of The University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts in French & Romance Languages. At UVa, Snyder was a member of the SPE social fraternity. Snyder received an Honorary Doctorate of Law degree from the University of Dundee in 2002.[1]
Upon graduation from UVA, Snyder began his career as a Credit Analyst for New York Trust Corporation. In 1962, Snyder founded his first venture, Cambridge Machine Corporation, which initiated the development and invention of high-speed mailing/envelope inserting machines. In 1971, Snyder founded a packaging company, Instapak, which markets “foam-in-place packaging” (revolutionary for its time) that creates a protective barrier for heavy, fragile instrumentation and computer systems. Snyder sold Cambridge Machine Corporation to Pitney-Bowes and he became the National Sales Account manager at Pitney-Bowes. Instapak is now the largest division of Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE: SEE), with more than 5,500 employees and revenues of $1 billion.[2]
In 1981, Mr. Snyder founded Genzyme and served as Chairman/President/CEO. Genzyme’s business focused on enzyme deficiency diseases. It first produced diagnostic enzymes for victims of Gaucher's disease, a rare chronic disorder causing enormous enlargement of the spleen, a change in skin pigmentation and bone lesions. It afflicts 10,000 young Hasidic Jews each year.[3] It currently employs 10,000 people worldwide, with approximately $3.6 billion in revenues, with a market valuation of $20 billion. Genzyme (NASDAQ:GENZ) is the largest private employer in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1986, Mr. Snyder initiated the first sale of Genzyme stock shares (Initial Public Offering).[4]
Mr. Snyder founded Biotage in 1989 which focuses on the development of novel drug development systems. Biotage was acquired by the Swedish biotechnology company Pyrosequencing in 2004 which then took the name Biotage AB.
In 1994 Snyder founded Argonex a small biotech start-up in Charlottesville, VA. In 1996, Mr. Snyder founded and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Upstate Biotechnology Incorporated merging it with Argonex. Upstate Inc. develops innovative cell signaling products, technology platforms and services to accelerate life science research and drug discovery efforts. Upstate was sold to Serologicals Corporation in 2004 for $205 Million.[5]
Biocatalyst International is the most recent of Mr. Snyder’s business enterprises, founded in 2005. Spearheaded by Sherry, Biocatalyst creates sustainable biotech companies in partnership with leading scientists.[6]
Biocatalyst International to date incorporates three dynamic companies interfacing with diverse markets of the biotechnology world. These three corporations were founded by Mr. Snyder, as he takes the biotechnology industry into the future. Biocatalyst International, Molecular MD and Xcovery are leading forces catapulting profitable biotech start-up ventures and expanding the boundaries of science today.[7]
Mr. Snyder co-founded Xcovery with Dr. Chris Liang, Director of Medicinal Chemistry, Scripps Research Florida, and co-developer of Sutent, Pfizer’s first small molecule oncology drug. Xcovery has 5 lead compounds focused on cancer.[8]
Molecular MD was co-founded with Dr. Brian Druker, inventor of Gleevec, Director of the Cancer Center at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. Oregon. Gleevec is a revolutionary small molecule drug that prevents and stops the growth of cancer cells in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). MMD is a molecular diagnostic company in the world of personalized medicine utilizing highly sensitive detection systems.[9]
In 1999, the State of Virginia honored Snyder with its Biotechnology Lifetime Achievement Award.[10]
In 2003, he was appointed to Scotland’s International Advisory Board and serves as an advisor to the Scottish government on the development of its biotech sector. In this capacity, Snyder played a major role with the development of an 800,000-square-foot (74,000 m2) bioscience translational center outside of Edinburgh.[11]
Mr. Snyder was honored OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire)in 2005 by HM Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom on the advice of the British government.
In 2008 Mr. Snyder was awarded the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Achievement Award for achievements outside the game of tennis.[12]
He is a member of the Ivy Charitable Foundation.[13][14]
Snyder funded and developed the National Junior Tennis League (NJTL), along with the encouragement and support of Arthur Ashe and Charles Pasarell. Snyder supported the NJTL for 15 years. This organization now operates, through the USTA, in 110 cities and reaches 250,000 inner-city youths.[15]
In 1988, Snyder was the Founder, Chairman & CEO of Compuflo Inc., which developed a specialty high-end computer program used to analyze airflow to aid the design of aircraft and autos, a company donated to the University of Virginia to support its laboratories. Snyder also funded University Technology Corporation, where companies were formed with University of Virginia technology and the proceeds generated by these business ventures were donated back to the University.[16]
In 1995 Snyder contributed to the construction of a new tennis center at the University of Virginia which was named the Sheridan Snyder Tennis Center.[17]
Snyder's sale of Upstate from in 2004 resulted in a gift of US45 million to the University of Virginia Health Center which has used this gift to construct a new Children's Hospital, the Emily Couric Cancer Center and the Sheridan G. Snyder Translational Research Center.[18]