Hefty joins eMetagen board

Madison, Wis. - Thomas R. Hefty has joined the board of directors of eMetagen Corp., representing the Marquette University Golden Angels Network, which closed a $535,000 seed investment in eMetagen in August.

Hefty is currently an attorney with the Milwaukee-based law firm of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren and was recently named interim Waukesha County executive. He will step down from both positions while he is serving as county executive. Prior to joining the law firm, Hefty was chairman and chief executive officer of Cobalt Corp., and its subsidiary, Blue Cross and Blue Shield United of Wisconsin.

Hefty is also currently an adjunct faculty member in business and economics at Ripon College and a board member of the Artisan Funds. In June 2003, he was named as co-chair to Gov. Doyle's Council on Economic Growth. He also is a board member of the Wisconsin Technology Council and is president of the Waukesha County Development Corp.

"We are thrilled to have someone of Tom's stature join our board," said John D. Rodwell, Ph.D., eMetagen's president and CEO, in a company release. "His broad experience in healthcare will be important in helping us identify areas of most critical need as we continue our efforts in drug discovery."

eMetagen Corp. is a drug discovery and development company founded in June 2002 to commercialize breakthrough natural product discovery technology licensed from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, focusing on discovering new antibiotics and anti-cancer compounds from previously untapped soil microorganisms. It expects to add up to 10 positions in the next year. The Marquette University Golden Angel Network began in 2002 at Marquette University in Milwaukee. The network's Wisconsin and Illinois-based members collaborate on screening potential investment opportunities and each member makes an individual investment decision. The network has invested in five businesses since March 2003.