Leinenkugel wants to help businesses retain, grow jobs

Since taking over as Wisconsin’s Commerce Secretary last fall, Dick Leinenkugel has had a couple of surprises — all good. One example is the fact that every day is new and different, particularly the regulatory carried out by the department. Another pleasant surprise has been the professional, results-oriented staff he now works with. “They are well versed on all aspects of the state economy and they help me do the job,” Leinenkugel says.

Leinenkugel took the job after his predecessor, architect Jack Fischer, resigned under scrutiny for overspending on accommodations while traveling on state trade missions and other business. He previously spent more than 20 years with his family’s business, Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co., where he started his professional career as a district sales manager and chain sales manager. He also most recently served as group manager, specialty and craft brands, for Miller Brewing Co. after Leinenkugel Brewing became an independent subsidiary.

He believes the timing was right for him to accept the job, not only for personal reasons that include his desire to give back to a state he says has been good to him and his family, but also because the legislature was in recess at the time and that gave him an opportunity to learn the department, his staff and the Governor’s goals for Wisconsin’s economy.

He says that the state’s obvious budget deficit of more than $5 billion is a challenge that will make his job more difficult, starting with cuts to the staff and budget at Commerce and other departments in an attempt to avoid tax increases. At the same time, he believes that the work of the department will be even more important. “We need to increase the revenue line for the state. We can’t cut out way out. The best way (to grow revenue) is by getting people back to work and restore their confidence to buy goods. We want to help businesses any way we can to retain jobs,” he says.

Citing Wisconsin’s conservative and entrepreneurial heritage, Leinenkugel says he looks forward to downsized and laid off workers coming forward with ideas so that the Commerce Department can help them take those ideas to fruition. Commerce offers help with business plans, some financial aid and other services. “There are many things we can do to help them develop ideas,” he says, including directing them to Angel investing networks and a myriad of other services.

He sees a paradox in the state’s economy right now in that the credit crunch has yet to ease, but there is activity around Wisconsin. “Businesses are keeping their powder dry right now. This is also a real exciting time right now. People will be moved to action — we can’t sit on our hands,” he says.

Even with a recession, Leinenkugel says between five and eight projects a week involving expansion of jobs or facilities or both come across his desk. Stimulus packages coming from both Federal and State legislators will be crucial in any recovery, he says. On the state level, he looks forward to providing input on those plans.
Medium-term needs include continuing to provide training opportunities to ensure a well-trained workforce to replace the state’s aging population.

Leinenkugel is impressed by Governor Doyle’s economic development platform. Of particular interest is an expansion of so-called Act 255 that allows angel investors to obtain tax credits for investing in state companies. “We have to create an environment where entrepreneurs can be successful,” Leinenkugel says.

Promentis licenses Marquette and UWM technology to advance treatment for schizophrenia

Marquette University and the UW-Milwaukee Research Foundation have completed a license agreement with Promentis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Milwaukee-based company. Promentis’ aim is to develop and commercialize chemical compounds that have shown promise as a novel treatment for schizophrenia and other central nervous system conditions.

The parties involved in the new venture are Marquette, on behalf of the neuroscience research team led by David Baker in the College of Health Sciences; the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Research Foundation, on behalf of James Cook, a UWM chemist; and Promentis, a start-up pharmaceutical company led by Daniel Lawton, Klaus Veitinger and Steve Pollock.

Baker and John Mantsch, associate professor of biomedical sciences at Marquette, are the founders of Promentis and serve on the company’s board of directors. Both will serve as consultants to Promentis, along with Cook and Douglas Lobner, associate professor of biomedical sciences at Marquette. The parties say terms of the licensing, equity and all related agreements are confidential and have declined to disclose them.

In research that spans a decade, Baker has studied neurotransmitters in the brain and how modulation of these neurotransmitters can be used to better understand and treat various psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. He collaborated with Cook and his colleagues, Edward Merle Johnson II and Wenyuan Yin, at UWM to optimize delivery of the active chemical compounds to the brain.

Cook’s 30-year research career has included designing compounds that act on the central nervous system by targeting specific receptors in the brain. His work has resulted in multiple patents and technology licenses, including a license of one of his anti-anxiety compounds by pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2006.
This collaboration between the Baker and Cook teams will continue within the framework of Promentis’ activity.

“This research, and its potential commercialization, creates exciting possibilities for the treatment of one of our most significant mental health challenges,” William Cullinan, dean of Marquette’s College of Health Sciences, says. “It is a powerful example of academic research in pursuit of the human good, and of collaboration – within the department and the university at large, with the private sector and with UWM. Our concentration of neuroscientists at Marquette has enabled us to develop an outstanding environment for inquiry and discovery.”

Colin Scanes, vice chancellor for research and economic development at the UW-Milwaukee says, “UWM is focused on partnerships that can advance research and move technology into the marketplace. “This partnership with Marquette University and Promentis not only illustrates that commitment, but also supports growth in the local knowledge-based economy.”

According to the World Health Organization, schizophrenia is the fourth leading cause of disability worldwide. The disorder affects almost 1% of the world’s population, with costs of treatment estimated at approximately $60 billion annually in the U.S. alone.

Veitinger, Lawton and Pollock are former executives of Schwarz Pharma, Inc., a pharmaceutical company with its U.S. headquarters in Mequon, which was sold to Belgian-based UCB in 2006.