GenoMed Inc. (GMED)

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GMED CONFUSION TO ABOUND!

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http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2005/03/14/daily30.html?jst=b_ln_hl

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Washington Business Journal - 2:57 PM EST Friday
French firm sets up U.S. office in Silver Spring
Neil Adler
Staff Reporter
G-Med was looking to open a U.S. headquarters to be closer to its American customers, so the French company set its sights on Washington. Because it employs auditors who monitor and certify the quality and safety of medical devices made by manufacturers, being near the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seemed like the best idea.


The FDA is housed in numerous offices in and around Rockville, so the Maryland Technology Development Center, an incubator primarily for biotech companies, was the perfect spot for G-Med to land. But it wasn't that easy. The Rockville facility is full.

The new 22,000-square-foot technology incubator in Silver Spring, focused on information-technology companies, had room. And because the FDA is consolidating its offices at a massive new campus in White Oak, which is right next to Silver Spring, the second choice became the first choice.

The company -- made up of Marc-Henri Winter, president of G-Med North America, the new subsidiary of Paris-based G-Med (www.gmed.fr), and another employee -- recently took a small suite at the Silver Spring Innovation Center, which cost $2.5 million to build and opened last year.

"G-Med is a perfect fit for the Silver Spring area and for the county at large," says David Edgerley, director of the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development, which operates the Silver Spring and Rockville incubators. "Now any company wishing to sell its product in Europe, Canada, Taiwan or the United States will have a huge advantage by being in Montgomery County."

The incubator is about 80 percent occupied, with several businesses planning to take space soon that would completely fill it up, says Joe Shapiro, a spokesman for the economic development department. G-Med hasn't applied for any loans or grants with the county, but Shapiro says his department would be happy to provide financial assistance to the startup if it qualifies.

Shapiro says G-Med was a good win for the incubator and the county because economic development officials are trying to land more international companies. Further, these officials predict that medical companies will set up in the eastern part of the county because of the FDA's relocation to White Oak. G-Med is one of the first examples.

"For the company to start out here makes sense," Shapiro says.

G-Med North America, which works only with U.S. companies, will hire an engineer this year, and Winter plans to have six employees by 2007.

In France, G-Med employs 45 and conducts audits for companies looking to sell their devices there and in countries such as Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan and Canada. The parent company, Paris-based LNE (www.lne.fr), has 750 workers and is profitable.



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Among G-Med's 80 U.S. customers -- and 800 around the world -- is General Electric. Winter says he hopes to land more customers in the United States with the help of his new office.


"We really wanted to be in the United States," says Winter.

When scouting for a U.S. headquarters, G-Med focused on the East Coast, where many of its customers are. Winter says access to an international airport and other transportation systems put Boston and D.C. in the running.

New York City was left out because it's "too expensive," he says. With space available at the Silver Spring incubator and Winter having family in the Washington area, the decision became easy.

G-Med North America will stay in the incubator for two to three years then graduate into its own commercial space somewhere in Montgomery County. But for now, Winter is trying to adjust to living in the United States and slowly build up his business.

"It's difficult to imagine the tasks we need to do," he says.



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Confusion????

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