BioCT honors Sema4 CEO
Health care information firm’s founder wins entrepreneur of the year award
STAMFORD — Eric Schadt, founder and CEO of health care information company Sema4, has been named entrepreneur of the year by the BioCT bioscience industry group — an honor that comes a week after the firm opened its second lab in the state.
The award was established by BioCT and the law firm Shipman & Goodwin to acknowledge Connecticutbased entrepreneurs who are also making an impact beyond the state.
“I am honored to receive this award from talented, exceptional leaders who are all dedicated to advancing the pursuit of science,” Schadt said in a statement. “It is particularly meaningful because BioCT is a such a strong advocate for the bioscience industry in Connecticut. This recognition is also a tribute to the entire team at Sema4 and our mission to advance health care through datadriven insights.”
BioCT received a record number of nominations this year, according to Dawn Hocevar, the organization’s CEO and president.
“It reflects the growth of the industry as well as the stellar entrepreneurial talent that is leading our companies,” Hocevar said in a statement. “It is an honor to recognize Dr. Schadt for his leadership and the success of Sema4.”
Dormer Stephen, a partner at Shipman & Goodwin, said in a statement that Schadt “exemplifies the best of Connecticut bioscience. We are proud to recognize him for his dedication and hard work.”
Last week, Sema4 announced the opening of its 70,000-square-foot lab in the Harbor Landing complex, at 62 Southfield Ave. in Stamford. The facility
will process thousands of genomic tests per day. It replaces the firm’s laboratory at the Mount Sinai Health System campus in Manhattan and complements its lab in Branford and main offices at 333 Ludlow St. in Stamford’s South End.
About 225 employees will be in the new lab by the end of this month, and the company expects to hire about 150 more workers for the site next year.
In addition to lab employees, the new site can accommodate 100 other employees, including genetic counselors, bioinformatics specialists and support staff.
About 250 employees are based at 333 Ludlow, most of whom are still working remotely. About 100 are based at the Branford lab.
In 2017, Sema4 was spun off from Mount Sinai into its own firm and immediately opened its headquarters at 333 Ludlow. Since then, it has focused largely on reproductive health-based testing and analysis.
Responding to the coronavirus crisis, Sema4 has developed a testing program at the Branford lab that has been processing about 20,000 to 25,000 viral tests each week. Sema4 has also launched antibody testing to identify people who have been exposed and whose immune systems have responded to coronavirus.
Other recently launched programs include Sema4 Signal, a group of products and services providing “data-driven precision oncology solutions.”
The company’s name refers to semaphore — a system used to send signals. In previous statements, the company has said it aims to “discern signal from noise across trillions of data points” to gain insights into human health.