Vipin Garg, Ph.D., president and CEO of Research Triangle Park-based Tranzyme Pharma and a member of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center board of directors, has won top honors in the health-care category as Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 in the Carolinas from Ernst & Young.
The awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Garg was selected as a finalist from nearly 75 nominations by a panel of independent judges. The win was announced at a gala event at the Westin Charlotte.
Tranzyme, which specializes in therapies for gastrointestinal and metabolic diseases, received a $149,250 Small Business Research Loan from the Biotechnology Center in 2003 to help the young firm in its research program.
Under Garg's leadership, Tranzyme has grown from an early-stage technology startup to a product-focused biotechnology company. Tranzyme has nearly 40 employees at two locations in the United States and Canada, and is recognized as a leader in innovative drug discovery.
Garg is now eligible for the financial services firm's national awards program, along with dozens of other winners in various business categories and regions. Other Carolinas winners include:
Rich Lee, founder and CEO of Hosted Solutions
Steven DeCarlo, CEO of AmWINS Group
Bob Salvin, CEO of Salvin Dental Specialties
Frank Spencer, president and CEO of Cogdell Spencer
Philip Maung, founder and CEO, Hissho Sushi
Leon Levine, founder and chairman emeritus of Family Dollar Stores in Charlotte, received a lifetime achievement award from E&Y.