CHRISTINE JACOBS

"The death knell for a company is when you are inflexible and insist on sticking to a plan when the environment around you is changing."

RISKY BUSINESS

Christine Jacobs, MBA '91, understands the value of making a mistake. "In business, you have to make mistakes," said Jacobs. "You have to walk out of your comfort zone. If you don't, you're not trying hard enough to make your company a success.You're not on the edge."

And the edge is where Jacobs perches as the chairman, presidert and CEO of Theragenics Corporation, a leader in the productior and sale of implantable radiation devices used in the treatment of cancer. During her tenure as CEO. Jacobs has seen Theragenics' assets grow by 1.565% and the company's production capabilities quadruple in size. Since Theragenics' stock began trading on the NASDAQ market in 1986, she has overseen three of four private stock placements, and on August 6, 1998, when she transferred Theragenics' stock to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Jacobs became the first woman chairman and CEO in the exchange's history to transfer stock markets and ring the opening bell. By the end of 2000,Theragenics' yearly sales had grown to more than $44 million.

CHANGING COURSE

"There is no manual for what this company does or what it will look like tomorrow," Jacobs said. "My job is to position it for the next three to five years and to be smart enough to change course when the market changes. The death knell for a company is when you are inflexible and insist on sticking to a plan when the environment around you is changing."

A case in point is Jacobs' recent efforts to diversify Theragenics' future revenue. The core of Theragenics Corporation is the production of Palladium- 103 (Pd103) radioactive seed implants used to treat prostate cancer. These radiation devices, known as TheraSeeds, are implanted into the prostate in a one-time, minimally invasive procedure and seek to deliver sufficient radiation to the target cancer while minimizing radiation exposure to surrounding tissue. A unique agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) brokered by Jacobs in 1999 will enable Theragenics to substantially increase production of its essential raw material, Pd- 103.The DOE agreed to lease to the company a one-of-a-kind, $170 million plasma separation process (PSP) machine used during the Cold War to produce enriched uranium for warheads. In turn, Theragenics built a $25 million manufacturing, research and development facility in Oak Ridge,Tenn., to house the equipment, infrastructure and work-force necessary to support this sophisticated technology.

Jacobs knew that this two-and-a-half-story machine with its four-ton magnet could double Theragenics' production of Pd- 103 without a huge capital expense. However, when 1999 marketing forecasts for projected sales of her product fell short, she began looking for other uses for the equipment.

What she found was an untapped potential for PSP technology and thus an opportunity to enhance Theragenics' future and to drastically change its course. PSP technology allows scientists to engineer isotopes and enrich the isotopic content of metals to levels that are higher than those found in nature. For example, a naturally existing metal might contain one percent of an isotope such as uranium-235, but the PSP process can increase that isotope's concentration to double-figure percentages.

"A myriad of industries may benefit from isotopically engineered material," said Jacobs. Since Theragenics' decision to pursue development of the equipment's uses, a NASA contractor has contacted the company to explore engineering materials to help keep satellites in orbit. European firms are interested in using the technology to extend the life of nuclear fuel rods that are used to produce, among other things, electricity. There may also be applications in telecommunications as well as other fields, according to Jacobs.

Meanwhile, the research and development arm of Theragenics is looking for applications of the technology for treatment of other diseases such as restenosis, the growth of scar tissue in arteries that sometimes occurs after coronary interventions. Patients with macular degeneration, an age-related scarring of the central retina and the leading cause of blindness in people over 55, may also benefit from Theragenics' research.

For now, Jacobs is steering Theragenics along two distinct, parallel lines. "One, the treatment of medical disease, is clear" she said. ''The other is a surprise."