http://www.***.com/
boolean-query&NS-collection=PioneerPlanet&NS-docs-matched=14&NS-doc-number=4

Can you re-check the link you left?  I tried to visit to see what you were
talking about but the link does not work.  This story sounds unbelievable, but
with Lyme disease involved one has to begin to accept the unbelievable.  Still,
I would like to verify this story if you can post a workable link to it.  drl

Hello,

I visited his website but could not find anything there to support your
statement (below).  This fellow it closely tied-up with medical insurance
companies and governmental organizations, to I don't dispute that he could be
doing exactly what you state (leading an investigation and witch-hunt against
MD's treating Lyme disease).  But where did you find this stated in his
website?  drl

Bear with me, I switched from MSN and USWest seems to be configured
differently. The URL was intact when I sent it and the reply to your message
was as well but it put it as a separate message rather than a reply.

DAVE
BEAL
STAFF COLUMNIST

Mr. Disease Control takes talents to Web
Infection Control Advisory Network, alias ``ican,'' is not just another garden
variety {*filter*}space startup.
That's because its chairman and CEO is Michael Osterholm, whose very identity
has become a brand name in his field. Whether this man can parlay his
reputation, dedication and savvy into the gazelle envisioned in ican's business
plan remains to be seen, but clearly he's off to a running start.

Osterholm, 46, spent 24 years at the Minnesota Department of Health, the last
15 as the state epidemiologist, before becoming an Internet entrepreneur. Since
he left the state last March, he's raised $6.25 million for ican; hired a staff
of 44; turned down scores of speaking requests; flown 120,000 miles; and
written a chiller of a book warning that bioterrorism will soon confront us.

In March, ican will roll out a subscription-based Web site, ''icanPrevent,''
that will offer international expertise on infectious disease control.

Then comes ``icanPrescribe,'' designed to help physicians select which
antibiotics to prescribe or to avoid.

Ican's latest business plan calls for revenue to grow from $3.6 million this
year to $22 million in 2001 and $64 million in 2002, with the company bringing
in $11 million of profit next year. The revenue estimates are being revised
upward, the profit forecasts lowered.

Tom Kieffer, CEO at Agiliti in Plymouth, thinks ican represents the future of
the Web. Increasingly, he predicts, users swamped with useless information will
favor sites with deep, rich layers of knowledge that can be trusted.

``Mike is very thoughtful,'' says Kieffer. ``A lot of his skill is based on his
ability to communicate rather scary and technical issues in an
easy-to-understand and comfortable way.

``Ican is on a mission, to put all this content that can save lives in one
easy-to-get place. Mike is passionate about this.''

The company differs from other Internet startups, typically packed with
twentysomething techies. At Eden Prairie-based ican, most of the employees are
medical specialists; more than half are over 40. The company outsourced
construction of its Web site to the techies at Agiliti.

The management end of Osterholm's ``dream team'' consists of Mike Moen,
president and chief operating officer, from BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota;
James Adam, CFO, from MGI Pharma; Shelley Wooley, head of marketing, from
startup Abaton.com; and Patrick Byrne, head of business development, from
Express Scripts.

The financing has come mostly from venture capitalists Delphi Ventures of Menlo
Park, Calif.; Salix Ventures of Nashville, Tenn.; and Twin Cities-based
Affinity Capital.

Osterholm's high profile hasn't hurt. At the state, he built a global
reputation for his expertise on food-borne illnesses and infectious diseases.

His profile is about to rise yet again. This summer, Random
House/Delacourte/Dell will publish his new book, written with Washington Post
reporter John Schwartz to show how poorly prepared America is to detect and
respond to bioterrorism.

This spring, Osterholm plans to seek up to $15 million in new venture money.
Late this year or early next, ican could go public or forge alliances with
other medical companies.

Kris Johnson, a principal at Affinity, says much will depend on how well the
icanPrevent launch goes. She says the site must not only attract infection
control professionals, but retain them as well.

How confident is Osterholm? Very.

Going to the site, he pledges, will be like diving into a big Minnesota pond so
deep that it reaches the center of the Earth.