Entrepreneurs See Benefits of University Collaboration

2/26/2009

For an entrepreneurial life sciences company, translating discoveries into new products in a timely and cost efficient manner is critical. Some Hoosier startup life sciences companies are finding that partnering with Indiana colleges and universities is an ideal method for achieving their product development goals. FAST Diagnostics and NICO Corporation, both based in Indianapolis, are two companies very close to having their medical breakthroughs on the marketplace, and both credit collaborations with in-state universities as a key component to their success.

FAST Diagnostics: Relying on Multiple Collaborations

With two university partnerships already underway and another planned for the future, FAST Diagnostics Chief Executive Officer Joe Muldoon describes his company as "the poster child for university collaboration." FAST is developing a new device to determine kidney function in just 40 minutes.

"That's important because, today in the clinic, it takes a couple days to accurately determine if someone's in kidney failure, and two days is too long," says Muldoon. "You limit and shorten the therapeutic window in which you can get involved." Listen

Rather than relying on naturally-occurring biological markers that are slow to rise, FAST's method introduces its own marker into the bloodstream that's detected by a needle-sized sensor inserted into a peripheral vein of the patient.

"Kidney injury and acute kidney failure is, unfortunately for humankind, a growing market. There's been a big race to try and develop a better standard to determine when kidneys are losing function," says Muldoon. "So far, most of that effort has been on naturally occurring biomarkers, but nobody's tried to do it the way we are."

Muldoon says the fast-paced development of the device is the result of multiple university collaborations. His company is working directly with researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine to develop the methodology to read the markers introduced into the bloodstream. FAST is also partnering with Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology for device development. Listen

"[Rose-Hulman] has some world leaders and experts in the components of the device that we needed to develop," says Muldoon. "They also have a work style that fits our work style. We're an entrepreneurial company, so we have to move forward with a great sense of urgency and efficiency. They are very much in sync with us in regard to timelines, and they can pull together a team very quickly to advance device development."

FAST is also hoping to partner with Purdue University later this year for pre-clinical testing of the new device. Muldoon says the uniqueness of the device caused him to seek three separate universities with researchers who have specific expertise. Listen

"All those partnerships have been critically important to us because it gives us the ability to tap into world class expertise, but on a variable cost basis," says Muldoon. "The fact that they're in Indiana is, frankly, just a luxury. The ability to get with people, sit down and talk face-to-face about development is a luxury in this business. It gives us the ability to access groups of people who are very, very motivated to advance new technology in medicine."

NICO: Nearing Its First Sale

NICO's Co-founder and Vice President of Technology Joe Mark believes his company is on the threshold of creating a major advancement in the field of neuro and spinal tumor removal. The company is developing a device called Myriad, which provides surgeons a minimally invasive method for removing tumor tissue in the central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord.

"In a startup, you're usually limited by time and money. We wanted to launch quickly, but we had limited amounts of money to reach our end goal," says Mark. "In the state of Indiana, we're very, very fortunate. A lot of people don't appreciate the fact that there are opportunities to develop products—no matter what they are—by utilizing our universities."

Mark says NICO's collaboration with Rose-Hulman has played a vital role in the development of Myriad. The institution has worked with the company to create and test a prototype and prepare for pre-production and production capacity—all while prioritizing an entrepreneur's two biggest business concerns: time and money. Listen

"Rose-Hulman has proven itself to be a very cost effective way to accomplish tasks along the path of product development," says Mark. "They've also understood and appreciated how important it is to commit to a timeline and deliver on that timeline. They did, and continue to do, those things in a very grand way." Listen

Mark credits Rose-Hulman researchers for having the ingenuity and tenacity to overcome challenges that could have slowed the process of Myriad's development. In addition to researchers' activities, he says one of the most rewarding aspects of the project was the involvement of Rose-Hulman students.

"The students have not only contributed positively, they've also learned how to address problems in industry and how to create solutions from those challenges," says Mark. "Each one of them has told me it's been a wonderful learning experience, and that it's engaged them to actually want to be involved in the medical industry because of the excitement they got out of the project."

NICO is preparing for the commercial sale of Myriad in the first half of this year—an accomplishment Mark says would've been impossible without Rose-Hulman's involvement. Listen

"Our relationship with Rose-Hulman has been a very, very positive experience," says Mark. "As long as NICO continues to identify new ideas for unmet needs in the market, we'll continue to work with them now and in the future."

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