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With Medical Devices in the Driver’s Seat
F A L L 2 0 0 9
Also Featured:
IT and R&D: Shaping the Future of Medicine
Bio-Innovation FuelingAcademic-Industry Partnerships
Michigan Companies Aim to Burst theHealthcare Bubble
MAnuFActuring iS ALive AnD WeLL in MichigAn
BioMattersA MichBio Publication Showcasing Michigan’s Biosciences Industry
IN MICHIGAN, SOMETHING NEW IN HIGH-TECH INNOVATION IS HAPPENING EVERY DAY.
Working with our partners at MichBio, the Michigan Economic Development CorporationSM can connect high-tech companies and entrepreneurs to services, incentives, networking opportunities and venture capital to help them grow and prosper.
Visit MichiganAdvantage.org and learn how Michigan can give your biotech company the Upper Hand.
MichiganAdvantage.org
BioMatters | Fall 20091
Michigan’s broad-based bioscience industry is a world leader in biotech research and development, creating more than
125 new companies since 2000. it encompasses research, testing and medical labs, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
An abundance of scientific and clinical talent is home-grown from a 140-year legacy of biotechnology innovation built by
industry pioneers Parke-Davis and upjohn and including Dow chemical, Kellogg and Stryker.
One of the world’s largest concentrations of research in the life sciences includes the university of Michigan in Ann
Arbor, known internationally for pioneering work in genetics, and Michigan State university housing the national center for
Food Safety and toxicology, the national Superconducting cyclotron Lab and the Facility for rare isotope Beams. in grand
rapids, the state’s second-largest city, a regional medical care and life science research hub is anchored by the Michigan
State university medical school expansion.
Economic Impact With an economic impact of $9.34 billion, the state’s bioscience industry comprises more than 550 companies, mostly
clustered in Southeast and West Michigan. university life science research expenditures of $897 million are concentrated
primarily at university of Michigan, Michigan State university and Wayne State university.
Total direct bioscience employment in Michigan, industry plus academic, is 40,086. Adding 58,721 spin-off jobs brings
total bioscience employment to 98,807 accounting for 18 of every 1,000 jobs statewide and $6.36 billion in earnings. Private
bioscience industry payrolls reached nearly $2.5 billion in 2007, with state taxes generated amounting to $462 million.
Investment and Incentives the state has directly invested more than $323 million in bioscience companies via the Life Sciences corridor and
21st Century Jobs Fund commercialization competitions, with an additional $47 million invested in venture capital firms
which in turn invest in bioscience firms.
Michigan is home to 16 venture capital funds and is one of only nine states to offer state fund-of-fund investment
programs. it has a total of $500 million in state investment capital available. A network of 15 SmartZonetM tax-advantaged
districts (eight with wet-lab incubators) fosters university-affiliated commercialization programs. State incentives include:
pre-seed capital fund, seed tax credits for Angel investors, state r&D tax credits, sales tax exemption for r&D and bio-
manufacturing equipment, and net operating loss (nOL) carryover allowed for 10 years.
Future Prospects As a pillar of Michigan’s drive to diversify the economy and foster emerging technologies, the bioscience industry is
backed by strong financial support and infrastructure tailored to its business development requirements. Medical education
is booming, with expansions at three of the state’s four medical schools opening new channels of research and innovation.
With healthcare now ahead of manufacturing as the state’s largest private-sector employer, Michigan’s fast-growing life
science industry seems destined to grow at an even faster pace in the years ahead.
Sincerely,
Greg Main
President & CEO, Michigan Economic Development Corporation
S tAt e O F M i c h i g A n M e S S A g e
4BioMatters | Fall 2009
BioMatters | Fall 20093
Welcome to Michigan’s Biosciences Community! Last year we seized the opportunity to launch BioMatters, a magazine meant
to showcase the state’s significant infrastructure, resources, and investment in the
biosciences sector. the publication has been a resounding success. With this issue,
we celebrate its one-year anniversary by adding a new digital version of the publication.
While we will still have printed copies for distribution to our members, select stakeholders
and at state and national events, the easy-to-use, “page-turning” digital version provides
an array of useful features for our readers and advertisers. Be sure to forward the digital
BioMatters to your own customers, professional colleagues, and friends so that they can
learn about the many outstanding discoveries and products, manufacturing capabilities,
and investment opportunities emerging out of the state’s biosciences sector.
in addition to spreading the word about BioMatters, i want to emphasize our
commitment to member companies, with added services and products meant to support
the growth and development of their businesses. We have greatly expanded our Preferred
Provider group-buying program. MichBio companies can enjoy considerable, bottom-line
savings by signing up for discounts and preferred arrangements on everything from lab sup-
plies, liability insurance, financial services and strategic planning, to business intelligence,
to technology products and support. that’s pure value for companies of all sizes and types.
Similarly, MichBio has now put in place a public policy and advocacy infrastructure
second to none in the nation. Through the association’s efforts, Michigan is now the first
and only state to have legislative subcommittees focused solely on the biosciences. MichBio
members are kept abreast of hot issues as they develop in Lansing and Washington. We
continue to educate about the positive impact the biosciences industry is having on our
economy and human health, as well as advocate for additional support to grow the sector.
it is through these and other such endeavors that Michigan can boast a vast arsenal of
resources available to new start-ups and established companies alike. greg Main, President
of the Michigan economic Development corporation, makes note in his letter on page 1
that Michigan has made a significant commitment to the biosciences in terms of funding
support, commercialization services and capital investment availability. Michigan’s story
of continued achievement in bioscience innovation and commercialization is one of
commitment, opportunity and value. come check out what Michigan can do for your
bioscience company!
Stephen rapundalo, Ph.D.
President and CEO, MichBio
P r e S i D e n t ’ S M e S S A g e
P r O F e S S i O n A L S tA F F
c O n tA c t i n F O r M At i O n
Stephen T. Rapundalo, Ph.D.
President and CEO
734.527.9144
Stephen Field
Director,
Operations and Controller
734.527.9145
Jayne Berkaw
Director,
Marketing and Communications
734.527.9147
Heather Kusiak
Administrative Specialist
734.527.9150
Physical Address
3520 Green Court, Suite 450
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105-1579
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 130199
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48113-0199
Phone
734.527.9150
Fax
734.302.4933
Website
www.michbio.org
General Information
BIoMATTERS GoES DIGITAl! Next Issue: SPring 2010
This is the first issue of BioMatters to offer a new digital version that appears in an easy-to-navigate “page-turning” format. the new format is also clickable, zoomable, printable, linkable, savable and sendable, and it offers advertisers an array of tools that are not available in a print format. These include:• Direct links to your website and email addresses• The ability to include customizable forms so readers can request more information• The ability to include interactive media and video content• Expanded reach to a broader distribution list• Reader statistics to measure the success of your ad the digital version will also help MichBio in our efforts to spread the word about Michigan’s exciting biosciences industry. Be sure to pass it along to your own customers and constituents, and please let us know how you like the new digital BioMatters!
BioMatters | Fall 2009 4
cOrPOrAte SPOnSOrS
P L At i n u M
g O L D
S i Lv e r
B r O n Z e
O F F i c e r S , D i r e c tO r S A n D c O M M i t t e e S
PAtrOnAsh Stevens, Asterand,
lumigen, Varnum
FrienDWayne State University
SuPPOrterBiotechnology Business
Consultants, Caraco,sanofi-aventis U.S.,
West Michigan Science & Technology Initiative
M e D i A
executive OFFicerSChairmanStephen Munk, Ph.D.Ash Stevens, President and CEO
President and CEoStephen T. Rapundalo, Ph.D.MichBio, President and CEO
Secretary Christina DeHayesAsterand, Inc., General Counsel
Treasurer Matthew l. McCollErnst & Young LLP, Partner
Assistant TreasurerRyan Noel Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Michigan Administrator
DirectOrSlinda Chamberlain, Ph.D.West Michigan Science andTechnology InitiativeExecutive Director
David Felten, M.D., Ph.D.Beaumont Hospitals, Research InstituteVice President, Research and Medical Director
J. Patrick ElliotTerumo Cardiovascular Systems Corp.Vice President, Business Development
James Freeman, Ph.D.Pfizer Animal HealthVice President, Laboratory Sciences
Ricardo (Richard) Fuentes Jr.Dow Corporate Venture CapitalGlobal Life Science Investment Director
Teri GriebU of M Medical School, Office of ResearchDirector of Administration for ResearchOffice of Research and Graduate Studies
Mark KielbAltarum InstituteChief Financial Officer
Barry KlineGlaxoSmithKlineDirector, Market Development
Michael Kurek, Ph.D.Biotechnology Business ConsultantsPartner/President
Paul MorrisAlixPartners, LLP Finance Manager, National Enterprise Improvement Practice
Stephen Munk, Ph.D.Ash Stevens, President and CEO
Stephen T. Rapundalo, Ph.D.MichBio, President and CEO
John J.H. Schwarz, M.D.Family Health CenterPhysician,Former U.S. Representative
Eric StiefWayne State University — Technology CommercializationLicensing Manager Director of Venture Development
Karen Studer-RabelerCoy Manufacturing/Coy Laboratory ProductsGeneral ManagerVice President, Business Development
David ZimmermannKalexsyn, Inc.Chief Executive Officer
cOMMitteeSFacilitiesintellectual Properties and LegislationMarketing and communicationsMembership and ServicesProgramsPublic Policy
7 BioMatters | Fall 2009
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BioMatters | Fall 20097
BioMatterst A B L e O F c O n t e n t S
A D v e r t i S e r S
Ash Stevens ....................................................... 18Bank of Ann Arbor ............................................ 14Beaumont Commercialization Center ............... 30The Brooks Industrial & Research Park ............ 19Clean Rooms International .............................. 21Cutting Image Histology ................................... 21CVCT, Inc. .......................................................... 19DBA Analytical .................................................. 30Doeren Mayhew ..................................................6Dykema ............................................................. 21Gallahad Consulting, PLC ................................. 18
Oakland University ........................................... 30Pfizer ...................................................................2PhRMA .............................................................. 28Rader, Fishman & Grauer PLLC ........................ 34RS Electronics ................................................... 34Stryker .............................................................. 10University of MichiganTech Transfer ................ 14Warner Norcross & Judd ................................... 29West Michigan Science & Technology Initiative ....12Western Michigan University ..............................6
Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest ..................... 12Hylant Group ..................................................... 14Kettering University ............................................5Landaal Packaging Systems ...........................OBCMedlen & Carroll, LLP ...................................... 19MichBio ...........................................................IBCMichigan Economic Development Corporation ................................................ IFCMichigan State University ................................. 29MPI Research .................................................... 24NuStep .............................................................. 12
4 MichBio Corporate Sponsors, Officers, Directors and Committees
13 Essen Instruments Markets a “Microscope” in an Incubator
FEaturE StOry: Michigan a Player in Burgeoning Medical Instrument Manu-facturing Market
20Nutralite Brand a World Leader in Nutritional Supplements
17
31
Cerise Nutraceuticals uses Cherries to Boost Michigan and Individual Health
Moving toward a Michigan Bioeconomy
22 tECHNOLOGy: Michigan is Where It and r&D Meet to Shape the Future of Medicine
The following MichBio members are featured in this issue of BioMatters:Accuri Cytometers, Arivium, Assay Designs, Asterand, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Beaumont Hospitals, Central Michigan University, Compendia Bioscience,
Delphi Medical Systems, DNA Software, Ferndale Laboratories, Genetics Squared, Henry Ford Health System, Johnson & Johnson, Lawrence Institute of Technology, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, Neogen, Oxford Biomedical Research, Pfizer, Terumo Cardiovascular Systems,
University of Michigan Medical Innovation Center, University of Michigan Biomedical Engineering
Subscribe to BioMatters:Visit www.michbio.org and click “Subscribe” or call 734.527.9150.
15PHarMaCEutICaLS & tHEraPEutICS: Michigan Companiesaim to Burst the Healthcare Bubble
25One to Watch: DNa Software
36GuESt OPINION: advancing Michigan Bio-Industry Growth Through Education & advocacy
32rESEarCH PrODuCtS: State’s BiotechCompanies are Making Their Presence Felt
26INNOVatION: Bio Innovation in Michigan Fueled by academic-Industry Partnership
35asterand is a Powerhouse of Growth in research Products
8
FinAnciAL MAtterS FeAture StOrY
in Burgeoning Medical instrument Manufacturing Market
8BioMatters | Fall 2009
Michigan a Player
Stryker’S replacement portfolio of hip, knee and Shoulder implantS
focuSeS on procedural and product innovationS that help reStore
patientS to normal activity and Stand the teSt of time.
the SarnS™ Soft flow® aortic cannula iS one of many globally-known brandS for cardiac and vaScular Surgery that terumo cardiovaScular manufactureS.
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BioMatters | Fall 20099
CARDIAC SURGERy? A TERUMo CARDIoVASCUlAR PRoDUCT PRoBABly CoNTRIBUTED When Dick Sarns built the first com-
mercially available heart-lung machine in
1960 in Ann Arbor, little did he envision his
company being sold twice to become the
powerhouse it is today. First Sarns sold
the business to 3M in 1981, and then 3M
sold the growing business to Japan-based
Terumo, a company with $3 billion
in annual sales.
Over 500 people now work in Terumo
Cardiovascular Systems in Ann Arbor, a
division of Terumo that produces, markets,
sells and services life-sustaining critical
care devices.
There are over 1.2 million cardiac
surgery procedures performed annually,
and it is highly likely that a Terumo product,
whether as small as a catheter or as large as
a platelet concentrate system, was used in
most of these procedures.
Last year Terumo added 65 people to
Ann Arbor, when it consolidated facilities
from Elkton, Maryland and added a new
chemistry lab.
“What gets me excited is looking ahead
at technology; it’s leaps and bounds ahead
of what it was,” said James P. Elliott, vice
president for business development. “Ten
years ago, most of the patients who had
Michigan’s strong medical device manufacturing sector includes global leaders like terumo and Stryker, and new product innovators like Delphi Medical Systems, Accuri cytometers, and integrated Sensing Systems. read how these businesses are thriving despite
rough economic times in Michigan.
open heart surgery needed a vein in their
leg removed for the bypass. We used to fillet
the leg, and people used to complain that
the surgery of the leg was the most painful
part. Now we can remove the vein with a tiny
5mm incision and use a scope we produce
to remove it in a minimally invasive way.”
Still, President Obama’s healthcare
reform is a challenge for the future. “We can
always come out with a better widget, but
there is not always a way for hospitals to pay
for it. Providing better patient care for lower
cost is a challenge. We look for technologies
that can do that and have the support of a
reimbursement strategy,” Elliott added.
And Dick Sarns? He’s still in Ann Arbor
and has created NuStep, a business that
manufactures exercise equipment for heart
disease patients.
STRyKER IS A GloBAl MEDICAl TECHNoloGy lEADER Stryker, like Terumo, is a leader it its
market, with sales in over 120 countries.
It is the largest player in the $35 billion
orthopedic market (implants, surgical
equipment, etc.) with $6.7 billion annually
in sales, and number ten in the $225 billion
medical technology market.
Corporate headquarters as well as Stryker’s
medical and operating room equipment
divisions are in Kalamazoo, employing 1,600
of its 17,000 worldwide staff.
“We make a difference by caring for the
caregivers,” said J. Patrick Anderson, Stryker’s
vice president for Corporate Affairs. “We
work closely with medical personnel;
we have company representatives in the
operating room eight-to-ten hours a day,
advising doctors about the implant or our
equipment.” Stryker’s thousands of products
include implants used in joint replacement,
trauma, craniomaxillofacial and spinal
surgeries; biologics; surgical, neurologic,
ear, nose & throat and interventional pain
equipment; endoscopic, surgical navigation,
communications and digital imaging
systems; as well as patient handling and
emergency medical equipment.
“We have established a reputation as
a growth company,” said Anderson. “Our
ability to identify and respond to the needs
of the marketplace has allowed us during
the past 10 years to grow from $1.9 billion
in sales in 1999 to $6.7 billion in 2008. As
the world’s population continues to age, the
demand for our products should remain
strong for many years into the future.”
For example, at the beginning of this year
the business introduced a new high-definition
surgical camera used in arthroscopic
Michigan a Player
By Deb Merion
critical care deviceS are uSed daily in a wide range of procedureS from coronary artery bypaSS grafting to valve replacementS, aortic aneurySm repair and heart tranSplantS.
“What gets me excited is looking ahead at technology; it’s leaps and bounds ahead of what it was.” “We work closely with medical
personnel; we have company representatives in the operat-ing room eight-to-ten hours a day, advising doctors about the implant or our equipment.”
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BioMatters | Fall 2009 10
surgery that is double the resolution of home
HD products, delivering the highest defini-
tion in the industry for surgical accuracy.
Stryker’s growth should increase with
economic advances in the rest of the world.
“One of challenges we face is that some of
the healthcare systems around the world like,
China or India, are not as highly developed,
so they don’t yet deliver as advanced a level
of treatment —in developing markets our
products are still ahead of the curve,” said
Anderson.
DElPHI lEVERAGES TECHNoloGy AND ENGINEERING To CREATE MEDICAl DEVICES Imagine for a moment that you are a
world leader in manufacturing automotive
parts with 150,000 employees nationwide,
but you are looking to diversify and grow
into a new market: what would you do? Faced
with this quandary seven years ago, Delphi
looked at its technology and engineering base
and saw opportunities in the world of medi-
cal devices for its employees’ existing skills.
The result was the creation of a wholly-owned
subsidiary called Delphi Medical Systems.
“For example, our human factors group
does critical work on how people interface with
equipment, and these talents and skills are
useful for the highly complex instruments that
nurses and doctors must master,” said Patrick
Keely, general manager of Delphi Medical.
Over the last five years, Delphi has
developed products for three growing
market segments: a portable oxygen
concentrator, vital signs monitor, and an
intravenous medication infusion pump.
In a healthcare market that is serving
increasing numbers of senior citizens and
chronic disease cases while meeting higher
outcome and quality standards, Delphi
Medical Systems products appear strongly
situated. Their portable oxygen concentra-
tor weighs 10 lbs., sits under a seat in an
airplane, and was approved for travel last
year by the FAA.
Their vital signs monitor, selling for
a few thousand dollars, is at a price point
suitable for purchase by an individual, yet is
flexible enough to monitor multiple patients
in a nursing home. The strength of this
device is that patients don’t have to go to
a doctor’s office to get monitored daily.
The device records personal statistics such
as weight, blood pressure, and glucose level,
and then automatically transmits them to
a central computer server, where a doctor
can then remotely monitor a larger number
of patients at a lower healthcare cost.
FeAture StOrY
Delphi looked at its technology and engineering base and saw opportunities in the world of medical devices.
BioMatters | Fall 200911
The business’s third product area of
intravenous pumps is poised to launch.
“Getting our products launched is one of our
challenges, given the current economic envi-
ronment, and that is true on a global basis.
It is hard for a hospital to get money for
equipment,” said Keely. Delphi’s high precision
infusion pumps will uniquely incorporate
safety software, preventing accidental dosing
outside of the specified parameters.
ACCURI CyToMETERS’ PRICE BUSTER IS A MARKET INNoVATIoN In David Hurley’s University of Georgia
study of cow placentas, he’d routinely have
to help with the birth of a calf in the middle
of the night and then drive across campus to
access the campus’s cytometer to measure its
T-cell count. That is, until four years ago when
Accuri Cytometers came on the market as a
U-M spinoff with a cytometer that sold for
25% of the cost of the $130,000 market leader.
Hurley now has Accuri’s cytometer in his
dairy barn.
“This is a market innovation, not a
technology innovation,” said Jack Ball,
Accuri’s vice president for business develop-
ment. Most scientists cannot very easily get
grants for things that cost over $100,000.
Accuri’s price-buster tool is making for
a fast-growing company with wide-reaching
implications. “By making flow cytometry
technology more affordable, accessible and
usable, Accuri’s high performance systems have
the potential to accelerate and broaden the
scope of biomedical research,” said Bahaa Fam,
a partner at Fidelity Biosciences, in a statement.
The cytometer is used to track and treat
diseases like AIDS and cancer. The company
has doubled its sales this year in the first five
months compared to last year, and doubled
its number of employees (60) since last fall.
“We think our market potential is $300-
400 million a year,” said Ball. Currently the
company has less than 5 percent of a $1.5
billion-a-year market.
Last year Accuri nailed down $15 mil-
lion in venture capital funding, and this July
the company received $4 million in Series D
financing from a consortium that included
Fidelity Biosciences, Flagship Ventures,
Baird Venture Partners, Arboretum Ventures
and InvestMichigan.
The business has opened European
facilities in the last year, and the cash influx
is expected to help them grow that market
and commercialize their Accuri C6 Flow
Cytometer.
The challenge of managing their growth
is the kind of challenge that other busi-
nesses wish they had. “It’s always difficult
to hire enough people fast enough,” said
Ball. Accuri is sharing the insights gained
from this period of high-growth by offering
a creativity award and free cytometers for
innovative uses of their product.
INTEGRATED SENSING SySTEMS’ FlUID MEMS CHIP MAy REVolUTIoNIZE CoNGESTIVE HEART FAIlURE TREATMENT Doug Sparks introduces himself to
friendly strangers on a plane by saying his
employer in Ann Arbor has been manu-
facturing micromachine chips—computer
chips with moving parts—since 2003. “No
one else makes a fluid chip,” said Sparks,
Integrated Sensing Systems, Inc. (ISSYS)
senior scientist. The product can sense
chemical concentration, density, mass, and
flow for medical and scientific applications.
In fact, an ISSYS microelectromechanical
systems (MEMS) chip may have actually
helped adjust the fuel of the plane Sparks is
chatting in. “Now that fuel prices are going
up, we’re getting more requests for a chip
that is currently on airplanes all over the
world,” said Sparks.
The ISSYS microfluid sensor also has
the potential to revolutionize the treatment
of congestive heart failure patients, which
includes five million individuals in the U.S.
alone. Currently, methods to determine
heart strength may be dangerous (a catheter
in the heart) or imprecise (weighing a
patient to determine weight gain from fluid
retention). However, pending FDA approval,
their batteryless telemetric sensor can be
implanted in the heart’s left ventricle or
aorta and transmit the heart’s status
wirelessly via radio waves to doctors holding
a companion reader.
In the meantime, the sales of the flow
sensor were helped by an influx of $20
million in the last year. New strategic
partner Endress+Hauser is helping develop
and sell the microfluidic products. “We’ve
grown in the last year by 20 percent, as
opposed to everyone else laying people off,”
said Sparks.
the barrierS of coSt, complexity, and Space requirementS for Standard flow cytometerS are broken with the compact, afford-able, eaSy-to-operate verSion developed by accuri cytometerS.
three generationS of iSSyS preSSure SenSorS laid on a penny demonStrate the progreSSive Size reductionS that enable the development of Smaller medical deviceS.
Accuri’s price-buster tool is making for a fast-growing company with wide-reaching implications.
The ISSYS microfluid sensor also has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of congestive heart failure patients, which includes five million individuals in the u.S. alone.
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BioMatters | Fall 2009 12
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Essen Instruments Markets a “Microscope” in an Incubator
essen instruments is a small Ann
Arbor company that provides exciting
options for biotech businesses and
academic laboratories using instru-
ments to analyze cell-based assays
for drug discovery. Since 1990, the
company has invented three products:
l FLiPr (Fluorescent imaging Plate
Reader), the first high-throughput cell-based screening
instrument in the industry.
l IonWorks, the first commercially-available high-throughput
electrophysiology platform.
l incucytetM, the first automated imaging system designed
to fit “inside” a standard cell culture incubator.
customers can buy the instruments, or essen will run the
assays fee for service. “What is unusual is that we have an
engineering group in the same proximity as the sophisticated
biology staff that does the assays, and a software group that
does analysis of data,” said vince groppi, vice president and
chief scientific officer.
Essen employs 36 people in its 14,000 square-foot Michigan
facility, and a sales force of four in europe to sell its ionWorks
and incucyte products. FLiPr is manufactured and sold by
Molecular Devices corporation in california; essen runs assays
on the device for customers.
incucytetM is now used by all major pharmaceutical
companies to quality-control cell culture. “it connects to a
computer network, so you can watch cells grow and change
without ever opening the door of the incubator, which keeps
the environmental conditions inside stable,” said groppi.
Anyone who has purchased a
promising-sounding, but awkward,
piece of equipment will appreciate
essen’s design process. “the instru-
ments we make are user friendly.
Since our biologists are on staff,
our engineers don’t have to imagine
what a biologist needs. that would be
like building a kitchen without consulting a cook,” said groppi.
in the last year, essen has added sales of reagents to its
income stream, through a strategic alliance with tcS cellworks
in the uK. currently, essen’s business income is 80 percent
instruments and 20 percent services, but its business plan in
the next four years is to utilize its sophisticated biology group
to increase the services side to the level of instrument sales.
For a company like essen that thrives on problem
solving, the recession is a challenge that is manageable.
“the time to make a decision has lengthened because
everyone was spooked. We are getting clients now who are
confident to make a decision in a timely matter. Our plan
is to show we are flexible—providing services and sales of
reagents—so we continue to try and find the best path
forward,” said groppi.
eSSen’S vp and chief Scientific officer, vince groppi, StreSSeS the depth of the company’S Staff aS one of itS main StrengthS.
“What is unusual is that we have an engineering group in the same proximity as the sophisticated biology staff that does the assays, and a software group that does analysis of data.”
BioMatters | Fall 200913
the electronic head deSigned by eSSen inStrumentS iS a key component of the company’S ionworkS planar patch, high throughput electrophySiological inStrument which meaSureS the propertieS of ion channelS in iSolated cellS.
Ph
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14BioMatters | Fall 2009
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BioMatters | Fall 200915
PhArMAceuticALS AnD therAPeuticS
Michigan companies Aim to Burst
the healthcare Bubble
Anyone taking the time to understand Michigan’s pharmaceutical industry may be surprised
and impressed, for reasons that include:
IMPACT: Perrigo manufactures
35 billion tablets annually, and is the world’s largest
manufacturer of over-the-counter pharmaceutical products
for the store-brand market.
HISToRy: JhP Pharmaceuticals is a
new business manufacturing intravenous medications in
a historical location. its sterile factory site has
manufactured continually since 1903, when it produced the first FDA-approved vaccine in the u.S.
INNoVATIoN: eloquest’s latest product
speeds the onset of a topical anesthetic, reducing those
anxiety-filled moments before a needle is administered.
BioMatters | Fall 2009 16
By Deb Merion
All three businesses are actively working
to restrain our country’s ballooning
healthcare costs by lowering costs and
raising quality, whether their products are
dermatological (Eloquest), intravenous
(JHP Pharmaceutical), or oral (Perrigo).
PERRIGo Perrigo is a 122-year business with $2
billion in annual sales. They produce over
1,000 over-the-counter medications each
year, including Nyquil, Pepto-Bismol,
Robitussin, Tylenol, Advil, and Prilosec.
Although the business name may not have
the brand name prominence of Kellogg or
Ford, it is doubtful that few in Allegan are
unaware of Perrigo—the business employs
2,800 there, and the population of the town
is barely twice that.
The business manufactures the medi-
cations for both brand names and store
products, such as Meijer or CVS. “Every
major retailer is a client of ours,” said Art
Shannon, vice president, investor relations
and communications.
When medications switch from pre-
scription to over-the-counter (OTC), such
as Prilosec and Zyrtec did recently, Perrigo
jumps into the market in the big way. “We
are the largest player in producing medica-
tions that have switched from prescription
to OTC,” said Shannon.
To meet the challenge of increasingly
stringent quality requirements from the
FDA, the business added a massive quality
systems approach last year costing $15 mil-
lion. Signs remind employees ‘your son or
daughter is taking this product later today.’
The investments are paying off for
investors and healthcare consumers. Traded
under PRGO on NASDAQ, Perrigo had
double-digit gains in earnings from 2007
to 2008. “When you think about the aging
population and rising healthcare costs, we
are in a perfect spot to help people save
money on healthcare,” said Shannon.
JHP PHARMACEUTICAlS Quality and cost are also major issues
for JHP Pharmaceuticals in Rochester. The
firm sells primarily aseptic products for
acute care in hospital settings. “There is a
high quality needed when you are injecting
something into the blood stream. People
want something manufactured in the U.S.”
said Stuart Hinchen, co-founder, with Peter
Jenkins, of JHP Pharmaceuticals.
The two men bought the business from
King Pharma in 2007 for $90 million. “To go
and build the factory alone would cost $150
million,” said Hinchen.
PhArMAceuticALS AnD therAPeuticS
“every major retailer is a client of ours.”
“We love Michigan in terms of our site,
the people, the first class support we get from
Rochester, and we have good support from
the union. They are interested in the long-
term success of the company,” said Hinchen.
Three hundred people work at the factory.
JHP produces its own line of pharma-
ceuticals including Pitocin—an intravenous
medication familiar to pregnant women as a
way to hasten the birth process—and offers
a complete range of contract manufacturing
services to clients in pharmaceuticals and
biopharmaceuticals.
“Contract manufacturing is up because
pharmaceuticals like Pfizer, etc. have taken
on a different strategy where they don’t do
all of their own manufacturing. Estimates
are for a 12 percent increase each year,” said
Hinchen. The company is in discussions to
produce the H1N1 swine flu vaccine.
That vaccine would be added to a long
list of vaccines produced at this historical
site, now owned by JHP. Vaccines previously
produced there include the polio vaccine,
invented by Dr. Jonas Salk at the University of
Michigan in 1955, and diphtheria antitoxin,
produced there by Parke-Davis in 1903 under
the first U.S. Biological License ever granted.
“We love Michigan in terms of our site, the people, the first class support we get from rochester, and we have good support from the union.”
perrigo iS the world’S largeSt manufacturer of otc pharmaceutical productS for the Store brand market. itS primary marketS are the u.S., u.k., iSrael, and mexico.
Jhp manufactureS and SellS brand aSeptic inJectable pharmaceuticalS in hoSpital and clinical SettingS and provideS global contract manufacturing ServiceS which involve liquid, lyophilized and SuSpenSion preSentationS.
continued on page 18
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19 BioMatters | Fall 2009
When Mary Poppins first sang “Just a spoonful of sugar
helps the medicine go down,” no one could have predicted
the rise of the $110 billion nutraceutical market, where the
food iS the medicine.
cerise nutraceuticals in traverse city produces products
leveraging the 17 antioxidants found in juicy, red, tart
cherries. “ninety percent of the business so far has been
in research development,” said ceO ray Pleva.
his efforts to promote his products’ effectiveness are
starting to create an impact as difficult to ignore as a red
cherry stain on a white shirt.
the fruit has the potential to inhibit colon cancer tumors,
reduce inflammation, and increase sleep-producing melatonin,
according to university of texas and Michigan State university
research.
Michigan State university scientists helped cerise patent a
process to create capsules from cherries and combine them with
kalaya oil, which is rich in omega 3 fatty acids. in addition to
the $35.95 bottle of capsules, cerise’s cherrylotion.com website
sells creams and lotions. Product costs range from $15.95 for
cherry-Lavender hand & Body Lotion or unscented head & Body
Lotion to $35.95 for Facial Skin Solution or Joint and Muscle
comfort Lotion.
Cerise Nutraceuticals Uses Cherries to Boost Michigan and Individual Health
the fruit has the potential to inhibit colon cancer tumors, reduce inflammation, and increase sleep-producing melatonin.
cerise’s promotional information says its products can address
dozens of problems from acne, bursitis and cancer to Parkinson’s
and shingles. how can one small red fruit help so many problems?
“Ninety percent of our health issues are related to inflammation
and digestion. Balance these problems and your body functions
start working like they should,” said Pleva.
Like other nutraceutical manufacturers, cerise wants to
avoid running afoul of regulation. “We don’t claim to heal; our
products help the body help itself back into its comfort zone,”
says Pleva. the cerise website says, “the information stated
here has not been evaluated by the u.S. Food and Drug Admin-
istration. these products are not intended to diagnose, treat,
cure, mitigate or prevent any disease.”
Still, Pleva’s anecdotal experience has produced dozens of
pages of testimonials that are difficult to ignore. One example:
“After suffering from frozen feet while serving during “Battle of
the Bulge” in WWii, i have suffered in the winters with my feet
burning, especially at nighttime. Then, after five or six applica-
tions of your cerise Joint and Muscle comfort Lotion, i am totally
free of the burning sensations and can sleep like a baby,” said
clarence Weber of traverse city, Michigan.
Also, Pleva easily cites completed and in-process scientific
research at MSu, university of Michigan, and central Michigan
university involving cherries’ positive effects on Parkinson’s,
Alzheimer’s, and huntington’s diseases.
cerise purchases its cherries in Michigan, pumping the market
of the largest tart cherry producer in the country. Although the
creams and capsules are manufactured out of state, Pleva is plan-
ning to open a manufacturing center in Michigan as sales increase.
it may come as no surprise that Pleva grew up on a cherry
farm. his family also ran the local butcher shop, and Pleva’s
innovation in the meat business was a cherry-enhanced meat
product called Plevalean, sales of which have backed his cherry
nutraceutical research for 21 years.
the tenacious enthusiasm and consummate salesmanship for
cherries that have landed him on television with Oprah Winfrey
and tim Allen show no sign of diminishing.
recently, Pleva met with Michigan governor
granholm when she visited traverse city
to give her some free products, and
also started a partnership with fit-
ness expert Peter nielsen to market
his products on his television show,
“Peter’s Principles.” “With your
backed-up research, great products,
and your passion, it’s a WOW,” said nielson.
Still, Pleva’s anecdotal experience has produced dozens of pages of testimonials.
17
PhArMAceuticALS AnD therAPeuticS
ray pleva, ceo of ceriSe nutraceuticalS, actively promoteS the poSitive health benefitS of cherrieS. the company’S webSite SayS “cherrieS are the new Superfruit.”
BioMatters | Fall 2009
Ph
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BioMatters | Fall 2009 18
MAnuFActuring
EloqUEST Another relatively new firm in Michigan
also selling pharmaceuticals to the acute
care market is Eloquest Healthcare. The
firm spun off as a wholly-owned subsidiary
from the Ferndale Pharma Group, Inc. group
in 2008.
Timothy P. O’Halla, Eloquest vice
president & COO, explained that Ferndale
Pharma created the spinoff to focus on
smaller business channels—in this case
helping hospitals improve dermatological
outcomes. Eloquest’s products include drug
products and devices that minimize dermal
pain, preserve and/or repair the integrity of
the skin and ensure the integrity of devices
adhered to the skin.
Their latest device, to be launched in
2010 with co-promotional partner Echo
Therapeutics, is a handheld product that
helps painlessly remove the top level of skin
to speed the onset of a topical anesthetic.
O’Halla estimated that their portfolio
product share is 20 percent of a $130 million
market, with a client list that includes Henry
Ford Health System, William Beaumont
Hospital, University of Michigan Hospital,
Texas Children’s Hospital, UCLA Medical
Center, and Vanderbilt University Hospital.
Ferndale Laboratories manufactures
most of Eloquest’s products, allowing
reSeArch
the spinoff concept is proving a wise decision by Ferndale, whose business acumen since 1897 had made it one of the oldest businesses in Michigan.
PhArMAceuticALS AnD therAPeuticS
Eloquest’s 20 employees to focus on sales,
marketing and business development.
The spinoff concept is proving a wise
decision by Ferndale, whose business
acumen since 1897 had made it one of the
oldest businesses in Michigan. Eloquest
anticipates an increase from $16.5 million
in net sales for 2008 to $19 million in 2009.
All three pharmaceuticals’ unique
strengths are notable at a time when the
Obama administration’s mantra is health-
care reform. “Like others, I’ve been trying
to figure out how to play President Obama’s
policy initiatives in healthcare,” says Glenn
Rogers, a contributing editor to Internet
Wealth Builder, “I think the generic drug
makers have the best chance of coming
out of the upheaval in healthcare smelling
like roses.”
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GRoWTH IN GloBAl MARKET FoR SUPPlEMENTS ACCElERATING A variety of factors are leading to the explosive
growth in the numbers of those health-conscious
consumers, including dissatisfaction with the rising costs
of conventional drugs, a large baby boomer population
seeking to mitigate the effects of aging, a renewed focus
on “an ounce of prevention vs. a pound of cure,” and an
increased perception that natural products are better or
healthier than synthetic ones. in just the past decade,
nutrilite has seen its sales increase by greater than
250 percent.
“We anticipate that the market for supplements will
continue to grow as baby boomers age and preventive
care becomes an increasing priority,” said hartwig.
PUSHING THE BoUNDARIES oF NUTRITIoNAl SCIENCE nutrilite is ideally positioned to meet the growing
demand for nutritional supplements. its ever-growing global
product line is developed and supported through the work
of the nutrilite health institute, which stays on the lead-
ing edge of health and nutrition through its international
research program drawing on expertise from more than
100 scientists, experts, and educators involved in clinical
research, product development, and brand education.
today the institute, led by Dr. Sam rehnborg, nutrilite
founder carl’s son, stands at the forefront of nutrigenomics,
an emerging scientific discipline that seeks to understand
how genes interact with nutrients. As research progresses,
nutrilite experts anticipate greatly expanding
offerings of nutrigenomic supplements, or per-
sonalized nutrition recommendations designed
around an individual’s genetic predisposition
to certain diseases and conditions.
ANoTHER SUCCESSFUl 75 yEARS heading into the second decade of the
21st century, all signs seem to point to
nutrilite’s continuing success and
growth as one of the most trusted
brands of supplements. “We are
proud to support the $3 billion
nutrilite brand from Ada, as we
celebrate the brand’s 75th anniver-
sary,” said Amway’s hartwig.
Ada-based Alticor’s nutrilite brand of nutritional
supplements has enjoyed more than seven decades of
success but, with today’s increased emphasis on preven-
tive health care and wellness, it’s poised to ride a wave
of even stronger global growth.
FRoM oNE MAN To A $3-BIllIoN GloBAl BUSINESS nutrition pioneer carl rehnborg debuted nutrilite in
1934, making it the first multivitamin/multimineral sold
in north America. in the 1950s, nutrilite distributors rich
Devos and Jay van Andel expanded on rehnborg’s existing
multilevel marketing system, eventually creating what
would become Amway in 1959.
today, Michigan-based Alticor, the parent company of
Amway, the nutrilite product line is the world’s leading
brand of vitamin, mineral, and dietary supplements,
enjoying global annual sales that topped $3 billion in 2008.
“nutrilite has always stood apart from other supple-
ments because of its focus on phytonutrients, the natural
plant concentrates that we grow almost exclusively on
our own organic farms,” said Jori hartwig, vice president,
Amway global Marketing.
nutrilite offers more than 200 nutritional supple-
ments, including tablets, capsules, powder drink
mixes, and nutritional snacks and bars. Its flagship
product is Double X, a multivitamin/multimineral
supplement formulated with nutrients derived
from plants harvested from Nutrilite’s 6,400 acres
of organic farms in the u.S., Mexico, and Brazil.
All products are sold through Amway’s network of
independent business owners (iBOs) to millions of
consumers in approximately 55 countries, and
Alticor sees these numbers only increasing.
“nutrilite has become a recognized brand
globally and is on track for continued market
growth in the years ahead as our iBOs continue
to make deeper inroads with our health-conscious
consumers,” said Doug Devos, president of Alticor.
PhArMAceuticALS AnD therAPeuticS
Nutrilite Brand a World leader in Nutritional Supplements
“We anticipate that the market for supplements will continue to grow as baby boomers age and preventive care becomes an increasing priority.”
By David Bardallis
BioMatters | Fall 200921
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it may be no exaggeration to say that if you want a sneak peek at the future of healthcare in the united States, you need look no further than Michigan,where innovations in information technology and r&D are
combining to create a wide array of new products and services that bring the increasingly important
arenas of preventive care and personalized medicine to the fore.
technOLOgY
By David Bardallis
22BioMatters | Fall 2009
Michigan is Where IT and R&D Meet
to Shape the
Future of Medicine
While debate over the public policy
aspects of American healthcare continues,
many Michigan companies are successfully
moving forward with technological advances
that are poised to literally revolutionize how
medical care is delivered – and received.
TURNING RESEARCH INTo CoMMERCIAl SUCCESS In Ann Arbor, decades of research at the
University of Michigan have culminated in
three spinoff companies that are successfully
harnessing the power and promise of IT
and R&D to meet the challenges – including
rapidly rising costs – of healthcare in the
21st century.
HealthMedia Inc., founded in 1998 by
UM researcher Victor Strecher, marries
expertise in behavioral science with a strong
knowledge base of healthcare topics and IT
to deliver unique “web interventions” aimed
at improving patient outcomes while reducing
costs. The result: increased productivity and
profitability for employers, health plans,
pharmaceuticals, and other customers.
HealthMedia’s “health coach in a browser”
product offerings provide automated, yet
highly tailored coaching on topics ranging
from health risk assessment, eating and
weight control, and smoking cessation to
chronic pain or disease management, sleep
improvement, and more.
healthMedia’s innovative approach to preventive, personalized care attracted the attention of pharma giant Johnson & Johnson.
BioMatters | Fall 200923
of tools that will be attractive to clinicians and
their patients,” said Howard Cash, founder and
CEO of Gene Codes, which has grown to the
point it now has offices in Ft. Myers, Fla.; New
York City; and Brighton, England. “Detailed
genetic information is going to be used by
your personal physician sometime in the near
future to help diagnose and predict diseases
and select optimal treatments,” he added. “We
can debate if we’ll see that level of personal-
ized care in two years or 15, but nobody is
saying it’s 50 years away.”
Genetics Squared’s EvolverTM computational
platform integrates vast amounts of data for
the purpose of creating molecular diagnostic
tests, which use genetic information to predict
the course of a disease as well as compute the
likelihood a disease will recur or respond to a
given treatment.
“We’re at the center of the evolving field of
personalized medicine,” said Bill Worzel, CEO
of Genetics Squared. “We provide doctors with
information based on molecular characteristics
to help them obtain a more comprehensive
picture of an individual’s disease and ultimately
make better decisions regarding that individual
patient’s care.”
Understanding diseases at a molecular
level also has the potential to achieve savings
of billions of healthcare dollars, according to
Worzel. “Healthcare spending is driven largely
by errors – prescribed therapies that ulti-
mately don’t work – at tremendous cost to the
system. With the technology being developed,
we’ll be able to find the best treatment in the
fewest doses for the most patients. The more
info we have at the outset, the more effectively
we use health dollars.”
Worzel expects the company’s growth to
take off in the early part of 2010, as it releases
a molecular test for colorectal cancer.
The success of HealthMedia’s innova-
tive approach to preventive, personalized
care attracted the attention of pharma
giant Johnson & Johnson, who acquired the
company in 2008 and has since made it the
base for an entirely new market platform.
Cielo MedSolutions, spun off from
UM in 2006, is at the leading edge of a new
category of healthcare IT known as clinical
quality management systems. Its flagship
software product, the web-based Cielo ClinicTM,
is helping hundreds of medical offices to
organize, track, and utilize clinical data to
provide better and timelier patient care. By
keeping records electronically, it also pro-
vides documentation for generating reports
that accurately track physician performance.
“Cielo’s products enhance the quality
of patient care, improve practice revenues,
and optimize practice efficiency,” said David
J. Morin, co-founder and president and
CEO of Cielo. “Cielo Clinic helps providers
ensure that each of their patients are up to
date with their prevention, screening, and
chronic disease management needs.”
The company reported a 300-percent
increase in revenue and a 400-percent
increase in clinical users of its software in
2008. According to Morin, the company’s
revenues for this year have already exceeded
2008’s total. “The next five to six years
will be interesting for us, with the federal
government funding health IT adoption,”
he added. “We may see incredible year-over-
year growth rates for some time.”
Compendia Bioscience, also spun off
from UM in 2006, offers Oncomine, a web-
enabled platform that allows researchers
to access and analyze a massive catalog of
molecular data to aid in the development of
cancer-treating drugs.
“We’re bringing the world of cutting-edge
genomic data to cancer drug discoverers and
developers,” said Compendia co-founder and
CEO Dan Rhodes. “Scientists at all major
pharmaceutical companies use Oncomine to
discover new drug targets and which patients
are most likely to benefit.”
In 2008, Compendia enjoyed a 300-
percent revenue increase, and not only
did all of its present clients renew their
subscriptions to the Oncomine database,
three of the top 10 pharmaceutical com-
panies also signed up. As a result of this
growth, Compendia expects 2009 will mark
its first year of profitability. “We anticipate
continued year-over-year growth both in
revenues and staff,” added Rhodes. “We’re
up to 25 full-time employees and plan to
add another five over the next year.”
USING GENETIC DATA To CREATE INDIVIDUAlIZED CARE Two other Ann Arbor companies, Gene
Codes and Genetics Squared, are pioneering
software platforms that enable researchers
to, among other things, identify the remains
of victims of mass fatalities and develop
clinical tests to detect and treat cancer and
other diseases.
Gene Codes’s flagship product,
Sequencher, has, over the years since its
introduction in 1991, become the standard
for DNA sequencing and analysis, used by
nearly every major pharmaceutical and
commercial genomics company in the
world. The forensic version of the program
has been used to identify victims of the 9/11
attacks and the 2004 tsunami and continues
to be used to help identify U.S. soldiers who
have died in active duty.
“Gene Codes is uniquely positioned to
take technology we have developed for basic
researchers and transform it into the kinds
“We’re bringing the world of cutting-edge genomic data to cancer drug discoverers and developers.”
compendia bioScience’S online information SolutionS for oncology drug diScovery allow ScientiStS to harneSS a Staggering volume of cancer data.
“With the technology being developed, we’ll be able to find the best treatment in the fewest doses for the most patients.”
BioMatters | Fall 2009 24
BUIlDING AN IT INFRASTRUCTURE To SUPPoRT 21ST-CENTURy MEDICINE Other Michigan companies are helping
medical professionals create and maintain
the infrastructure necessary to support the
increasing demands of a digital future.
In Grand Rapids, technology consultant
Arivium Inc. is providing high-powered IT
support to hospitals, clinical research institu-
tions, contract research organizations (CROs)
that serve pharmaceuticals, and even providers
of sports medicine informatics.
Arivium’s services include setting up
and maintaining IT systems that can capture,
aggregate, and analyze data that help research-
ers and physicians better predict, monitor, or
understand patients’ pathologies and choose
the best courses of action to follow.
“We help clients integrate data and
develop software applications and platforms
that improve delivery of services to customers.
In the case of our healthcare clients, that
ultimately translates into higher quality
patient care,” said Darren Brown, founder
and president of Arivium.
After a relatively flat 2008 and 2009,
Brown forecasts moderate growth in 2010
as the need for healthcare IT expertise
technOLOgY
accelerates. “The exposure we’ve gained by
working with clients in related, but comple-
mentary, industries leaves us optimistic
about a more integrated, cost-efficient set
of healthcare solutions,” he said.
THE FUTURE oF HEAlTHCARE IS NoW The growing fields of healthcare IT and
R&D are combining to drive technological
solutions with the potential to reduce costs,
improve care, and foster a revolution in
personalized medicine, where patients’ own
genetic data can be analyzed to predict the
likelihood of disease as well as diagnose,
manage, and treat pathologies in an indi-
vidualized way. Michigan companies are
ideally situated to lead this revolution.
healthcare it and r&D are combining to drive techno-ological solutions with the potential to reduce costs, improve care, and foster a revolution in personalized medicine.
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27 BioMatters | Fall 2009
Ann Arbor-based DnA Software inc. (DnAS) made the edward
Lowe Foundation’s 2009 list of “Michigan 50 companies to
Watch” for good reason. the life sciences technology company
is pushing the envelope of what is possible in the field of bioin-
formatics, an interdisciplinary area where biological, computer,
and information sciences intersect to gather and analyze vast
amounts of data, such as the sequencing of the human genome.
Founded in 2000, the same year scientists first mapped the
human genome, DnAS develops commercial products that allow
researchers to quickly and accurately develop new medical
solutions from the information gleaned through the sequencing
of DnA and rnA, the nucleic acids that form the basic building
blocks of life.
“Our basic value proposition is that scientists can save
significant time and resources by utilizing our software to model
their experiments on computer rather than performing trial-
and-error experiments in a wet lab,” said Jeff Machak, vice
president of business development for DnAS. “Our customers
can simulate thousands of complicated experiments using actual
conditions with our software before running a single experiment
in the lab.”
“Our customers can simulate thousands of complicated experiments using actual conditions with our software before running a single experiment in the lab.”
those software products include visual OMP™ (Oligonucleotide
Modeling Platform™), which has become the industry’s gold
standard for designing, simulating, and optimizing a variety of
advanced nucleic acid-based assays or diagnostic tests (e.g.
multiplex Pcr and microarrays); and thermoBLASt™, which
quickly and accurately scans DnA and rnA sequences against
large genome databases to ensure that diagnostic tests are
optimally sensitive and selective.
DnAS’s software has other applications as well. “Our soft-
ware is used by many prominent research organizations around
the world in the government, academic, pharma/biotech, and
engineering sectors,” said Machak. “Some winemakers also use
our software to develop diagnostic tests to ensure their batches
are pure.”
the company also conducts its own wet lab research. “in
addition to off-the-shelf software, we offer contract research,
custom software and web applications, scientific consulting,
as well as assay development training,” said Machak. “Several
major biotech and diagnostics companies have hired us to help
solve their problems.”
recently, the national institutes of health (nih) awarded
DnAS $2.5 million in grant funding to develop novel nucleic
acid-based technologies, including DnAS’s nucleic Acid cAD™
technology, which expands rnA sequence information into
all-atom 3D structure predictions and models that scientists
can use to create better drugs.
“in silico modeling of rnA-based structures, like the ribo-
some, can help scientists accelerate drug discovery and solve
important health challenges, such as antibiotic resistance,”
said Machak.
Machak expects the company’s success to continue. “Over
the past few years, we’ve refocused our business model and
experienced growth in revenue through increased sales, and
government funding and contract work,” he said. “As a result,
we’ve doubled our staff within the past year and hired top
talent from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Siemens. Most
recently, we have expanded our r&D pipeline to create exciting
new technologies for improved diagnostics development and
drug discovery.”
“We’ve refocused our business model and experienced growth in revenue through increased sales, and government funding and contract work.”
25
Jeff machak, vp, buSineSS development, haS reaSon to Smile. dna Software waS recently added to the liSt of the edward lowe foundation’S “michigan 50 companieS to watch” and received a $2.5 million nih grant to develop nucleic acid-baSed technologieS.
BioMatters | Fall 2009
one to Watch: DNA SoftwaretechnOLOgY
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development branch of Beaumont Hospitals;
and second, to make available the hospital’s
resources to the medical device community as
a way to support innovative ideas on their way
to the market.
That’s a large, long process that starts
with idea generation, and moves through
market assessment, engineering and process
You have an idea. You think it might be a good one. You think it might even sell. now what? it doesn’t matter whether you are a student, a researcher,
an inventor, or even all three. there are a number of academic-industry programs to help you evaluate,
test, and market your idea. You just need to know who to ask for help.
analysis. BCC has a laboratory that can build
prototypes — if they can’t build in-house,
they know who can. They also help with the
regulatory process and reimbursement.
“We understand what the issues are in
the hospital,” says Shallman. “We can answer
them under one roof,” since Beaumont is
a potential user and purchaser of the final
product.
“It takes a hospital to really get that info,”
explained Shallman. “Specialized surgical
staff working and looking at a product – you
can’t do that and get real world application
unless you’re a hospital.”
BEAUMoNT PRoVIDES REAl WoRlD APPlICATIoNS The last few years have shown a burst of
activity in creating programs designed to
help move innovations from the mind of an
inventor to the marketplace. Michigan has
a range of resources for biological science
innovators creating everything from software
to medical devices, or, as John Shallman,
director of Beaumont Commercialization
Center (BCC) puts it, “from tongue depres-
sors to MRI.”
BCC launched in April 2008, with a
two-fold mission: first, to be the technology
the last few years have shown a burst of activity in creating programs designed to help move innovations from the mind of an inventor to the marketplace.
ecOnOMic DeveLOPMentinnOvAtiOn
BioMatters | Fall 2009
Bio Innovation in Michigan Fueled by ACADEMIC-INDUSTRy PARTNERSHIP
collaboration in Support of innovation iS making new and valuable reSourceS available to aSSiSt and educate thoSe with marketable ideaS.
By A. J. Hogg
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BioMatters | Fall 200927
the univerSity of michigan’S biomedical engineering department foSterS collaborationS among faculty and reSearcherS. commercialization of new bme technologieS iS further enhanced by acceSS to the reSourceS of u-m’S medical innovation center, entrepreneurShip inStitute and medical School.
U oF M SERVICES SPAN SPECTRUM oF ENTREPRENEURSHIP In a similar way, the University of Michi-
gan Medical Innovation Center (MIC) takes
advantage of its connection to the University
of Michigan Health System. Brenda Jones,
MIC’s managing director, said their goal is to
“serve the inventors at the University of Mich-
igan throughout the entire campus.” Started
in April 2008 MIC also assists companies
outside the university, such as medical device
developers. And, like Beaumont, they are able
to tap into their prototyping laboratory and
front line clinician-provided feedback.
“The flagship of our mission,” Jones
said, “is our one-year fellowship.” What
started as a fellowship in multidisciplinary,
team-oriented health technology innovation
is expanding next year to allow a company
to send an employee still on its payroll to
attend the fellowship.
Last year’s initial class of five fel-
lows (business, engineering, and medical
students) turned out well — they have
already started a company, Tangent Medical.
Jones said, “We got them into an Ann Arbor
SPARK boot camp, and through boot camp
they made contacts.” Those contacts helped
Tangent with funding.
You might not have known that MIC
or its fellowship existed at the University
of Michigan, but Daryl Weinert, execu-
tive director of the University of Michigan
Business Engagement Center (BEC), did.
He describes his job as the “U’s interface
with the business community.” BEC helps
connect people in the university’s depart-
ments (like MIC) with people they hope to
help. “We make useful connections for both
sides,” he said.
The BEC works with all fields of busi-
ness, not just biological science, and inter-
acts with Fortune 500 companies on a regu-
lar basis, as well as individual entrepreneurs
and everything in between. All of their
clients think the university can help them be
more successful, even if the university can’t
always help. In those cases, BEC has liaisons
with entities around the state – economic
development agencies, chambers of com-
merce, small business administrations, and
other universities. “We now have better odds
to make useful connections,” Weinert said.
“If there wasn’t a BEC, people would
enter through all kinds of different doors,”
Weinert explained. Some would find who they
needed, others wouldn’t. Since BEC opened in
December 2007, life science and engineering
have been the two biggest points of interest,
according to Weinert. So, naturally, BEC main-
tains satellite offices in the Medical School
and the College of Engineering
Bec has liaisons with entities around the state — economic development agencies, chambers of commerce, small business administrations, and other universities.
By maintaining a university-wide knowl-
edge base, Weinert’s goal is to help clients.
“We’re going to get them an answer. We can’t
always guarantee that the answer is ‘yes,’ but
sometimes ‘no’ is just as helpful.” It saves time
if you can skip following up ideas that aren’t
going anywhere.
After WWII, Wallace Coulter developed a
method to count blood cells – the CBC that
comes back when you get bloodwork. By auto-
mating it, he created a company that did quite
well. Jim O’Connell, the director of the Coulter
Program, in the University of Michigan’s
Biomedical Engineering (BME) Department
explained that when Coulter died, his founda-
tion gave money to ten different departments in
ten different schools to support basic research
along the lines of Coulter’s innovation.
“My role is trying to promote biomedical
research,” said O’Connell. “Our job is to
support the faculty so university intellectual
property can make it out there.”
Like many academic-industry partner-
ships, the Coulter Program and BME assess
proposed technology and find out how much
time and money it would take to get a product
to market. If it looks promising, they can help
find more funding for research, or state and
small business grants. If the product is ready to
commercialize, they can help get the product
ready for market, help make decisions about
personnel (not everyone is cut out to be a
CEO), as well as make connections to deal with
regulation concerns, design, and other details.
O’Connell aims to “find the right stuff
that’s already in development” and to provide
“people, focus, and direction” in order to
“speed up the process of getting great research
out of the University and helping patients.”
MTEC MATCHES NEEDS oF REGIoN WITH UNIVERSITy RESoURCES Jim Baker, the director of Technology and
Economic Development (TED) at Michigan
Technological University (MTU), has similar
goals. He describes TED as in-house commer-
cializing and consulting. “We give a lot of advice
and do some of the work,” he explained.
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From first inkling to finished product, innovation in Michigan is moving ahead with the help of an array of creative resources that help get ideas to the marketplace.
innOvAtiOn
TED also operates a satellite of the Michigan
Small Business and Technology Development
Center (MSBTDC), which allows them to
consult for any regional company and help
match their technology needs with resources
of the university. “We’re in the business of early
stage business consulting,” he said. “We serve
both internal and external innovators.”
Baker thinks of this as focusing on the
“beginnings of a company,” including patent
protections, a commercial plan, licensing or
starting a company, participation on boards,
funding advice (venture and angel), commer-
cialization of grant activity, supporting grant
writing activity and marketing.
From first inkling to finished product,
innovation in Michigan is moving ahead with
the help of an array of creative resources that
help get ideas to the marketplace.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
PhRMA MEMBER COMPANIES ARE COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING ECONOMIC GROWTH & FURTHER RESEARCH
THAT LEADS TO GOOD JOBS & THRIVING COMMUNITIES.
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BioscienceWarner’s Life Sciences Group has the diverse talent required to bring your product or idea all the way from patent stage to commercial market. To get started, call Amy Rinaldo at 248.784.5107.
A better partnership.
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29
MSU Business-CONNECT links your business to world-class knowledge experts.
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Connect your business to MSU today!
MSU Business-CONNECT can help you leverage Michigan State University’s wealth of resources, efficiently and effortlessly, helping you tap into areas of the university you might not have known existed. Whether it’s biofuels and biomaterials, sustainability or supply chain, Business-CONNECT can be your single point of contact to put the right resources and people together to make it happen.
—Work with our faculty researchers to develop new ideas, help reduce your ideas to practice, or refine and test your products.
—Partner with us to bring MSU faculty innovations to market.
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BioMatters | Fall 2009
30BioMatters | Fall 2009
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DBA-A - BioMatters Ad_printready_outlined.pdf 3/12/2009 1:52:54 PM
Intellectual Property
Design Engineering
Usability Testing
Prototyping
Clinical Trials
FDA Approval
It’s just what the doctor ordered.
Anyone who has ever had a good idea knows you can’t nurture it alone. It takes a hospital. One that can help turn your idea into a breakthrough. Introducing the Beaumont Commercialization Center, with the resources to handle everything from prototyping to clinical trials. And everything in between. Because at Beaumont, we live for good ideas. Where ideas go to get better.
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Oakland is a known leader in many applied researchdisciplines, including biomedical research, manufacturing,information technology, alternative energy/power trainand homeland defense. To foster emerging discoveries,the university features several noted research centers,including the Fastening and Joining Research Institute,Center for Biomedical Research and Eye Research Institute.
For further information, contact:T.C. Yih, Vice Provost for Research, (248) 370-2552
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33 BioMatters | Fall 2009
if you have 3,200 head of cattle,
you probably have a manure problem.
it’s simple biology. A dairy farm, near
Bad Axe, was restricted from adding
more cows for just that reason. But
what if it could install an anaerobic
digester to help with the manure and
odor problems? even better, what if it
could capture the methane gas given
off by the digester, and use it to power
an on-site hydroponic greenhouse? And
what if that greenhouse grew fresh
produce on a year-round basis, supplying
Meijer and Spartan stores? not only
does that solve a waste problem, but it
converts waste into a revenue stream.
the people who help develop these
ideas work for Michigan State university’s
Product center for Agricultural and
natural resources. When founded in
2003, the Product center focused on
agricultural startups, where MSu’s expertise in food science
could be tapped: kitchen licensing, shelf-life, packaging, and
marketing. the Product center still works with agriculture
startups, but it decided in 2008 to expand. Associate Director
Ruben Derderian now works to find new ways to produce fuels
and chemicals from biomass instead of petroleum, to reduce
reliance on oil and to take advantage of Michigan raw materials.
A bioeconomy.
MSu hired Derderian last October to build bioeconomy
connections with the university’s chemical and materials
experts. “in order to properly support these products, it
required expertise not available at the
product center,” said Derderian, who
brings 35 years of experience running
medical device businesses and consulting
with independent Michigan startups.
the Product center expansion is in
its early stages, but Derderian sees
himself as “a porthole to the university,
bringing clients and university
technology together.”
Already, the Product center
has been fostering this connection in
the northern lower peninsula, where
there are many fallow fields. As a way
to better use them, a group of growers
looked at how canadians used similar
land – they grew canola. canola likes
mediocre quality soils, can overwinter,
and has a relatively short growing
season. A good fit. This fall 500 acres
are ready for harvest from 34 test plots
near central Lake, just southeast of traverse city.
Because canola has a higher oil content than soy, there
is a clear connection to biodiesel production, and the Product
center has been able to connect biodiesel producers with
MSu’s chemical engineering experts to help smooth out
production. Since canola is high in healthy omega 3 fatty
acids, the Product center can use its connections in food
science to explore food use and marketing. And once the oil
is pressed from the seeds, the remaining meal makes a good
foodstock for pigs, converting a waste product into value.
innOvAtiOn
Moving Toward a
Michigan BioeconomyMSu Product center for Agricultural and natural resources
mSu’S product center iS foStering a dynamic bioeconomy. anaerobic digeSterS capture methane gaS from manure and uSe it to power a related greenhouSe, Solving a waSte problem and converting it into a revenue Stream.
MSu’s Product center now works to find new ways to produce fuels and chemicals from biomass instead of petroleum, in order to reduce reliance on oil and to take advantage of Michigan raw materials. A bioeconomy.
31 BioMatters | Fall 2009
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Many of their products measure various
biomarkers of physiological and biochemi-
cal functions in blood or other body fluids,
explains Stephen Rapundalo, president
and CEO of MichBio. The companies either
sell their reagents as components and/or
package them as kits for sale to their clients,
primarily drug companies, universities,
research institutions, clinicians and the
federal government.
As these Michigan biotech companies
grow “and their products extend out
globally, the companies strengthen their
bottom lines and bring money into
Michigan’s economy,” Rapundalo says.
Just as importantly “they also help reshape
and strengthen Michigan’s image as a
biotechnology center.”
DIVERSE PRoDUCT lINE DRIVES SAlES AT NEoGEN Lansing-based Neogen was formed 27
years ago to utilize technology developed at
Michigan State University in an attempt to
diversify the Michigan economy away from
autos and into biotech. Its first product was
a grain test for naturally occurring toxins.
Since then the company has expanded
and diversified its product line, developing,
manufacturing and marketing a diverse line of
products dedicated to food and animal safety.
It makes more than 200 diagnostic test
kits to detect everything from food-borne
bacteria to food allergens. For the animal
market it makes two immune stimulants,
instruments, pharmaceuticals and an equine
botulism vaccine manufactured in Lansing.
“By bringing food safety back inside the
farm gate, (we) hope to keep animals healthy
to keep the food supply safer,” says Rod Poland,
director of corporate communications.
Neogen has a significant presence in four
American cities (Lansing and St. Joseph, MI
Lexington, KY and Randolph, WI), as well as
Scotland, Shanghai and Mexico. It operates in
a multi-billion-dollar international market,
and Poland believes the company ultimately
can grab about $1 billion of it annually.
Currently the company derives 40 percent
of its revenues from international markets,
a percentage that it would like to grow
eventually to 66 percent, he adds.
developing new productS iS JuSt one way neogen buildS SaleS.
reSeArch PrODuctS
32BioMatters | Fall 2009
State’s Biotech companies Are Making their Presence Felt
By Steve Raphael
Michigan biotech companies are rapidly growing their presence on the world’s stage, selling their products to a diverse customer base all around the globe.
As companies grow they “strengthen their bottom lines and bring money into Michigan’s economy.”
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BioMatters | Fall 2009
BioMatters | Fall 200933
cayman chemical manufactureS, analyzeS and SellS more than 3,500 bio-chemicalS, antibodieS, enzymeS, and aSSay kitS.
To get there means more of the same
strategies the company has employed for
years, notably building and maintaining
personal relationships with clients and
distributors, primarily through telephone
sales calls. To reach its food safety market,
the company calls more than 100 distributors.
For its veterinary market, there are veterinary-
specific distribution groups available, as well
as direct sales to customers.
Introduction of new products, expansion
of international markets and acquisitions
and strategic alliances are other means the
company will use to help generate even
more sales, he adds.
The strategy has resulted in a “remarkable
record” for revenues and profitability over the
years, Poland says. The company has made
money for 16 years, recorded sales of $118.7
million last year and employs about 500
people. Ultimately Neogen’s best marketing
strategy is its products. It says its diagnostic
test kits are less expensive, easier to use and
provide greater accuracy and speed than
many of its competitors’ products.
ASSAy DESIGNS WINS WITH SMART MARKETING The biotech companies have put together
comprehensive marketing campaigns to win
their way in the international marketplace.
Perhaps the best marketing strategy belongs
to Assay Designs. In March, the company
was purchased by New York City-based Enzo
Biochem Inc., a publicly traded company, for
$12.2 million.
That’s a “very fair statement,” says David
Goldberg, Enzo Biochem’s vice president
of corporate development. “What we give
(them) is the ability to piggy back onto our
infrastructure. They gain exposure by being
part of our bigger marketing organization.”
Former Assay President and CEO Daniel
Calvo couldn’t agree more. Through its
new relationship, the 17-year-old company
is now set “to achieve accelerated growth
and a stronger market position than (we
could have) accomplished as a standalone
company,” he says.
Enzo Biochem developed the technol-
ogy and platform currently in use for the
identification of human papilloma virus. Its
technology also plays a role in a number of
diagnostic kits used to identify and quantify
other viral infections, as well as in some
cytogenetic applications to determine
diseases of genetic origin.
Assay Designs makes immunoassay kits,
bead-based multiplex assays, antibodies,
and proteins, including Stressgen brand
kits and reagents for cellular stress research.
This complementary product line comes
with “very strong brand equity,” Goldberg
says. “When we go to trade meetings all we
have to do is (display) the Assay Designs
product and it’s a no brainer. Assay Designs’
customer base is very loyal. We could take
(its) name off and put ours on their prod-
uct…we want Assay to keep (its) identity.”
Enzo Biochem has a presence in New
York, Pennsylvania, California, Switzerland,
Great Britain and Belgium, and works with
more than 50 distributors worldwide. The
33-year-old company employs 650 people
and generated $100 million in sales last
year. Assay Designs employs 80 people and
recorded about $12 million in sales last year.
Goldberg says Assay Designs will remain
in Ann Arbor, and its senior management
team will remain actively involved in
Enzo Biochem. Assay Designs will keep its
identity and be transformed into a center of
excellence, he adds.
CoMPETIToR CoMPARISoNS AND ToP-NoTCH SERVICE ARE INTEGRAl To CAyMAN CHEMICAl STRATEGy Growth is the optimal word at Cayman.
It generated $22 million in sales last year
and is profitable. Operating in a billion-
dollar market, the company wants to increase
sales to at least $50 million annually over
the next five-to-10 years and believes it is
“just touching the surface of its market
potential,” says Shannon Stacey, vice presi-
dent of quality and regulatory affairs. It will
expand its Ann Arbor facility over the next
few years while expanding its marketing
activities to ensure growth.
The company manufactures, analyzes and
sells more than 3,500 bio-chemicals, antibod-
ies, enzymes, and assay kits. It has branched
out into healthcare applications, making a
handful of products under the FDA and Good
Manufacturing Practices guidelines for use in
drug products. The company custom designs
all its products and makes them on a contract
basis, Stacey says.
Its marketing strategy is as basic as can
be: comparative shopping. “One main piece
is our ‘Cayman Challenge,’” Stacey says.
“We give any potential new customer using
a competitor’s kit our equivalent kit for free.”
Then the customer can use both kits and
form his or her own conclusion as to which
kit performed best. “We are confident that
our kits will out-perform our competitors,”
she adds.
Employees also scan the latest
scientific research and findings as a means
to boost sales.
“As soon as we see the first publication
on a relevant biomarker we try to get it out
on our product line,” Stacey says. “Maybe
someone isolated something and may need
a tool. We look for gaps (in a scientist’s
research) to see what kinds of products we
could provide.”
Then there’s the tried and true. Technical
support and customer service “is the key
to our strategy and success,” Stacey says.
Cayman employs 265 people, including 165
people in Ann Arbor and another 100 people
working in its wholly owned subsidiaries in
the Czech Republic, Estonia and Australia.
Operating in a billion-dollar market, cayman believes it is “just touching the surface of its market potential.”
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BioMatters | Fall 2009 34
technOLOgY
cayman’S bioanalytical aSSay ServiceS help thoSe who don’t have the time or perSonnel to run their own SampleS, lack the proper equipment or require
cuStomized protocolS.
Nearly 65 percent of its products are sold
to customers in the U.S., with the remainder
sold worldwide through the company’s
distribution network. The company’s diverse
array of products “is one of our greatest
strengths,” Stacey says.
STRoNG FUNDAMENTAlS PRoPEl oxFoRD BIoMEDICAl RESEARCH Oxford Biomedical Research Inc. in
Rochester Hills is a “strong, research-based
company devoted to high quality and reliable
performance,” says its president and founder
Denis Callewaert. That is the foundation of
the company’s success, “as opposed to glitzy
marketing.”
The 24-year-old company makes and
markets 750 life sciences tools, such as
bio-assay kits to measure biomarkers.
It also sells recombinant proteins and
antibodies for biomedical research and
drug discovery.
Oxford Biomedical serves 12 clients
in Michigan, the largest of which is the
National Institutes of Health, and has
contracts with 35 overseas distributors.
Company revenues last year were
$1.4 million, and Callewaert says the
company’s market potential is $200 million
annually. To reach that goal the company
has embarked on a variety of marketing
strategies, from embracing the Internet
to exhibiting at several biotech-related
conferences annually.
“We won’t place big ads in trade maga-
zines, but we will help customers pick the
right reagents for their work,” he says.
The 25-year-old company - one of four
biotech companies Callewaert has started,
with three still active - has recently launched
a fifth company. That company, Wellness
Indicators, offers “a big growth opportunity,”
he says. Wellness Indicators will reformat and
market specific Oxford products that measure
oxidative stress, antioxidant activity and in-
flammation for the human healthcare market.
Product is the name of the game at
Oxford, and by reinvesting profits into research
and development, Callewaert is confident
the company can grow 10-15 percent
annually in the research market.
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37 BioMatters | Fall 2009
technOLOgY
in just a few short years, Detroit-based start-up company
Asterand plc has taken its place as one of the top-performing
biotech companies in Michigan.
the company has carved out a niche in the human tissue
market, supplying tissue worldwide to pharmaceutical and biotech-
nology companies. Asterand offers unparalleled access to human
tissue through its worldwide procurement network of 83 active
collaborative donor institutions.
For years drug companies have been
somewhat stymied in their research and
development as animal tissue was providing
only a partial guide to drug performance in
clinical trials, says Asterand ceO, Martyn
Coombs. Asterand jumped in to fill that market,
providing human tissue-based models at all
stages of the discovery process as the concept
gains acceptance.
Asterand works with a “very specialized set
of research products,” says Stephen rapundalo,
president and ceO of MichBio, the state’s
bio-industry trade association. the company is
“a true innovator in the up and coming bio-banks
sector worldwide, and today provides high quality,
well-characterized human tissue and human
tissue-based research services.
Asterand was started in 2000 by randal
charlton and Oxford Bioscience Partners and
worked out of the Barbara Ann Karmanos cancer institute in Detroit.
In 2006, it merged with Pharmagene,a drug discovery company
based in royston, great Britain. Asterand continues to maintain an
office in Royston.
Asterand went public in 2006 and last year recorded its first
profit of $7.2 million on sales of $28.2 million. The company employs
94 people, including 65 in Michigan. It is traded on the London Stock
exchange and, of 2,000 companies, was the exchange’s best performing
stock last year, climbing nearly 160 percent and closing the year at
21 cents a share.
Asterand inherited the London Stock exchange listing from
Pharmagene “and stuck with it despite pressures to downgrade to
the AiM (the London exchange’s international market for smaller
growing companies) because we were ambitious and thought that
we would grow into the full listing,” coombs says.
Last year, the Scientist magazine named Asterand as one of the
top 30 “Best Places to Work” in the life sciences industry in a survey
conducted with more than 200 biotech companies in the united
States and Europe. In 2004, The Michigan Economic Development
corp. named Asterand its high tech company of the Year.
the company’s client base includes 29 of the top 30 global
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and extends to academic
and government customers. Last year the company completed a
$2.9 million contract with the u.S. Department of Defense to review,
assess and provide recommendations on the optimal research use of
its bio specimen repository in Washington, D.c.
Signs point to the company growing bigger and stronger. “the
market for human tissues and human tissue-based services is still
relatively young but is estimated at $700-800
million,” coombs says. Last year 80 percent of
Asterand’s total sales were in north America.
thanks to a highly fragmented human tissues
and services market, Asterand’s largest competi-
tion comes from academic and nonprofit groups
that provide human tissues and services to a few
internal groups or collaborators, estimated at
70 percent of the total market.
coombs says Asterand’s position as “the
largest, most well-recognized commercial com-
pany in this field — we estimate at least twice
the size of other commercial competitors” —
will facilitate the company’s future growth.
the company also is more able to
custom tailor its products than a local academic
center or small commercial player, he adds.
According to coombs, Asterand’s future
sees expanding its supply network, extending
its product offerings and hiring more sales people as well as forming
stronger collaborations with local Michigan centers of excellence.
the company will also keep a sharp eye out for acquisitions and
mergers, coombs says.
aSterand waS the beSt performing Stock on the london Stock exchange laSt year and waS named one of the top 30 “beSt placeS to work” in the bioScienceS induStry by The ScienTiST magazine.
35 BioMatters | Fall 2009
Last year, The Scientist magazine named Asterand as one of the top 30 “Best Places to Work” in the life sciences industry
martyn coombS, aSterand ceo, SeeS a future of expanded productS, more SaleS people, and collaborationS, along with a larger Supply network for the company.
Asterand is a Powerhouse of Growth in Research ProductsP
ho
tos c
ou
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sy o
f A
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BioMatters | Fall 2009 36
My
Opi
nion
g u e S t O P i n i O n
Advancing Michigan Bio-Industry Growth Through Education & Advocacy By Joe Schwarz, M.D. and Kim Ross-Jessup The biosciences industry globally is predicted to see significant and steady growth as the
healthcare needs of an aging population magnify. Michigan has a strong foundation in the
biosciences courtesy of a recognized heritage in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, industrial
bio-based technologies, contract research, research products, diagnostics and others. The state’s
primary research universities have been powerhouses in bioscience R&D funding and discov-
eries. The challenge for Michigan will be to sustain bio-industry growth both as an economic
engine and a source of healthcare innovation. This will require a supportive business and
regulatory environment, and a portfolio of resources, especially access to investment capital,
established with public sector assistance. Advocacy for these key elements of industry success
is essential if Michigan is to be a “player” in the global bio-economy.
Decisions made in Lansing or Washington can directly help or harm the success of bioscience
companies. Addressing opportunities and threats with policymakers is one of the most critical
factors for the success of our highly competitive industry. That is why MichBio has built an
advocacy infrastructure to represent its members’ interest and seeks to influence decision
makers on issues such as commercialization resources, capital formation, business and tax
climate, regulatory requirements, economic development, and more.
Michigan has a complete advocacy infrastructure in place for its bio-industry. MichBio
instituted a Policy & Legislative Affairs Committee to develop state and federal policy agendas.
Michigan has a Bioscience Legislative Caucus, a group of legislators that are interested and
support the industry. The state is alone in having standing subcommittees in both its House
(New Economy and Quality of Life Biosciences Subcommittee) and Senate (BioTech Task Force
on Economic Development). This is a veritable one-two-three punch to develop legislative
initiatives that will help grow the state’s biosciences industry. Working in partnership with
regional organizations and partners, MichBio now leads an ongoing dialogue with the various
groups our technology affects to create science-based policy and better awareness of our industry.
Investment is needed now if we want to see some of the glorious predictions of a bright
medical future come true. We must aggressively invest resources to foster a better understanding
of the science, technologies, and products emerging from our bioscience research labs and
manufacturing facilities. Educating decision makers, and more importantly, healthcare consumers
will result in better acceptance of new treatments, devices and diagnostics that will improve our
quality of life and help protect the industry from attacks stemming from anxieties over innovation.
An informed public supportive of science will also help develop a more knowledgeable talent
pool for the future. All together, the benefits of better understanding and advocacy for our
business will greatly aid the bio-industry’s growth in Michigan.
Sustaining Michigan’s biotech industry requires integrated public policy if we are to reap
its economic benefits. MichBio is dedicated to informing our decision-makers of the value our
industry offers for the state’s future and the well-being of our citizens. Our common agenda
should be the success of Michigan’s bio-industry.
Dr. Schwarz and Ms. Ross-Jessup are co-chairs of the MichBio Policy & Legislative Affairs Committee. Joe Schwarz is a former U.S. Representative (2005-2007), member of the Michigan Senate (1987-2002), and currently serves on the MichBio Board of Directors. Kim Ross-Jessup is Director of Government Affairs (Michigan/Wisconsin) for Pfizer, Inc.
Nurturing an idea into a market-able product and growing it into a dynamic, self-sustaining bioscience company is a process. How do Michigan companies connect with the right people, learn what they need to know, find the resources to keep the pipeline flowing?
We know people.
In a state boasting the world’s longest freshwater coastline, with oceans of lakes, where water is a way of life and life is good; in an industry that studies life at its core, MichBio is there to propel Michigan’s bioscience people, products and prospects.
Join us.
MichBio brings the total continuum together. We know the players, the market; and what it takes. We give you access to a valuable network of people representing all facets of the biosciences community. We are your matchmaker, your guru and your standard bearer.
Ann Arbor, MichigAn 734.527.9150 www.Michbio.org
Get Connected.
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