This story appears courtesy of KY Forward and is written by Feoshia Davis.
An idea that Northern Kentucky would be the right place for a life sciences incubator – a one-stop shop for research and development with far-reaching human health impacts – has proven to be right. In just five years since BioLOGIC moved to a large building on Russell Street in downtown Covington, it now houses 14 life science companies that pay out more than $2 million in annual payroll. And a 15,000-square-foot research lab is now fully built out.
In addition, bioLOGIC companies have received nearly $7 million in grants, including $1.1 million in matching grants. Bexion, one of the incubated companies, has been awarded from the state of Kentucky, and have gained more than $25 million in investment.
Since 2007, bioLOGIC’s goal has been to identify, incubate and help grow innovative start-ups whose work impacts human health. Nigel Ferry and Ray Takigiku formed bioLOGIC as a business and technical consulting firm and moved to Northern Kentucky in 2008. Ferry is CEO of SIDIS Corp. and bioLOGIC; Takigiku is CEO of Bexlon Pharmaceuticals LLC. The companies bioLOGIC is “incubating” today are looking for breakthroughs in health care by developing new tests, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and more.
A subsidiary of an international company, bioLOGIC has seen its own steady growth, spurred by significant private investment and nearly $300,000 in grants and donations (via the City of Covington and its new nonprofit partner SQUARE1 Inc.,) from the Haile Foundation, Duke Energy Urban Revitalization Fund, the R.C. Durr Foundation and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.
BioLOGIC’s parent SIDIS (Spirited Individuals Developing Innovative Solutions) has offices in Fort Collins, Colo., China and Australia.
Keith Schneider, bioLOGIC’s managing director Keith Schneider who was brought on 2011, keeps an eye on the future. He previously was the commercialization director at Northern Kentucky ezone and innovation director at Northern Kentucky University.
“We had a lot of talent and ideas in the area, and they needed a space. Now we’re looking for more talent, ideas and companies. We have the funding to assist the companies who are a good match for the accelerator,” Schneider said. “Our companies are really in five buckets right now: diagnostics, medical devices, instrumentation, pharmaceuticals and health IT.”
Bexion Pharmaceuticals, which is developing cancer cures, has expanded since moving into bioLOGIC’s space. Bexion is currently working on a new cancer treatment that targets tumors. Their drug shows exciting promise in treating brain tumors.
It now has half-a-dozen employees and occupies the entire third floor of the bioLOGIC building. bioLOGIC Vice President of Business Development Margaret van Gilse joined Bexion as its VP of business development in 2011.
She handles communications, fundraising, investor relations and more while the Bexion scientists work on their cancer treatment breakthroughs. Bexion is planning to start phase I clinical trials (in humans) sometime this year.
“I just feel the mission of the company is really important. My mom passed away from cancer, so it’s really personal for me as well,” she says.
There is no facility in the region with available lab space for rent like bioLOGIC’s, she says. Other available amenities and services such as grant writers, reception, billing and fundraising, also help grow these science-based businesses.
In addition, Kentucky is attractive because it’s the only state that matches a portion of federal Small Business Innovation Research (or SBIR) grants, which many of these companies receive.
It was the space, and interaction with like-minded entrepreneurs, that benefited another bioLOGIC company Surgical Energetics, said company Scientific Director Natalia Juncosa-Melvin. Surgical Energetics makes products that repair difficult-to-heal wounds.
“The space itself is very nice, and the lab space was very affordable for us. We also have the ability to cross pollinate with other small companies. That has really helped us move forward,” she said.
Both the accelerator and the companies it houses are young; there’s an energy surrounding the work and the workspace. Each company rents a space and has access to research labs, cubicles, conference space, a “chill out” area and break room.
Growing life sciences in Northern Kentucky
The growth of bioLOGIC has been fueled in two areas: existing company growth and new companies looking to locate or relocate to Covington.
These companies are run by people who have created, managed and sold multimillion dollar companies, developed top-selling pharmaceuticals and patented medical devices.
“There is a lot of experience and talent here that everyone can draw from,” Schneider says.
Soon bioLOGIC will create physical and virtual meeting spaces for life science entrepreneurs to meet and share ideas. The firm is working on a regional web portal Schneider describes as “LinkedIN for Life Sciences entrepreneurs.”
“It will be a place where they can connect, help each other, and find resources and tools,” he said.
The bioLOGIC offices will also play host to networking events and workshops for the industry.
For more information about bioLOGIC, click here.