Nurturing
from lab to commercialization
It is an important year for biotechnology
startup Akermin Inc., which is in the process of developing
portable biofuel cells, based on enzyme technology.
Nick Akers, president of Akermin, says he is hoping for a breakthrough
that will lead the company, founded in 2003, towards eventual
commercialization in the next few years. Its renewable technology
will be used to power portable electronic devices.
After first developing its biofuel cells technology at Saint
Louis University, Akermin moved to the incubator Nidus Center
for Scientific Enterprise in 2004.
From the initial experiments in the lab to the commercialization
process, incubators are playing a pivotal role in St. Louis
by nurturing biotechnology startups.
The non-profit, plant and life sciences incubator in Creve Coeur
provides startups like Akermin with direct business assistance,
including business plan development, coaching, management training,
and assistance obtaining investment capital.
Akers says the incubator process has been critical for the company’s
development, which has already attracted $3.5 million in venture
capital and angel investment. “I can tie certain portions of
funding directly to being in the Nidus Center,” Akers says.
Akermin was the first biotechnology startup to receive funding
in 2004 from the BioGenerator, a non-profit located in the Nidus
Center that provides seed funding.
“We are willing to provide financial support to promising life
science companies so they can hire their first employees, set
up their first laboratories, and begin the development of their
product,” says Kenneth Janoski, president and CEO of the BioGenerator,
which provides startup finance between $50,000 to $500,000.
Bob Calcaterra, president and CEO of Nidus, says there is never
enough money for biotechnology startups. “You need to raise
substantial amounts at different stages and you’re always looking
for more,” Calcaterra says. He estimates that about 70 percent
of the financing for the startups at Nidus come from outside
the St. Louis region.
The 40,000-square-foot facility houses ten tenants. “We’re packed,”
Calcaterra says. The issue is not incubation space, he says.
Rather it is space for graduates. “We have two companies in
Nidus and two right behind them that need to move out of the
Nidus Center,” he says. “The problem is that we have no place
to send them.”
Calcaterra says the incubator is taking a multifaceted approach
to find space. They are working to develop new lab space behind
the nearby Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. They are also
working with local economic developers to build out lab space
in smaller buildings.
“We have this extraordinary situation where we’ve got a lot
of growing companies, a lot of companies succeeding and no place
to put them,” Calcaterra says.
The Center for Emerging Technologies (CET), another incubator
in St. Louis, is also looking for more lab space. Bill Simon,
vice president and chief operating officer, says CET needs to
add about 60,000 square feet, with about 60 percent of that
wet-lab space.
Simon says CET plans to start building as soon as it gets its
first $10 million in funding. He estimates the total cost for
the expansion is around $30 million.
Simon says the region needs to provide more money for investment
in startups and more money for incubators, both for capital
expenses and program expenses.
“It is cheap and effective economic development,” Simon says.
CET, currently with 11 tenants, provides advanced- technology
startups with business plan development, market research, referrals
to professionals for assistance with business, marketing, regulatory
issues, intellectual property and strategic alliances.
CET operates a two-building complex totaling 92,000 square feet
that is designed to support life science and other research
companies with a range of laboratories.
One of CET’s graduates—Stereotaxis Inc., which designs, manufacturers
and markets advanced cardiology instrument control systems—currently
resides in the CORTEX district, a centrally located area with
several hundred acres in Midtown St. Louis.
John Dubinsky, president and CEO of Cortex, says the District
plans to start another building within the next 12 months. He
says some unnamed single users are looking to build. “We are
working on a number of options,” Dubinsky says.
“CORTEX is a perfect place for the graduates of the incubators.”
Another biotechnology company already headquartered in the district
is Solae Co., which is working to bring soy-foods to the marketplace.
The Center for Applied Nanomedicine at Washington University
in St. Louis is also located in CORTEX.
“Growing life sciences companies thrive when they are located
in close proximity to similar organizations. As companies continue
to cluster in the CORTEX district, the free exchange of ideas
will become the fuel that helps drive innovation,” Dubinsky
says.
