Technology  April 21, 2015

Life-science execs: Boulder a ‘discovery’ town

BOULDER — Boulder has a track record of being home to life-science startups that succeed in making discoveries by tapping into local talent and research at universities, only to have the startups move away or be acquired by larger biopharma companies as they move into drug development and then commercialization.

“Boulder remains a niche player in life sciences,” said Kyle Lefkoff, founder and general partner of Boulder Ventures Ltd. and chairman of Boulder-based Array BioPharma Inc.

“Boulder is a discovery town. We still struggle to build an anchor here,” he said, during BizWest’s CEO Roundtable on Life Sciences held Tuesday at the University of Colorado’s Jennie Smoly Caruthers Bioscience Building.

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There are approximately 60 bioscience companies based in Boulder, according to BizWest research. The state, according to CU’s Leeds School of Business, has about 600 bioscience companies.

Array BioPharma (Nasdaq: ARRY) is on the verge of becoming an anchor-type biopharma. It focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule drugs to treat cancer. It has six Phase 3 studies enrolling patients including three for cancer drugs. But CEO Ron Squarer said Array is developing drug candidates in Boston, as it works in partnership with larger companies.

Bryon Hewett, CEO of Boulder-based SomaLogic Inc., which develops research and clinical diagnostic tools, is in growth mode. His company has grown from 95 to 145 employees, and has entered a partnership with Novartis.

“There are a lot of exciting things going on here,” he said, adding that there is the aspiration here to develop anchor companies and put Boulder alongside Boston and San Francisco as bioscience hubs.

“The talent in those places are attracted to this area,” Hewett said. “While we think the cost of living here is high and the traffic on U.S. 36 is bad, it’s much better than in Boston or San Francisco.”

Squarer said it would take at least a dozen companies with drugs in clinical studies to reach that critical mass.

Another form of partnership that is evolving is the relationship between researchers at CU’s BioFrontiers Institute headed by Tom Cech, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist. He said having computational scientists working with bioscientists is creating a crossover that is producing more accurate models for practical applications.

“It’s the future of medicine, how health is assessed and how diseases are fought,” Cech said.

Cech said combining technology and medicine also helps the health industry by producing students who have dual skills.

The merging of bioscience and medical devices based on technological advances and research is creating a dilemma for those wanting to advance new devices that are used to treat conditions, rather than just surgical tools be used by physicians to improve outcomes in surgery, said Pete Neidecker, executive vice president of Mountainside Medical. An example, Neidecker said, is a device that delivers a drug that is much more invasive than an infusion pump or inhaler.

“It would be like using a device to deliver a bone-growth drug to bone marrow.”

Len Pagliaro, CEO of Siva Therapeutics Inc. Its flagship product has stumped the FDA, slowing down the approval process. The Boulder-based company’s SivaRods, miniscule gold nanorods, absorb infrared light and emit heat in cancerous tumors — destroying the tumor tissue.

“The FDA isn’t sure how to classify the instrument,” Pagliaro said. Leftkoff added, “The industry is going to have to educate the FDA.”

 

Participants

Natalie Ahn, professor of chemistry/biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder; Kristi Anseth, distinguished professor, University of Colorado Boulder; Tom Cech, distinguished professor, University of Colorado Boulder; director, BioFrontiers Institute; Byron Hewett, CEO, SomaLogic Inc.; Kyle Lefkoff, founder/general partner, Boulder Ventures Ltd.; William Marshall, president/CEO, miRagen Therapeutics; Pete Neidecker, executive vice president, Mountainside Medical; Len Pagliaro, CEO, Siva Therapeutics Inc.; Bryn Rees, senior licensing manager, University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office; Ron Squarer, CEO, Array BioPharma Inc.; David Traylor, chief business officer, Surna Inc.; Jim Cowgill and Justin Dodge, EKS&H; George Berg and Justin Berg, Berg, Hill, Greenleaf & Ruscitti. Moderator: Christopher Wood, BizWest Media.

 

BOULDER — Boulder has a track record of being home to life-science startups that succeed in making discoveries by tapping into local talent and research at universities, only to have the startups move away or be acquired by larger biopharma companies as they move into drug development and then commercialization.

“Boulder remains a niche player in life sciences,” said Kyle Lefkoff, founder and general partner of Boulder Ventures Ltd. and chairman of Boulder-based Array BioPharma Inc.

“Boulder is a discovery town. We still struggle to build an anchor here,” he said, during BizWest’s CEO Roundtable on Life Sciences held Tuesday at the…

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