Date: Aug 24, 2012 Source: bizjournals (
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With their company not quite four months old, the founders of Magenta Medical Inc. are dreaming big -- recession or not.
For entrepreneur-scientist Tom Dooley, it's all about keeping faith in his company and its product.
"Two centuries ago, Napoleon said, ‘A leader is a dealer in hope,'" he said. "I believe that an entrepreneurial leader must balance the multi-faceted challenges with a spirit of hope."
It was early 2011 when Magenta co-founder Art DeCarlo, also CEO of Agenta Biotechnologies Inc., asked Dooley to solidify a business plan to commercialize a new type of surgical membrane. This membrane is routinely used by physicians and dentists to separate tissues and support healing.
Since then, Magenta Medical founders have completed prototypes, filed a patent application and published an article in the Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymer Edition and prepared a draft for their first U.S. Food and Drug Administration filing -- anticipated this year.
Magenta Medical's platform technology is a proprietary membrane made of chitosan, a natural sugar polymer typically prepared from the chitin shells of shrimp. "Chitosan membranes" are now drawing interest from medical device firms, said Dooley, now Magenta's vice president of research and development.
He never expected it to be easy to get the business off the ground.
The biggest challenge so far, as with many startups, has been investments. Since the recession in late 2007, it has been difficult for biomedical companies to attract investors -- and many such investors simply have become more risk averse.
But Dooley is undaunted, believing firmly in the company's product and its business plan.
"Good ideas are a dime a dozen," he said, "but few business concepts can be executed well, resulting in innovative products and services that rapidly make a profitable company."
Dooley is no stranger to the business world, having co-founded a number of companies and nonprofits. Seeking $2 million, Magenta Medical plans to launch multiple products and turn profit within three years.
"Good ideas are a dime a dozen," he said, "but few business concepts can be executed well, resulting in innovative products and services that rapidly make a profitable company."
