Date: Sep 11, 2009 Author: Bea Quirk Source: bizjournals (
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The ultimate goal of HepatoSys Inc. is to transform the way human organs are harvested for transplantation through engineering technology. But to accomplish that goal, the four-year-old company needs to transform itself.
So far, co-founders Mark Clemens and Charles Lee have focused on research and development efforts in the lab with the support of about $2 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health.
"We are not too far from needing private equity," Clemens says. "Commercialization is the only way what we've developed in the lab will be used by patients. If you don't become a viable enterprise, no patient will benefit from it. It's an exciting and overwhelming change."
The two UNC Charlotte professors are not yet actively seeking venture capital. But their future efforts got a boost last month when they won the university's annual Five Ventures competition in the biotechnology devices-category.
The award has brought them free consulting services.
More important, it means "a lot of exposure — it gets our name out there," Clemens says.
Raising equity is difficult under any circumstances, and it's even harder in a recession. Recognizing that, Clemens, a physiologist, and Lee, a biomedical engineer, have expanded their research. They also are focusing on developing a product that could go to market in about 18 months.
Originally, their work dealt only with new methods to better preserve livers to increase the pool of usable organs for transplant. They are now working with kidneys as well. And they're developing a device that will help physicians determine whether an organ is viable enough to be transplanted.
"We're fast-tracking the device so we will have something tangible and of value because people want to put their money on a good bet," Lee says. "And we're working with kidneys because of the unmet need and potential market."
