Metromark Promotes South Carolina in Europe
May 30, 2012
CHARLESTON, SC – May 30, 2012 – South Carolina has biotech success stories to tell the world about. One involves the biotech company Immunologix, a product of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), the SCRA Innovation Center in Charleston and SC Launch.
Emerson Smith, who is the president of Metromark Research in Columbia, a PhD sociologist, and a clinical research professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, was invited to present a South Carolina biotech success story at the BioForum 2012 in Brno, Czech Republic. He asked SCBio, Health Sciences South Carolina, and the South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) to tell him about success stories in biotech that he could showcase in front of European biotech companies, investors, scientists, academics and others at BioForum 2012, held from May 23-24, 2012.
One name was mentioned often, but first of all by David Orr of KIYATEC in Greenville. The name was Ryan Fiorini, a PhD immunologist and graduate of MUSC. After graduation, he got a job in the Technology Transfer office at MUSC. There he reviewed patents in his academic area, not unlike, some say, Einstein processing patents in his early days. Fiorini found a patent created by an MUSC professor, Natalie Sutkowski. SCRA had provided support for Dr Sutkowski in developing the patent. She was also supported by the President of MUSC, Dr Ray Greenberg, who has inaugurated a special emphasis on commercialization.
It was natural for Dr Fiorini to go to SCRA with a proposal to start a company that would commercialize the patent developed by Dr Sutkowski. SCRA provided initial funding. As the commercialization developed well on the patent, SCRA provided additional funding and got funding from Jerry Zucker’s InterTech Group for a total of $1.5 million. This was the formal beginning of Fiorini’s company, Immunologix.
Although the idea started much earlier, his company started in April 2010. By October 2011, Fiorini was approached by Intrexon, a national biotech company based in Virginia. For an undisclosed purchase price, Fiorini sold Immunologix and accepted a position as vice president of Intrexon’s protein production division. Importantly, Fiorini still works and lives in Charleston.
While the exact amount of the purchase is not public, what is public is that everyone who had a share of Immunologix and any interest in the patent, including those at MUSC and the major investor, InterTech Group, was very pleased by the fast and successful commercialization of this biotech company. In addition, everyone in South Carolina benefits by investing in small biotech companies like Immunologix.
What should be emphasized is that this success involved social relationships including Fiorini, SCRA’s program manager Derek Willis, the head of SC Launch at that time, Dave McNamara, SCRA head Bill Mahoney, Doug Carnes, the CEO of Immunologix, Jerry Zucker’s InterTech Group, and, of course Randal Kirk, the CEO of Intrexon. Many others were involved as well, including Greg Hillman at SCRA. Commercialization is the result of many people working together toward a common goal.
Dr Sutkowski has helped spawn other companies now at the SCRA Innovation Center. The process continues. Her work on human antibodies is focusing on finding ways to kill cancer cells in breast tissue.
Fiorini made his presentation at the BioForum 2012 in Brno, Czech as the second speaker at Emerson Smith’s session on “How to market a biotech company.” Dr Smith made his marketing presentation in-person in Brno, using Fiorini’s company as an example. Then he made a Skype call to Fiorini in Charleston. It was 2 pm in Brno and 8 am in Charleston. In high tech fashion, Fiorini materialized on the screen in Brno and told his story, from over 4000 miles away, with great interest for 200 of those attending this session from over 20 countries.
South Carolina showed the world that it had its success stories and wanted European biotech entrepreneurs to know that they are welcome in South Carolina to follow in Fiorini’s footsteps and commercialize their patents in the Palmetto State.
Many of those at Brno will also be at the Biotech Industry Organization (BIO) conference in Boston, June 18-21, 2012 where Dr Smith, Metromark Research, and representatives from South Carolina will be working to continue, face to face, to tell the story of South Carolina as a home for biotech entrepreneurs from anywhere in the world to commercialize their products and services in Charleston, Columbia or Greenville.
SC Department of Commerce head Bobby Hitt welcomes the biggest companies, including BMW and Boeing, and the smallest biotech companies to assure that, for these companies, every day will be a great day in South Carolina.
