July 7, 2004

Technopolis teaches focus
In-depth program at ASU mentoring fledgling firms
Sally Mesarosh
The Arizona Republic

Finding a way to take research and technology into the consumer market requires a pathway.

Cynexus, a Chandler biotechnology firm, found that pathway through a program called Launch Pad.

The Cynexus team had the technology to target a specific disease with their advanced drug-delivery system but needed guidance on the quickest way to make it available to the public.

So they turned to Launch Pad, an in-depth mentoring course offered by Arizona State University’s Technopolis program.  The Cynexus team, which includes Chad Kennedy of Gilbert, Stephen Massia of Mesa, Jeff Bade of Chandler and Gholamreza Ehteshami of Scottsdale, said the experience helped them focus on a definite plan of action.

“The program took a good year off the learning curve and concentrated it down into eight weeks,” Cynexus CEO Chad Kennedy said.  “We got constructive feedback in a safe environment without going out to the sharks, so to speak.”

The course is designed to provide entrepreneurial training, coaching and networking to fledgling technology and life science businesses.  At the end of the program, entrepreneurs present a polished business plan to a panel of local experts who possess experience specific to that particular company.

“Cynexus had a great technology with no idea of how to focus it,” said Dan O’Neill, founding management fellow of Technopolis. “They are a totally different company today.  They are focused on their specific opportunity, building new relationships and figuring out a strategy.”

That strategy includes the development of an ophthalmic eye drop that targets the area of inflammation in the eye and creates an effective barrier that coats the eye and restores the normal healing process.  The lubricating drops offer relief for dry eye disease sufferers or contact lens wearers.

Kennedy compares the core technology behind these eye drops to a homing device that can directly deliver therapeutics to a specific area, thereby reducing unwanted side effects by localizing the treatment.

The technology could ultimately be used for cardiovascular disease, cancer treatment and organ transplants, according to Kennedy.  However, these applications involve a higher dollar investment and longer time for FDA approval.  That’s why Cynexus chose to focus on the eye drops as their first product to market, which they estimate will take two years.

Kennedy said that the pathway created by ASU Technopolis was invaluable to his company.

“You always hear about all this money spent on research and nobody ever benefits from it,” he said.

“Without that pathway, the public doesn’t reap the benefits.  The better the pathway, the faster the public will see where their tax dollars are going.”

The entrepreneurial support team is Terree Wasley, director of Technopolis, and founding management fellows O’Neill and Sharon Ballard.

In addition to Launch Pad, the team also teaches workshops on grant writing to help start-ups fund their businesses.  The grant-writing workshops teach participants how to access federal funding grants that range from $100,000 to $750,000.

“Starting a high-tech business is very different from other small businesses,” Kennedy said.  “The amount of money to begin with is far more significant – we’re talking millions of dollars over a period of years – when compared to a start-up which can begin with $25,000.”

Technopolis recently launched another new program, the Engineering Entrepreneurship Institute, designed to network ASU faculty and students with local businesses.

“What’s neat that comes out of this is the connection with the community,” Ballard said.  “The professors connect with real, live entrepreneurs, who connect with the students.”

Although the technology that Cynexus developed began on the ASU campus, O’Neill makes it clear that Technopolis is not focused on just ASU students.

“We love to see a technologist walk in the door,” O’Neill said.  “It’s fun to see them bridge their technology to the market.”

For Kennedy, the process so far has been fascinating.

“Luckily for us, there’s a real momentum in this state to form a biotechnology center,” he said.  “We’d like to be one of the leaders in that and help others as well.”