Success Story: OsteoGeneX Inc.
Kansas City, Mo.

Dr. Debra Ellies, an expert in developmental neurobiology, today is diligently at work in her Kansas City-area laboratory developing a new drug to fight the degenerative bone disease osteoporosis.

	(Above): In the quest to develop a new drug treatment for osteoporosis, Dr. Debra Ellies draws cell culture media into a reservoir at her research lab. (Below, left): The researcher and entrepreneur prepares cells for high throughput screening and adds proteins to cells. (Below, right): Ellies uses a multi-pipette to dispense cells into a 384-well high throughput plate.

Her intention is not only to develop a treatment for osteoporosis. She also wants to commercialize it. However, while she's well-versed in her highly complex biotechnical field, Dr. Ellies knows she falls short in business savvy. Hence, she consults experts to help her convert the fruits of her research into commercial applications.

In 2004, Ellies met one of those experts — Suman Saripalli, a small business technology counselor based at UMKC's Small Business & Technology Development Center. Saripalli urged her to apply for a federal Small Business Innovative Research grant. SBIR stipends are designed to fund initial research efforts in commercially promising fields of study that are of interest to specific federal agencies. In Ellies' case the National Institutes of Health was her target agency.

"Suman convinced me to apply for an SBIR Phase I grant," says Ellies. "As an academic scientist, business has always been frowned upon, and Suman showed me a way that an academic could ask NIH for funds to support my business vision."

After receiving SBIR funding from NIH, Ellies formally established her research company OsteoGeneX Inc. last June, with the collaborative support of the Higuchi Bioscience Center at the University of Kansas.

"I wanted to be involved in translational research and biotech commercialization," say Ellies. "This was the right opportunity."

The goal of Ellies' R&D work at OsteoGeneX is to identify a lead compound and to successfully complete preclinical and clinical phases in order to file a new drug application with the federal Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of osteoporosis and other bone disorders.

In the office adjoining her lab Ellies begins one of her many sessions entering research results.

"Now, my Phase I SBIR has been successful and I am in a position to take this vision to completion with the support of all my great mentors," says Ellies.

With Saripalli's help she has been able to answer the question she grappled with "How can an academic follow a business path for seeking funding?" He assisted her with business grant writing and budget preparation.

"Suman has been instrumental in helping me with my Phase I application and a future Phase II. In addition, he has helped me network to facilitate my success."

While Ellies has a long way to go to achieve her ultimate goal of developing an osteoporosis drug treatment, she has overcome a significant hurdle on her path to commercialization of her research.

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This story was featured in the June 2007 newsletter

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