Life Sciences Innovation Center graduates first incubator client – ClariPath Laboratories

Augusta – The Life Sciences Innovation Center (LSIC) at The Medical College of Georgia (MCG) recently celebrated its first biotech incubator graduate – ClariPath Laboratories. After two years housed in the LSIC incubator, ClariPath moved into a larger laboratory space in late February.

“Since opening our anatomic pathology laboratory in January of 2006, we have steadily grown,” said Mark Repko, director of laboratory services. “We finally just outgrew the lab space in the incubator.”

Moving out is exactly what Jonathan Goolsby, LSIC marketing outreach specialist expects incubator clients to do. “We recruit small start-ups that have only two to three employees,” said Goolsby. “Once we have them in the incubator we act as their pillar of support as they begin to grow. Once a company reaches a certain size and we feel they can sustain themselves beyond our walls, we help them find a new home.”

The LSIC incubator currently houses five entrepreneurial biotech companies that are working on cutting-edge technologies and developing novel approaches to improve healthcare. Each suite is outfitted with a wet lab, a dry lab, office space and state-of-the-art equipment.”We currently have five lab suites, a demonstration lab, two conference rooms, a mail/copy/fax room, and just over a million dollars of advanced scientific equipment,” Goolsby said.

For ClariPath, which specializes primarily in analyzing and issuing diagnosis on prostate biopsies from all over the country, the incubator space was ideal. ClariPath moved into the existing space and customized it to their needs. “We did not have to use our capital on building a brand new lab,” said Repko. “We were able to invest our money from the start in better technology for our lab – enabling us to focus on improved efficiency and accuracy.”

ClariPath’s ability to provide fast and accurate results have set them apart in a very competitive market. In most cases, the lab is able to provide a diagnosis within 48 hours of receiving a specimen. The ClariKit, a bar-coded one-label biopsy kit, helps eliminate error and ensure patient safety. These hallmarks for a three-year old start-up company resulted in ClariPath actually making money after two years.

It’s this growth that propelled ClariPath into a new 7,000 square foot home that is still in close proximity to MCG. “We intentionally moved into a space that is much larger than what we need,” stated Repko. “We now have room to grow.” With the extra space, ClariPath intends to expand by processing gastrointestinal and dermatology path specimens in the near future.

In their new location, ClariPath does miss a few of the smaller business services that were available in the LSIC incubator such as mailing, shredding, copying and waste removal. With the LSIC tackling these administrative tasks, ClariPath concentrated on expanding their business. “All of our needs were met,” said Repko.

In addition, the LSIC provided ClariPath with access to business and marketing development, financial assistance and MCG. “Although we did not utilize all the services, we were given every resource available,” said Repko.

ClariPath also developed an important partnership with the MCG lab that continues today. Some of ClariPath’s lower volume tests are still outsourced to the MCG lab.

According to Goolsby, “Augusta is poised to be Georgia’s life science capitol; the success of our first incubator ‘graduate’ is only the beginning. We have two new companies that have just moved into the incubator and one more pending.” Goolsby continued by saying the LSIC partnered with the Hull College of Business at Augusta State University to develop a one-semester internship focused on combining management skills with life sciences-specific knowledge. “Hopefully,” he said, “The outstanding success of the pilot program will result in us offering the internship for years to come.”

For more information on the Life Sciences Innovation Center, go to lifesciences.georgiainnovation.org.

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