Business Angel for sliced DNA
The lack of venture capital infrastructure in Russia forces financial companies wishing to invest in innovations to perform functions that are not typical of them.
About seven years ago, a professor from the Institute of Molecular Biology named after Engelhardt Yuri Evdokimov and his collaborators, investigating the state of DNA molecules in the cells of viruses and protozoa, drew attention to a strange effect. Cut with the help of special chemical compounds into tiny fragments of DNA molecules, which scientists intended to "condense" into a kind of liquid, did not obey, but folded into a relatively ordered spiral structure. Evdokimov quickly realized that he had encountered a hitherto unknown phenomenon - fragments of DNA formed the so-called cholesterol, a spiral-shaped liquid crystal.
"So what? - the pragmatic reader will ask, - what is special about the fact that nucleic acid can turn into a liquid crystal?"It's nothing special, if you don't take into account that a random experiment has opened up new prospects for combining two branches of natural science - genetics and liquid crystal physics, each of which by the time of discovery has already overgrown with whole garlands of sophisticated technological applications. Actually, the applied potential of the discovery interested Evdokimov's team in the first place. But in order to bring the development from the stage of a scientific experiment to a device that can be produced in batches and sold on the market, scientists lacked two things - an entrepreneur capable of formulating not a scientific, but a business idea, and a full-fledged organization that, in addition to laboratory research, could conduct R& D, organize production and engage in marketing.
Cholesterol has an amazing property - abnormal optical activity (in physical terms, it is the ability to dramatically amplify the amplitude of a light wave polarized in a certain way, extinguishing all other waves). The optical activity of such a "spiral-shaped" liquid crystal turns out to be thousands of times higher than the optical activity of solid crystals and organic liquids.
Evdokimov's innovation was that the transformation of DNA into a liquid crystal created conditions under which it was possible to "dissolve" in cholesterol and quickly and efficiently measure the concentration of extremely important biologically active compounds - genotoxicants that change the structure of DNA (these include antibiotics, antitumor drugs, heavy metals, etc.). The concentration of genotoxicants was measured even before Evdokimov's discovery, but by other, for example, biochemical methods. To understand the revolutionary nature of the new technology, it is enough to give a simple example: to measure the concentration of an antibiotic in the blood by traditional methods, it will take two days, and the use of abnormal optical activity of DNA scraps turned into a liquid crystal will reduce this time to ten minutes.
However, it is possible to measure only with the help of some kind of device. Optical activity is usually measured using so-called dichrometers, however, none of them has worked with liquid crystal DNA so far; in addition, the existing models were cumbersome and difficult to manage, and Evdokimov immediately thought about a portable and easy-to-operate device that an ordinary nurse could handle.
Dichrometers are produced by only a few companies around the world, one of the most famous is the Japanese JASCO. The first experiments of Evdokimov's team on measuring the concentration of genotoxicants were carried out on her device. However, the Japanese dichrometer weighed 200 kg, occupied two tables, and highly purified nitrogen and running water were required to ensure its operation. Besides, it cost more than one hundred thousand dollars.
Evdokimov's team offered to think about the project of a new, more advanced dichrometer to colleagues from several familiar research institutes. The most successful option turned out to be a team of developers led by Oleg Companets from the Institute of Spectroscopy of the Academy of Sciences in Troitsk. The device they created was significantly superior in its characteristics to the Japanese one, besides it weighed only 14 kg. It uses a completely different principle just in the device that analyzes polarized waves that have passed cholesterol. Our scientists have found a solution that the Japanese did not think of. This principle has been patented. When the device was shown to Japanese experts, they said that "the Russians could not do this, everything is too technologically advanced." Now the same JASCO conducts copious correspondence with the patent holders.
In general, from the discovery and the first experiments of Professor Evdokimov and his colleagues to the creation of a really working analytical biosensor system, it was necessary to go a long way. But then there was an equally ambitious task ahead - to make a sample from a laboratory device ready for industrial launch and push it to the market.
The new technology immediately attracted increased attention from foreign scientific institutions and companies. Tempting offers poured in like a cornucopia. However, Evdokimov and colleagues wanted to find a Russian investor. But something even more interesting and unlikely happened, at least in today's Russia - entrepreneurs found Evdokimov themselves.
"I got acquainted with this technology in the ninety-eighth year," says the deputy head of the Department of direct investment and project financing of the financial and investment company Leading, and now the CEO of the Bioanalytical Technologies company created for this project Andrey Vorfolomeev. - In the Ministry of Science, where I had some acquaintances, ideas about the commercialization of biotechnologies were maturing. We decided to investigate the issue. Mountains of printouts from the Internet, books and magazines have accumulated around us. We learned something, though not immediately. I may, for example, not answer any specific question about the structure and mutation of a certain gene, but I have learned the main thing - to correctly formulate questions on the right topic and ask them to the right people."
In general, when the Ministry of Science offered to take a closer look at Evdokimov's project, Vorfolomeev already knew what, where and from whom to ask. Boris Chernukha, Head of the Biology and Biotechnology Department of the Ministry of Science, acted as one of the highly qualified sources of information. They also asked other specialists, who answered and, in turn, advised whom else to turn to. We looked at what biosensors and bioanalytical systems there are in the world, and found that they have not yet come up with anything more perfect than Evdokimov's know-how.
"Gradually we came to the conclusion that this is the technology in which you can invest money, and those people who are not afraid to rush into this business," says Vorfolomeev. When it became clear what the final product might actually be, potential investors simply grabbed their heads. The new bioanalytical system, combining a portable dichrometer and a bio-sensor based on DNA cholesterol, had no competitors in several large markets for high-tech products at once.
Such devices would be happy to buy both biochemical analysis laboratories and medical structures interested in the rapid and effective conduct of clinical diagnostics. With no less pleasure, a new type of bioanalyzer would be purchased for quality control of raw materials and products by pharmacists and food manufacturers, as well as environmentalists concerned about the concentration of harmful substances in the natural environment. With certain improvements (reduction of weight and dimensions), the device would be necessary even for geologists and the military.
It is also worth noting that the biosensor market has started to grow explosively since last year. According to the forecasts of the American analytical company Theta Reports, by 2005 it will reach $ 8.8 billion (this year the volume of biosensor sales is expected to be around $ 2 billion).
The competitive advantages of the domestic system could be low cost, versatility (it is possible to measure the concentration of a wide class of bioactive substances) and unprecedented sensitivity. We decided to create a new company - Bioanalytical Technologies, which included managers and marketers in addition to scientists, and Vorfolomeev headed it. The shares were distributed as follows: 60% - to the "Leader", 40% - to the authors of the opening. The company bought all the available patents from the owners (as Vorfolomeev noted, "without offending the developers"), and found a production base - an Experimental plant of scientific instrumentation in Chernogolovka.
With the creation of the company "Bioanalytical Technologies", serious project management began. In addition to the acquisition of patents and the conclusion of contracts, it involved the organization of R & D, production, marketing and sales.
"One of the main subtleties of innovative business is R&D management," says Andrey Vorfolomeev. - Scientists constantly have ideas, often not in line with the main direction of the company's activities. And here it is important to understand how these new ideas are linked to our general line and our products. We think it will help to improve our model or it is better not to get involved. On the other hand, sometimes it's worth taking a risk - suddenly it will lead to a new promising product."
An example from the life of "Bioanalytical Technologies": in Evdokimov's first experiments, cholesterol in the form of small droplets was placed in a special liquid in a test tube. Refining the technology, the scientists decided that it is better to use gel rather than liquid in the device. Should an investor invest in this essentially undeveloped technology? Vorfolomeev decided: yes, we need to invest and attract third-party specialists. The Institute of Theoretical Physics performed calculations, the specialists of the Institute of Chemical Physics determined the composition of the gel. As a result, the gel turned out to be dense, like an elastic band. But his uniqueness was not limited to this.
Along the way, it turned out that the gel can be used as a standard for measuring circular polarization. Another property of the gel is that it can store the genetic material placed in it for a long time. In general, the new substance turned out to have so many side uses that the managers of Bioanalytic Technologies decided to allocate its production into a separate project.
At the beginning of the year, preparations began for the production of the installation batch of Evdokimov biosensors - the first ten devices should be released by the end of this month. The annual production volume after the launch of the series, according to the calculations of managers, can amount to hundreds of pieces. The cost of a serial sample is 10 thousand dollars. It is assumed that the average price in the domestic market will be 25-30 thousand dollars. Two hundred percent is a good profit margin even for a venture project.
Managers of Bioanalytical Technologies expect that the first batch of devices will be disassembled by research institutions and medical centers. But the company's marketers are also working with other potential buyers. Some pharmaceutical companies already want to purchase a bioanalyzer - for them, the control of raw materials is extremely important, with which a biosensor based on liquid crystal DNA would do an excellent job. In addition, the Evdokimov bioanalyzer can be used to create new medicines, it allows screening of substances, with the help of which candidate compounds for future medicines are selected. The next customers in the queue are food manufacturers and sellers. For example, it will be possible to check suspicious "Bush legs" for compliance with the standards in a matter of minutes.
Of course, an experimental batch is not yet a series, and in the case of a new product for the market, months and months of presentations and negotiations pass from the intentions of buyers to real contracts. But here's what's interesting about this story, regardless of its outcome, for those who observe the domestic innovation market. "Leading", like any normal venture company, is now going to take the project through the early grouth stage to the expansion stage, and then "get out of business".
Standard options are considered: either the sale of its stake through an IPO, or in the hands of a strategic investor. But the "entry" into an innovative project occurred too early for a venture firm - somewhere between the seeds and start up stages. The absence of an extensive venture network in Russia has forced a financial company that wants to "get married" a little, to perform an unusual role of a business angel - a private investor who actively participates in the creation of the newest organization and in the development of its strategy.
What the participants say about the reasons for the success of the project: "No less, but rather even more important than beautiful calculations and a detailed marketing plan is the presence of mutual understanding between the investor and the entrepreneur. Most of the angels, in addition to participating in projects with their financial resources, strengthen them with their personal experience and connections."
Source: inno.ru
Date of publication: 16.12.04 11:06