BY TIM BONFIELD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
They hunch over petri dishes and peck at their computers. They flit from test tubes to analyzers and back again. And visitors are never quite sure whether the mini- refrigerators they see contain vital lab samples or somebody's lunch.
THE BIO-START COMPANIES
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Greater Cincinnati's biotech business incubator has attracted a dozen start-up ventures that have won $4 million in venture capital, research grants and small business grants, generated nearly $400,000 in sales and created more than 25 jobs:
 Apologic: Founded in 1996 by Dr. Keith Crutcher and Robert Zocco to produce new medications for Alzheimer's disease, coronary artery disease and other diseases related to the apolipoprotein E (apoE) gene. The partners have filed for a patent and have hired three employees to continue research.
Bioconcepts: Founded in 1997 by Bio - Start, the University of Cincinnati, Children's Hospital Research Foundation and the Edison BioTechnology Center to assist academic researchers with the earliest steps of determining the commercial potential of their discoveries.
Cardioenergetics: Founded in 1998 by Dr. David Melvin and Alan Melvin to produce a new device for treating congestive heart failure. The partners have built a prototype and have applied for a small business research grant.
Cutanogen Corp.: Founded in 1997 by Dr. Steven Boyce to produce a type of artificial skin for treating burns and chronic wounds, and for testing consumer products and occupational hazards. The company won a patent in January.
Gyneconcepts: Founded in 1992 to develop a self-administered, in-home collection kit for Pap smear tests. Has filed for patents in 26 countries and is working with Duke University on a second-generation prototype.
Inotek: Founded in 1996 by Drs. Andrew Salzman and Csaba Szabo to develop new drugs for treating septic shock, inflammatory bowel disease, pulmonary hypertension and other inflammatory conditions. Since isolating a promising compound, the company has hired three employees and has expanded animal studies to explore wider uses of the drug.
Mind Probes: Founded in 1998 by Dr. Frank Zemlan, Dr. James Hillard and William Fussinger to develop diagnostic tests for neuronal degeneration and Alzheimer's disease. Company is seeking a small business research grant.
Molecular Diagnostic & Research Center: Founded in 1996 to develop diagnostic tests based on genetic links to Alzheimer's heart and other diseases. Dr. Robert Fontaine is the president. Company has contracts with UC and Johns Hopkins University to perform genetic tests. Generated $145,000 in sales during its first year. Nexus Software & Services: Founded in 1996 by Melissa Walker and Roger Lane to produce computer software to manage information needed to comply with U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations. A product launch is tentatively scheduled for 1998.
Nova Cell Biotechnologies: Founded in 1996 by Drs. J. Wesley Alexander, Cora Ogle and John Valente to produce engineered bone marrow cells to augment organ transplantation and to treat autoimmune diseases. Company has received a small business research grant. Protein Express: Founded in 1996 by Dr. Michael Howell, Dr. Gary Dean, Dr. Zsolt Hertelendy and Joseph Thomas. Company is developing a suppository medication for urinary tract infections. It also makes special cell lines, recombinant toxins and customized viral and bacterial proteins for use in medical labs. First-year sales exceeded $87,000.
UMD Inc.: Founded in 1996 by Dr. Donald Harrison, top administrator of the UC Medical Center. Company is developing a drug to treat premature labor and other uterine muscle dysfunctions. The company has received some venture capital and has submitted patent applications.
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Here in a hive of tiny laboratories in Corryville, a dozen start-up companies are developing their contributions to the future of medicine. New drugs for Alzheimer's disease, septic shock and premature labor. Artificial skin. A device to treat heart failure. This is Bio - Start, a biotech business incubator launched to help local medical researchers turn their discoveries into profits. Since opening its doors in October 1996, the companies at Bio - Start have attracted $4 million in grants, generated nearly $400,000 in sales and created more than 25 jobs.
In 1994, when the decision to launch Bio - Start was made, the incubator was one of only seven of its kind nationwide. Now there are more than 14 biotech business incubators and another dozen in planning stages.
And now, Bio - Start is poised to grow.
The incubator is planning a $2.7 million project to expand its working space by about 65 percent while more than doubling its "wet lab" space. Construction could start as soon as October, said executive director Patricia Snider.
"We're at 80 percent occupancy now. But we have three tenants planning expansions. That will put us at 100 percent occupancy," Ms. Snider said.
Bio - Start is backed by some of Greater Cincinnati's heaviest hitters, who see the growth of high-tech industry as vital to the region's economic future.
Fund-raising letters carry the signatures of John Pepper, chairman and CEO at Procter & Gamble; John Haller, president of PNC Bank's Ohio and Northern Kentucky region; and Dr. Donald Harrison, top administrator at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Companies and institutions providing direct financial support to Bio - Start include UC, P&G, Children's Hospital Research Foundation, TriHealth, Fifth Third Bank, Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc. and Meridian Diagnostics. More than a dozen other law firms, accounting firms and marketing agencies provide in-kind services to the tenants. The tenants at Bio - Start are tiny companies -- for now.
Picture one or two scientists working on their own. A few have enough start-up capital to hire a handful of graduate students and maybe a lawyer or business manager.
But the medical advances they are chasing are the stuff of local and national headlines.
Nationally, recent genetic advances have increased hope for new ways to diagnose and treat Alzheimer's disease. Three Bio - Start companies -- Apologic, Molecular Diagnostic & Research Center and Mind Probes -- are working on Alzheimer's-related projects. Meanwhile, Dr. Steven Boyce, a top researcher at Shriners Burns Institute, has launched Cutanogen Corp. to produce artificial skin for use by burn victims and as an alternative to animal testing for consumer products.
Cincinnati has a history as a birthplace for medical research. The most famous examples include the Sabin polio vaccine, the antihistamine Benadryl and the Heimlich maneuver.
UC and Children's Hospital combined attract more than $70 million a year in federal basic research grants. Greater Cincinnati has more than 70 medical companies, employing more than 10,000 people. The idea behind Bio - Start is to accelerate the commercial development of academic research -- and most importantly, to keep the fruits of that effort in the Tristate.
Biotech incubators help start-ups by providing low-cost lab space and various business services, such as connecting researchers with investors, marketing and legal advice, even classes on how to apply for grants.
Here's how the process works: Once a university researcher isolates a promising compound, getting to market it requires approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
That means producing small batches of experimental drugs, coordinating multi-site clinical trials and drafting lots of reports. Doing all that requires money and equipment that academic researchers generally do not have.
Rather than get deeply involved in the commercial process, universities traditionally have sold licensing rights to their patents to well-established pharmaceutical companies. So even though a successful biomedical idea may be born in Cincinnati, the investment, the jobs, and the spin-off economic benefit created by turning that idea into an actual product ends up going out of town.
In theory, companies that "graduate" from Bio - Start will be more likely to thrive. They also will be more likely to stay in the area as they grow.
At least, that has been the experience at other biotech incubators, Ms. Snider said.
Typically, it takes about five years for a company to leave a business incubator, Ms. Snider said. So far, none of the dozen companies in Bio - Start has graduated, but at least two may be ready within two years.
