Date: Sep 05, 2011 Source:
Calvin Goforth told Arkansas Business back in February that SFC Fluidics, the Fayetteville biotech startup he leads, was "about to emerge with a really big success story."
Consider it well on its way. The Innovate Arkansas client firm makes point-of-care medical diagnostic instruments such as the ePump microfluidic pump and QuickConnect microfluidic connectors, and its products were released commercially this past spring at Pittcon, the industry's major trade show in Atlanta.
They were received so well that the firm currently is in "production and sales and marketing" mode, according to Goforth.
SFC's big year - four big years, really, with annual revenue growth averaging 40 percent since 2007 - has been bolstered by several rounds of federal grants. In 2009, SFC was awarded a $5 million Department of Defense contract to develop a device that helps diagnose injuries to the brain, and since then has received funding to complement that work.
Gorforth is a former University of Arkansas researcher, and the technology behind SFC's products originated from labs at the UA, the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif.
Additional patented and patents-pending tech has been licensed from the University of Colorado and the National Institute of Standards & Technologies, and SFC has generated patent applications based on its own in-house work as well.
Goforth said SFC's products provide results that are faster, better and less expensive, accelerating a transformation of the health care industry from "hospitals to the doctor's office to the individual's home." He specifically noted drug-delivery systems such as infusion and insulin pumps so inexpensive they could be made disposable.
"Our vision is to become a global leader in point-of-care diagnostics and drug delivery markets," Goforth said.
SFC is targeting two initial applications within the drug delivery market: insulin delivery for Type II diabetics and intravenous drug infusion for chronic diseases such as hypertension and cancer and for long-term pain management.
Goforth called the technology disruptive, enabling entire new classes of products. The ePump, for example, delivers "highly precise, truly pulse-free flow or discreet volumetric dispense," he said.
"It offers reliable and silent operation and can be made in almost any conceivable size or shape. It requires minimal power for long-life battery operation, and is very compact and lightweight, which facilitates portability."
Goforth said it's perfect for drug delivery in home care and hospice settings.
SFC's portfolio of products includes the BioSmart line of instruments that provide a means to move tests currently performed on large, central laboratory instruments to the actual point of care. Goforth calls this a multibillion-dollar market opportunity.
SFC's work with traumatic brain injuries represents an actual multimillion-dollar deal. The $5 million DOD contract charged SFC to develop a handheld system that can diagnose TBI in the field from a pinprick of blood. Goforth said the instrument works by quantifying the amount of specific proteins produced and released into the bloodstream upon injury.
A second project funded by the National Institutes of Health is for development of an instrument that will advance the understanding of changes in brain chemistry after injury. The instrument will be used to improve treatment strategies and minimize the long-term impact of severe brain injury, Goforth said.
"The device will be used to continuously monitor changes in the concentration of brain injury biomarkers in the fluid surrounding the brain," he said. "Such continuous, long-term monitoring will allow a physician to take prompt action when changes to brain chemistry are detected. Upon successful adaptation, the device resulting from this grant will greatly simplify current clinical practice while achieving higher therapeutic success in treating head injury patients."
SFC is a portfolio firm of Fayetteville's Virtual Incubation Co., also led by Goforth, and has 10 employees. Both firms are located in the Arkansas Research & Technology Park just south of the UA campus.
Gorforth expects both to keep growing. In addition to SFC's success, VIC's portfolio recently has grown from 13 to 20 firms. But his expectation is that SFC won't need to rely on VIC for long.
"The company has a strong opportunity to grow rapidly and create a large number of high-quality jobs in Arkansas," he said. "Of course, that will depend on how well we execute on our vision."
