Stemgenix joins UB Technology Incubator
Biotech firm specializes in stem cell and immune cell research and applications

By LORRAINE WAPPMAN
Reporter Contributor

Stemgenix LLC, a biotech start-up company that seeks to become a worldwide leader in specialized media necessary for the isolation, propagation and utilization of stem cells and specialized immune cells for both research and clinical applications, has moved into the UB Technology Incubator.

When Stemgenix co-founder and president Frank Swartzwelder decided to establish the company, it was only natural that he look first to the incubator at 1576 Sweet Home Road, Amherst.

Swartzwelder, who has a background in cellular immunology and stem-cell research and development, previously worked with a former incubator tenant developing a stem-cell biology product line. Swartzwelder, along with Chris Alfiero, Stemgenix co-founder and chief executive officer, acquired the assets of that stem-cell biology business to form Stemgenix.

"At the incubator, lab spaces are already established, power requirements are already met and the rent is affordable. This is where you want to be if you want to start a company," said Alfiero.

The incubator provides an environment that helps technology-intensive companies develop and grow. "It's a great place for people to come in and get started rather quickly, (and it has) access to the University at Buffalo computer network and medical libraries," said Edward Hutton, chief financial officer.

Alfiero said the company believes that the use of stem cells will have tremendous impact on the management and treatment of disease. Technology breakthroughs in stem-cell research, he added, are forging new ground in the prevention and treatment of disease.

Stemgenix has a portfolio of products used in the analysis of human and murine stem cells. This portfolio also includes Stemgenix's flagship product, a hematopoietic, or blood-forming, stem-cell expansion medium. The stem-cell product line is used prominently in clinical research and therapeutic applications, including immune-cell replacement following chemotherapy or radiation therapy for the treatment of such cancers as leukemia, breast cancer and Hodgkin's lymphoma.

"The challenge most researchers and clinicians face is obtaining sufficient numbers of stem cells from the umbilical cord," Swartzwelder explained. "Cord blood units usually contain only enough cells to transplant a baby or small child."

"The hematopoietic expansion product is a liquid medium that provides a source of nutrients to optimally grow stem cells isolated from umbilical cords, enabling the clinician to obtain sufficient numbers of cord-blood stem cells to treat adult patients. This source is very rich in fetal cells and has the greatest potential for therapeutic applications."

Stemgenix is expecting to release this month the expansion medium, which has outperformed all other expansion media on the market.

The demand for and use of stem cells for disease treatment continues to grow. According to International American Bone Marrow Transplant Registries, more than 50,000 blood and bone-marrow stem-cell transplants were performed worldwide in 1998.

With a current market for its products at $30 million, and an expected growth of nearly three times that figure by 2005, Swartzwelder said Stemgenix is at the threshold of an exciting future. The company, he added, plans to develop several new media over the next few years, and has received outside funding from diverse sources.

"We've been approved for funding from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency RDC, which is a venture capital fund, and the Western New York Business Development Fund. The funding we have right now is from private investors," says Alfiero. UB is one of the partners in the WNY Business Development Fund.

The UB Technology Incubator, part of the university's Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach, has assisted technology start-ups by providing affordable business services, flexible rental terms and office and laboratory space. It currently is home to 16 companies, most of which have close links to UB.