Biotech Entrepreneurs Featured at Second Wolf Den Event

Stony Brook University’s Office for Research and Innovation (OR&I) hosted its second Wolf Den event on February 12, featuring three biotechnology entrepreneurs who shared their journeys from scientific discovery to building and leading biotech ventures.

Wolf Den brings together investors, researchers, startup founders and business leaders to exchange ideas, foster collaboration and strengthen connections that drive technology development and economic growth across Long Island.  Jim Acquaviva, strategic innovation director in OR&I, likened the drive of entrepreneurs to that of Olympic athletes.

“We’ve had many conversations over the past few months about how inspiration drives innovation,” he said. “It does that for art and artists, but it also does that for technology researchers and entrepreneurs. The journey entrepreneurs take to start a business and go through the trials and tribulations that bring a vision to reality requires a level of inspiration to carry them forward.” 

“We’ve had a lot of engagement with administrators in Albany, and we’ve been talking not just about Stony Brook University, but about Long Island, and how we promote innovation and entrepreneurship on Long Island,” said Michael Kinch, chief innovation officer at Stony Brook. “I’m a biotech person. I spent about half my career in biotech companies looking at building pipelines and figuring out how to become durable and sustainable. A lot of those same ideas are what we’re trying to apply here. The key is the pipeline.” 

Attendees gained insight into Stony Brook’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, heard pitches from emerging startups, and engaged directly with innovators and investors through structured and informal networking opportunities.

Panelists included Christopher Ashdown, CEO and co-founder of Lahara Bio, a medical device company developing low-intensity vibration as a novel, non-pharmacologic therapeutic platform for oncology and aging-related diseases; Raza Hassan, CTO and co-founder of IAMBIC, a company that offers AI-tailored, precision-fit shoes that deliver bespoke comfort at scale; and Eve McDavid, CEO and founder of Mission-Driven Tech, a cervical cancer innovation company. 

McDavid, a Stage IIB cervical cancer survivor, described her experience working at Google and spoke about the inspiration that drove her to start the company and the innovation that makes her company unique. 

“I came up in a really interesting time where we were encouraged to use the training that we had at Google and the technology that we were discovering and experimenting with and going out into the world and to find really big, hard-to-solve problems that Google’s technology might be able to do something with,” she said. “I have this ingrained education around investigation and discovery and experimentation and impact.” 

However, six years ago, she faced a cancer diagnosis.

“When I went through treatment, I realized that the medical devices that were being used are the same devices that were used in the 70s,” she said. “So I had questions about what I thought was insufficient technology. And that simple question registered curiosity on the faces of the doctors who were involved in my care. I said, ‘I’ve seen that face before; that face is discovery.’” 

McDavid said that simple question opened up an enormous avenue into problem-solving and exploration and eventually invention and the development of Mission-Driven Tech.

“We have a functional prototype and we’re getting ready for a clinical test later this year,” she said. “We’re working with the Center for Biotechnology on that project, and there’s a very, very bright future in cervical cancer treatment once women have the quality of care that they deserve.”

Ashdown shared his experiences as a new founder working with the tech transfer office (TTO), which works to manage, protect and commercialize intellectual property developed within research institutions by bridging the gap between academia and industry.

“Here at Stony Brook, and with any technology coming out of academia, it’s critical and necessary to work closely with your tech transfer office,” he said. “We’re currently in the process of negotiating licensing deals with our TTO, and we have been fortunate to have a very close and positive relationship with them over these past years.”

Ashdown’s advice for other young entrepreneurs included being actively engaged with the TTO, and to “be that best advocate that you can be for your technology. No one else is going to do it for you, and it’s up to you to be proactively engaging with your TTO and working closely with it and with them.”

Hassan addressed the challenges of funding.

“When we started the company back in 2020 we applied for our first SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grant,” he said. “It was one of the most competitive years because the COVID-19 pandemic happened and everyone was writing grants. But within nine months, we started our Phase I, and then we moved to Phase II.” 

SBIR Phase I awards establish the technical merit, feasibility, and commercial potential of innovative technologies, providing seed funding to small businesses for proof-of-concept research. SBIR Phase II awards offer continued funding for successful Phase I projects. 

“Currently we are in the last leg of our Phase II, with the option of more non-dilutive grants, which allows us to develop and commercialize our technology and product, and raise funds. Along with the grants from NSF, we also received matching funds from New York State.” 

Hassan said New York State is very supportive of early-stage companies requiring funds to build their whole company beyond R&D, and that matching funds from the state help hire the talent and enable startups to put money towards building your brand and the company.

“The non-diluted funding can be a lifeline for biotech companies in the early stages, especially in this competitive fundraising environment,” he said. “Later on, when the private institutional capital arrives, my advice is to get strategic as well, because the main goal is to attract capital, but also have a vision as a founder. You need investors who are aligned with your vision, otherwise it will be an unhappy match.”

Hassan also cautioned that SBIRs can take time to come through, sometimes one or two years. “Have a full plan for R&D, but also move towards your MVP (Minimum Viable Product) early,” he said. “In this current age, investors expect that you will have a working prototype. Be fast and efficient so that you can save some of that capital in the early years, and reach the market milestones to attract investors.”

Attendees from many different areas were able to take away knowledge to help them in their own endeavors.

“Sometimes words like ‘ecosystem’ get dismissed as buzzwords, but for Stony Brook to have strong innovation and entrepreneurship, you need an ecosystem in which people interact outside their regular circles, make connections, understand resources available to them, understand how others are doing things,” said Louis Peña, associate professor of practice in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the College of Business. “This is the second Wolf Den event I’ve attended and they’re doing a great job of nurturing exactly those things. I’m looking forward to the next one.”

Kinch said these entrepreneurs and their stories illustrate the self-sustaining infrastructure that Stony Brook encourages through Wolf Den events.

“These are the success stories we’re trying to facilitate through events like this,” he said. “There are many resources that people don’t know about, including the Small Business Development Center here at Stony Brook, the SPIR program (Strategic Partnership for Industry Resurgence) and more. Part of our goal is to make you all aware of it so that we can help you all to be successful.”