Biotech forum assists startups - Companies paired with investors in the Southeast

Dennis Schafer was in Charleston Thursday looking for investors to spice up his pharmaceutical company.

Schafer runs Curry Pharmaceuticals, a North Carolina startup that wants to develop new drugs out of curcumin. That chemical gives the spice turmeric - the main ingredient in curry powder - its yellow color and may help fight cancer and other diseases.

The company's search for $2 million to get off the ground brought Schafer to Charleston Thursday for the Southeast BIO Investor Forum, a two-day conference that brings together Southeast biotech companies with investors. Curry was one of the early-stage companies that presented to panels of investors. And even though Schafer has spent 20 years starting biotechs, the investors still offered good enough advice that he plans to change his presentation and part of his business plan.

"This is really a wonderful forum," Schafer said. "It's giving companies that don't exist yet a chance to get in front of investors."

Finding investment is a huge challenge for companies, especially startups like Curry that are a long way from giving those investors a return for their money. Perhaps one in 10 early-stage companies get the money they need, according to venture investors.

Finding money in the Southeast is even tougher. Will Brooke, managing partner for venture capital investments at Birmingham-based Harbert Management Corp. and chairman of SEBIO, said 80 percent of venture capital poured into the Southeast comes from outside the area. Southern California and the Northeast have venture funds averaging $1 billion. The Southeastern average is $150 million, Brooke said.

While the Southeast has some communities, like North Carolina's Research Triangle, that are well known for their biotech industry, much of the area - including South Carolina - struggles to compete in the venture capital market. Southeast BIO was founded seven years ago specifically to hold this annual conference and promote interest in Southeast biotechs while encouraging the growth of locally based venture capital funds. Sixteen companies chosen from among dozens that applied will get the opportunity to make formal presentations in front of the entire, investor-filled conference today.

While some of the companies, like Curry, are just getting off the ground, most are further along. One, Florida-based AxoGen, has already raised some funds that will allow it to take its product to market. That product is a treatment to help patients regrow damaged nerve tissue and recover lost sensory or motor function. AxoGen's president, Jamie Grooms, is at the conference to build relationships for the company's next round of investment.

Only one of the 16 companies is from South Carolina: North Charleston-based Argolyn Bioscience, considered by many the best hope for the area's burgeoning biotech industry. Argolyn has technology to develop protein fragments, or peptides, into treatments for a wide range of diseases that can be taken by mouth. The company is beginning with medications for psychosis and pain. It has secured federal and nonprofit grants to develop and test the technology but is looking for some investment funds to bring those treatments to clinical trial.

Argolyn also is luring talent. This week, the company announced that Dr. Thomas Caskey, who spent seven years as a senior vice president at Merck & Co. before moving into the venture capital world, has joined its board of directors. Caskey said he's been watching Argolyn for nearly two years and believes it has potential because of its technology and because there is a large market for psychotic and pain medications. He said he and other new members on the board plan to connect the company with their contacts in the industry and help them find capital.

"It would be terrific if we could lure angel investors in Charleston or get venture capital in the Southeast interested," Caskey said. "But we'll search everywhere we can."