Editor’s note: WRAL TechWire and the Council for Entrepreneurial development are partnering to present a series of profiles and Q&As featuring companies startups and emerging companies participating in the CED’s annual Life Science conference coming up Feb. 28-March 1 in Raleigh. The latest profile is Raleigh startup RiboWiz Scientific.

RiboWiz Scientific

  • Website: ​www.ribowiz.com                                                                                            
  • CEO: Scott Vu
  • Contact information: scott@ribowiz.com
  • Sub-sector: Biotech and Pharmaceutical                                                       
  • Headquarters: Raleigh, NC
  • Year Founded: 2015
  • More coverage: Read an N.C. State News Service feature about Vu and RiboWiz at: https://news.ncsu.edu/2015/12/vu-riboscan-2015/

COMPANY PROFILE

RiboWiz offers customized SaaS and web-based subscription licensing to accurately predict and maximize recombinant protein production for life sciences companies engaged in therapeutics, drug discovery, crop protection, industrial enzymes, diagnostics, and bio-manufacturing. RiboWiz’s patent-pending and proprietary software platform, RiboScan™, minimizes trial-and-error and parallel laboratory testing which generates cost savings of $50K -$500K+ per R&D project and shortens those project’s turnaround time from 2-10+ years to 1-6 months.

RiboScan™ simulates and modulates novel protein synthesis mechanisms to successfully produce difficult-to-make recombinant proteins more efficiently and quickly. This disruptive service enables clients to bring more innovative products to market faster, giving them a competitive edge.

RiboWiz is accepting customized service orders through scientist.com marketplace or email us at info@ribowiz.com.

FOUNDERS/MANAGEMENT TEAM

  • Dr. Scott Vu, CEO, CSO, and Co-Founder
  • Dr. William Glauser, Co-Founder
  • Joseph Thomas, Co-Founder
  • Laura White, Operations

KEY MILESTONES TO DATE

  • Finalizing service contracts with multiple global ag-biotech and pharma companies
  • Launching closed alpha-release of cloud-based subscription service in Q4 of 2017
  • Accepting customized service orders via scientist.com marketplace
  • PCT patent application filed – patent covers protein optimization in all organisms
  • Exclusively licensed RiboScan™ patent and copyright from NC State University
  • Placed 2nd in Lulu eGames Daugherty Endowment Track
  • Selected for Innovation Room at 2016 CED Life Science Conference
  • Funding: Bootstrapping and $7,500 from startup competition

POWERED BY

CED, HQ Raleigh, NC Biotechnology Center, NC State Office of Technology Transfer, NCBIO, SBTDC, NC State University E-Clinic

Q&A

  • What is the primary pain point you are seeking to address?

RiboWiz helps pharma and biotech companies successfully produce difficult-to-make recombinant proteins more efficiently and quickly using RiboScan™ software platform.

RiboScan™ minimizes trial-and-error and parallel laboratory testing which generates cost savings of $50K -$500K+ per R&D project and shortens those project’s turnaround time from 2-10+ years to 1-6 months. This disruptive software service enables clients to bring more innovative products to market faster, giving them a competitive edge.

  • What sets your company apart? What’s the “secret sauce”?

RiboWiz utilizes patent-pending and proprietary RiboScan™ web-based software which simulates and modulates novel protein synthesis mechanisms, e.g. ribosomal speed and accuracy. RiboScan™ provides high-throughput screening of genes that are predicted to express well or poorly along with novel gene design optimization for more of the desired protein candidates with fewer folding errors and aggregations.

This results in much fewer trial-and-error and parallel laboratory testing as well as less abandoned projects, therefore, significantly accelerating clients’ R&D, reduces costs, expedites innovations, and makes the clients more competitive in bringing multiple novel compounds to market faster.

Applications for RiboScan™ include ag-biotech to express proteins as insecticides, biotech to express proteins as diagnostics and industrial enzymes, pharma to express proteins as drug targets and therapeutics, materials to express proteins as catalysts, and academia to express proteins for basic research.

  • Why should investors be interested in your company? What is the potential market size?

RiboWiz has a market-ready service and product. A number of ag-biotech and pharma companies have expressed strong interest, and we are currently finalizing service agreements with several. RiboWiz is featured on scientist.com marketplace and accepting additional orders.

Our potential market includes all life science companies engaged in protein expression for therapeutics, drug discovery, crop protection, diagnostics, industry enzymes, and bio-manufacturing. RiboWiz’s target market was valued at $346 billion in 2016 and is estimated to increase to $479 billion by 2020.