From Attic to Lab

December 2011

The idea began with a group of friends dissatisfied with their career trajectories and interested in starting a life science company in Michigan.  Their brainstorming culminated in Syzygy Biotech, a company that produces low-cost biological reagents for DNA research.  “Syzygy Biotech is a protein factory,” explains Barry Nowak, the company’s founder and President.”  “Our products are fundamental components of life science activities involving DNA and our proprietary methods deliver effective results more economically, making diagnostics more affordable.”

The protein Syzygy manufactures essentially photocopies DNA and is produced through a complex process that enables users to heat up DNA and make mass copies from a tiny sample.  “The reagents, or proteins, we produce are the biological equivalent of toner to copy DNA for researchers,” says Nowak.  “These reagents are used to detect disease, establish paternity, match organ donors with patients needing heart transplants and analyze forensic evidence from crime scenes.”  Syzygy intends to manufacture these proteins at half the cost of other labs, allowing research institutions, hospitals and labs to conduct more studies and tests more affordably.

The company essentially began in an attic in Southeast Michigan but quickly needed wet lab space.  In 2010, Syzygy found a home in Grand Rapids at the West Michigan Science and Technology Initiative (WMSTI). WMSTI, a ‘SmartZone’ incubator operated by Grand Valley State University, is aimed at the life science industry and is complete with state-of-the-art wet labs to attract such start ups.  “There is nothing else like it in Michigan and locating here has saved the company $500,000 in start up costs,” states Nowak.  Syzygy’s move to the Grand Rapids incubator was made possible by a $100,000 loan from a state program established to encourage development of life science companies in Michigan.

“When I came on board in the fall of 2010, Syzygy was just completing the development of its first product,” relates Sherri Amstutz, the company’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, whose background as a CPA and information technology professional has helped create the company’s infrastructure.  “We have since launched that product as well as two others and are in the process of launching multiple products; it’s been a crazy, amazing year.” All of Syzygy’s reagent product are in the same biological family but have different capabilities and can turn a single tiny piece of DNA into a billion copies in about four hours.  “Because we have developed an FDA approved product that sells at a price that’s 30 to 50 percent less than any competitor product on the market, we are aggressively building a national customer base of clinics, diagnostic labs and researchers,” explains Nowak.  The company’s hard work and innovation has not gone unrecognized.  In June, Syzygy was awarded the $100,000 SmartZone prize at the annual Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest competition, besting 130 other companies competing for the prize.

Both Nowak and Amstutz are quick to credit the assistance they have obtained from public sector service providers for Syzygy’s success to date.  “West Michigan has been wonderful to us.  Without WMSTI and organizations like the Small Business Technology Development Center (SBTDC) we probably wouldn’t exist today,” acknowledges Nowak.  “Moving to WMSTI collapsed the time it typically takes to bring a product to market by a year or more.”  Nowak also cites the incubator’s mentoring and proximity to other life science entrepreneurs as invaluable to the company’s growth. 

Syzygy Biotech sought out the services of the SBTDC from its outset.  “The market research information we received from the SBTDC gave us a huge advantage and would have cost tens of thousands of dollars if we’d undertaken it ourselves,” says Nowak.  “They play a key role on a number of fronts, including general business counseling, strategic guidance, coaching and connecting us to others who will help us grow.”  “I was also involved with the SBTDC prior to joining Syzygy and have always strongly encouraged any small business I worked with to connect with them,” states Amstutz.  “We wouldn’t be a team of 15 today and poised for growth if it weren’t for the help we’ve received.”

Syzygy, also a Greek word describing the alignment of three celestial bodies, is clearly aligned for success.  For more information, please visit www.syzygybiotech.com.

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