Bio-tech industry provides hope for Manatee County

MANATEE - A boom in biotechnology may provide the diversity Manatee County needs to weather the next economic storm.

Sam Shake holds up a bar of QR powder, which is designed to deal a wound and stop bleeding.

The Manatee County Economic Development Council (EDC) hosted a Business Buzz seminar at USF Sarasota-Manatee's Selby Auditorium on Thursday morning. The featured businesses - Biolife LLC, BioLucid Productions Inc. and Quasar Bio-Tech Inc. - presented insight into their products and operations to members of the EDC and the community at large.

The event was sponsored by the Suncoast Workforce Board and USF Sarasota-Manatee.

Sam Shake, president and CEO of Biolife LLC, spoke about his company's primary product, a dry powder that instantly seals a wound and stops bleeding. Biolife, at 1235 Tallevast Road, was founded in 1999. The QR (Quick Relief¨) powder was patented in 2000.

Initially the product was marketed at Wal-Mart stores as a direct competitor to Band-Aids, but ineffective product branding and lofty prices sent Biolife searching for a new market segment.

"Recently, we've had some great response from the hospitals," Shake said.

Shake said cardiac cath labs are able to use the product to instantaneously stop bleeding around wounds left from the removal of catheter tubes. He said the product helps negate the effects of infection by sealing the wound.

Shake also said Biolife recently got FDA approval to use the QR powder in the treatment of more serious, traumatic wounds, and next week Biolife is launching a trial with Sarasota Emergency Medical Services. The QR powder will be carried by 27 ambulances in Sarasota County.

"Our mission at Biolife is to contribute to the greater good and enhance the quality of life," Shake said.

Biolife currently employs 29 people.  Shake said he hopes to increase his staff to 60 employees over the next 30 months and eventually relocate to a larger facility in Manatee County.

The next to present information was Jeff Hazelton, president of BioLucid Productions Inc., at 7488 Eleanor Circle, just northeast of the corner of Lockwood Ridge Road and Tallevast Road.

BioLucid is an advertising company that specializes in the production of cutting-edge 3-D medical animation for many of the nation's top pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies. Hazelton said his company is a branch of medical advertising that focuses on products that deal with a lot of complicated molecular and cellular reactions.

"We come in and animate the disease state, explaining the problem, and then the solution or therapy comes into play," he said.

In addition, in 2005 BioLucid began producing medical video games and other types of interactive simulations.

Hazelton, a former resident of Sarasota, said the EDC was instrumental in bringing his company to Manatee County from San Diego in early 2005.

"They've done a lot to try to build this particular industry segment in the economy, knowing that it's something that's going to be here for a while," Hazelton said.

Paul Nesbitt relocated his company to Manatee County from Philadelphia. Nesbitt is president of Quasar Bio-Tech Inc., at 1431 Tallevast Road. The company, which was established in 2001, relocated to Manatee County in August 2008 after Nesbitt traveled from Philadelphia to interview someone for a sales position. He said he fell in love with the area. He was previously considering relocating to Austin, Texas.

Sam Shake, president and CEO of Biolife LLC, left, Jeff Hazelton, president of BioLucid Productions Inc., center, and Peter Nesbitt, president of Quasar Bio-Tech Inc. participated in the Business BUZZ seminar hosted by the EDC on Thursday morning.

Nesbitt's company produces light-therapy devices used by medical professionals and consumers. The Baby Quasar uses red and infrared LEDs to stimulate blood flow, collagen reproduction, circulation and cellular metabolism.

According to Nesbitt, light therapy has been around for 50 to 60 years and was originally used for healing. He said the technology turned toward the cosmetic industry. "We were lucky to be there at the beginning as this technology was transitioning over from healing to cosmetic purposes," he said.

"People would rather look good than feel good," Nesbitt joked.

The Baby Quasar, which retails online for between $350 and $450, is primarily used for anti-aging skin care and acne treatment. People also use it for hair restoration and rejuvenation, strengthening fingernails and pain care management.

"We are developing a line of lower-cost consumer devices for the mass-consumer market," Nesbitt said. "We plan to market this through direct response. These will be priced in the $99 range."

He said manufacturing for the new Baby Quasar will most likely be done overseas, because the circuit boards and LEDs required for the device are already manufactured in Asia.

"That being said, we are on an active search for manufacturers in Florida and in Sarasota-Manatee counties," Nesbitt added.

The company currently employs eight people.

"What I've found is that most of the economic development here is in construction, retirement living, restaurants -- that sort of thing -- and we need to build a high-tech corridor just like they've done in other parts of the country," Nesbitt said. "I see no reason why we can't make an effort at the county level to take those steps to attract businesses like ours into the area, businesses with growth potential. This is a quality-of-life area, there's no doubt about it."

Eric Basinger was named executive director of the Economic Development Council in May. He said he was excited about the prospect of bringing more bio-technology companies to the area.

"One of the things I was brought in to do is add a marketing element to get us out to the nation and the world to tell our story," he said. "We have a concentration of (bio-tech industries) here, and we need to promote that, let companies know that bio-tech is an emerging market."

Basinger said the EDC is undergoing a strategic planning process to determine who they plan on targeting and what other emerging industries they will be looking at to further diversify the economy.

"So that when the next downturn occurs - and there will be another one - we're better positioned to ride through the storm," he said. "I'm looking forward to that challenge."