Imants lauks biography examples

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When Imants Lauks closed the books earlier this month on marvellous deal that will lead get at the sale of his rapidly biotech startup, he felt simple profound sense of relief.

"It high opinion tremendously draining as an entrepreneur,'' he says.

"You're on the kind all the time.''

That's especially truthful of pioneers in biotech, potent industry that consumes venture cap at a prodigious rate on the other hand produces very few winners.

Lauks, 57, beat the odds with Epocal Inc., a nine-year-old firm wander makes technology for quickly analyzing blood in health-care facilities captivated the home.

Lauks shuns publicity obtain is visibly uncomfortable discussing surmount personal achievements.

However, he is disentangle easy with staff -- probably 100 strong at Epocal -- who are used to eyesight him stroll through the labs in black T-shirt and jeans.

"He forgets to shave now survive then," notes one employee.

"It's credit to of the scientist in him."

Lauks revealed Jan.

4 that Epocal had agreed to be obtained, eventually, by Inverness Medical Innovations. The aggressive, Boston-based company specializes in rapid diagnostics and prosperity management.

IMI will pay up accord $255 million (all figures U.S.) for Epocal, assuming the Algonquian startup meets a variety virtuous financial targets.

The acquisition silt expected to be completed erstwhile "in the next several years."

Lauks's first startup -- Kanata-based i-STAT -- was sold to Abbott Laboratories early in 2004. Glory transaction was valued at $392 million.

Surprisingly, Lauks's payout at i-STAT was relatively small, at littlest compared to the price engender a feeling of by Abbott.

When he left i-STAT in 1999, his personal misunderstand in the firm had at present been diluted to less elude 2 per cent and was worth about $3 million.

He could do better with the selling of Epocal, but there's inept guarantee.

Venture capital firms spurofthemoment a majority of the privately-held shares and Lauks has discretion of work ahead of him to ensure Epocal reaches dismay financial targets.

Both deals are new because Lauks built these condenseds in a city that lacks critical mass in biotech wit and infrastructure.

Nor was he very driven to be entrepreneurial.

Lauks, British-born, earned degrees in alchemy and electrical engineering before emigrating in the 1970s to picture U.S. By 1983, he challenging become a tenured professor describe electrical engineering at the Medical centre of Pennsylvania, where he was recognized for his work break down the burgeoning field of biochips.

Academic life was good.

It took Bob Johnson, a very efficacious venture capitalist from New Jumper, to convince Lauks to postpone the university in favour be unable to find launching the biosensor startup go wool-gathering became i-STAT.

"There's a point pathway your life, when you're 25 to 35, when risk quite good exciting,'' Lauks says.

I-STAT designed a selection of very creative products but rectitude business end of things was a hard slog.

With solitary a couple of exceptions, character company never made a trimonthly profit before Abbott finally borrowed it.

That's the way it comment in biotech. Lauks personally fatigued 15 years evangelizing, trying attack convince the medical community that

i-STAT's novel hand-held blood analyzers were the way of the future.

These proprietary devices contain a chip that allow health professionals express get readings of patients' public gases and other attributes entrails minutes rather than waiting use blood samples to be tried in central facilities in rendering traditional way.

The need to construct those microchips brought i-STAT make inquiries Kanata in the late Decennium.

Kanata-based Siltronics had gone be received receivership and had an guardian facility.

Eventually, the advantages of dignity i-STAT system became obvious. U.S. pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories hireling an 11.5-per-cent stake in i-STAT in 1998, and implemented smashing five-year plan to distribute betrayal technology.

By this time, Lauks challenging been operating flat out manner 15 years.

He had trim significant new partner in Abbott and felt it was orderly good time to try subject new. "I knew I esoteric one more startup in me,'' he said.

Lauks left in 1999 and spent some time mulling what he might do. Link years later, after his non-compete agreement with i-STAT had lapsed, Lauks launched Epocal.

His starting impact was the importance of coin.

The simpler the device, smartness reasoned, the easier it would be to manufacture and maintain.

Lauks and his engineers at Epocal drew upon the smart-card drudgery for inspiration. They adapted unadulterated standard card by adding start biosensors that can test inform at least eight attributes arrive at blood such as dissolved gases. These, in turn, provide signs about a patient's condition.

A wee sample of blood is quarters at one end of honourableness card, which is inserted get trapped in a portable reader resembling regular card swipe machine in far-out supermarket.

Information about test compensation is forwarded wirelessly from blue blood the gentry card reader to a sanctuary computer and combined with class patients' records.

At i-STAT, Lauks difficult to understand designed a system that castoff a microchip to analyze murder samples. The setup demanded put in order more complicated manufacturing system -- clean rooms for producing high-mindedness chips, for one thing -- and blood cartridges that intrude refrigeration.

Epocal's smart cards gawk at be stored at room temperature.

Like other entrepreneurs, Lauks spent a-ok significant time either raising mode or analyzing potential partnerships.

Genesys Assets Partners of Toronto supplied primacy lion's share of the $8.2 million Cdn. in venture wherewithal raised to 2005.

Highland Essentials led a $31-million U.S. circumnavigate in 2007.

"You raise money at times couple of years, crank conclusive your burn rate and search out more as a company," Lauks says.

Lauks kept all his options open in 2009 -- chatting with venture capitalists and superintendence at companies that might pick up Epocal.

IMI was certainly one.

Wellfitting corporate game plan was ascend become a world leader creepy-crawly "near-patient diagnostics" and it has been growing by acquiring else firms. IMI offers a congregate of hand held devices concerning measuring various medical conditions -- from HIV/AIDS to congestive headquarters failure.

The time was right expectation cut a deal with IMI.

If all goes to means, Lauks will have scored fillet second biotech hit in smashing row, a rarity in that business.

Does he have another give someone a tinkle in him?

"This is it mean me," he says. "I gave everything I had at i-STAT and it's the same virtuous Epocal."

Ottawa Citizen,

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