Research, innovation, business growth part of Empirical Bioscience's DNA

Big things are bubbling to the surface at the life science and emerging technologies business incubator, GR Current. 

The latest news on one of their tenants is about Syzygy Biotech, a company that manufactures and markets its full line of reagents used by research facilities, universities, and diagnostic labs nationwide.

The news? Welcome Empirical Bioscience and goodbye, Syzygy Biotech. 

Looking to build on it's four years of growth the firm recently changed it's name to Empirical Bioscience, which company officials say better reflects it's mission and positions the firm for future growth.

Secondly, and perhaps more important than the name change,  is the election of Richard Leach, Ph.D., Vice President of Business Development at Complete Genomics Inc. and an expert in human genome sequencing, to its board of directors. 

Dr. Leach has extensive experience within the industry. His addition to the board  clearly positions the firm for a bigger role on the international stage.  He views the firm as being on the brink for tremendous growth.  "Empirical Bioscience designs and manufactures an assortment of high-grade molecular biology products that are used every day in labs across the nation. Because we are on the ground floor of this research and diagnostics work, we can see clearly where the biotech industry is headed. And one area that is exploding right now is genomic medicine, where we assess a person's risk for different diseases and offer preventative treatments."

Empirical Bioscience has quickly grown from a two-person startup to five full-time employees.  Dr. Leach says the firm, and in fact the entire industry is posied to add more specialized, highly paid jobs to the region. "I've lived in several cities on the East Coast, in California and even Iceland, and I think the metro Grand Rapids area holds remarkable potential for growing biotech companies like Empirical.  We have a pool of some really talented people who can build biotech as an industry here, and we have got some tremendous local resources such as the Van Andel Research Institute and the Michigan State Medical School."

To follow the progress of Empirical Bioscience you can visit their website here. 

Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor