With additional funding from pending grants,
Tetra Discovery Partners is poised to add an additional member to its scientific team in the upcoming months, and will also be ramping up its research into depression and Alzheimer's.
At the same time, the founder of the Grand Rapids-based bio-tech startup was recently recognized as one of the two leading inventors in the field of Alzheimer's research. The Australian firm commissioned to identify the most influential inventors published the results in a recent white paper,
Clearing the Fog.
Dr. Mark Gurney says he was "delighted," especially in light of the other individual recognized, Dr. Dale Schenk, Chief Science Officer at Elan Pharmaceuticals, identified as a "rock star scientist" in the white paper. Gurney also adds that the recognition "came out of the blue."
The business model that Tetra is following is fairly unique to the Midwest according to Gurney. "We are a lean bio-tech model," he says, using another bio-tech firm, FerroKin Biosciences, that was profiled in
The Atlantic and recently sold for $325M, as a point of reference.
Besides his responsibilities at Tetra Discovery, Gurney is involved in a variety of ventures aimed at job creation in Michigan including serving as an advisor to the
Michigan Accelerator Fund-1 and as an investor with the Grand Angels. Gurney also enjoys the outdoors and serves as a board member of Trout Unlimited.
To learn more about the Tetra Discovery Partners and their research, you can visit their website
here.
Source: Mark Gurney, Tetra Discovery Partners
Writer: John Rumery, Innovations and Jobs News Editor
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