"The company's goal is to become the leader in continuous-monitoring, molecular interaction devices for research, medical and safety applications," Glazier said. "We believe that a significant market exists for a low-cost, flexible and high-performance instrument."

Potential customers include leading life science research centers, all of the leading global pharmaceutical companies, and a large number of companies in the biotechnology sector. "We believe that a compact, low-cost instrument with high-throughput capabilities would find its way into almost every current biochemistry laboratory," Glazier said.


"Our sensor is significantly smaller and more sensitive than existing related technologies," he said. "Unlike most existing technologies, the MSPR sensor can detect small molecules, drugs, proteins, viruses, DNA and RNA. The sensor can be manufactured inexpensively enough to be disposable, and it can be integrated with microfluidics into instruments that allow sample conditioning and high-throughput screening of multiple compounds or pathogens on the same chip. Our technology will provide continuous real-time monitoring of patient condition."

The main impact will be in medical diagnostics, he emphasized.

SpheroSense was started with seed money from Indiana University. The company is now requesting $1.75 million from the state's 21st Century Fund to develop prototypes and begin production.

Glazier said the helpful environment at IUB, in Bloomington and in the state of Indiana has been crucial in convincing them to take the plunge into a commercial venture. "The level of support available here is outstanding. When we started, none of us had any experience in turning scientific concepts into a viable business. People at all levels have been exceptionally generous with their time and advice, and very patient with our mistakes.

"Getting a hearing would have been much more difficult in Boston or San Diego," Glazier noted. "The people at Indiana University Research and Technology Corp., particularly Bill Brizzard and Mark Long, have been crucial in helping us develop our concepts into commercial applications and a company. John Cameron, a former physics professor at IUB who founded ProCure, was a great mentor. A group of students from the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation in IU's Kelley School of Business is currently helping to develop our marketing plan. Without the valuable assistance of Professor Donald Kuratko and the Johnson Center, we would have had a much more difficult time organizing our business plan. We've also benefitted from advice and opportunities to meet with successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists provided by Ted Widlanski (MetaCyt) at IU, Steve Bryant (formerly with Bloomington Life Sciences Partnership) and Brian Kleber (inVenture) in Bloomington, and Cynthia Helpingstine (BioCrossroads) at the state level."

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