Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com August 3, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 11 As for the personal expense, Anton is "putting it all in" in hopes of bringing the product to market. "It's provided something that's never been done before. Tens of thousands of people's lives will be better and will be saved," Anton said. Pragmatism pays Improving people's lives is usually a major objective when working at a life sciences startup. But a little pragmatism is also necessary, according to Adam Collette, CEO of VitaThreads LLC, and one of the Worcester-based startups four founders. Collette said a dangerous trap for scientists who launch startups is a lack of focus. They get excited about their technology, but don't spend enough time researching how it could best be commercialized. "People get a neat technology and they don't think enough about the best and easiest way to get it to market," Collette said. VitaThreads went through that pro- cess, and finally decided that using its fibron technology in sutures designed for plastic surgery was the best way to commercialize it. But three years ago, when VitaThreads launched, the found- ers had planned to use the technology to deliver stem cells to the heart. Collette admitted it's difficult not to "fall in love" with a certain aspect of your product and its potential, especially for people who are so steeped in the science behind it. "These are folks that are very, very pas- sionate about what they do," Collette said. Paul Wotton, CEO of Marlborough- based Ocata Therapeutics, spoke along the same lines when he described the drilling down of the clinical-stage com- pany's technology over several years to focus primarily on using stem cell thera- py technology to treat ophthalmologic diseases that cause blindness. Today, Ocata is developing stem cell therapy, running ongoing clinical trials in the U.S., the United Kingdom and South Korea. The company may bring its first therapy, designed to treat a juvenile form of macular degeneration, to market in Europe in 2019, Wotton said. "You can really only be a specialist in one therapeutic area when you're a com- pany like us," Wotton said. An investor's perspective In the end, an investor will probably see through the passion and get to the heart of the matter: the return on invest- ment. Patricia Gray, who has worked in angel investing in Central Massachusetts through Westborough-based Boynton Angels but is now primarily associated with Boston-based Mass Medical Angels, said she's developed her own business plan to determine which ventures she's interested in and which she'd rather not touch. Gray looks at three factors: Whether management's goals include making money for investors; whether the com- pany is savvy about the regulatory pro- cess involved in bringing a product to market; and whether the founders take a long view. Often, she said, founders plan to sell their companies before their products enter the market, and they're not always thinking about the payoff for investors at that point. "Because people are always pitching," Gray said. "The question is, 'Is (the product) really good?'" n Your business needs aren't small. Luckily, our business team isn't either. Whether you're just starting out, looking to refinance, or simply wanting to get more from your business banking partners, our commercial banking team is here to help. With specialists in every area of commercial banking – from business loans to cash management to credit and everything in between – we have the knowledge, expertise and commitment to help you grow your business. And with local decisions made right in Worcester, business banking has never been simpler or more convenient. Talk to us today. Member FDIC Equal Housing Lender 866.959.BANK bankatunited.com BANKING THAT'S ALL ABOUT ONE BUSINESS: YOURS. James Lin, left, and Guy Scuderi, interns from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, flank research associate John Fitzpatrick at work at VitaThreads, of Worcester. P H O T O / E M I L Y M I C U C C I >> Continued from previous page

• Cover