“The Changemakers” is a monthly interview on 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com presented by LAUNCH Chapel Hill, a startup accelerator and local community of entrepreneurs and innovators! Listen below for this month’s conversation with Mark van Zee, founder of Saku Biosciences
This month on “The Changemakers” join for a discussion with Mark van Zee, founder of Saku Biosciences, about foundations, efficiency, innovation, growth and finding ways to solve complex problems at scale.
Saku Biosciences is a focused firm working to improve biomanufacturing economics through accessible, efficient methods. Begun in Los Angeles, Saku has found footing in North Carolina through partnerships and connections
“What LAUNCH did was get us connected to key players in the North Carolina region,” said van Zee. ” … that’s what really kickstarted our growth in the area.”
Aaron Keck and Mark van Zee
Saku’s growth has been driven by demand in the biomanufacturing space for the answers to questions about economics, scale, and finding ways to develop and produce products that make a difference.
“Saku Biosciences is designed to scale productivity in biotech,” said van Zee. “I recognized, back in the way, that biotech is not limited by R&D or the ability to make these products — whether it’s revolutionizing medicine, food, or chemistry. It really has a stability issue — how do we get products to market faster? How do we make these products economically viable?”
Through asking these questions and attempting to find answers through creative, research-driven methodology, Saku Biosciences and LAUNCH Chapel Hill are contributing to the ongoing important work being done at North Carolina’s research universities and RTP-based institutions.
“I was in California during the Silicon Valley boom,” said van Zee. “What made Silicon Valley boom was they built out entrepreneurial startup infrastructure around universities to accelerate innovation … What gets me so exited about North Carolina is that I’m seeing that here now, where they have a lot of talent from all the industry and manufacturing … and you’re starting to see that infrastructure around universities to stimulate innovation and think about building technologies that solve actual problems.”
Listen above for the full conversation!
Click here for all the details about Saku Biosciences on its official website and LinkedIn account
