Interview with Tech Pioneer DNA Genotek

Mr Ian Curry, President and Chief Executive Officer, DNA Genotek Inc., Canada

1) Briefly tell us what it is about your company/project that makes it so special?
Advances in genetic research and testing are expected to continue improving the way health conditions and diseases are diagnosed, treated and prevented, resulting in major improvements to global healthcare. All genetic findings start with the collection and analysis of one essential resource – DNA.

DNA Genotek is focused on improving DNA collection. The company’s Oragene^TM DNA Self-Collection Kit is the easiest, most reliable and cost-effective way to collect and preserve large amounts of DNA from people. With Oragene, a donor simply deposits a saliva sample into a specialized plastic container. When the container is closed, the saliva mixes with a chemical solution that stabilizes the DNA until it can be extracted and analyzed.

Oragene is proving to have significant advantages over traditional collection methods because Oragene is non-invasive, easy-to-use and reliable. Traditional collection methods present substantial challenges for researchers. Blood-based DNA collection incurs costs in handling and processing, requires trained professionals to take the sample, and is invasive and painful for the donor. Another alternative – buccal swabs – frequently does not provide enough DNA for genetic research and is known to be highly unreliable.

To date, DNA Genotek has focused on promoting Oragene to health researchers who are conducting population studies and who need an effective and efficient way to obtain DNA samples from large populations of people.

DNA Genotek’s Oragene™ product has already helped to improve understanding of how DNA influences disease. Since use of DNA for health research and clinical diagnosis is expected to continue rapidly increasing, the company is well positioned for long-term growth. In addition to developing an innovative product in a growing market, the company has generated widespread interest in Oragene and has shipped the product to researchers in over 58 countries. The company has customers at hundreds of top-tier health research institutions, including Harvard, Stanford, Cambridge, Oxford, and the Karolinska Institute.

2) What country best facilitates starting a tech company? What single thing can a government do to encourage Technology Pioneers?
The Technology Pioneer selection process demonstrates that the United States best facilitates starting a technology company. No country has historically had as many Technology Pioneer companies as the United States. In particular, the states of California and Massachusetts represent the focal points of startup-driven innovation in the US. I had the privilege of studying at MIT for two years in the early 1990s. One of the most important factors driving innovation around MIT is culture – the institution is infused with innovative talent and experience to the point where students can readily acquire, at a minimum, the intellectual knowledge required to build a business plan and launch a startup Company.

Government can best encourage and support Technology Pioneers by providing broad-based financial incentives throughout the innovation and commercialization phases of a product. These incentives should encourage angel investors to provide the early capital for companies and extend through to commercialization incentives that encourage rapid development.

3) What makes an innovator?
Warren Bennis insisted that a leader must have “the capacity to translate vision into reality.” The same is true of an innovator. A good innovator is a person who:

• is prepared to take the financial and emotional risk necessary to successfully create and market an innovative product.
• knows that passion and commitment are essential, but that market success also requires a team of talented people. A good innovator is able to inspire others to see their vision and help create success.
• keeps things simple and ensures that the product is effective.
• realizes that getting the product to the marketplace first can mean the difference between a winner and a loser.
• knows that the pathway to success is not a straight line. Trial and error is often necessary and emotional fortitude is always necessary.
• is frequently an integrative thinker who can solve problems that cross the boundaries of specialized domains of knowledge.
• is a good listener.

4) How does your company directly contribute to improving the state of the world?
Oragene is focused on improving DNA collection and has already helped to improve understanding of how DNA influences disease.

DNA is the root of all life; DNA is nature’s mechanism for controlling how all living things function. There has been an increasing focus over the past decade or so to better understand how DNA controls the human body. The most significant research initiative in this regard was The Human Genome Project, the results of which have accelerated research interest to further understand how DNA impacts individual health conditions across almost every type of disease.

To date, DNA Genotek’s strategy has been to establish itself as a leader in the molecular epidemiology market. This focus has enabled the company to quickly gain traction within a segment of the market that is established and growing. Molecular epidemiology studies encompass thousands of individuals, with the aim to determine how an individual’s genetic makeup correlates with specific health conditions and diseases (e.g. breast cancer, cystic fibrosis, autism, obesity, …). For statistical reasons, the success of these studies hinges on large amounts of DNA from a large number of donors. Traditional DNA collection methods such as taking blood are cost-prohibitive with complex logistical challenges for large-scale global studies.

The end goal for the majority of these research projects is to develop genetic tests. These tests, which are typically prescribed by doctors and executed in clinical laboratories, can be used to either determine an individual’s predisposition to a certain disease (referred to as “predictive medicine”) or, if an individual already has a disease, to determine which type of drug could be best used to combat the disease given that individual’s DNA (referred to as “pharmacogenomics”). Because these definitive tests are based on DNA, they represent the most viable opportunity to significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare worldwide.

DNA Genotek is focused on providing devices that enable easy, cost-effective collection and processing of saliva samples for both DNA research and clinical genetic testing. Both markets are large and growing today, and are expected to continue growing rapidly for many years as healthcare continues to benefit from the increasing use of DNA in diagnosis and treatment of disease and health conditions.

5) What value do you hope to gain from being a Technology Pioneer?
Our company’s mission is to enable significant worldwide health improvements. We hope that participating in the World Economic Forum will provide opportunities to connect with people, directly and indirectly, who can take advantage of our products and expertise to accelerate improvements in healthcare.

6) What do you think the role of technology should be in society?
The role of technology in society should be to enable positive change. Technology developments should be increasingly focused on the most important global challenges, including the environment, alternate energy sources, and healthcare.

7) What is the right balance in society between scientific interest and ethical concerns?
Scientific interest is required in order for society to progress. In order for excellence in science to be achieved, it must follow the rules of morality and integrity. The right balance between scientific interest and ethics includes science conducted in a manner that follows the principles and practices of valid experimentation, unbiased expert review, and accurate communication of reproducible results.