Company Name: Benten BioServices
Industry: Biopharmaceutical
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Location: Malvern, Pennsylvania
Solution/product: It provides support services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, among them: biological safety testing, such as antibiotic resistance testing, cell bank manufacturing and DNA sequencing.
Money raised: $2.9 million
Investors: 19
Using Informed Awareness to Transform Care Coordination and Improve the Clinical and Patient Experience
This eBook, in collaboration with Care Logistics, details how hospitals and health systems can facilitate more effective decision-making by operationalizing elevated awareness.
Management team: Paula MacDonald, the CEO and co-founder, has more than 25 years’ experience in the biomedical sector. She previously served as CEO of Accugenix. She was also executive director of Charles River Laboratories Biopharmaceutical Services and a vice president at Tektagen Inc. (acquired by Charles River Laboratories in 1998), one of the first CSOs to offer biological testing and cell banking services. Dr. Harvey Schlesinger, a co-founder, has 40 years’ experience in the sciences. He’s held several positions such as chief technical officer, and senior director for technical services for biopharmaceutical contract service companies including Charles River Laboratories Biopharmaceutical Services and Tektagen.
Market opportunity: The trend towards outsourcing research and development by Big Pharma has created market opportunities for clinical research organizations and contract service organizations. A research report by Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development cited by Contract Pharma estimated the U.S. contract R&D service market generated up to $49.5 billion in 2011, although the services Benten BioServices provides account for a small sliver of that market.
