Ann Arbor Pharmacometrics Group is growing a little bit here and a little bit there; no easy accomplishment in the 3-year-old company's niche industry.
The Ann Arbor-based start-up conducts mathematical statistical modeling for quantitative drug development for the pharmaceutical industry. The complex math optimizes costly clinical trials, saving big bucks. It also means that finding that level of talent is not easy, which explains why the company hired just one person last year, expanding its staff to five people and an independent contractor.
"There is a demand but the supply is not enough," says Sunny Chapel, vice president of Ann Arbor Pharmacometrics Group. "It's really difficult to grow, but the work is there."
Chapel, Ken Kowalski, and Matt Hutmacher, all ex-Pfizer workers, started Ann Arbor Pharmacometrics Group shortly after the pharma giant closed its Ann Arbor campus in 2007. The trio had an offer to follow Pfizer out of town, but decided to stay in Ann Arbor and start their own business. Since then they have been booked solid. The company should grow organically for the foreseeable future, albeit at a slower pace in the competitive arena.
"We strive for quality work," Chapel says.
Source: Sunny Chapel, vice president of Ann Arbor Pharmacometrics Group
Writer: Jon Zemke
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