OcuSciences hired two people over the last year, expanding the bio-tech startup’s staff to five. One of those hires was a new CTO (coming Accuri Cytometers) and another is from the
Adams Entrepreneur Fellowship program.
The Automation Alley-managed program pairs recent college graduates with locally based startups. The idea is to get more talented young people involved in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Erich Heise joins OcuSciences as its business manager, specializing in business development.
"It's a chance for Erich to get his feet wet in a company," says Kurt Riegger, COO of
OcuSciences. "OcuSciences is doing a lot of business development and Erich has a chance to do a lot of it."
OcuSciences spun out of the University of Michigan six years ago developing a new way to diagnose diseases like diabetes with eye scans. Its ocular diagnostic technology for metabolomic diseases that allows doctors to diagnose patients earlier and with higher accuracy. It's the type of new technology in an emerging area that attracted Heise back to Ann Arbor after he graduated from Case Western University.
"Ann Arbor is really an area of opportunity when it comes to entrepreneurship," Heise says. "Most people run to the coasts but I think this area is really blossoming."
OcuSciences’ technology is being used in two clinical centers, and the startup is working to bring two more online in the coming months.
"The need is high," Riegger says. "The challenge is can we get ahead of the need?"
Source: Kurt Riegger, COO of OcuSciences
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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