“Iowa start-up moves to Wisconsin in hopes of growing in Midwest’s biotech haven”

By  Victor Dupuy

AimsBio is a biotechnology company that aims to re-root itself in the fertile start-up soil of Madison.

AimsBio, which focuses its research on tapping into potential drugs obtained from the world of leaf surfaces, has moved from Ames, Iowa to Madison and will present in the Nov. 11 “Elevator Pitch Olympics” at the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium in Madison.

It is a biotechnology company that develops pathogen control products, diagnostic kits, and analytical services for the agricultural and health markets.

AimsBio has relocated to University Research Park on Madison’s West Side. When asked what prompted the move of the company from Iowa, CEO Colin Shepherd said Madison has become the best spot in the Midwest for biotech. He also brought up that he preferred the area’s quality of life and recruitment opportunities.

“From our perspective, it is basically a no-brainer to be in Madison if you are in the Midwest and want the best biotech environment,” Shepherd said. “The decades of hard work by everyone involved to develop it is paying off, and I keep hearing on a monthly basis of someone relocating their company to Madison.”

Shepherd also mentioned that the angel and venture capital market in Wisconsin and Madison in particular made it that much more appealing to move north of Ames. AimsBio’s move is still not quite completed, but Shepherd remains enthusiastic about the decision. “In all the conversations I've had with people and potential employees, many if not all would relocate to Madison in a heartbeat,” he added.

AimsBio’s business model is to discover new compounds and then work with larger firms in order to fully market their discoveries. The company claims to already have found compounds that have market potential. The model holds three main divisions within their company, which are Pharma, Health, and Analytics. Shepherd hopes to take on some major diseases with the compounds discovered and extracted within AimsBio’s research. The markets in particular that are of focus are agriculture, to help keep health farm crops, and human healthcare.

One disease in particular, Staphylococcus aureus, is still a harmful pathogen that could very well be nullified with an antibiotic produced from this exact type of research.

The phyllosphere is the biological world contained within plant and leaf surfaces. It is an environment with largely untapped potential, containing compounds that could possibly be used within the medical world to construct new and effective antibiotics. Research in this area could lead to new opportunities in treatment, disease control, and a better understanding of the biological world in general.

AimsBio looks to utilize a new type of plant science to discover cures for diseases. The company’s research involves extensive studies of the new given technologies. The company’s chief science officer, Ryan Shepherd, has abundant experience with phyllosphere biology.

In the world of medicine, the pressure is always on to find new cures and methods that meet or exceed the cutting edge. Money, efficacy, and the very quality of life are always at stake to be altered by the next big breakthrough. The changes found in one place can affect the entire world.

For AimsBio, that place may be Madison.

Dupuy is a student in the UW-Madison Department of Life Sciences Communication.

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