EpiVax
EpiVax uses computer modeling, gene sequencing and molecular immunology to develop new vaccines and predict and modify how drugs interact with a person’s immune system. The company uses bioinformatics and technology to design treatments and vaccines for smallpox, AIDS, tuberculosis, Type I diabetes, cancer and other diseases.
With the initial Slater grant and a contract from a TB vaccine foundation, EpiVax further developed its technology. Additional funding for its projects allowed the company to expand from the third floor of De Groot’s house, to a carriage house on Providence’s East Side, and finally to a converted garage space in the city’s Jewelry District.
By 2006, EpiVax had developed a reputation as “thought leaders” in the field of therapeutic proteins. Just last year, EpiVax signed another major option agreement to use its “tregitope” tolerance technology to optimize delivery of an HIV vaccine. With that funding, EpiVax repaid its Slater loan in full and invested in new equipment.
Overall, De Groot has raised $15 million in private and government funding for medical research and education, $7 million of that for EpiVax’s work. EpiVax’s 15 employees are “an incredibly creative group,” says De Groot, the company’s chief executive and chief science officer.
“We try to foster a balance between customer focus, ‘Yankee frugality,’ and intellectual curiosity,” she says. “The critical components of our company’s innovations process are free thought, unencumbered imagination and an ability to connect the dots.”
EpiVax is committed to delivering on its promises to clients. “We maintain a close relationship with our clients,” De Groot says. “Our motto is ‘Courteous, Intelligent, and Able,’ meaning that we aim to treat people with respect and provide capable, intelligent solutions for their needs while making it clear that we deliver on promises because we work hard to get their business.”
Rhode Island’s small size has proved beneficial for EpiVax and De Groot herself.
“As a doctor, as a mom, and a teacher, the size of the state made it possible for me to fulfill all of my obligations, to my children, to my patients and to my students, without ever being far from my company offices,” she says. “I would say that size matters. In this case, small is better.”
In the near future, EpiVax is considering an expansion to Berlin, Germany. It’s committed to remaining innovative, but De Groot worries about what might happen if EpiVax becomes too successful. “We might attract the attention of a much larger fish and get an offer we can't refuse,” she says. “If we were to be bought, we'd have to work harder to maintain our level of creativity.”