Muraca Leaving Nuclea to Head Spinoff; New CEO Hired
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — — A decade after founding Nuclea Biotechnologies, Patrick Muraca is stepping down.
Muraca said Nuclea has grown from a startup research and development company to a full commercial venture. With that shift, the company's board of directors have been bringing on leadership with experience on the commercial level. That includes bringing on Don Pogorzelski to take over as the new president and chief executive officer.
Muraca is now heading a Nuclea spinoff, NanoDX.
"It's always tough to say goodbye to something you started," Muraca said on Thursday. "I've known NanoDX had to be spun out and Nuclea had to go in a different direction."
Over the last year, Nuclea has been looking to bring on more experience in the commercial realm. About three months ago, while recruiting new board members Porgorzelski's name surfaced and Muraca said right away it was clear he was the company's future.
"He's really well rounded in marketing, sales, and operations. That's what the company needs now, not an entrepreneur," Muraca said. "It was clear that he had the expertise to take the reins right off the bat."
Pogorzelski comes to Nuclea after working for both Abbott Diagnostics and Genzyme. He started with Abbott in 1976 and stayed until 1987. The following year he joined Genzyme and became president. He sold the company to partners in 2011. He then went to help the Genzyme founder build a deep sequencing technologies lab in Cambridge.
"Since then I've been sitting on boards and doing angel investing," Pogorzelski said on Thursday.
When he joined both Abbott and Genzymes, the companies were still small. He helped build them up. By the time he left Genzyme, the company had some $4.6 billion in revenue.
"You grow something. Then you want to start small and grow something else. Now, I want to start small again," Pogorzelski said.
While he has spent the last two years sitting on boards, he said it isn't nearly as fun as being the person in charge of the company.
"Those aren't as much fun as going in 5, 6 days a week and realizing successes and the sentiments of leading a team," he said. "I was always open to talk with people [about positions]. This was the opportunity to be the chairman and drive the bus... That's all anybody can ask for."
In the next three months he plans to craft a three to five year plan for Nuclea. He can't say for certain, after just taking over the company on Wednesday, what that'll mean for the company but he sees tremendous opportunity.
"I think they've got a plethora of opportunity for them," Pogorzelski said. "They've got a bevy of intellectual property."
The company is at the point he's seen Abbott and Genzymes at earlier in his career. He plans to focus on securing another round of financing and expand the commercial aspect Nuclea has just begun to enter.
Nuclea has grown over the last 10 years from just three employees with a research agreement with the Dana Farber Institute to 72 employees. In 2013, the company purchased Cambridge-based Wilex Inc., which brought many of the diagnostic tests developed by the company to the marketplace.
"It is hard to leave a company but this is a victory lap. This was a true success," Muraca said. "I'm leaving Nuclea in a very strong situation."
"Nuclea has developed a portfolio of diagnostic products that have significant commercial potential. I am excited by the opportunity to join the Nuclea team and help the company achieve commercial success. Establishing new diagnostics in a highly competitive marketplace is always challenging, but we look forward to meeting those challenges," Pogorzelski said.
Muraca said Nuclea is expected to keep a presence in Pittsfield despite the manufacturing being done in Cambridge.
"Nuclea is not leaving Pittsfield," he said.
In taking over the new NanoDX, Muraca said he'll be doing a lot of the same work though the products are changing. The company is now part of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany, N.Y., and approved for that state's 10-year, tax-free program. His first tasks would be to raise the seed capital and finish the first product.
"We are very close to having a fully functional product," Muraca said. "It is more instrumental work. This is more of a chip-based diagnostic program."
Nuclea developed early diagnostic tests for prostate and breast cancer through biomarkers and lab testing while NanoDX will be researching and developing computer chips for diagnostics. Muraca says he hopes to have about 15 employees working on the new chips in short order.
"We are going to build this and move it forward," he said.
Muraca announced his departure to employees on Wednesday. He said that was a proud occasion because Nuclea spent a lot of effort in workforce development, training employees and working with the local colleges.
"It was a proud feeling in Pittsfield," Muraca said.
Tags: biotech, entrepreneurs, Nuclea,
