Business: Developing pharmaceuticals and advanced disease detection
Based: 1 Imation Way, Oakdale
Founded: 1991/Minnesota operation began in 2003
CEO: Eddie Moradian, Ph.D.
Employee count: 120, 25 in Minnesota
Website: www.mdbiosciences.com
Eddie Moradian, CEO of the family-owned MD Biosciences Inc., moved to Minnesota in 2008 from Switzerland to take over the company’s American operations.
Headquartered in Switzerland, MD Biosciences operates facilities and laboratories in that country, Israel and Minnesota.
The Minnesota location provides MD Biosciences with a central location and a highly dedicated and educated pool of researchers, health care centers and universities.
The company operates early-stage drug discovery and development laboratories in Minnesota. Labs at the two other locations often participate together in collaborative or fee-for-service pharmaceutical projects, Moradian said.
On a second front, MD Biosciences works closely with pharmaceutical and clinical laboratories in developing advanced clinical diagnostic tools and research products for inflammation, neuro-inflammation, immunological and oncological disease areas.
MD Biosciences has an in-depth expertise and scientific platform that attracts “novel” drug development work in the neurological, inflammatory and oncological disease areas, he said.
Such collaborations, along with internal developments, have resulted in a pipeline of non-opioid compounds for neuropathic pain, an advanced cancer program and blood-based diagnostic tool for a specific cancer, currently in clinical trials.
In 2016, Moradian partnered with Slumberland in the creation of an advanced, multi-technological incubator in Oakdale. “Incubology” offers dry and wet laboratory space, clean rooms and office space to companies in various areas, include biomolecule production, diagnostic processes, medical devices, nanotechnology and chemical synthesis.
“We believe that Incubology will soon grow to be an important regional anchor and seeding ground for new companies and technologies,” he said, “We are truly excited about what the future may bring.”