Incogen could put Williamsburg on the map as a high-tech town

by Donna C. Gregory
for Virginia Business
July 2005

Virginia’s Historic Triangle has long been known as the birthplace of America — the place where the seeds of democracy were initially sown. These days it’s proving to be a fertile ground for biotechnology as well. Backed by a state grant and partnerships with area colleges, Incogen Inc. is trying to develop less invasive and less painful screening methods for leukemia and prostate cancer.

The company is collaborating with the College of William & Mary and Eastern Virginia Medical School to advance the technology of mass spectrometry where certain cancer-predicting proteins can be detected through a simple blood or urine test instead of using biopsies. In the Williamsburg area — known more for its tourism than its technology — Incogen represents a new and exciting industry. “We already have beta software that we’ve shared with the community and with some other organizations,” says Maciek Sasinowski, the company’s founder and CEO. “We believe probably by the end of this year that we will have a version that will be commercially available."

Incogen moved from South Carolina to James City County’s Busch Corporate Center in November 2001 after being offered a $3.2 million state grant. “The idea was we would come here to the state to foster the growth of biotechnology,” explains Sasinowski.

Relocation to a more high-profile address should bolster the company’s image. Sometime in the next two years, it plans to move its headquarters to New Town, a James City County mixed-use development that will combine a diverse residential community with shops, restaurants, office space, entertainment venues, and most importantly to Incogen, a cluster of emerging high-tech firms. “If things go as planned, the College [of William & Mary] and Incogen will have buildings that anchor this part in New Town that would host high-technology research,” says Sasinowski. “Even when we moved here three and a half years ago, we heard about New Town. … I like the idea of being one of the first high-tech or biotech companies to be located somewhere.”

In addition to Incogen’s research efforts, the company markets software programs that help scientists manage their discoveries. VIBE (visual integrated bioinformatics environment) allows scientists to build data pipelines through a simple process of dragging and dropping icons on a computer screen as opposed to relying on IT professionals to write computer programs for their research.

Geneport is another Incogen invention that helps scientists manage, mine and display their latest research. Several leading pharmaceutical and agricultural research companies, including Novartis, Syngenta, Sigma-Aldrich, and Allergan, as well as research facilities, universities and government labs, are currently using the company’s software. “People found the software so easy to use that several of our customers told us they were training their [employees] with it,” says Sasinowski.

To position the company for future growth, he plans to expand both its software and research. “ I think we’re heading in the right direction with these multidisciplinary collaborations that we have.”

Incogen’s proximity to William & Mary has helped the company grow. The college helped recruit the company from the Clemson University area, and its scientists now assist Incogen with research projects. Several of Incogen’s employees are also William & Mary graduates. In exchange, Incogen helped launch the college’s new computational technology program. “Our partnership with Incogen has been incredibly fruitful,” says Matt Clayton, associate director of William & Mary’s office of economic development. “The company has repaid the state’s support many times over in terms of job growth, company development, and use of higher education resources.”

The company came to Virginia with 12 employees and has doubled in size. Plans for the New Town building speak to its confidence for the future. “This is no small feat for a biomedical software business to have achieved over the past four years given the turmoil in the high-tech and biomedical business arenas over that time,” notes Clayton.

“[The Williamsburg area] is not what you would think of as a biotechnology hotbed,” says Sasinowski. “But I think given what we have done and with the college, it’s going somewhere.” If so, it wouldn’t be the first time a good idea has taken off in the former Colonial capital.