Feature
INCAPS 'Has the Potential to Reshape the Pharmaceutical Industry'
December 21, 2006
Meet the IU-trained researchers who are the faces of Indiana's new economy
Dariusz Janecki, Tony Tegeler, and Jin Sam You (clockwise from top left) are some of the great IU minds who have gone on to exciting careers in life sciences companies.
They’ve been called “The Three Musketeers,” and when you meet them in person it’s easy to see why.
Employees at the start-up company known as the Indiana Centers for Applied Protein Sciences (INCAPS), Jin Sam You, Tony Tegeler, and Dariusz Janecki were all hired in summer 2004, they all completed postdoctoral research at Indiana University, and they are all passionate about their work in the life sciences.
“This is a very interesting time—it’s fantastic to be a part of it,” said Janecki. “We are just a small brick in the wall, but we are doing our part to bring about medical and scientific breakthroughs.”
He’s being humble. As a contract research services and technology validation organization focused on proteomics, INCAPS made history in 2004 as a start-up spun out of the collaborative efforts of Indiana and Purdue Universities, Eli Lilly and Co., and BioCrossroads.
Proteomics, or the study of proteins, is one of the newest and fastest-growing areas in biomedical research. Now that the human genome has been mapped, scientists must turn their attention to proteins and the huge role they play in how cells make life possible—or cause disease. And the state of Indiana is becoming a major player in this new field.
“Proteomics is one of the most promising science areas for advancing human health while bringing investment and jobs to central Indiana,” said Rick Ludwig, INCAPS chief executive officer. “The study of how proteins interact with other molecules and each other has the potential to reshape the pharmaceutical industry, among others.”
In just two years, the company has grown 33 percent and its profits have increased nearly threefold.
INCAPS has strong ties to Indiana University, not the least of which is that incorporates the IU School of Medicine’s proteomics core facility that was created with funding from the Indiana Genomics Initiative. That portion of INCAPS, now known as PARC (Protein Analysis Research Center), provides academic proteomics services. INCAPS is housed in the IU Emerging Technologies Center in downtown Indianapolis, a business incubator for life sciences, biotechnology, and bioinformatics companies. The IU School of Medicine is a frequent client, requesting protein analysis services for a range of research projects.
And INCAPS’ three Musketeers cherish their postdoc time at IU: You worked in the lab of Mu Wang, director of the IU School of Medicine’s proteomics core and now director of PARC; Tegeler worked in IU Bloomington distinguished chemistry professor Milos Novotny’s lab; and Janecki worked in IU Bloomington chemistry professor James Reilly’s lab.
“I had a fantastic experience in Jim’s lab. I learned everything about proteomics and what I’m doing now at INCAPS in his lab,” said Janecki.
And he is happy to share his knowledge. In fact, all three rave about INCAPS’ collegial and fun spirit. “We all come from very different backgrounds, but there is a lot of collaboration in the lab. We get to do so many different things here that we wouldn’t get to do at a larger company, so the work never becomes boring. It’s always new and exciting,” said Tegeler.
In addition to enjoying their work, these guys are loving life in Indiana. Janecki, a native of Poland, walks to work each morning and is just starting to explore Indianapolis’ many cultural offerings. Illinois native Tegeler enjoys the area’s great fishing and golfing opportunities. You, from South Korea, is a family man living in suburban Carmel with his wife and two children. “Indianapolis is just right for my family and me. We like to camp on the weekends and just be a family together.”
Preparing great people for innovative companies is just one way that IU is helping Indiana build a stronger economy, one with room for a lot more than just “Three Musketeers.”
