ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Richmond, Va.-based biotech startup has announced it is launching a manufacturing operation in Albuquerque and will hire about 10 people locally.
Bright Path Pharmaceuticals LLC uses “continuous flow bioreactor technology” to produce drug compounds in a cost-effective manner. The technology can be used to create drugs for so-called orphan diseases: conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 individuals nationwide, according to the company.
The manufacturing enterprise will be located at 801 Bradbury SE on the University of New Mexico campus. The company expects the facility to be fully operational by early November.
Bright Path Founder Tony Quinones, a former chief investment officer at Cooperstown, N.Y.-based Cavendish Impact Capital, told the Journal the Albuquerque operation will initially house about 12 employees: a core chemist and an engineer from outside New Mexico, as well as 10 employees hired locally. Among those 10 positions will be chemical engineers, statisticians and business development professionals, with “competitive” compensation.
Bright Path’s technology uses rotation to significantly increase the rate at which chemical reactions occur. The process also eliminates the need for heavy chemical solvents and generates less waste than conventional methods, according to the company.
Quinones said the company chose Albuquerque in part because of the presence of the New Mexico Bioscience Authority, a public-private partnership created by the Legislature in 2017 aimed at stimulating bioscience investment and employment in New Mexico. Such an organization demonstrates the state’s commitment to growing the industry, he said.
In addition, Quinones described the Albuquerque area as possessing “the talent and infrastructure necessary to move (forward) an early-stage life science company.” He also said proximity to University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center faculty will be beneficial.
“Bright Path” comes from the Native American name of legendary athlete Jim Thorpe. Quinones, also Native American, described Thorpe as a figure whose story has profound resonance.
Dr. Richard Larson, executive vice chancellor of the UNM Health Sciences Center and president of the Bioscience Authority, said Bright Path worked closely with the authority on the project.
“They wanted to come to a place where they could impact the economic environment where there was a diverse population . . . and it was clear to them that we had all the pieces of a growing and successful (bioscience) ecosystem,” said Larson.
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