Inno Fire: US Biologic looks to change the world with its products
By Jason Bolton – Managing Editor, Memphis Business Journal
US Biologic chief manufacturing officer, Steve Zatechka, Ph.D., examines vaccine application equipment at the Agricenter.
Across the American Inno network of publications that covers 45 cities in the U.S., the Inno Fire Awards highlight innovative organizations and people who have had successes worth celebrating. Honorees could be startups, accelerators, or nonprofits buoying startups. They could be researchers or institutional leaders who rally innovators and give them the tools they need to succeed.
Memphis’ innovation ecosystem is growing, and the city isn’t short on high-caliber startups and individuals worthy of this award. There are many organizations and people in the community that could be considered “on fire.”
Below is a Q&A with Chris Przybyszewski, president of US Biologic, whose company is one of the 2024 Inno Fire Award honorees. US Biologic is a biotechnology product commercialization company producing orally delivered vaccines.
MBJ: What were some highlights through mid-2024 for US Biologic? How did your work in 2023 set up what’s to come for the company?
Chris Przybyszewski: 2023 to 2024 was historic for US Biologic. We launched our LymeShield System, which includes an oral wildlife vaccine to stop the spread of Lyme disease at the animal source before it has a chance to infect pets and humans. Lyme disease is America’s most prevalent vector-borne disease, infecting almost 500,000 U.S. citizens a year, mostly children. In just one year, we have partnered with two of the world’s largest pest-management professional companies as anchor customers.
We have created novel high-throughput manufacturing facilities at the Agricenter Innovation District, and we have helped create a new distribution network and business model with our pest-management partners. US Biologic worked to pass legislation in Delaware to create a first-of-its-kind tick-borne disease intervention fund. We have further expanded our intellectual property portfolio by adding three new patents.
Have you made any new hires in the past year, and what are your hiring plans in 2025?
This past year, we trained with our pest-management partners over a hundred technicians and inside and outside sales personnel. This group will galvanize revenues and our fight against Lyme disease. In 2025, we will expand our University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC)-based R&D and Agricenter Innovation District manufacturing teams.
What were your key areas of focus for the end of 2024 and looking forward into 2025?
At US Biologic, we “aspire, innovate, and deliver.” And we will continue to do so. We will grow revenues, open new markets, add team members, and help thousands of Americans fight against Lyme disease. We also will expand our product pipeline and biotech manufacturing operations at the Agricenter Innovation District. We have plans to expand sales into Canada, where Lyme disease challenges their own health care system. Memphis’ logistics infrastructure, our universities, and our research centers all position Memphis to be a center for global disease prevention.
What do you think the biggest opportunities and challenges will be in 2025?
One person dies every 12 seconds due to animal-borne disease, and 75% of all emerging infectious diseases originate in animals. US Biologic cannot rest on our successes with the LymeShield System. Instead, we must look forward to expanding our product pipeline and find new solutions to these terrible challenges.
This year, together with the Dr. Jane Huffman Wildlife Genetics Institute at the East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, we began field trials for a new anti-tick vaccine to complement the LymeShield System. We will work further with the USDA to continue to pioneer new ways to stop poultry disease and reduce antibiotics, antimicrobial resistance, and superbugs.
And then, as our biggest play, we will continue to develop a chewable human influenza vaccine that can be reformulated for multiple species, including birds, cattle, swine, and wildlife. These vaccines do not require refrigeration, so they will be available worldwide, including being shipped directly from Memphis to homes.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given as you’ve established US Biologic as a high-growth company?
Team is everything: support, be grateful for, and celebrate your team. When you break paradigms and create something new, you will face challenges every day. A good team can handle whatever comes their way, turn a possible catastrophe into an epic company win, and power through to a high-growth, profitable company that changes the world.