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The 60 industrial-size freezers standing in formation like soldiers at attention look unassuming from the outside, but their contents are invaluable.
Stored at temperatures of minus-80 degrees Celsius, the millions of biological samples inside the far-west-side warehouse represent the future of disease research and drug development.
The repository is operated by BioStorage Technologies, a 3-year-old venture created by a pair of researchers who met at the local office of Princeton, N.J.based Covance Inc., a drug-development services firm.
Oscar Moralez developed BioStorage's business plan and enlisted the aid of Dr. F. John Mills, who serves as CEO and chairman. After encountering skepticism from many venture capitalists, the two managed to raise $3 million, mostly from private investors. Now they have their sights set on snaring an additional $5 million to $10 million early next year to fund expansions to the West Coast and Europe.
The company's proximity to Indianapolis International Airport and the Federal Express hub makes shipping sensitive materials convenient. But many of its 20 clients are in the two regions targeted for expansion, Mills said, and would welcome closer storage facilities.
"Our customers are expecting us to do that," said the British-born Mills, who moved to the United States in 1997. "When you're in the bioscience business, you're talking temperature - sensitive, highly valuable materials."
A pharmaceutical company, for instance, might need quick access to a tissue sample from a patient involved in a clinical drug trial.
BioStorage Technologies transports, stores...