After Adversity, Success Beckons
By Bob Gulla
May 2024
Every startup has its ups and downs. Sometimes they even happen at the same time. At Correlia Biosystems, commercial prospects were rising in 2023 as the life science startup headed into its initial product launch. Its inaugural early access program was underway, and its highly anticipated product had just been placed at four locations for a six-month testing phase.
At the same time, one of their biggest investors stipulated that its next round of funding came with strings attached: Correlia had to become even leaner than they had been, and every nonessential employee had to be let go. That added up to about 50% of Correlia’s team.
“It’s been a challenging year for sure,” admits Akwasi Apori, one of the company’s founders. “Stepping up our marketing and talking to customers after so much testing and tweaking was exhilarating,” he says. “But it was offset by financial roadblocks we were experiencing at the very same time.”
After the sting of layoffs subsided and the dust settled, Akwasi and members of his leadership team, including Chief Technical Officer Kursad Araz and Chief Science Officer Samuel Tia, began to see the company’s future in a clearer light. “The good thing is, we have shown enough advancement to continue earning the support of our investors, and we knew that with the new round of funding we were finally ready to turn the corner.”
"We’re getting interest from Top 15 Pharma companies. If it works for those companies, our platform could be used enterprisewide. That would be a game-changer."
Their PIXI Automated Immunoassay Platform is an automated protein measurement tool that powers data-driven biology. It is, essentially, three products rolled into one: the instrument, its software, and accompanying test kits. To get it all ironed out took some doing. Now the platform is in the marketplace, actively being utilized by a handful of small-market customers who are quickly witnessing its value. “Our first customer install went very well,” says Akwasi. “In fact, it worked well enough that they were able to develop some of their own tests, which was super-exciting. That directly led them to make a purchase.”
Now that the product has been successfully deployed, Akwasi’s team can speak to real — not theoretical — successes they’re experiencing. “I feel like this is our first major turning point,” he says. “In fact, we’re also getting interest from larger Top 15 Pharma companies. If it works for those larger companies, our platform could be used enterprisewide. Big companies would be purchasing tens of systems, not just a single one. That would be a game-changer for us.”
So while 2023 proved to be rough going, 2024 is feeling quite different. Akwasi and his team can focus less on tweaking technology and more on sales and marketing. Last year was about feature development; this year will concentrate on sales motion, moving products, publishing results, and getting in front of customers.
“We’re looking ahead to a full-on rebound in the life science landscape,” says Akwasi. “There’s more of a buzz in the sector. It’ll help us make the transition to being more commercial this year, and put us in a great position for a much larger growth round as potential investors see what we’re up to.”