The Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed) Innovation Center is pleased to announce that two client companies have been selected as awardees at the 2021 Michigan Celebrates Small Business event. Congratulations to Videka, the 2021 Kalamazoo SmartZone Best Small Business of the Year Award winner, and Northern Biomolecualr Services, a Michigan 50 to Watch company. Both companies will be honored on July 20, 2021, at the gala event in Lansing.
Videka provides customized products that are clean, innovative and extracted from nature for today’s pets and today’s pet parents. As a pioneer in natural antioxidants, Videka is a newly formed joint venture (since October, 2019) and has grown its business to include 20 customers across 8 countries. Videka leverages the leadership of two leading global companies (Diana Pet Food, Elven, France and Kalsec, Kalamazoo, Michigan) with the collaborative advantage of being vertically integrated, globally sourced, with tremendous analytical and innovative capabilities to not only supply today’s needs but also create the next generation of natural antioxidant products.
Robb Caseria, Videka Managing Director, noted “the WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed) Innovation Center has been our HQ and home to our world class laboratory (supporting North America). As a start-up business, we’ve been challenged particularly in navigating through the pandemic, and WMed has been tremendous in providing outstanding thought leadership, proactive solutions, and great facilities. We believe strongly in our mission as a natural leader in customized petfood protection. And WMed has become an important partner in our success.”
Northern Biomolecular Services (NBA) specializes in advanced molecular biological techniques for the determination of biodistribution, persistence, and gene expression of cell and gene therapy products. NBS provides solutions for assay development, validation procedures, and efficient sample processing. Delivering high-quality data and providing customer satisfaction is the top priority.
Shane Woods, President of NBS, says, “without the people and support of the WMed Innovation Center, NBS would not be where it is today. I can’t stress how supportive they have been in our journey and would recommend the innovation center to anyone who has an idea and wants to see it grow.”
The WMed Innovation Center currently houses 22 companies and provides support services to numerous additional companies through its programs and seminars. Since the inception of the Michigan 50 to Watch program in 2005, 13 Innovation Center client companies have made the list.
“Every client company that we assist has the potential to change the world,” said Sandra Cochrane, assistant dean of the Innovation Center. “Awards and recognition from programs like Michigan Celebrates Small Business just confirm what we already know. All of us at the Innovation Center are proud that we can play a small role in our clients’ successes.”