New leader, a Rochester-area resident, wants to keep company in CNY, preferably in Parish, he says
By Stefan Yablonski
BioSpherix is a cutting-edge biotech company. It’s Parish’s largest employer and is working with scientists around the globe to impact medical outcomes forever.
The company, located at 25 Union St., creates systems that help researchers and companies working in cell and gene therapy get better results from their cells because they remain in an environment most closely resembling the in vivo systems.
The company was founded in 1982 by Randy Yerden Ph.D.
It was acquired a couple months ago by the Breeze Group. Syed Ahmed Mustafa was appointed as the new CEO. He joined BioSpherix as the president and CEO effective April 10, 2024.
Also this spring, Maddy Keefe, Ph.D., joined the team as a marketing manager and Sue Schech joined the team as marketing coordinator.
The company is undergoing a brand refresh, which includes new logo design, new website and new marketing strategies.
“It is our mission to unite leading industry experts and innovative companies in cleanroom and laboratory equipment, to deliver advanced, complementary products and services that ensure the highest standards of quality and safety for our customers,” according to Breeze Croup’s mission statement.
Mustafa said he is inspired by the transformative science behind BioSpherix’s core technology.
With goals to reinvigorate the company strategy, Rochester entrepreneur Mustafa pulls from his experience in starting and leading companies in healthcare, toxicology and biotechnology to propel BioSpherix into a new era of growth and innovation.
They are working to develop cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and significantly reduce the number of animals currently used in research with better alternatives.
Hidden gem
“Our goal is to let the entire world know about this hidden gem in Upstate New York so that those who are working on cures for a multitude of diseases can use BioSpherix Xvivo systems to reduce the time and cost needed to conduct research and bring novel treatments to the market,” Mustafa said.
“I am a life-long New Yorker, having grown up in Corning and then moving to Penfield in the late 1990s, where my wife and four adult children still reside,” he said.
While cities like Winston-Salem, Boston, Seattle and other regions with universities and companies working on cell and gene therapy are courting BioSpherix, “my goal is to ensure we remain in Upstate New York — preferably Parish,” he added. “However, to do that we need the right talent to staff our growth and the financial support from the region to ensure it makes financial sense to stay here.
“I also have a vision of expanding BioSpherix’s role in cell and gene therapy from making vital equipment to also helping enable more local research in cell and gene therapy. I plan to collaborate with area academic and research institutions to develop a center of excellence for cytocentric technology in the region.”
BoSpherix’s cytocentric cell incubation and processing systems have and will continue to change the way researchers and clinicians work with cells as they develop new research methods and treatments for a variety of diseases, according to Mustafa.
“My goal is to build on the foundation that Randy Yerden, our founder and inventor of the cytocentric philosophy, established and bring a better solution to those working in cell and gene research and therapy, saving time, money — and lives,” he said.
More than 30 years ago, Yerden created the first device to control oxygen levels in an incubator, pioneering the science of optimal biosphere control for in vitro experimentation and cell culture processes. This innovation created a more physiologic environment which produced healthier cells in culture.
Groundbreaking work
Over the years, BioSpherix has worked with many cell researchers and scientists to uncover the benefits of culturing and processing cells in a physiologic environment. This led to the creation of the Xvivo System platform, allowing entire protocols to be conducted in an aseptic, uninterrupted and optimized way.
The system is the first Cytocentric isolator, the only barrier isolator designed for cells. The modular design can aseptically close any cell production process, small or large, simple or complex, manual or automated.
In 2014, BioSpherix Medical was established to accommodate the demand for a vast array of cell culture lab equipment for cell research and cell and gene therapies.
