Our Company
Techulon™, Inc., is a life sciences company, established as a Virginia “C” corporation and headquartered in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, VA. We occupy an office suite and laboratory equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for the synthesis, characterization and manufacture of ionic biopolymers typified by our Glycofect transfection reagent. The Company was founded in 2006 by a group of Virginia Tech College of Science (COS) alumni who wanted to give back to the University and the community by growing a local business from licensed intellectual property. We assembled a Science Advisory Board made up of world-renown faculty, who along with our experienced management team reviewed a number of ideas before electing to enter the transfection business. Techulon Inc has no corporate ties to Virginia Tech, but its shareholders and management intend for it to bring benefits to Virginia Tech through license fees and royalties, sponsorship of research and graduate students, contracting for University services, hiring of faculty consultants and graduates, and by contributing to local and state economic growth. We work closely with Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties (VTIP) and are proud to reside in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center (VT CRC). Techulon is a member of Virginia Tech KnowledgeWorks (VTKW). VT CRC provides a beautiful and stimulating business and development environment while simplifying the corporate infrastructure challenge, and VTWK provides a highy professional support framework for new businesses. This arrangement allows Techulon's management and staff to devote their full energies to our customers.
Biopolymers for Medical Research and Therapeutics
Techulon has invested in modern laboratory facilities and equipment to support its biopolymer transfection reagent business. Our main laboratory is outfitted with the various pieces of synthesis, characterization and packaging apparatus used for the development and production of our products. Our separate cell culture laboratory is certified Class 2. We currently have adequate production capacity to quickly respond to the transfection needs of our customers.
 
Our first product is Glycofect, a plasmid DNA transfection reagent invented by Dr. Theresa Reineke and manufactured by Techulon under an exclusive license. Our license includes other biopolymers invented by Dr. Reineke that are optimized for the delivery of other genetic materials such as siRNA. All of these unique polymers exhibit low to no cell toxicity because they are formulated from carbohydrate (sugar-like) building blocks. We believe these amazing polymers will not only allow researchers to better utilize expensive and fragile primary cells but also have the potential to provide a strong boost to drug development using gene therapies. Note that Glycofect is sold to research laboratories as a vector or tool, and as such does not require FDA or any other lengthy and expensive approval process.
Techulon's product roadmap begins with Glycofect for plasmid DNA delivery, followed by the availability of three to five other similar products used for delivery of different forms of genetic material. We expect to use our development and synthesis capabilities to create custom transfectants for scientists who are working with unusual sizes and forms of molecules. We will continue to license promising technologies applicable to our business, and we have begun work on our own patent portfolio.
Techulon owns the exclusive right to sublicense its unique transfection reagents to organizations developing therapeutic applications. Interested parties should contact the company for more information.
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