Lowry Curley was our cover feature back in August. At that point, on the heels of a $100,000 grand prize win at New Orleans Entrepreneur Week that March, Curley explained how his company’s invention, Nerve-On-A-Chip — a 3D cell-based model that mimics living tissue in form and function — was allowing pharmaceutical researchers and scientists to monitor the potential effects of drugs on humans more quickly and cost effectively than traditional methods. At the time, the company had seven full-time employees and was working with three pharmaceutical companies.
Moving at the fast-paced speed of tech, just four months later, AxoSim has grown to 12 full-time employees and signed two additional international pharmaceutical companies.
“I’m also excited to report that we have received two new small business grants,” said Curley. “These grants are allowing us to develop applications to be able to test new, non-addictive opioids. We’re also working to automate our testing which will hopefully allow us to produce 10 times the output we have now, which will help us expand faster.”
Spurred by a personal experience with a neurological issue he battled while in college, Curley said he was “intrigued by the development of new and better biomedical tools.” But in addition to his focus on helping to discover the best drugs to treat neurogenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, ALS and multiple sclerosis, Curley has had another goal in mind from the beginning: to help create a thriving biomedical district in New Orleans.
“I struggled to find a job here after grad school,” he said, “so bringing biotech jobs to the city is a personal mission.
Four months ago, Curley was recruited to be a member of the Biodistrict Board of Commissioners, which is working with biotech companies and universities to create a strategic plan to recruit and retain a more diverse workforce. He is also a member of Krewe de Nieux, a collection of local entrepreneurs devoted to solving some of the growth issues within the sector and “promoting a modern workforce.”
“What is being done here right now is really exciting,” he said. “And it’s only going to get better.”
