Students Leverage University of Utah Lassonde Experience to Land High-Level Jobs

When Arlo McGinn entered the University of Utah as a doctoral student in pharmacology and toxicology, he had only an inkling of the entrepreneurial adventure he had undertaken. Initially tapped in 2008, along with MBA students Mark Adams and Kalyani Yerra, to evaluate the commercialization potential for a novel optically-guided endoscopic feeding tube that would eventually give rise to a university spin-off company, McGinn assumed steadily increasing levels of responsibility and influence. As director of business and clinical development for Veritract, he has helped the fledgling company develop a product that has the potential to achieve unprecedented levels of safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness. With McGinn’s support, Veritract is pursuing clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its flagship product, has filed for patent protection, has raised $200,000 in grant funding and has closed a Series A preferred stock round of almost $1 million.

Armed with these successes, McGinn is considering a wide variety of positions, from management roles at pharma and biotech powers to C-level opportunities with equity stakes at promising startups.

"The University of Utah’s Lassonde New Venture Development Center http://www.lassonde.utah.edu/lnvd.php excels at catalyzing synergies between students of different backgrounds, allowing us to focus on our strengths while learning the elements that go into developing a successful startup," said McGinn. "The commercialization experience has been absolutely phenomenal. Whether I end up working with a startup or an established industry leader, I will always use the expertise I developed at the U’s Lassonde program."

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