The Exponent - Purdue's Student Newspaper

Endocyte, a company founded in 1996 that focuses its research on cancer treatment, is located in Purdue Research Park. The company is the spawn of basic research that was being conducted by Philip Low, a Purdue biochemist and current chief science officer of Endocyte, at Purdue in the late 1980s. Low made the discovery by accident.

“We put biotin (a vitamin) on the molecule and it went in (to the cell). We then decided to do a control using a molecule that we knew wouldn’t go in, and much to our surprise, it did,” Low said.

This was the beginning of the revolutionary new systems of medicine that Endocyte has created. Not only does Endocyte have a brand new drug delivery system, but also a series of predictive medicines.

“We developed homing molecules to hone in on cancer cells and attach therapeutic drugs that will only attack the cancer cells. We use the same homing molecule as an imaging agent. This is significantly less toxic and invasive, and allows us to select patients who the drugs would work on allowing them to avoid the misery of unsuccessful treatment,” Low explained.

Always looking for where his research could be useful in medicine, Low published his findings – and the venture capitalists started calling. Not knowing what to do, Low went to a lifelong friend for advice. That friend hired Ron Ellis, who became the CEO and first employee of Endocyte.

While most biotech companies fail within their first six months, Endocyte has thrived – although it hasn’t been a quick occurrence.

“I’m surprised by how long it’s taken,” Ellis said about his company’s progress. “These things take time. Ten percent of drugs fail their clinical trials, and it’s a long process taking them from stage two of the trials to stage three. The progress we have made is a testament to the people who work here.”

Many of those workers are Purdue alumni. Several of the graduate students who worked on the original research are now with the company, including Chris Leamon, the current vice president of research. Many graduates of Krannert School of Management are hired to handle the business side of Endocyte. While neither Low nor Ellis specifically said that Purdue graduates receive preference over others, Ellis did have this to say when asked about whether or not the company has an interest in keeping it all “in the Purdue family:”

“Purdue’s just a great university. It’s very attractive to us because it has such a great talent pool coming out of it. Making new drugs takes very smart, skilled and specialized people,” Ellis said.

While the companies main focus is cancer treatment, they are branching out to treat other diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. However, cancer must remain the main focus because it’s the source of the money that funds the company’s other research.

Both Low and Ellis see great things in the future not only for their company, but for their research as well. Low believes that the vast majority of drugs will be in their style within 10 years, and that modern medicines will be considered “cavemen.”