Players

targeting the notables and quotables of kansas city

Peter
Higuchi

Peter Higuchi grew up in Kansas City, went to KU, got a law degree from Washburn, and fully intended to become a tax attorney. Then he decided, "I'd rather be the client."

So he earned a master's degree from the American School of International Management (Thunderbird), went to Los Angeles, and soon came back home to Marion Labs. In 1993, he founded CyDex, Inc., a company based - and still booming - on largely one product.

That product is Captisol, a patented cyclodextrin derivative that works by enhancing water solubility while remaining nontoxic to people. This means that medicines or chemicals, which otherwise could not be absorbed into the body, can be. The people most intrigued by this product are pharmaceutical research companies who spend millions in research every year.

Higuchi recognized that the best way to sell to those companies initially was not to sell at all. Instead, he would provide samples of research-grade Captisol free under confidentiality agreements to potential research partners who could test the material in their formulations.

It's a strategy that has paid off. Just this year CyDex has signed two new
license agreements with Bristol Myers Squibb and Daiichi, a Japanese pharmaceutical company. CyDex's original partner, Pfizer, has received preliminary approval for a product utilizing Captisol. CyDex's revenues for the first six months in 2000 are higher than for any previous 12 months.
Captisol isn't CyDex's only product, of course. Advasep, a resolving agent that allows researchers to distinguish between two similar compounds, was developed in late 1996.

Higuchi expects more on the plate soon. "We're creating our own growth," he says. "We've been successful because our great associates have dealt with challenges with talent and effort." He adds, "And with the recent addition of $10 million from private investment, we can build the company even more aggressively."

One product or many more, Higuchi has a plan.

Rebecca
MacKinnon

I strongly believe the healthcare
industry will be making major shifts in this decade, with the home - and services into the home - fast becoming a focal point," says Rebecca MacKinnon, CEO/President of BeyondNow Technologies, Inc.

MacKinnon's company is following the obvious trend of shifting patients into the lowest cost care, home care. She points out that since the average hospital stay has shrunk, all the necessary services must be brought into the home. Medicare is likewise acknowledging the trend. HMOs and other commercial payers are also adopting plans of care to include home care days, which meet their goal of
decreased costs but increased services.

Designing a product to ease the paperwork load of home care providers and hospices has been the mission of the organization since 1994. This means offering information services to home care providers of the sort that hospitals have available, like medical charts, 3rd party payers claims, plans of care crafted by physicians and hospitals, and the procurement of supplies.

MacKinnon worked in homecare for six years before founding BeyondNow Technologies. In 1994, the company opened its doors with ten employees and eight customers. It has experienced explosive growth in sales especially during the last two years, growing over 100% this year alone. Today, the company employs more than 50 people in its headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas. Some 240 client companies provide services through their "hospitals without walls" as staff takes the care directly into the home.

The next goal? McKinnon is looking for her third series of investments this fall to launch an Internet service. She plans to add another layer to the current Windows architecture, one that will allow for complete Internet access in managing B2B and B2C transactions. And, of course, she will deal with the two key issues that confront any fast growing company - recruiting good people and financing growth. But so far, the people are great and the growth is proof of the same.