COMPANIES GIVE YOUR INNOVATION A LIFE!

Interview with Hannes Lohi, Professor in Molecular Genetics
Department of Veterinary Bioscienes, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Research Programs Unit, Molecular Neurology, Faculty of Medicine

Dogs share a similar gene and disease heritage with humans with a unique population history and breed structure. They also share the environment and even the same lifestyle as family members. This makes them great models for genetic research because identifying genes for complex diseases is possible from a much smaller collection of samples than in humans.

First in the world, professor Hannes Lohi together with his partners in the Genoscoper company developed a genetic test for dogs analyzing more than a hundred diseases and traits and the genetic structure with just one sample. This innovation opens up possibilities for better understanding of disease mechanisms and for improvements in diagnostic methods for veterinarians, treatments and drug development. Professor Lohi has started and developed numerous spin-off companies and helped find investors for other researchers’ companies as well.

How did you become such a successful researcher-entrepreneur?

“It all started about ten years ago. I didn’t know anything about business but founded a small DNA diagnostics company with my friend. First two years was just trial and error”, Lohi laughs.

However, Lohi had some bigger ideas. “Later, I happened to hear about a guy who was an avid hunter, had founded and succeeded with several companies and was potentially interested in doing something related to hunting dogs as a business angel. I picked up the phone and told him about my vision and the potential. After a few months, we were in business.”

Lohi found entrepreneurship interesting. He also felt it necessary to offer something back to the dog owners who kindly donated samples for the research, and he rented some space at Biomedicum for his work. It was all very small-scale at that point, and soon Lohi realized it would be wise to work together with another, bigger company in the same field.

“At that time, we and other companies tested only individual genes. I thought that what was actually needed in future was a gene panel test: a test that would look at all the possible known genetic variants from the genome with just one sample for roughly at the price for a single gene test.”

Our work helps to diagnose, treat and even eliminate diseases from pets – what could have more impact?

Lohi arranged a business angel to finance the work. “Tekes (now Business Finland) has also been a part of this from the start. The story continued with the first panel gene test for dogs – a cheek cell sample or a blood sample that is used for the analysis of hundreds of different genes: size, colour, type of fur, diseases, breed heritage for mixed-breed dogs, level of inbreeding and so on.”

The gene panel test caught attention worldwide and was licensed to the US-based company Mars in 2014 and later sold to them at the end of 2017. Altogether, it took about ten years to build the project to its current commercial level. Hannes Lohi believes that the gene panel test will be developing into a world-wide standard for hereditary analysis in dog and cats now in Mars’ hands. A test anyone can do at home and send for analysis.

By now, Lohi has founded several companies and has wider networks in the business. “Everything I’ve done has happened more or less naturally through my basic research, there’s been a natural demand for it all. In canine and feline genetics, research is based on motivating pet owners to participate. As part of the research program, only a few hundred dogs were tested from samples available in the biobank for publication purposes and with the first results out, there was an instant demand from the rest of the owners and breeders globally to get their dogs tested as well. That’s how the innovation was born”, he tells.

Researchers need a clear message from the University that the time spend for commercialization is valued and important.

Researchers are not usually very keen on commercialization. Why do you think that is?

“Commercialization is not a well-known area to researchers who are not used to it. There are millions of questions: what does it take, where can I find the right people, how do I start a company. What about funding, collaboration contracts with the university, invention disclosures… what exactly is an “idea”, who owns it, how much time will it all take, will it take too much time from publishing, will I end up doing everything badly?”, Lohi lists common fears.

Researcher doesn’t have it easy, Lohi continues. The university should somehow produce instruments and measures for valuing and appreciating work that brings in private funding and produces concrete impacts in society. “At the end of the day, I am pretty much evaluated only based on my publication record and you must consider how much you spend time and prioritize other activities.“ Some researchers want focus only on research, some do more teaching, and some are researcher-entrepreneurs that also need incentives, indicators and merit.

Lohi thinks that the number of invention disclosures, patent applications, accepted patents, the number of companies you work with, the number of spin-off companies you’ve founded could be better integrated as evaluation indicators and merits when filling up positions. “Researchers need a clear message from the University that the time spend for commercialization is valued and important”.

Research potential from business collaboration

Lohi has a dog biobank of 70 000 samples of different breeds and diseases that he started collecting in 2006. This is a very interesting resource for different types of companies and has opened enormous research opportunities. Partially with companies’ support, Lohi has been able to maintain a larger research group and to generate more publications. High-level publications have then leveraged more funding.

“My research group participated in a major study with Mars where we looked at the genome of more than 100 000 dogs. Without them, as a mere academic group, we could never have reached such numbers. Collaboration opens up new potential. Also the scientific and commercial aims have matched so well that we have never felt any pressure to steer away from our scientific goals”, Lohi explains.

Lohi’s research collaboration continues still further. Now his group is helping PetBiomics to develop a new type of blood sample test that looks at over a hundred biomarkers such as amino acids, glucose, fatty acids. With this information, veterinarians and researchers can soon try to identify new disease-related biomarkers and monitor the effect of treatment and diet with unprecedented accuracy. These new markers can tell whether the heart, liver or some other organ is stressed or give answers about chronic illnesses where genes may have less to say. “Genes don’t change – biomarkers change even during one day. Blood biomarker monitoring tells what is happening right now inside the body. In human medicine, similar inventions are transforming the diagnostics and treatment of chronic disorders such as diabetes, for instance”, tells Lohi. The invention is soon ready for commercialization.

How would you describe the impact of your research outside science?

Lohi’s genetic test – and potentially later also the wide range metabolomic blood test – are among the major innovations in veterinary diagnostics, becoming testing standards and concrete tools to help the work of veterinarians and other stakeholders in the field such as breeders. “We’ve produced a genetic test that is on its way to a global standard. Soon the work day of a vet will start by looking at a list of gene results of the pet on the screen. The work helps to diagnose, treat and even eliminate diseases from pets – what could have more impact?”.

What would you tell a fellow colleague interested in starting a company?

Lohi gets excited: “Companies give your innovation a life!I would absolutely encourage anyone with an idea to contact us who already do business collaboration and work as entrepreneurs. We can have coffee and mentor you, perhaps we can even come up with some new ideas and help you out.” One thing a scientist may have difficulties with is selling their own product. In business, you have to stand behind your work and have the courage to sell even the first version. The product will develop and improve during its journey.

“It’s easy to get really deep in all this but then do remember that evening meetings, teleconferences, events, they all take quite a lot of time. Between research and family, you need to consider carefully how you balance everything. For these reasons, I have not been in the operational side of the businesses. You need other type of skills there”, Lohi says and smiles.

The Business Collaboration Team offered all faculties an opportunity to pilot a new service,”The Business Collaboration Accelerator”. The Faculty of Medicine is our first pilot case. In this blog series, we interview 15 veterinarians about their experiences with industry.