Aegis Analytical gives manufacturers big picture

LAFAYETTE – In 1996, Gretchen Jahn and Justin Neway, co-founders of Aegis Analytical Corp., hatched a plan, or so they thought.

The pair was looking to put together a software system that could peg two birds with one stone, a novel idea in the software industry at the time.

“We originally wanted to create a software system that would be able to gather particular information and then be able to analyze that information in conjunction with all the other information in the manufacturing process,´ said Jahn, president and chief executive officer of Aegis.

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There was only one problem. Jahn’s and Neway’s fledgling company was actually two distinct companies. “We got some input from an individual who had experience with start-up companies. He said, ‘Well, the good news is that you finally have a company. The bad news is, you have two. Pick one.’ So we did,´ said Jahn, who brought more than 20 years of experience in information technology to Aegis.

After discussing the matter with prospective customers and perusing the market, the two arrived at a decision. “Over time, the analysis gained precedence over the gathering process, so we evolved,” Jahn said. And thus Aegis Analytical, located on 1370 Miners Dr. in Lafayette, was off and running.

The next three years were spent tinkering with the company’s brainchild, Discoverant, a software system that Jahn said is the only one that “shows you how to control your entire manufacturing process, all the way from raw materials to finished product to improve your process outcomes.”

Still the road to success was not clearly paved. “We spent a lot of time talking to prospective clients in the United States and in Europe, trying to get an idea of what Discoverant should look like. We looked at the requirements from all the input we received and then prioritized them accordingly.”

Early in 1999, the pair finally caught the break they were looking for. Merc, a renowned pharmaceutical company, gave them money to develop a version of the software that they could use during the first and second quarters of the year.

That was only the beginning. In the third quarter of 1999, having successfully hit their target date with Merc, Aegis Analytical signed a million-dollar contract with Aventis, one of the largest pharmaceutical corporations in the world. From that point forth, Jahn said the company’s valuation, which has now reached $12 million, just soared.

So just what is Jahn’s secret to success? “You have to have a sense of what the customer needs, what types of problems they are having, and then figure out how you can design a product that will address their needs.”

Today, Aegis Analytical’s market is primarily hinged on pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations, many of which are located outside the United States. In fact, 60 percent of the company’s clients are based outside U.S. boarders.

In August, Aegis closed a $4.5 million round of venture funding from pharmaceutical giants S.R. One, the venture capital arm of Smith Kline Beecham, Future Capital AG of Frankfurt, Germany, and Viscardi Ventures GmbH of Munich, Germany.

Jahn said the most exciting element of this funding round was that the company “received investments from the investing arms of our customer.”

So just what is it that’s so special about Discoverant that has turned a mere pipedream into a multimillion-dollar corporation? According to Jahn, Discoverant has several unique aspects. The software uses a piece of middleware produced by Virginia-based Enterworks (ECI) that allows the client to access different types of data that may lie across various networks. But while middleware may solve the problem of accessing data, Jahn said it doesn’t necessarily add value.

The real value comes from the advanced statistics and graphics Aegis Analytical’s team of engineers applies. “We can animate the whole process to help them see how their product evolves or develops over time,” she said, adding that this aspect has helped save the company’s clients millions of dollars.

The software uses Results Path, a guided user interface, to walk non-statisticians through complex analyses. “They don’t need to understand the mathematics or the theory behind it. They just need to understand the problem they want to solve.”

Now that Aegis Analytical has released its product, Jahn said the company is shifting its focus to sales and marketing. “We really want to get the word out on our product.”

In October, Aegis Analytical is scheduled to have a formal product launch at the ISPE convention, a major pharmaceutical convention being held in San Diego. After that, Jahn hopes to obtain another large round on investments for the first and second quarters of 2001, a deal that could ink the company up to $20 million.

“This whole operation isn’t just about troubleshooting and saving our clients some money, it’s about improving the quality of our product. We’re providing our clients with stability in manufacturing. We want to make the whole process more predictable, which has very far-reaching impacts for supply chain management.”