VLI Opens Research Lab in Montana
VLI Corp., the Irvine manufacturer of the Today contraceptive sponge, said Tuesday that it is opening a new biomedical research facility in Montana.
VLI officials said the company plans to invest about $500,000 this year in the 3,500-square-foot complex. The facilities will include five laboratories, where work will focus on new methods and products for treating and preventing gynecological disorders and sexually transmitted diseases. It will also serve as an “incubator” for staff researchers and independent scientists who want to turn their ideas into marketable medical products.
The company hopes to accelerate the development of new products. The vaginal contraceptive sponge is VLI’s sole product. “In exchange for the free use of our laboratories and equipment, scientists will give us the first right of refusal for any products they develop,” said Chairman Bruce Vorhauer in a telephone interview from Montana.
As an example of the kind of work that will be done at the labs, Vorhauer said that a vaginal sponge might be developed to administer medication used to treat various vaginal infections, rather than using creams or suppositories, as is the case now. These new products could provide safer and more effective treatments, he said.
Two of the five labs will be used as testing grounds for visiting entrepreneurial scientists who will attempt to turn their ideas into marketable medical products, Vorhauer said. VLI could then set up contractual agreements to market the products.
“Most people don’t realize there are world-class experts here who specialize in the area of sexually transmitted diseases,” he said.
The facility, scheduled to open next month, is located at the Community Medical Center in Missoula. Vorhauer said VLI chose the location because it is near scientists working on similar research at the University of Montana and at the National Institutes of Health Rocky Mountain Laboratories. Those researchers are working on treatments and cures for sexually transmitted diseases such as herpes and AIDS.
Staff Will Grow to 10
Two senior VLI scientists will initially work at the labs, but the staff is scheduled to grow to 10 by the end of the year. Vorhauer, who has a home in the area, said he will be devoting a large portion of his time to long-range research projects at the VLI facilities. Currently, VLI has about 20 researchers working at its Irvine headquarters.
He said the complex is near a hospital that is the sole provider of obstetric and neonatal care for Missoula County. The hospital will support VLI’s efforts with services from its chemical and microbiology laboratories.
“The hospital is very excited about the cooperative effort with VLI,” said Grant Winn, executive director of Missoula Community Hospital, in a statement.
VLI reported a loss of $6.1 million on revenues of $12.4 million for the 1984 calendar year. The loss was attributed mostly to a $5-million advertising campaign for its Today sponge. Although the campaign has been costly, VLI executives say it has been paying off because revenues more than tripled from the $3.8 million posted in 1983.
