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XenoPort Inc.

This article was originally published in Start Up

Executive Summary

XenoPort Inc. thinks it is on the way to standardizing solutions to the vexing problem of bioavailability. The company's founders believe they can engineer drugs to take advantage of the body's own active transport mechanisms.

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The traditional drug-delivery business model of service for hire has fallen from popularity. Big Pharmas are doing few deals of this sort, and investors want bigger returns than fees and royalties can provide. Start-ups with drug delivery technologies are increasingly using their platforms on their own behalf, to create products they can out-license or possibly market themselves. Now content--getting the molecules to be delivered--is an issue.

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The traditional drug-delivery business model of service for hire has fallen from popularity. Big Pharmas are doing few deals of this sort, and investors want bigger returns than fees and royalties can provide. Start-ups with drug delivery technologies are increasingly using their platforms on their own behalf, to create products they can out-license or possibly market themselves. Now content--getting the molecules to be delivered--is an issue.

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