dennisfrancisblewettiii - 12-12-2011 at 15:23
Hey, folks.
Something I've been wondering for the past few months is how practical it is for someone to start up a chemical company making particular niche
molecules for scientists. For example, I know of scientists who want chemicals, such as APV/AP5 or tetrodotoxin.
These are general chemicals that can act within the nervous system to show interesting function. Other chemicals, such as organophosphates, have been
used in experiments by some neuroscientists that I know.
So, I keep wonder.. is it possible to cash in on particular chemicals that some scientists use? Seeing as 1 mg of TTX costs about $350 USD, can it be
considered that there is a market for individuals to manufacture it?
How does sigma-aldrich compete against lone individuals or small groups of individuals? How can small groups of individual compete with powerful
chemical manufacturers?
Upon look at this thread for a second time, I recall that people had tried to artificially generate TTX long ago, thus the total cost being being well
over $5000 USD in order to generate the stuff. That was years ago, though. As such, what's the stop me from getting pufferfish and isolating the
stuff?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Tetrodotoxin#Synthetic_ver...
If I understand things right, the synthesis of molecules is still a pretty nice market to get involved with.
[Edited on 13-12-2011 by Genecks]
[Edited on 13-12-2011 by Genecks]
aaparatuss - 12-12-2011 at 16:55
there is nothing stopping enterprise, if you were able to jump threw all the hoops etc.
Sigma or such would probably buy the chemical from you at a whole sale cost, because they have the distribution channels and clients that a start up
would not... They would probably make you sign a no compete clause as well.
You cant sell to alfa and sigma
zoombafu - 12-12-2011 at 17:40
The only thing that I would have to say is good luck getting through regulatory hoops for selling chemicals meant for research.
If a scientist wants a specific very expensive chemical such as ttx, they will probably want to buy it from an established chemical company such as
signma, not some guy in his basement (no offense to you though).
Something I recommend doing is to do extractions of capsaicin from peppers. I have a few friends that have bought some of it just to taste it and
have their mouth burn up. You can also sell it to cooks as the ultimate spice additive for their food.
bbartlog - 13-12-2011 at 07:20
If you're going to go into business (of any kind) the question I think you should ask is 'what's my edge'? If your reason for going into some
particular business is along the lines of 'hey, that looks easy, why do they charge so much?', it is 99% likely that you just don't understand what is
going on. That's not to say that there are no opportunities but at a minimum (in this particular example) you should be able to explain why it is that
1 mg of TTX costs what it does, and what part of those costs you think you wouldn't have if you were on the supply side.
ScienceSquirrel - 13-12-2011 at 07:53
I knew a postdoc at a university who did some custom synthesis on a contract basis.
It was mainly pesticide degradation products for residue analysis. The stuff was not commercially available and the analysts did or could not make the
stuff themselves so they paid him quite generously to do it for them.
But he had the contacts, access to the university facilities, etc that made it work.
AJKOER - 25-12-2011 at 10:37
If the regulatory costs or taxes are the principal barriers to entry, do like the big insurance companies do, incorporate in Bermuda or some other
accommodating domicile. As a small time operator, you can have a one room (lab) facility offshore, while the big guys can't move (the island isn't
that big and lots of chemical waste isn't particularly good for the tourists, they would feel like they are back home!).
Nicodem - 26-12-2011 at 03:55
The topic has been discussed just recently in this same forum section:
https://www.sciencemadness.org/whisper/viewthread.php?tid=18...