‘Hardest deal is always the first one’ — Partnership adapts Motega Health tech for animal use
January 25, 2019 | Austin Barnes
A new licensing deal with Simini Technologies has unleashed disruptive potential for Lawrence-built Motega Health, the company announced Thursday.
“We are very pleased to be partnering with Simini and their team and are excited by the energy and creative thinking they are bringing to the commercial process in veterinary medicine,” said Dr. Blake Hawley, founder and CEO of Motega Health –– a biopharmaceutical and food tech company.
“The hardest deal is always the first one, just like getting that first investor. As we demonstrate traction, we show value. We increase our revenue and our long term value skyrockets –– something every investor wants,” Hawley said of the partnership, which marks the company’s first major pharmaceutical pairing –– a connection made possible through St. Louis’ Shear Kershman Laboratories, he added.
As part of the agreement, Motega Health will provide Simini Technologies –– a pharmaceutical company that licenses veterinary rights to human health drug candidates and then develops products for use in animals –– with a license that allows them to research, develop, and commercialize Motega Health’s novel therapies for animals, he said.
Simini Technologies will also assume any further research opportunities and commercial activities, Hawley further explained of the partnership.
“Long term investment allows us to dramatically accelerate our studies and market our products for licensing,” Hawley said of the opportunity to work with Simini Technologies during the early stage phase of Motega Health –– founded in 2018.
Read more about Motega Health in the news here.
“We have been able to demonstrate oral mucosal absorption with drugs and compounds previously thought impossible,” Hawley said in explanation of what drew the company’s together. “This is ground-breaking and has literally hundreds of applications.”
Disrupting the health space one innovation at a time, Motega Health is enabling drug companies to eliminate injections, pills, and tablets. A process that could align the company for exponential growth, Hawley said.
Such growth could include significant investments in the company from Kansas City investors, Hawley revealed.
“We just started our cap raise in November and have had some recent great meetings in KC, which have led to more meetings and warm introductions [with potential investors.]”
Between the company’s deal with Simini Technologies and the potential weight of a first round capital raise, Hawley is eager to see how Motega Health can evolve in the startup space, he said.
Featured Business

2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
StratFit secures patent, flexes plans for explosive growth with platform built in Google Workspace
StratFit founder Daniel McKee powered into 2023 with the launch of StratFit Digital MVP, advanced training design software for personal trainers and coaches. Built in Google Workspace, StratFit Digital’s Strategy Design Drive integrates McKee’s “super-system” with advanced tools that make it easy to access and use. “[With StratFit Digital], I have been working on separate…
SpiderOak raises $16.4M for space cybersecurity tech to protect ‘soft underbelly’ of satellites
A Lenexa-based company’s industry-leading technology is taking orbit with new investments that validate SpiderOak’s end-to-end cybersecurity efforts — a “mission critical” platform that reduces the attack surface of satellites and damages the ability of adversaries to jam and disrupt space communications. “Today, space-based assets are mission essential in all civil and military operations and rapidly…
Wichita startup with growing KC team secures $10M from Koch Disruptive Technologies
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures (EGV), a business unit of NetWork Kansas supporting innovative, high-growth entrepreneurs in the State of Kansas. WICHITA — weavix is transforming…
Global flavors layer together as 200+ chefs serve up their best dishes for KC Restaurant Week
Kansas City Restaurant Week serves as a sampler for curious diners to satisfy their taste buds with an array of delightful dishes — and chefs from more than 200 local eateries showing off their culinary creativity and most visual see-food specialties, said Andrew Fontes. “It’s a great opportunity to go outside your comfort zone and…
