‘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
SafetyCulture invests $2.1M in IoT startup Inauro, growing tech portfolio focused on frontline safety
A $2.1 million investment by SafetyCulture into a data and IoT software startup is part of an ongoing, focused effort to boost emerging technologies that enhance frontline processes, the global workplace operations company said Monday. “We’re constantly pushing to find new ways to innovate and automate processes so tasks can be done to higher standards,…
Snappy Workflow closes $1M round with electric backing from Nebraska investors
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 the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. KEARNEY,…
C2FO primes for global expansion with C-suite adds; new CFO joins from post-IPO SelectQuote
Editor’s note: C2FO is a financial partner of Startland News. Two new C-suite appointments to C2FO’s leadership team come as the Kansas City-based startup swells to record funding activity and projects new phases for its global expansion and growth. Ragui Selwanes, a veteran tech executive, joins C2FO as chief product and technology officer, a newly…
Black & Veatch investing $50K in CAPS network, hoping to unite corporate champions amid lagging labor market
One of the earliest supporters of the Center for the Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) is stepping up again to set the tone for foundational corporate backing as the Johnson County-spun experiential learning effort scales across North America. CAPS announced Monday a $50,000 investment from Black & Veatch to further long-term employment solutions for the engineering…
