Medical researchers need cutting-edge tools to create new treatments, and Vancouver, BC startup ScopeSys wants to provide them.
Founded in 2017 and tracing its roots to research from University of British Columbia biophysicist Sabrina Leslie, ScopeSys uses physics to make testing new medicines quicker and cheaper.
The 7-person company, which recently closed a $1.1 million seed funding round, is developing tools that let drugmakers observe individual RNA and DNA molecules, giving researchers a more precise way to design new forms of medicines.
We caught up with ScopeSys CEO Padma Kodukula — a longtime biotech leader who most recently served as chief business officer at A-Alpha Bio — for this installment of GeekWire’s Startup Spotlight.
In 50 words or less, give us your startup’s elevator pitch.
ScopeSys is developing next-generation analytical instruments that reveal the size, payload, structure, and dynamic behavior of individual nanoparticles and biomolecules. Our proprietary Convex Lens-induced Confinement (CLiC) technology helps pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies design better genomic medicines, accelerate formulation development, improve scale-up, and strengthen manufacturing control.
What problem are you obsessed with solving?
I am obsessed with improving how genomic medicines are characterized. These therapies are complex and highly heterogeneous, yet many existing analytical methods report only population averages. We want to give scientists particle-by-particle and molecule-by-molecule insight so they can better understand what they are making, why it works, and how to manufacture it consistently.
What surprised you after talking to customers?
I was surprised by how actively customers seek technologies that can give them a meaningful competitive advantage. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology teams are highly sophisticated, but they still face major analytical gaps. They are willing to explore cutting-edge tools when technology can answer important questions that existing methods cannot and provide actionable data.
How has AI changed the way you build your company?
AI has multiplied our efficiency across nearly every part of the company. We use it to accelerate scientific research, analyze market and competitive information, refine product positioning, develop customer materials, support sales outreach, and improve internal decision-making. It allows a small team to operate with the speed and breadth of a much larger organization.
What is one thing people misunderstand about your startup?
Some people assume we are still an academic research project because our technology originated at the University of British Columbia. In reality, ScopeSys is a commercial, revenue-generating company. We are translating years of scientific innovation into robust instruments, consumables, AI datasets, and analytical services designed for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and research laboratories.
What is the toughest decision you have made in the past year?
The toughest decision has been balancing near-term service revenue with the long-term investment required to commercialize our instrument platform. Services generate important customer validation and cash flow, but building a scalable product company requires disciplined choices about hiring, capital allocation, product development, and which opportunities to prioritize.
What is the one piece of advice you give to other entrepreneurs?
There will be many hurdles throughout the entrepreneurial journey, and some will feel overwhelming in the moment. Keep moving forward. Most challenges eventually pass, especially when you remain focused, adaptable, and persistent. Perseverance does not mean ignoring problems; it means continuing to solve them one at a time.
We will know our company has made it when…
Our technology and instruments are routinely used across pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic laboratories as a standard tool for developing genomic medicines—helping scientists build better formulations, accelerate process scale-up, understand product heterogeneity, and support manufacturing and quality control.
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