Startup Ideas Take Off With Help from the NH Life Sciences Launchpad

Armed with a “terrible” pitch deck and a vision for an innovative epinephrine injector, Conor Cullinane raised $100,000 from two investors and convinced two former classmates to quit their jobs, move to New Hampshire and co-found Pirouette Pharma. 

“They both first moved into my parents' house, who were empty nesters at the time,” Cullinane says. “We had a few whiteboards up at the house and all that. It was a really cool experience to be able to literally build something in a garage.” 

In 2016, as the idea took shape, Cullinane was still enrolled in a doctoral program in Boston.  After six months with Cullinane’s parents, Matthew Kane and Elijah Kapas found an apartment nearby and, in 2017, the company was officially founded in the shadow of Cambridge’s life sciences hub.

In the years that followed, the company cultivated its investors and grew. As it outgrew its Massachusetts space, Pirouette made its way back to New Hampshire. It now operates in a 10,000-square-foot facility with an ISO Class 8 clean room in Portsmouth, where it manufactures its auto-injector platform, which was named the NH Tech Alliance’s Product of the Year in 2024. That device is in the pre-FDA-approved stage for treatments of epinephrine for allergic reactions and naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses.

Pirouette’s startup journey echoes that of many burgeoning life sciences businesses in the state. 

New Hampshire Life Sciences (NHLS) provides support to turn a big idea from a small team into a successful business. Though the organization is just a few years old, it’s already a catalyst for connecting early-stage companies with funding, mentorships and resources for long-term sustainability. 

A FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE

Cullinane, Kane and Kapas all attended Clarkson University together in various engineering disciplines. 

“We were in all sorts of classes together, and definitely thick as thieves during that period,” Cullinane says. That included a senior project where they designed and built a rocket, including the fundraising needed. 

“It really was sort of a mini startup experience, which was, unknowingly for us at the time, really good training for the future,” Cullinane says.

After graduation, they parted ways. Kapas headed to Texas to work on energy projects. Kane earned a master’s degree at the University of Notre Dame and then went on to work on aerospace projects. Cullinane went to a joint program of MIT and Harvard Medical School to work on a doctorate in medical engineering and medical physics. 

TURNING AN ACCIDENT INTO ACTION

It was during his doctoral studies that Cullinane came across an article on a child who was stung by a bee, had an allergic reaction and died before epinephrine could be administered. 

“I immediately started thinking about my brother, who also carried an EpiPen when we were kids because of a food allergy,” Cullinane says.  “I had seen what that looked like up close and personal and ultimately realized that the technology was the same. It hadn't changed in a long time at that point, now over 50 years.”

Cullinane began developing the idea with his college friends to see if it was even feasible. They got to a point where it looked possible. Kane told Cullinane he’d leave his job if they could raise $50,000. 

“So I put together my first pitch deck, which, now looking back on it, was a terrible pitch deck,” Cullinane says.  "I worked through my network to be able to pitch to some friends and family and had the fortune to be able to pitch to two individuals together who ultimately decided to invest $50,000 each. That was a pretty exciting phone call, to be able to call and basically say, ‘Mission accomplished for this first step. Quit your jobs, and let's do this!’”

Since the trio started Pirouette early in their careers, they didn’t have a wealth of business experience behind them yet, so connecting with industry experts helped them chart a course while being able to shape the company culture. They worked with the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund, which provided grants and guidance. 

In 2021, Pirouette joined Y Combinator, a startup accelerator program. 

“Since then, (Y Combinator) evolved into the largest by volume life science investor in the world," Cullinane says. “That was a hugely rewarding experience for us, and a mentality that we've taken forward as we've continued to grow the company and vision.”

A NETWORK OF EXPERTISE

Forming connections with experts has allowed Pirouette to deepen its roots in the life sciences industry. NHLS facilitated many of those relationships through its networking and promotional events. 

"Some of the things that I think about in terms of working with NHLS are the doors that it opens. So I try to make myself available to go to as many of these NHLS events as possible,” Cullinane says.  “You never know who you're going to meet, and you never know what value they can bring.”

At recent events, he’s met a fill-finish company that might be a great partner for Pirouette’s products. At another, he demonstrated his device for the governor and showcased how it can better treat overdoses amid the opioid epidemic. 

“I wouldn't have had that opportunity without NHLS,” Cullinane says.

One of Pirouette’s board members is a person Cullinane met through an NHLS event. 

“The exposure for Pirouette as a small company and as a small startup in New Hampshire has been really exciting,” he says. “One thing that's been really fun for us is to be rubbing shoulders with the larger life science companies in New Hampshire, like Novocure.”

He looks forward to NHLS’s continued workforce development initiatives that will prepare interns and recent grads with the skill sets required for manufacturing under FDA regulations and clean room standards. 

THE NEW HAMPSHIRE ADVANTAGE

Office space in Boston made sense for the company while Cullinane was wrapping up his doctorate, and the company was getting off the ground. However, as Pirouette grew, New Hampshire became a more attractive location. 

“Over time, the company moved further and further north, back to New Hampshire, especially as we continued to expand our footprint and our need for manufacturing," Cullinane says. “Real estate was definitely cheaper in New Hampshire, but we're still a stone's throw from the huge med tech/pharma and biopharmaceutical industry in Cambridge.”

Steven Kelly, CEO of Timberline Construction Corp. and Timberline Communications, among the founding members of NHLS, echoed that pattern of life sciences businesses spreading from the Cambridge area up Interstate 93 into New Hampshire. 

"New Hampshire is very business-friendly,” he says. Unlike Massachusetts, which is built up and businesses usually convert existing properties to R&D and manufacturing facilities, New Hampshire has empty lots that can be developed at a lower cost. 

“If you go up to New Hampshire, where there's actually dirt, you can build what you want,” Kelly says. “You're not throwing bad money after good trying to modify an old building, and you can build it to spec.”

DECCO, a process plumbing solutions fabricator, has seen the life sciences come full circle in New Hampshire. 

"Early on in the process, it was a lot of research and development kind of work that by these smart kids coming out of Cambridge colleges ... they would set up these little incubators, which were small R&D labs," says Kyle Reagan, president of DECCO.  “Then it goes into full-blown manufacturing. And then from there, what we saw was a lot of these major manufacturers said it's too expensive to manufacture here in America. Let's do it overseas, but they still keep a footprint here with an R&D base. We've now seen manufacturing come back."

MAINTAINING THE MOMENTUM

To keep up with the pace of life sciences growth, NHLS champions investments in educational networks for workforce development as well as infrastructure improvements for water, sewer, electrical and broadband that will allow businesses to expand opportunities here. 

“There's a lot that New Hampshire can offer," Kelly says. “New Hampshire needs to grow, evolve and adapt to be ready for this. But I still think there's a huge opportunity for New Hampshire. "

There are opportunities for NHLS to grow its own services. 

“With a smaller company, there are two major needs,” Cullinane says. “One of them is regulatory approval, but on top of that, to get regulatory approval, it's fundraising.”

As the venture capital network grows in New Hampshire, NHLS can help guide startups through the financial ecosystem to bridge the years from idea to product sales. Cullinane hopes to see expanded programming that addresses FDA navigation, pre-clinical guidance and infrastructure advocacy. 

“As I look back ... our expectations around how much money we would need and how quickly we'd be able to get FDA approval are essentially laughable at this point, and oftentimes that's the case for almost any startup,” Cullinane says. 

Forming connections with those who’ve been through the process can help add perspective to a startup’s business plan.  NHLS is already positioned as a network to connect the partners needed to make that happen. 

“Ultimately, I wouldn't have rather been anywhere else, and it has been the most rewarding and fun experience of my life,” Cullinane says. “Just be willing to work hard. It's going to be a fun experience.  I always tell folks like, just take the leap.”

For startups preparing to take that leap, NHLS provides a launchpad and a foundation of partners ready to help make ideas soar. Membership in NHLS provides insights, advocacy and access to develop your business strategy and grow toward your goals. 

To learn more about the benefits of membership and find upcoming networking events, visit nhlifesciences.org.