ALUMNI PROFILE: Anthony Escarcega
unning a business is like driving cross-country without a map,” says Anthony Escarcega (BSME ’97, MSBME ’99, MBA ’05). “You get to a fork and have to take one way—and you hope it’s the right one.”
For Escarcega, co-founder of Ratio Inc., the first fork in his road to entrepreneurship was choosing a patented drug-delivery device as the company’s initial product. It was a tough choice, Escarcega admits, since medical devices are regulated much more so than other products.
However, Escarcega has always been independent, with a willingness to, as he says, “work as hard as I needed to.”
Originally from Montana, he moved to the Kenosha, Wisconsin, area while in high school. He was recruited in 1992 to run cross-country and track while studying in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Running 100 miles a week was not unusual, and Escarcega credits his coach, Martin Smith, for teaching him to respect himself and do things correctly on the first try. Escarcega and his cross-country teammates earned an NCAA victory in 2005, claiming the top ranking for the first time since 1988.
Additionally, Escarcega was selected for the Chancellor’s Scholarship Program and had the unique privilege to call outgoing Chancellor John Wiley his personal mentor. “He is a great guy to know—very down to earth, very friendly,” Escarcega says.
Wiley also taught Escarcega to strive for excellence—a lesson he took with him to San Luis Obispo, California, after graduation. After a year of working for a business that develops machinery to polish silicon wafers, Escarcega left the company and returned to Madison.
If all goes his way, that year will be the last time Escarcega calls someone his boss.
In 1998, he enrolled again in the College of Engineering—this time, to study biomedical engineering. Escarcega originally wanted to develop products for athletes, so BME was a good fit, and he studied workplace injuries under Professor Robert Radwin.
He also helped develop orthopedic devices at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, which is where he realized he wanted to start his own business. The next step was a master’s degree in business administra-tion. “The combination of engineering and business is really powerful,” Escarcega says. “With medical devices, it’s difficult to be able to look at the technologies and have the ability to understand them and see if they have value. Biomedical engineering gives you breadth and you understand how the body works—the biology aspect gives me the power to understand different applications and how the physiology of the body works with different materials.”
His background in biomedical engineering also has given Escarcega a wide range of entrepreneurial possibilities.
His career in biological entrepreneurship began in 2005 as he scoured the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation database in search of a patented product to inspire a business plan for the university’s G. Steven Burrill Technology Business Plan Competition.
He found a device developed by Professor David Beebe that can deliver large-molecule drugs to patients, and Ratio was born.
Along with then-biomedical engineering graduate student John Puccinelli (BS ’03, MS ’05), Escarcega won $10,000, the competition’s top prize. They also received $100,000 from the university’s Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship.
Escarcega and Beebe continued Ratio after Escarcega graduated, while Puccinelli continued to pursue his PhD in biomedical engineering. “Being in Madison is an advantage,” says Escarcega. “There are good employees and a competitive environment, but you’re able to start a business for less and the investment community is growing.”
Originally intended for insulin delivery, the Ratio drug delivery device has expanded for use in pain management and vaccines. The device is the size of a poker chip and, when placed on the skin, it can painlessly deliver medication via a small needle. The device can be manufactured for less than a dollar and is disposable.
Ratio is currently researching a microneedle array to replace the small needle and is in the animal testing stage. Escarcega says his connections to the university and faculty are another advantage to staying in Wisconsin.
In addition to Ratio, Escarcega has continued to explore new ideas for biologically based companies. His days as a competitive runner sparked his interest in nutrition, and Escarcega currently is creating nutraceuticals to be sold online.
“The more I get into entrepreneurship, the more impossible it seems to not be an entrepreneur,” says Escarcega. “It becomes very addictive—it’s a lifestyle.”
