OFD Life Sciences, a division of Oregon Freeze Dry, is one of the largest and most technologically advanced freeze-dryers in North America, focused on providing solutions to biopharma, consumer health, and animal health companies through its deep expertise in lyophilization. Pulse 2.0 interviewed OFD Life Sciences CEO David Enloe to learn more about the company.
David Enloe’s Background
What is your background, and what brought you to healthcare? Enloe said:
“After cutting my teeth in public accounting and a few years of gaining some critical operational experience in the energy sector, I helped start one of the earliest gene therapy companies back in the mid-90s. One thing led to another, and out of that company, I launched a viral vector-focused contract manufacturing organization (CMO) with a private equity partner, which we then sold to Lonza in 2010, where I stayed for a few years learning best practices in the industry and helping grow the cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business in Houston.”
“I then embarked on a journey of leading a few different CDMOs – merging four separate CDMOs owned by a large Japanese company, Ajinomoto, into Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services, then taking over a smaller publicly-traded CDMO, which we rebranded into Societal CDMO. We took Societal private in April 2024, selling it to QHP Capital. After sitting on the sidelines and catching my breath last year, I was excited to be able to join OFD at the end of last year.”
What OFD Life Sciences Does
How would you describe what OFD Life Sciences does? Enloe shared:
“OFD makes any ingredient more useful. We accomplish that through the art and science of lyophilization, more commonly known as freeze-drying. In this process, we preserve the form and function of ingredients, from botanical extracts to pharmaceutical active pharmaceutical ingredients to biologic materials, imparting stability and shelf life and expanding their applications. We’ve even developed an exciting and novel oral dose technology using lyophilization that we call LyoPastille® that can change the way pharmaceuticals for humans and animals are dosed.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Enloe reflected:
“I’m still new to the company, having only joined at the end of last year. But my favorite part of this new adventure is the upbeat, can-do attitude of our teams towards our vision of taking decades of expertise in freeze-drying and deploying that expertise to create a trusted, world-class manufacturer of lyophilized products for the life sciences market.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Enloe explained:
“Our core technology is lyophilization, and we have been perfecting it for more than 60 years. We offer LyoLock™, our bulk lyophilization services, to “lock in” the form and function of molecules while preserving them and improving their range of applications. Our newest innovation is LyoPastille®, an innovative fast-dissolve dose form that can be made with a high degree of precision at scale, making it a high-performing yet very accessible technology for developers of consumer health, animal health, or human health products. And all this is backed by our LyoVantageSM process where we focus on the needs of customers and aspects of the material to collaboratively deliver the most optimal solutions from development through product launch.”
Evolution Of OFD Life Sciences
How has OFD Life Sciences evolved since its inception in 2020? Enloe noted:
“OFD set out to become experts in freeze-drying foods, and over the 60-plus years since its inception, the company has become just that – true experts in the field. Because of that, we’ve been approached by a wide variety of organizations to solve their toughest challenges through lyophilization, including NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, pharmaceutical companies, and others. One of the major problems we have solved is the ability to feed people in places where that isn’t always easy, and we’re proud to say our products go to space, the battlefield, hiking trails, lakes, and mountain passes all over the world. So, while we have a healthy and thriving business in nutrition, we have also been sought out by life science companies to provide solutions. As a result, we are one of the world’s leading lyophilizers of probiotics and work with animal health and human pharmaceutical and medical device customers as well. With the growth of the industry and the demand for our services and problem-solving abilities, we are now focusing much more heavily on leveraging our offerings to customers as OFD Life Sciences, the largest diversified lyophilization-focused CDMO.”
Customer Success Stories
When asking Enloe about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“I can immediately think of one client who visited us recently, and when I met with them, the enthusiasm and even gratitude they had for what our teams had been able to do for the commercialization of their lead product was so infectious that I had their VP of R&D join me to create a video presentation for our entire workforce to hear all that we had done for them. Her description of our two companies’ relationship had all the traits I’ve been preaching since joining OFD – we want to be partners and not vendors; we want to be a trusted extension of our client’s organizations; we want them to know that we take their projects just as seriously as they do. ”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from others in the industry? Enloe affirmed:
“We are truly experts in lyophilization and even design and build our own chambers and the software that controls the cycles, so we apply a tailored approach to each ingredient we work with. Unlike other providers, we think out-of-the-vial and offer bulk lyophilization services that are ideal for processing ingredients to improve stability and even absorption and bioavailability.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of OFD Life Sciences’ future company goals? Enloe emphasized:
“Our goal is to become a world-class partner to the life sciences industry that improves our customer’s portfolios and brings new and innovative solutions to patients and consumers. We see lyophilization as a powerful but somewhat unheralded tool to help formulators do some amazing things, and we aim to prove that.”
Trends in Lyophilization
What are the top trends in lyophilization that you’re keeping an eye on? Enloe concluded:
“Certainly, the development of ever-more complex API that require structural stability and cold-chain distribution is a continuing trend that makes lyophilization a critical tool for formulators. We also see a drive towards innovating the way products are administered, potentially transitioning from injectable to oral administration, including vaccines, as a positive trend for the technology and one that fits our offerings. We are also looking at trends where lyophilization may not be top-of-mind but may be able to play a very significant role due to our innovative approach to problem-solving.”
