The company name was deliberately chosen from West African lore: Obatala, the god who shaped the human body. And the New Orleans biotech firm is determined to see that their human-based research lab materials accurately reflect the true makeup of the American populace.
Obatala Sciences is the first of what officials hope is a string of companies lured to research space at the Medical University of South Carolina and Charleston to help build the life sciences industry in the Palmetto State. The company itself reflects a trend in the field away from animal-based testing while also using samples from a diverse population that portrays those actually suffering the diseases that researchers are targeting.
Obatala had worked with researchers at MUSC and at Clemson University, but was recruited to Blue Sky Labs at MUSC as part of a larger effort that included the regional development authorities and the S.C. Department of Commerce, said Jesse Goodwin, chief innovation officer for MUSC…