PEORIA MAGAZINE September 2022

T U R N E R C E N T E R H O N O R E E

STARTUP OF THE YEAR Veloxity Labs explores the limits of imagination

BY LISA COON PHOTOS BY FRANK BLAIN

I magine what’s possible. A cancer medication break through. A treatment for people with Alzheimer’s. A life-changing drug for people suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Veloxity Labs, LLC, Peoria’s first biotech contract research organization (CRO), allows us to imagine all of those possibilities. As such, it is the 2022 Startup of the Year, chosen by Bradley University’s Turner Center.

“We provide specialized analysis of medical samples for pharmaceutical and biotech companies that are developing pharmaceuticals to treat disease – Alzheimer’s, hypertension, cancer –many types of disease,” said Shane Needham, CEO and co-founder of Veloxity Labs, which is located in the Peoria NEXT InnovationCenter. “Our vision is treating disease one sample at a time.” Basically, when a drug or biotech company develops a new medication

Dr. Shane Needham, President and CEO

Dr. Mitch Johnson, Laboratory Director

The Veloxity Labs team, from left: Paul Corcoran, Arika Hoffman, Mitch Johnson, Shane Needham, Clayton Harby, Matt Salske, Martin Steel, Colt Cookson, Herb Lindsley, Joel Stickling

48 SEPTEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE