About InVitria

Leaders in Serum-free Media and Cell Culture Media Optimization

InVitria, a division of Ventria Bioscience Inc., was founded with the goal of providing the biotechnology industry with innovative products to improve cell culture and biomanufacturing. InVitria allows customers to eliminate animal components from their cell-based processes. Removing these components helps improve consistency, safety, and efficiency. InVitria’s products are recombinant proteins that are manufactured in our manufacturing facility in Junction City, Kansas. These products have many uses across the life science industry including in regenerative medicine, cellular therapy, biomanufacturing, vaccines, diagnostics, and medical devices.

Animal components such as fetal bovine serum (FBS), human serum, and serum derived proteins like albumin, transferrin, insulin, and growth factors have been popular ingredients in many biological processes.  However, in the 1990s scientists began searching for ways to remove serum and other animal products due to concerns about product quality, safety, and animal stewardship. Animal products are undesirable because they pose a risk of transmitting infectious agents such as prions (Mad Cow Disease) and virus (HIV). In addition, animal components and blood derived products are undefined leading to high batch-to-batch variation. For these reasons, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), and other regulatory bodies discourage use of these animal components.

InVitria has developed and commercialized several recombinant proteins and cell culture media supplements and continues to develop components, media products, and growth factors leveraging its patented technology.

Vladimir Akoyev, Ph.D., Vice President, Analytical Development & Manufacturing Sciences

Dr. Akoyev leads the team responsible for analytical method development, validation, and support. His expertise includes a wide spectrum of biophysical and biochemical methods of protein characterization including mass spectrometry, HPLC, capillary electrophoresis, spectroscopy, scanning calorimetry, and ultracentrifugation. His team is also responsible for product stability programs and potency bioassay development. Before joining InVitria in 2010, Vladimir was a Senior Scientist at Kansas State University. Prior to this, he was a Research Scientist in the Institute of Cell Biophysics at the Russian Academy of Sciences, where he received his Ph.D. in Biophysics and Hematology.

Randall Alfano, Ph.D., Vice President, InVitria Product Development

Dr. Alfano joined InVitria in 2012 and currently leads the product development team, where he uses his expertise in media design and optimization. Prior to joining the company, Randy was the Process Development Manager for XBiotech in Austin, TX where he specialized in the development and optimization of the company’s cell culture processes in mammalian cells for cancer biologics. Previously, he was promoted from Postdoctoral Fellow to Senior Scientist at the Cancer Research Institute of Scott and White Hospital where he developed in vivo animal models for metastatic prostate cancer and was instrumental in developing thorough in vitro and in vivo models for immunostimulatory antigens. Dr. Alfano received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.

Ron Backman, Vice President, Quality

Mr. Backman leads InVitria’s Quality Assurance, Quality Control, and Facilities teams. He has over 23 years of biopharmaceutical Quality and Supply Chain experience with increasing responsibilities throughout his career. He joined the company in 2018 after previously managing Product Quality, Stability and Microbiology services at KBI Biopharma, a global contract development & manufacturing organization in Durham, NC. Prior to KBI Biopharma he managed Quality Control and Support at Diosynth Biotechnology. Ron started his career in the Quality department of Boehringer Ingelheim. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Kansas State University.

Marcus Curl, Vice President, Product Applications

Mr. Curl leverages his experience working with researchers in cell therapy and vaccine development fields. He has been instrumental in developing and advancing laboratory techniques by serving as a liaison between customer facilities and Dr. Alfano’s development lab.

As such, he has developed unique perspectives on recognizing production risks and addressing those risks through proper excipient selection, method development, and process validation. Mr. Curl received his B.S. in Biology from Pitzer College.

Scott E. Deeter, President

Mr. Deeter is InVitria’s President and serves as CEO of InVitria’s parent company, Ventria Bioscience Inc.  Previously, he started and led a joint venture between Cargill and F. Hoffmann-La Roche that commercialized several novel pharmaceutical ingredients.  Scott has served as President and CEO of CyberCrop and was a member of the Technology and Life Sciences Group of Salomon Brothers.  He is a graduate of the University of Kansas (BSc-Economics), University of Chicago (MBA), and London School of Economics (MSc-Economics).

L. Mark Lagrimini, Ph.D., Vice President for Upstream Product Development

Dr. Lagrimini provides leadership for the Molecular Biology and Product Development groups based in Junction City, KS. Most recently he served as the Vice Provost for Research and Extension at the University of California. In this role Dr. Lagrimini oversaw the University’s nine Research & Extension Centers. He is an emeritus professor in the Department of Agronomy & Horticulture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he served as department head from 2005-2011 and led a research program in plant biotechnology. He was a project leader at Syngenta in RTP, NC, and prior to that was an Associate Professor in the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science at The Ohio State University. Dr. Lagrimini received his B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Iowa.

Atherly Pennybaker, Scientist, Cell Culture

Miss Pennybaker joined InVitria’s Product Development Team in 2017, leveraging her scientific background to work collaboratively with customers in the cell therapy, gene therapy, and vaccine spaces. She currently helps manage new product development and process optimization projects to facilitate the transition to chemically defined, animal component free platforms in pre-clinical and clinical phase settings. Miss Pennybaker led development of new products including OptiFRZ, a DMSO-free cryopreservation media and she developed cell-based functional assays used for product release. Prior to InVitria, she received her Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Colorado State University. During her time there, she conducted research on the osteoinductivity of an engineered biomimetic periosteum as well as the design of a natural cell and tissue scaffold by means of electrospinning demineralized bone matrix.

Sofia Pezoa, Ph.D., Director, Cell Culture

Dr. Pezoa joined InVitria in 2020 and is leading the development of new products and product applications in gene therapy, vaccines and cell therapy. Prior to joining InVitria, she received a Ph.D. in Cell Biology, Stem Cells and Developmental Biology from University of Colorado Anschutz. During her graduate studies, Dr. Pezoa’s research focused on craniofacial development. Dr. Pezoa also completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Syracuse University.

Elliott Renft, Product Applications Specialist & Western USA Regional Manager

Mr. Renft joined InVitria’s Product Applications Team in 2021 where he oversees accounts in the Western USA to help optimize manufacturing and final formulations using recombinant proteins and chemically defined media technologies. He helps facilitate the implementation of InVitria products in pre-clinical, clinical and commercial production of cell and gene therapies, vaccines, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals to create safe, scalable, and consistent solutions. Before joining InVitria, he managed key accounts within the Interventional division of Becton, Dickinson and Company. During his time there, he implemented innovative bio surgical devices across a variety of healthcare modalities. Mr. Renft received his Bachelor of Science in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology with a Minor in Business from the University of Kansas.

Andrew Simon, Director, Molecular Biology

Mr. Simon joined the molecular biology team in 2015 where he works with the team responsible for plant transformation and screening new products developed in the ExpressTec system. Prior to working with the company, Andrew was a research scientist for Edenspace Systems Corporation in Manhattan, KS. There he used his plant tissue culture knowledge to genetically modify maize, lettuce, carrot, and poplar trees for various projects. Andrew received his B.S. in Microbiology from Kansas State University.

Kevin Sitts, Vice President, Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Mr. Sitts leads manufacturing and supply chain operations. Previously, he managed manufacturing operations for Pfizer in McPherson, KS with 380 operations personnel responsible to supply millions of units of drug product per year with multiple manufacturing lines operating 24 hours per day and seven days per week. In addition, Mr. Sitts was Director of Manufacturing for Tolmar Pharmaceuticals, a maker of injectible cancer therapeutics (Eligard) where he managed Tolmar’s site in Windsor, Colorado with 80 operating personnel. Previously, he led sterile manufacturing for Meridian Medical Technologies in St. Louis and was with Amylin Pharmaceuticals in San Diego prior to its purchase by Eli Lilly & Co. Mr. Sitts graduated from Kansas State University.

Interested in a career in advanced biotech?  InVitria is actively hiring across its operations in both Junction City, KS and Denver, CO.

Manufacturing & Quality

From entry-level positions through to tenured operations management, we are looking for people with a passion for biotechnology manufacturing and quality.  Whether it’s working with Mr. Trieu and his team to focus on operations excellence or with Mr. Backman and his team to advance quality and compliance, InVitria’s manufacturing environment can be an excellent place to apply your skills and grow.

Molecular Biology & Product Development

InVitria continues to innovate with it’s line of blood-free components and products.  People specializing in plant sciences, biology, or biochemistry who are interested in gene synthesis, biotransformation, and plant tissue culture, should contact us to learn how to become part of one of our exciting R&D teams.  From next-generation proteins and cytokine development in Drs. Akoyev and Schneweis’ labs or in custom formulations and processes in Dr. Alfano’s lab, there are myriad opportunities to contribute to the Life Sciences community’s growth.

Commercial Operations

Our Product Applications team works daily with customers across a broad spectrum of Life Sciences applications.  We actively consult with scientists and product development teams to better understand their unique challenges and how we might apply InVitria’s equally unique set of products and services.  It’s also an exciting time at InVitria as we continue to develop our marketing and product management groups. If you’re interested in applying your technical acumen in a commercial capacity with the benefit of working directly with the company president, Mr. Deeter, please submit your resume and cover letter below.

Send your PDF resume to careers@invitria.com