Public health research thrives

Jul 28, 2010 — The News and Observer

Alan M. Wolf

Jul. 28, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- A rapidly expanding Durham research company that relies mostly on government public-health contracts is adding more office space to house its growing work force.

SciMetrika's revenue will more than double this year to $12 million, fueled mostly by contracts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies, CEO Jean Orelien said.

The private company's work includes conducting a survey of health providers' satisfaction for Medicare and Medicaid, studying the effectiveness of carbon monoxide detectors and increasing access to childhood vaccines and immunizations.

Orelien, a native of Haiti who founded the company in 2001, wants to tap new markets helping health insurers, corporations and the U.S. military improve medical care. He projects that revenue could rise to more than $100 million within the next five years.

"We're a small company, but we have an impact on people's health and lives," he said. "The work we're doing is important and making a difference. We're just at the tip of the iceberg."

He's adding employees as the company attracts new government contracts, including some funded with stimulus money. SciMetrika employs 50 people, about half at its Durham offices, with others in Atlanta and a few at a small office in McLean, Va.

This region is "fertile ground" for attracting qualified employees, said Orelien, who earned a master's degree in statistics from N.C. State University and a doctorate of public health in biostatistics from UNC-Chapel Hill.

The company's focus on public health helps it win new contracts and stand out from rivals that also perform other types of research work, Orelien said. "We have a wealth and depth of public-health experience," he added.

In October, the company will take over adjacent office space in the Alexandria Technology Center near Research Triangle Park that's now home to the Council for Entrepreneurial Development. The expansion will give SciMetrika nearly 12,000 square feet, up from 3,500 square feet. Orelien declined to discuss financial terms of the new lease.

"We were able to get a good deal because there's so much competition in the local real-estate market," he said.

Last week, CED announced plans to move to smaller offices in the lower level of the American Tobacco Campus in downturn Durham on Oct. 1. The nonprofit organization supports entrepreneurs and startup companies, but it shrank as the economy slowed. It now employs nine people.

"We'll get some new space that's more appropriately sized for us, and SciMetrika will be able to move in without having to find a new office building," CED President Joan Siefert Rose said.

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