Meet a Member: CEO J. Craig Reed, Inspirion Biosciences

Since its launch, Inspirion Biosciences, has been providing critical risk management solutions throughout the entire spectrum of a laboratory’s lifecycle to companies in the Frederick County and well beyond. From lab design through operation and even decommissioning when a lab decides to move on, Inspirion is a company involved in identifying and resolving a wide array of regulatory compliance, reputational, safety, and security risks before they arise. This helps these organizations avoid damaging headlines, maintain profitability as well as product and data quality, and provides protection to the health of those who work within these facilities and the communities that surrounded them. Inspirion Biosciences is a member of the burgeoning science and technology community in Frederick whose journey and vision we can easily look to as foreshadowing what’s to come in our region.

Dr. Craig Reed launched Inspirion during his 23 years of risk management leadership in conjunction with the federal government. As a scientist, his career took him all over the world-reviewing facilities, assessing risk, making recommendations, and assisting with site design and operation to ensure that safe practices were being developed and maintained in each of the over 30 countries he spent time working in. This extensive, multinational experience helped Dr. Reed develop a uniquely well-rounded understanding of the bioscience and biosecurity industries which led to the eventual development of Inspirion.

The MD/VA/DC Metro area was recently recognized as the #4 biopharma region in the US by Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News in their annual rankings. It is no surprise that Inspirion is having significant impact on the national risk management industry from its home right here in Frederick, Maryland. Craig is excited about the potential for significant expansion of life science enterprises in Frederick and anticipates that, as the Frederick area continues to expand and projects like Livable Frederick come to fruition, the bioscience and technology industry in Frederick will blossom exponentially. Inspirion Biosciences is here to lead the buildout of the laboratory risk management infrastructure that will be necessary for Frederick to become a prominent leader in scientific research for years to come.

Here’s what you need to know about Inspirion Biosciences.

What a Life Science Risk Strategy Company Does

Inspirion Biosciences provides critical services that enable life science laboratories to maintain profitability and quality while decreasing their headline, financial, safety and compliance risk. From lab design through operation and even decommissioning when a lab decides to move on, Inspirion Biosciences identifies and resolves a myriad of risks before they arise. Inspirion’s solutions protect organizational reputation, product quality, worker and public health, and national security.

Inspirion provides transparent and scalable risk support to activities such as research campus planning, laboratory design and construction, facility commissioning, and routine laboratory operations and maintenance.

What Makes Inspirion Biosciences Unique in Their Field

Our company is led by scientists, doctors, veterinarians, and other laboratory and medical professionals who have frontline experience working in a wide range of laboratory environments. But this is not what truly sets us apart. In addition to our scientific education and biological backgrounds, our workforce is comprised of credentialed biosafety and biosecurity professionals with skills and training related directly to the field of biorisk management. We are widely recognized as thought leaders in this space. Having worked in over 30 countries, we have advised the US government and multiple foreign governments on the creation and revision of federal regulations to improve worker safety, public health and national security. We have also led the creation of best practice documents that are now broadly adopted by research and diagnostic laboratories around the world.

Why Frederick is Such a Great Place for Science Professionals to Live

I see extraordinary opportunities for the future of science in Frederick. In truth, Frederick should aspire to attract more biological research and production laboratories so we become the national epicenter for those biotechnology innovations that will expand the frontiers of biology and medicine. These enterprises will bring impactful high paying jobs and positive visibility to our community.

Frederick also offers a reasonably affordable cost of living while still being located near two major cities. We have access to culture and entertainment both in the nearby cities as well as right here in Frederick. We have a ton to offer families here with our quality of living including access to great schools. And, for cutting edge businesses looking for locations with a strong workforce, Frederick has one of the nation’s highest number of dual degree and advanced degree households. The availability of laboratory space and the cost per square foot add to the very appealing metrics of Frederick. I think our real estate professionals, elected officials, and science and technology leaders can easily attest to the assets Frederick has to offer these types of bioscience and technology companies and Inspirion is here to help build that infrastructure.

Dr. J. Craig Reed has 25 years of experience in life science enterprise risk management. He has worked in academic biosafety level (BSL)-2 laboratories and a federal Tier 1 Select Agent BSL-3 laboratory as a
research biochemist, molecular biologist and microbiologist. Craig has worked across the United States and in over 20 countries with research, diagnostic and production laboratories to create transparent and scalable risk management programs and to guide containment laboratory renovations – all with a focus on global health security and laboratory sustainability. His specialties include life science risk management program development, Select Agent Program readiness inspections, and safety audits. He has worked with the National Academies of Sciences and multiple international organizations to develop recommendations and guidelines for containment laboratory operations. He has authored multiple book chapters and peer-reviewed articles about life science risk management and the emerging cyber threats to this workspace. Craig is an At-Large Member of the Containment Laboratory Community Advisory Committee, a joint committee of the City of Frederick and the Frederick County Government. Dr. Reed received a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from The University of Georgia, and a B.S. in molecular biology from Vanderbilt University. He served as President of the Chesapeake Area Biological Safety Association (ChABSA) and is a Registered Biosafety Professional (RBP) with the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA).