HARTFORD—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced on Tuesday that New Haven innovator, Valisure, has been named “Murphy’s Innovator of the Month.” Valisure is an online pharmacy headquartered at Yale Science Park in New Haven dedicated to transparency and consumer protection. The company was founded by Yale University classmates Adam Clark-Joseph and David Light after Clark-Joseph suffered complications from his anticonvulsant medication due to batch variability. This led to further analysis and the discovery of a larger problem throughout the pharmaceutical industry. With over 80% of all ingredients in U.S. medications coming from overseas, Valisure’s mission is to bring transparency and increased quality to the pharmaceutical industry and to deliver these benefits directly to the consumer. 

“Valisure is another example as to why Connecticut continues to be a hub for innovation. With their cutting edge research and dedicated workforce, Valisure is providing consumers with quality-assured medication, while also identifying production problems in our pharmaceutical industry,” said Murphy. “Valisure has only been around for a short amount of time, but they are already making a big impact around the world. I’m proud to highlight them as the ‘Innovator of the Month’, and happy to watch them continue to grow.”

“We’re honored to receive this award from Senator Murphy and greatly appreciate the continued support from Connecticut’s innovation ecosystem,” said David Light, co-founder and CEO of Valisure. “We never imagined we’d have such a dramatic impact within just a year of launching the nation’s first Analytical Pharmacy. Valisure’s global recognition as a leader in quality assurance for medications is a testament to the incredible dedication and deep expertise of our scientists and industry professionals along with the strong support of Connecticut’s investors and programs supporting entrepreneurs. Since our founding, Valisure has benefited from numerous scientific and labor grant programs and tax incentives that accelerated our growth and technological development. We look forward to continued expansion of our mission to bring increased safety, quality and transparency in medications to patients throughout the United States.

Valisure is the first and only pharmacy in the U.S. to chemically batch-validate every medication it sells, helping to ensure the safety, quality and consistency of the medications it delivers. Every medication or supplement the company dispenses comes with a certificate of analysis that lists the important chemical properties of the samples analyzed in Valisure’s lab. The company is registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The company recently made international news when it filed a citizen petition with the FDA detailing its discovery of a carcinogen in ranitidine products and asked the agency for a complete recall. The company’s findings have triggered recalls of the drug throughout the U.S., by major retailers around the world, and in over 40 countries. 

Last month, Valisure was asked to attend and submit written testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing on “Safeguarding Pharmaceutical Supply Chains in a Global Economy,” and last year was awarded the Venture of the Year award by the Connecticut Entrepreneur Awards.

Murphy believes entrepreneurship and innovation are the building blocks for a strong economy. In the U.S. Senate, he has introduced two bipartisan pieces of legislation to incentivize angel investors to put more money into startup companies – the Angel Tax Credit Act and the Helping Angels Lead Our Startups (HALOS) Act. Startup companies create an average of 2 million jobs each year.

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