Mark Spiecker left his previous company, Sharklet Technologies, in 2017 and immediately set out to find his next business adventure.
“I am constantly putting myself out there, constantly taking career risks, always ready to sit in the front row, raise my hand, and say yes — even when it is new and uncomfortable,” Spiecker said. “My biggest risk was when I exited my last company I had the opportunity to take a breath, get a job and be comfortable. I chose to go all in on another venture, start another company from scratch, sacrifice financially and personally for the last five years in an effort to build an organization with lasting impact that is impacting the lives of patients across the country on a daily basis.”
That new venture, where Spiecker serves as president, is STAQ Pharma, a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility that produces compounded medications in a ready-to-administer format, such as pre-filled syringes and IV bags, for hospitals.
The 503B outsourcing space was founded in 2012, after a compounding center distributed steroids that were contaminated with a fungus. The contamination caused a meningitis outbreak in which 80 people died and 800 people were hospitalized. Congress intervened and created a new industry, the 503B outsourcing space, to create a regulatory framework.
STAQ Pharma entered the market with a plan to build and operate as a manufacturer of compounded medications. The company teamed up with Children’s Hospital Colorado and later, seven other hospital systems. “We developed a business plan, identified a location, determined a product catalog, secured investor funding and hired a team to begin our journey in 2018,” the company said. “With funding secured, we designed the facility; prospected for customers and partners; built and, ultimately, launched our first product in August of 2020 and currently service over 200 hospitals across the country.”
Spiecker serves as chair and board member of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, is a trustee at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and an advisor to the Institute for Science Policy. Prior to 2019, he served as chair of the board of the Colorado Biosciences Association and was appointed by the governor of Colorado to serve as a commissioner for the Early Childhood Leadership Commission and the Colorado Workforce Development Council. Spiecker is a 2012 graduate of Leadership Denver and a 2018 Civic DNA Fellow.
Spiecker has been honored multiple times by the University of Florida as a successful alumnus entrepreneur. He was recently featured in a CNN article noting his ability to solve a significant drug shortage and provide more than 500,000 patient doses to kids that would not have otherwise received them. This work supported the ability for a nonprofit organization to scale and identify 10 more drugs that could impact millions of patients.
