New startup in Madison powering modern medical research
Reading time: 4 minutes
The Huntsville metro is a hub for tech and engineering firms, and with biotech continuing to grow in prominence, it makes sense that a new biotech startup is now located in Madison.
Valor Scientific—launched in August of 2025 by Dr. Andrew Kodani, Dr. Matthew Knuesel and Bethany Blake—specializes in manufacturing high-quality human growth factors and research tools for scientific and commercial use right here in the Rocket City.
Read more below, and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get news like this delivered to your inbox.
Valor Scientific spearheading medical research
Kodani (a cellular and molecular biologist), left the world of academia and joined forces with Knuesel (a protein chemist) and Blake (a seasoned operations leader) and launched Valor Scientific out of what Kodani calls “a mutual frustration.”
Kodani said the growth factors that research depends on are expensive and inconsistent, and that cost puts a ceiling on what labs can accomplish, especially in underfunded areas like rare pediatric disease. In essence, work gets slowed down by the price of a basic lab ingredient.
What Valor Scientific does
Before scientists can cure a disease, test a drug or heal a wound, they first have to grow living human cells in the lab to study them. Those cells need special proteins called “growth factors” to stay alive and multiply. They are the single most essential ingredient in stem cell and regenerative medicine research
The team found that what began as an effort to make research more affordable turned into a real breakthrough. They found that they could make these proteins of higher quality and at lower cost than the massive global suppliers everyone else depended on.
The problem, Kodani said, is that the most important of these proteins, FGF2, is incredibly fragile, and almost all of it is manufactured overseas.
To survive the long trip, it is freeze-dried into a powder, which quietly damages the protein before it ever reaches a scientist’s bench. The result is wasted research time, inconsistent experiments and high prices, with competitors doubling their prices in response to tariffs. This is another spot where Valor Scientific comes in.
“We change that. We’ve built a one-of-a-kind process that produces these proteins in an always-hydrated manner, never freeze-dried, so they arrive more active, more consistent, and far more affordable.
And because we make them in Alabama, scientists no longer have to depend on a fragile overseas supply chain. In short, Valor Scientific is an American-made, high-quality source that keeps life-saving research moving forward.”
Dr. Andrew Kodani, CEO + co-founder of Valor Scientific
What the future has in store for this medical research firm
Valor Scientific has already launched its first product, NATIVFOLD Valor FGF2 146, with a full lineup of additional growth factors rolling out right behind it.
The startup is also partnering with an artificial intelligence team to design next-generation proteins that are tougher, more stable and longer-lasting, opening up new markets in advanced wound healing, radiation countermeasures and high-performance skincare.
Kodani said being rooted in North Alabama is importnt to him and his partners, and said the firm is committed to growing North Alabama’s biotech ecosystem by creating local, high-skill jobs and partnering with regional technical colleges to train the next generation of biotech workers.
“My north star is simple: fuel the breakthroughs that change lives and prove that world-class biotechnology can be built right here in Huntsville.”
Dr. Andrew Kodani, CEO + co-founder of Valor Scientific
Want more content like this? Follow Hville Blast on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram!
