OUR STORYFor the first time in drug delivery: nature's biological transport system is now available as a pharmaceutical platform
THE DELIVERY PROBLEM The science existed. The delivery didn't
The research behind The Tiny Cargo Company began with a peptide — Professor Robert Gourdie's αCt-11, the product of 35 years of peer-reviewed science. The peptide was established. The challenge was getting it to the organs that needed it. αct-11 degrades within minutes in the bloodstream, and without a delivery system capable of protecting and transporting it to damaged tissue, its therapeutic potential could not be realised. Engineered delivery systems — nanoparticles, liposomes — are human-made approximations of what biology already does. Cell-derived exosomes showed promise but were impossible to produce at any meaningful scale. None of the available options met the standard the science required.
The breakthrough came from an unexpected direction. A colleague in Professor Gourdie's lab had come across research suggesting that milk might contain exosomes. Initial tests confirmed it — and the quantities were extraordinary. Where 50 litres of cell culture supernatant yielded a barely visible pellet, a single litre of bovine milk contained 10,000 to 100,000 times that volume of exosomes. Spencer Marsh Ph.D. joined the research team and developed a proprietary process to isolate a pure, stable exosome concentrate from bovine milk at yields no prior method had achieved. The isolation process was filed as a patent in early 2021.
THE DISCOVERY The answer came from milk — refined by nature over 300 million years
THE REALIZATION The delivery system that conventional drug development has been searching for
Milk exosomes possess a combination of properties no engineered delivery system has replicated. They survive gastric degradation intact, cross the gut lining, and enter the bloodstream — where most oral drugs achieve only 1–2% bioavailability due to first-pass liver metabolism. Milk exosomes reduce liver filtration from over 90% to approximately 10%. They cross the blood-brain barrier. And they demonstrate a natural propensity to concentrate in injured and inflamed tissue. These are not engineered properties — they are the product of 300 million years of evolution, a biological communication system designed to carry signals across every barrier the body presents.
THE LOADING PLATFORM Loading a therapeutic inside a milk exosome at meaningful efficiency
Conventional delivery systems typically achieve loading efficiency of 20–30% under good conditions. Tiny Cargo's patented precision-loading approach achieves over 90% across drug classes — including peptide therapeutics, small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, antisense oligonucleotides, mRNA, miRNA, and biologics up to 200 kDa. Initial assessments of GLP-1 receptor agonists achieved approximately 90% loading efficiency — directly addressing one of the most significant unsolved problems in drug delivery. The platform is not molecule-specific, and the same technology is available to pharmaceutical partners seeking to enhance delivery of their own therapeutic candidates.
FROM BENCH TO SCALE Five years from first isolation to industrial production
Scalability was built into the thinking from the beginning. By late 2023, the isolation process had been validated at kilogram-scale. In February 2026, a dedicated 2,000 sq ft clean-room facility opened in Roanoke, Virginia — the world's first purpose-built industrial-scale milk exosome manufacturing facility, with capacity to scale toward hundreds of kilograms and ultimately tonnage quantities. The world's first industrially-scaled milk exosome drug loading platform is available to pharmaceutical partners, research institutions and collaborators for the first time.
The scientific and commercial team behind Tiny Cargo
The Tiny Cargo Company is led by a team that combines world-leading scientific expertise in exosome biology with the commercial, clinical and operational experience to bring that science to market at industrial scale.
LEADERSHIP
Robert Gourdie, Ph.D
FOUNDER & PRESIDENT
Professor Robert Gourdie is the founder of The Tiny Cargo Company. A biomedical scientist with over three decades of peer‑reviewed research, he is the Heywood Fralin Endowed Professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech. He is a recipient of the US National Institute of Health Outstanding Investigator Award, an elected fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and the American Heart Association, and an elected senior member of the National Academy of Inventors.
With more than 200 peer‑reviewed publications, an h‑index of 71, and over 50 granted patents he brings an exceptional record of scientific achievement to the scientific vision behind the Tiny Cargo platform, along with a strong track record of translating discoveries from the laboratory to commercial application. Robert holds a Ph.D. from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at University College London in the United Kingdom.
Spencer Marsh, Ph.D
CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER
Spencer Marsh is Chief Scientific Officer of Tiny Cargo and the scientist who achieved the first successful isolation of milk exosomes from bovine milk in 2020 — the founding discovery of the Tiny Cargo platform. A principal investigator on NSF, NIH and DoD funded research programs, Spencer has acquired more than $5M in non-dilutive funding for Tiny Cargo research programs and has been a member of both the JLABS and Blue Knight Incubators.
Under his scientific leadership, Tiny Cargo has developed the world's first industrially-scaled milk exosome facility, achieving kilogram-scale production of highly purified exosomes to a fixed cGMP-aligned commercial specification. Spencer has led the first demonstrated loading and oral administration of peptides, miRNAs, antisense oligonucleotides and other therapeutic molecules within milk exosomes. He oversees all scientific operations, analytical standards, and the ongoing development of the Tiny Cargo platform. He holds a Ph.D, MSc and BSc.
Alan Gourdie
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Alan Gourdie is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tiny Cargo. With more than 30 years of executive leadership across multinational corporations and high-growth start-ups, he has founded and built companies that have reshaped the pharmaceutical, consumer goods, cosmetics, technology, and life sciences sectors, and has guided major public and private enterprises as Chair and Director — including his Board leadership at The Tiny Cargo Company.
At Tiny Cargo, Alan sets the overall strategic direction of the company, on a mission to bring the world's first industrially-scaled milk exosome platform to the global pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. He is responsible for shaping the commercial strategy, supply infrastructure, and global market development that will turn breakthrough science into a transformative therapeutic technology. Together with his team at Tiny Cargo his vision is to redefine how the world's medicines are delivered. He holds an MSc.
Sherri Cook
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Sherri Cook is a financial executive with more than two decades of leadership experience across biomedical research, academic health sciences and complex financial operations. She currently holds senior leadership roles at Virginia Tech, where she oversees financial strategy, research administration and enterprise operations across the health sciences ecosystem — including financial leadership of a large NIH-funded research institute. Her expertise spans capital planning, regulatory compliance and operational frameworks for scientific organisations, with experience across federally funded research, philanthropic investment and translational enterprise. At Tiny Cargo, Sherri provides strategic financial leadership to support growth, strengthen operational infrastructure and position the organisation for long-term success.
Heywood Fralin
BOARD
W. Heywood Fralin is Co-Chairman of Retirement Unlimited, Inc. and Co-Chair of the Blue Ridge Innovation Corridor (BRIC). A longstanding leader in advancing biomedical research, higher education and innovation throughout Virginia, he has served on the Boards of Visitors at both Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia — where he also served as Rector — and as Chairman of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and the Virginia Business Higher Education Council (VBHEC). Over seventeen years on the State Board of Virginia's Initiative for Growth & Opportunity (GO Virginia), his career has been shaped by a deep commitment to strengthening Virginia's scientific and economic future, most notably through his advocacy and philanthropic support of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech. At Tiny Cargo, Heywood brings decades of experience connecting scientific research with commercial and economic development across the Virginia region.
Richard Warburg, Ph.D
BOARD
Richard Warburg brings to Tiny Cargo four decades of experience guiding life-sciences companies from early-stage science through commercial scale. A molecular biologist turned registered U.S. Patent Attorney, Richard combines deep scientific fluency — grounded in a Ph.D in Molecular Biology — with the governance, IP and transactional expertise required to bring platform biotechnologies to market. He serves as a board director of several life-sciences companies, including eLux Medical, which is developing gold nanoshell (AuroShell™) technology for medical applications including fat removal, and Rose Pharma, a GLP-1 drug development company, alongside Verigraft, Zetagen, Smartech and Rose Technologies. At Tiny Cargo, Richard supports the Board in overseeing strategy, intellectual property and the commercial development of the world's first industrially-scaled milk exosome platform.
TEAM
David Whitt
SENIOR MANUFACTURING MANAGER
David Whitt is Senior Manufacturing Manager at The Tiny Cargo Company, where he leads manufacturing, supply chain and quality operations to deliver consistent, high-quality results at commercial scale. He has built and modernised the operational infrastructure that underpins Tiny Cargo’s cGMP-aligned production capability — implementing process automation and LIMS-based data management systems, directing global assay alignment projects across internal and external laboratory networks, and leading the adoption of advanced analytical and automated manufacturing technologies. With a background spanning quality control, laboratory systems and automation, David has delivered complex capital and operational projects from scope through execution, driving accuracy, cost efficiency and scalability across the organisation.
Dr. Alan Dogan, MD
MEDICAL ADVISOR
Alan Dogan is a physician and biomedical engineer who earned his MD from the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and his BS and MS degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. His work centres on translational healthcare technologies, clinical research and medical device innovation — with experience spanning ophthalmic imaging, respiratory monitoring and drug delivery. He has contributed to early-stage clinical studies, device development and interdisciplinary collaborations aimed at bringing practical healthcare innovations closer to patients.
Alisha Clark
MARKETING MANAGER
Alisha Clark is a strategic brand and communications specialist with over a decade of experience across luxury fashion, beauty and purpose-led businesses in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Her career spans some of the most respected names in luxury consumer brands — from Tom Ford and NET-A-PORTER in London, to senior communications leadership at a leading luxury skincare brand. In 2021 she founded Alisha Wheeler Consulting, advising values-aligned businesses on brand strategy and communications, and holds a qualification in Sustainable Business Management from the University of Cambridge. At Tiny Cargo, Alisha leads marketing and communications — bringing the rigour of luxury brand building to the commercialisation of milk exosomes.
Raleigh Keenan
MANUFACTURING TECHNICIAN
Raleigh Keenan is the Manufacturing Technician at Tiny Cargo, supporting the industrial-scale production and processing of milk-derived exosomes for the company's therapeutic platform. She contributes to cleanroom manufacturing, logistics coordination and cGMP-aligned operations, drawing on experience in controlled environments with aseptic technique and quality standards. With a background in bioengineering spanning biomaterials, tissue engineering, hydrogel scaffold development and disease modelling, Raleigh previously served as Laboratory Manager and Graduate Research Assistant at Clemson University's Biocompatibility and Tissue Regeneration Laboratory, where she led laboratory operations and training. She holds an MSc.
SCIENTIFIC & ADVISORY BOARDProfessor Richard Archer
CONSULTANT ADVISOR
Professor Richard Archer is an Emeritus Professor of Food Technology at Massey University, New Zealand, and one of the world's leading authorities on dairy bioprocessing. A Fellow of Engineering New Zealand, the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology, and the International Academy of Food Science and Technology, he brings four decades of experience spanning senior technical management in the New Zealand dairy industry — including the isolation of milk components for pharmaceutical and cosmetic use — and research and departmental leadership in the university setting. His primary expertise is bioprocess engineering, with core experience in milk and whey processing. He holds a Ph.D and BTech (Hons) in Biotechnology, and now consults and advises in the field.
Vishal Suri
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ADVISOR
Vishal Suri is a technology entrepreneur and IT executive. He was the founder and CEO of TSPi, a Virginia-based digital transformation and IT consulting company. Under his leadership, TSPi grew into a respected provider of cloud, data, and agile software solutions, earning multiple “Top Workplace” recognitions from The Washington Post. In 2024, TSPi was acquired by Abt Global, a Maryland-based research and consulting firm, to expand its digital and modernization capabilities.
Before founding TSPi, Suri worked at FastTide on web acceleration technologies and began his career at PSINet, where he contributed to large-scale web hosting initiatives, including support for NASA-related projects tied to Senator John Glenn’s 1998 space flight. He has a varied academic background which includes a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems, and Diplomas in Hotel Management and Advanced Culinary Arts.
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