Daryl Thompson, founder of Global Research and Discovery Group in Winter Haven, Florida, has spent a career working just out of the spotlight and inventing biological and medical technologies that, when fully deployed, could better the lives of people around the world.
But all that may change as GRDG Sciences announced today that it will be the subject of a documentary filmhighlighting the passion, the search, and the cutting-edge discoveries that push the company — and its founder — behind a single-minded goal: creating a healthier world quickly and naturally.
“We are thrilled to take the audience behind the scenes and around the world to discover solutions to problems that have plagued humanity for thousands of years,” said Daryl Thompson. “From the Florida Everglades, to the rainforests of South America, to the jungles of Africa and beyond, we’re going to show everyone what we do and how we do it.”
The documentary project comes on the heels of GRDG’s completion of Sombrero, a five-year multi-pronged project that yielded multiple patents and potentially billions of dollars in licensing. But it also paved the way for something deeper.
“Sombrero allowed us to make discoveries, for sure, but it also allowed us to create a template for problem solving that I think can be duplicated around the world,” said Thompson. “That is part of what the film is about, the blueprint to forming several quick-thinking, fast-acting groups around the world that can identify potential problems and create solutions outside the traditional channels that aren’t able to move as fast.”
For GRDG, that team included a Washington insider, an investor and a lab.
A Real-Life Mr. Phelps
For Dr. Roscoe Moore, retired United States Assistant Surgeon General and former Epidemic Intelligence Services Officer at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, meeting Thompson and understanding his approach led to a creative partnership.
“He came to me about six years ago and we met a couple times, and lo and behold, I became an advisor,” said Dr. Moore. “I don’t endorse any specific product — I never have; but I just look at the science and the science says that what he’s doing works.”
Moore, who is now GRDG’s Chief Scientific Advisor, said that Thompson’s model of getting things done is something that is vital in this day and age.
“The NIH model is great for research, but it takes a long time to get anything done,” he said. “Big government operations are not meant to be stealth. We needed someone to get things done in a way that cuts through the red tape without cutting corners. In that regard, Daryl’s efforts have been stellar.”
For Thompson, Moore is more than just an advisor.
“Roscoe is our Mr. Phelps,” said Daryl Thompson, referring to the director of the Impossible Mission Force. “He would tell us about several different directions and problems that needed solving and then gave us the freedom to choose which one to solve.”
That partnership led GRDG’ to tackle global problems that led to the discovery of several breakthrough technologies, including:
- Linebacker: Multi-faceted therapeutic platform for metabolic, neurologic, cancer, and infectious diseases created to mirror the Panacea Project, a U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program to provide novel, multi-target therapeutics for unmet physiological needs.
- 3F Biofragrance: For mosquito avoidance and antimicrobial protection with confirmed in vitro effectiveness against MRSA, E. coli, Tuberculosis and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). This technology is a surface disinfectant and is also designed to be incorporated into the Open Air Defense Initiative for protection against outbreaks by protecting key points where the potential spread of pathogens occur.
- Equivir: A patented Over the Counter (OTC) medication successfully tested in vitro against Rhinovirus, Influenza, Cholera, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and in a Biosafety Level 4 facility, Ebola. Equivir/Nemovir is both a treatment and a prophylactic for COVID-19 and is moving to human clinical trials.
- Quantum: The solution to the Patent Cliff accomplished by creating a new class of medicinal chemistry that uses advanced methods to increase effectiveness and persistence of natural compounds and existing drugs. The safety attributes of the original molecules are maintained. Typically, drug discovery processes modify functional groups.
- Bioplastics: Antimicrobial plastics for consumer products that control the spread of active pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, Influenza, E. coli, Staph, and Rhinovirus, by exploiting key strategies found in the biological realm. These new plastics are specifically focused on solutions for common products such as cups, plates, utensils, plastic bags, and countertops. The first prototypes have completed antimicrobial resistance testing.
Having an Impact
Early in the development process, GRDG began a working relationship with Impact Biomedical, a biopharmaceutical company interested in pursuing new products and treatment options. Impact partnered with GRDG and provided some investment capital to support the research.
“We saw an excellent opportunity to come alongside and partner with Daryl and his team to accomplish something that has the potential to have a direct impact on the lives of millions of people around the world,” said Frank. D. Heuszel, President and Director of Impact BioMedical, Inc. “The ability to analyze the problem and creatively see a solution that can be disseminated quickly and without a relatively long lead team is special.”
Going Pro
The next key partner in GRDG’s pursuit of innovation came in a partnership with ProPhase Labs, which proposes to turn Thompson’s research into real-life products.
“For us, the science has to make sense,” said ProPhase Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Alice Lioi. “Daryl has formulated products that performed well in pre-clinical trials and the fact that they are based in natural substances is a different approach that we believe can strengthen products in the human world.”
While Moore, Impact and ProPhase have all played key roles in GRDG‘s research and development, it has been Thompson who may be the revelation of the documentary.
“I have always enjoyed working behind the scenes, working alongside government entities, but outside the trappings of bureaucracy — that’s where the real innovation takes place,” said Daryl Thompson. “But the work we have done for the past five years could have such an impact on the world, we just had to tell this story. So that’s what we’re doing. Parts of this story may sound impossible — trust me, I sometimes shake my head at the things we’ve been able to create — but at the end of the day, it still rings true.”
Diamond Studios, an Emmy Award-winning production company from Tampa, will produce the documentary, which will begin filming in December 2022.
