3PrimeDx, Inc.
3primedx-inc 2017 NIH UniversityofIllinoisatChicago 2014 IL 1 3PrimeDx is a medical diagnostics company developing a blood test, PulsePredic™, to predict sudden cardiac death (SCD) risk in patients with heart failure. Heart failure occurs in more than 3.5 million Americans each year, but there are no simple, reliable ways of predicting who is at highest risk for SCD and who will benefit from an implanted defibrillator. This blood test will enable the optimization of the intervention by providing a simple, reliable, convenient to administer and cost-effective diagnostic tool. 3PrimeDx is a medical diagnostics company developing a blood test, PulsePredic™, to predict sudden cardiac death (SCD) risk in patients with heart failure. Heart failure occurs in more than 3.5 million Americans each year, but there are no simple, reliable ways of predicting who is at highest risk for SCD and who will benefit from an implanted defibrillator. This blood test will enable the optimization of the intervention by providing a simple, reliable, convenient to administer and cost-effective diagnostic tool. The PulsePredict blood test is based on technology developed by Dr. Samuel C. Dudley while serving as Professor and Chief of Cardiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Dudley discovered that the biomarker changes in the heart leading to sudden cardiac death could also be detected in blood, allowing for a simple diagnostic test. Biomedical Dr. Dudley’s work at UIC was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Acomni, LLC
acomni-llc 2017 NSF UniversityofArizona 2014 AZ 1 Acomni was started to put homeowners in control of their heating and cooling budget. The company has developed Ondo™, a Wi-Fi enabled thermostat-monitoring device that gathers data about a home’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) cycle use. By combing utility rates and weather forecasts with a patent-pending behavioral learning algorithm, Ondo is able to learn a home’s heating and cooling requirements and provide electric utility companies with the ability to visualize energy expenses and estimate future heating and cooling costs. For homeowners, Ondo enables them to heat or cool their home based on how much they want to spend on electricity, not just on how comfortable they want to be. Acomni was started to put homeowners in control of their heating and cooling budget. The company has developed Ondo™, a Wi-Fi enabled thermostat-monitoring device that gathers data about a home’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) cycle use. By combing utility rates and weather forecasts with a patent-pending behavioral learning algorithm, Ondo is able to learn a home’s heating and cooling requirements and provide electric utility companies with the ability to visualize energy expenses and estimate future heating and cooling costs. For homeowners, Ondo enables them to heat or cool their home based on how much they want to spend on electricity, not just on how comfortable they want to be. Acomni had its genesis in an algorithm created by Dr. Johnathan Sprinkle of the University of Arizona. While working with autonomous sensors to reconstruct river currents he realized that the analysis of river current flows could be applied to HVAC flows throughout a house. Dr. Sprinkle developed the algorithm to do this and then he and his research team applied for the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps competition. Participation in I-Corps allowed them to fully develop their idea and flesh out its commercial value. After being recognized as the best of 27 I-Corps teams, the group founded Acomni. Technology & Web Federal funding from the National Science Foundation helped support the work behind Acomni.
Acoustic Magic, Inc.
acoustic-magic-inc 2010 NSF BrownUniversity 2000 MA 1 Working in Brown University’s Division of Engineering, Dr. Harvey Silverman and Dr. Michael Brandstein developed a “beam-forming” technology. This technology, now used by Acoustic Magic, has revolutionized microphones.Anyone who has spoken at a conference knows how microphones, even “array” microphones, can limit your movement. The beam forming technology used by Acoustic Magic enables the microphone to “find” a speaker, and filters out noise, echoes and reverberations. The speaker can move about the room freely and be heard with great clarity. In a lecture hall, a professor can speak and be heard and recorded, as can students’ questions or comments, all with one microphone. On a teleconference, several speakers can talk, and the “Voice Tracker” technology enables them all to be heard clearly. The technology is also used for speech dictation. Working in Brown University’s Division of Engineering, Dr. Harvey Silverman and Dr. Michael Brandstein developed a “beam-forming” technology. This technology, now used by Acoustic Magic, has revolutionized microphones.Anyone who has spoken at a conference knows how microphones, even “array” microphones, can limit your movement. The beam forming technology used by Acoustic Magic enables the microphone to “find” a speaker, and filters out noise, echoes and reverberations. The speaker can move about the room freely and be heard with great clarity. In a lecture hall, a professor can speak and be heard and recorded, as can students’ questions or comments, all with one microphone. On a teleconference, several speakers can talk, and the “Voice Tracker” technology enables them all to be heard clearly. The technology is also used for speech dictation. Acoustic Magic is a startup company based upon “beam-forming” technology developed by Dr. Harvey Silverman and Dr. Michael Brandstein of Brown University’s Division of Engineering. Technology & Web The work of Dr. Brandstein and Dr. Silverman was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation. Seed funding for Acoustic Magic was provided by the Slater Center for Interactive Technologies and the Slater Center for Design & Manufacturing Innovation, two of four technology commercialization centers operating under the auspices of Rhode Island’s Samuel Slater Technology Fund.
Aculon, Inc.
aculon-inc 2013 NSF PrincetonUniversity 2003 CA 1 Aculon, Inc. commercializes unique surface and interfacial coatings leveraging nanotechnology discoveries made at Princeton University. The Company's technology enables coatings to outperform all known alternatives in characteristics such as adhesion, stain resistance, scratch resistance and water and oil repellency.
The company's technology is exceptionally versatile and enables several platforms of high-value commercial opportunities. Currently Aculon is focused on two platforms: (1) easy-clean, anti-smudge coatings for eyeglasses and other optical surfaces such as flat panel displays, and stainless steel; and (2) coatings that boost adhesion strength to difficult-to-adhere-to surfaces such as glass, certain metals and plastics. Aculon, Inc. commercializes unique surface and interfacial coatings leveraging nanotechnology discoveries made at Princeton University. The Company's technology enables coatings to outperform all known alternatives in characteristics such as adhesion, stain resistance, scratch resistance and water and oil repellency.
The company's technology is exceptionally versatile and enables several platforms of high-value commercial opportunities. Currently Aculon is focused on two platforms: (1) easy-clean, anti-smudge coatings for eyeglasses and other optical surfaces such as flat panel displays, and stainless steel; and (2) coatings that boost adhesion strength to difficult-to-adhere-to surfaces such as glass, certain metals and plastics. The story of Aculon begins with the quest of Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, Princeton chemistry professor, who sought to understand why orthopedic implants often failed after only 10-15 years of use. He wanted to see if new approaches to modification of the surfaces of implant materials could be achieved to improve their lifetimes. The discoveries of his research team, including Aculon founder Eric Bruner, have led to a new world-wide approach for surface modification of oxide-coated metals and metal oxides.
Together, Dr. Schwartz and Bruner invented new surface chemistry to control interfacial properties of indium tin oxide (ITO). This scheme was novel in its ability to attach molecules with tunable properties thereby controlling the properties of the electrode itself. Materials Funding from the National Science Foundation supported the research behind the discoveries and technologies that led to Aculon.
Adarza Biosystems, Inc.
adarza-biosystems-inc 2017 NIH UniversityofRochester 2008 NY 1 Adarza Biosystems is a leading developer and manufacturer of label-free biosensor assays and instruments servicing life science research, drug development and in vitro diagnostics customers. Adarza’s products and services utilize its proprietary Arrayed Imaging Reflectometry (“AIR™”) detection platform that is capable of rapidly identifying and quantifying a series of biological target analyte species in a fluid sample, without chemical labels or complex processing. The AIR™ technology offers key performance benefits in sensitivity, speed, multiplex arrays, sample size, dynamic range, ease of use and industry leading low cost of use. Adarza products address broad quantitative analyte detection applications, including cancer biomarkers, drug and vaccine development, allergy, immunology and infectious diseases research. Adarza Biosystems is a leading developer and manufacturer of label-free biosensor assays and instruments servicing life science research, drug development and in vitro diagnostics customers. Adarza’s products and services utilize its proprietary Arrayed Imaging Reflectometry (“AIR™”) detection platform that is capable of rapidly identifying and quantifying a series of biological target analyte species in a fluid sample, without chemical labels or complex processing. The AIR™ technology offers key performance benefits in sensitivity, speed, multiplex arrays, sample size, dynamic range, ease of use and industry leading low cost of use. Adarza products address broad quantitative analyte detection applications, including cancer biomarkers, drug and vaccine development, allergy, immunology and infectious diseases research. Adarza’s highly innovative AIR biosensor was developed at the University of Rochester by Benjamin Miller and Chris Striemer with grant support from the National Institutes of Health. Biomedical The work conducted at the University of Rochester was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Adenosine Therapeutics, LLC
adenosine-therapeutics-llc 2010 USDANIH UniversityofVirginia 1999 VA 1 Supported by research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the University of Virginia has led research into adenosine, a molecule found in all cells. The body uses adenosine to signal inflammation and tissue injury. Understanding this compound has the potential to unleash therapies to treat heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, cancer and atherosclerosis.
Joel Linden, University of Virginia professor of cardiovascular medicine and Timothy MacDonald, University of Virginia professor of chemistry recognized the power of this research. They collaborated with business leader Robert Capon to establish a startup company based around University of Virginia patents in this area.
Adenosine Therapeutics (ATL), was acquired in 2008 by Clinical Data, a global pharmaceutical company.
At the end of 2012, ATL reacquired many of its programs, including Stedivaze. Stedivaze is now more than half way through Phase III trials.
Supported by research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the University of Virginia has led research into adenosine, a molecule found in all cells. The body uses adenosine to signal inflammation and tissue injury. Understanding this compound has the potential to unleash therapies to treat heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, cancer and atherosclerosis.
Joel Linden, University of Virginia professor of cardiovascular medicine and Timothy MacDonald, University of Virginia professor of chemistry recognized the power of this research. They collaborated with business leader Robert Capon to establish a startup company based around University of Virginia patents in this area.
Adenosine Therapeutics (ATL), was acquired in 2008 by Clinical Data, a global pharmaceutical company.
At the end of 2012, ATL reacquired many of its programs, including Stedivaze. Stedivaze is now more than half way through Phase III trials.
Since its founding in 1999 by Joel Linden, University of Virginia professor of cardiovascular medicine and Timothy MacDonald, University of Virginia professor of chemistry, Adenosine Therapeutics has maintained its ties to the University of Virginia and its support of university-based research. In collaboration with many different researchers, the company participated in a large number of Small Business Innovation Research grants, thereby enabling basic and translational research with federal funding. This research has resulted in over 20 patents held by University of Virginia and nearly $3 million in sponsored research by the company. In addition, tens of millions of dollars of University of Virginia basic research grants have been won using Adenosine Therapeutics compounds, and over 100 scientific papers have been published on the pharmacology and physiology of adenosine. The company has given over one million dollars to the University of Virginia Patent Foundation, employed numerous University of Virginia students, and has also participated in business school cases at the Darden Business School. Biomedical Research uncovering adenosine’s role in cell signaling and the development of specialized molecules has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Advaita Corporation
advaita-corporation 2013 NSF WayneStateUniversity 2005 MI 1 Advaita's mission is to bridge the gap between the ability to collect biological data and the ability to interpret it through the use of advanced computational methods. The company develops bioinformatics software tools for the research and pharmaceutical industries.Advaita's software platform, Pathway-Guide, is used for the analysis of data from high-throughput microarray and next-generation sequencing experiments. Pathway-Guide is the first tool in a new generation of pathway analysis technologies available on the market that incorporates the topology of the pathway into the analysis. This advanced analysis methodology not only provides more accurate results that correctly identify biologically meaningful pathways in a given disease, but also reduces the number of false-positive results. Advaita's mission is to bridge the gap between the ability to collect biological data and the ability to interpret it through the use of advanced computational methods. The company develops bioinformatics software tools for the research and pharmaceutical industries.Advaita's software platform, Pathway-Guide, is used for the analysis of data from high-throughput microarray and next-generation sequencing experiments. Pathway-Guide is the first tool in a new generation of pathway analysis technologies available on the market that incorporates the topology of the pathway into the analysis. This advanced analysis methodology not only provides more accurate results that correctly identify biologically meaningful pathways in a given disease, but also reduces the number of false-positive results. The genesis of the technology and its initial development took place in the laboratory of Dr. Sorin Draghici, professor of computer science at Wayne State University. Dr. Draghici aimed to create a novel technology for the analysis of biological networks with significant transformative potential for a number of life-science related disciplines that could be used as a predictor of the effectiveness of a drug on a gene. Dr. Draghici and his research team hoped to create a technology that opened a window to view the impact of a drug on an entire organism, essentially creating a roadmap for the potential benefits and pitfalls of any potential drug. Technology & Web The initial research and development was undertaken at Wayne State University with a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
Advanced Diamond Technologies (ADT), Inc.
advanced-diamond-technologies-adt-inc 2013 DOE UniversityofChicagoArgonneNationalLaboratory 2003 IL 1 Advanced Diamond Technologies (ADT) harnesses the superlative properties of nature's perfect material by turning natural gas into diamond in a highly controlled, reproducible process for a variety of industrial, electronic and medical applications. ADT offers several families of high performance UNCD® (ultra-nanocrystalline diamond) products that take advantage of the unsurpassed properties of diamond. ADT is the world leader in developing and applying diamond films for electronic, mechanical, industrial and biomedical applications. Advanced Diamond Technologies (ADT) harnesses the superlative properties of nature's perfect material by turning natural gas into diamond in a highly controlled, reproducible process for a variety of industrial, electronic and medical applications. ADT offers several families of high performance UNCD® (ultra-nanocrystalline diamond) products that take advantage of the unsurpassed properties of diamond. ADT is the world leader in developing and applying diamond films for electronic, mechanical, industrial and biomedical applications. The research of senior scientists Dr. John Carlisle and Dr. Orlando Auciello in the Materials Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), led to the discovery of the UNCD® thin film technology that ultimately spawned ADT. Argonne National Laboratory is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC. Materials Dr. John Carlisle Their work was part of a 10-year Department of Energy-funded basic materials science research program in advanced diamond materials. The program, funded at a level of approximately $800,000 per year, enabled the development of the materials science and resulting inventions that became the basis of UNCD technology. Argonne collaborated with external parties to form a venture company based on UNCD technology and licensed a portfolio of inventions and patents to ADT to form the startup company. Parallel research and product development continued and was funded by various parties.
Advaxis, Inc.
advaxis-inc 2010 NIH UniversityofPennsylvania 2002 NJ 1 Advaxis, Inc. is a biotechnology company that uses a live genetically modified infectious microorganism to activate the immune system to treat cancer, infectious disease or allergic syndromes. Advaxis, Inc. is a biotechnology company that uses a live genetically modified infectious microorganism to activate the immune system to treat cancer, infectious disease or allergic syndromes. Based on more than 20 years of innovative work by Yvonne Paterson, PhD, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania, it has been found that the unique microbe Listeria monocytogenes is capable of stimulating numerous aspects of the immune system simultaneously, coordinating innate, humoral (antibody) and cellular adaptive immune responses in an extremely effective response to existing cancers and other diseases. Unlike other therapeutic approaches, in pre-clinical research Advaxis’ Listeria technology has been able to consistently demonstrate complete therapeutic responses resulting in complete tumor regression. Biomedical The basic research at the University of Pennsylvania that led to the development of this technology was supported by research grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Aeglea Biotherapeutics
aeglea-biotherapeutics 2017 NIH UniversityofTexasatAustin 2013 TX 1 Aeglea is a biotechnology company developing recombinant human enzymes for the treatment of genetic rare diseases and cancers associated with abnormal amino acid metabolism. Aeglea’s product candidates are designed to degrade specific amino acids in the blood in order to reduce toxic levels of amino acids in rare diseases or to starve tumors dependent on amino acids. The company is poised to lead the industry in modulating the extremes of amino acid metabolism with its lead product candidate, AEB1102, being investigated for the treatment of patients with Arginase I deficiency and certain types of cancer. Aeglea is a biotechnology company developing recombinant human enzymes for the treatment of genetic rare diseases and cancers associated with abnormal amino acid metabolism. Aeglea’s product candidates are designed to degrade specific amino acids in the blood in order to reduce toxic levels of amino acids in rare diseases or to starve tumors dependent on amino acids. The company is poised to lead the industry in modulating the extremes of amino acid metabolism with its lead product candidate, AEB1102, being investigated for the treatment of patients with Arginase I deficiency and certain types of cancer. Blending discovery, technology and drug development is key to success. However, taking protein therapeutics to the clinic requires a very significant investment of time and funding. In 2010, Dr. George Georgiou licensed the intellectual property on two human therapeutic programs from the University of Texas at Austin to a company he founded and self-funded at the seed stage. Several of the technologies licensed resulted from National Institutes of Health funding. In 2013, Dr. David Lowe joined the team as the CEO and co-founded Aeglea Biotherapeutics which became operational in December 2013, with the closing of a $16 million Series A financing. By building a partnership with University of Texas at Austin, Aeglea was able to capitalize on the broadly accepted but underexploited concept of developing engineered human enzymes to target amino acids in the blood.
As company co-founder Dr. Lowe explained, “The understanding that human enzymes could be engineered to increase activity while avoiding the possible immune responses seen with microbial proteins was a breakthrough moment that inspired me to found Aeglea. Having a background in biomedical research, I recognized this discovery as an exciting opportunity to address a critical need among patients who have extremely limited treatment options, which is a guiding principle of our company.” Biomedical The work conducted at the University of Texas at Austin was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Agensys, Inc.
agensys-inc 2010 NIH UniversityofCaliforniaLosAngelesUniversityofCalifornia 1996 CA 101 In 1996, Dr. Don Rice and researchers from the Urology Department at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), founded UroGenesys, now called Agensys. The company got its start when the UCLA researchers, funded by the National Institutes of Health, discovered genes associated with certain solid tumor cancers. These discoveries led to the development of antibody treatments for those cancers.
Company co-founder Dr. Arie Belldegrun told Medical News Today “As clinicians and scientists, we wanted to build on the discoveries made in our individual labs to help move cancer research forward from the bench to the bedside.”
The company started with four patents and a handful of employees and has grown into a robust biotechnology company that conducts antibody R&D for 14 different types of cancer and is capable of bringing a product all the way through early-stage clinical trials. The company has discovered and developed a large portfolio of novel clinically relevant targets for prostate, bladder, pancreatic, and kidney cancers. Agensys was acquired by Astellas Pharma US, the US affiliate of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma, Inc., in December 2007.
When Astellas Pharma acquired Agensys in 2007, a portion of the selling price went to UCLA as part of a groundbreaking licensing agreement in which the university received part equity in the firm as partial consideration.
In 1996, Dr. Don Rice and researchers from the Urology Department at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), founded UroGenesys, now called Agensys. The company got its start when the UCLA researchers, funded by the National Institutes of Health, discovered genes associated with certain solid tumor cancers. These discoveries led to the development of antibody treatments for those cancers.
Company co-founder Dr. Arie Belldegrun told Medical News Today “As clinicians and scientists, we wanted to build on the discoveries made in our individual labs to help move cancer research forward from the bench to the bedside.”
The company started with four patents and a handful of employees and has grown into a robust biotechnology company that conducts antibody R&D for 14 different types of cancer and is capable of bringing a product all the way through early-stage clinical trials. The company has discovered and developed a large portfolio of novel clinically relevant targets for prostate, bladder, pancreatic, and kidney cancers. Agensys was acquired by Astellas Pharma US, the US affiliate of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma, Inc., in December 2007.
When Astellas Pharma acquired Agensys in 2007, a portion of the selling price went to UCLA as part of a groundbreaking licensing agreement in which the university received part equity in the firm as partial consideration.
Agensys, Inc. was founded as UroGenesys in 1996 by Dr. Don Rice and researchers from the Urology Department at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The early goal was to discover genes and develop drugs to use in the treatment of prostate cancer. Toward that aim, the UCLA Office of Intellectual Property licensed four patents to the fledgling company, which used them to raise $8 million in the first round of venture capital financing. Biomedical The National Institutes of Health funded the UCLA research that led to discoveries patented by Agensys’ founders, such as their proprietary target Prostate Stem Cell Antigen (PSCA).
Agile Sciences, Inc.
agile-sciences-inc 2013 NIHNSF NorthCarolinaStateUniversity 2007 NC 1 Agile Sciences, Inc. provides commercial solutions to industries plagued by the effects of biofilms.
A bacterial biofilm is a community of bacterial cells that are attached to a surface and are protected by an extracellular matrix, making them exceptionally hardy and difficult to deal with. Biofilms that form in the human body are up to ten thousand times more resistant to antibiotics and immune systems than free-floating bacteria. In agriculture, every year billions of dollars of crops are lost due to the formation of biofilms. Industrial needs for effective biofilm dispersion include surface coatings and cleansing products.
Agile Sciences technology is based on a family of novel organic compounds that have potent anti-biofilm properties. The molecular architecture of the compounds is highly tunable for addressing specific needs in a diverse array of product markets. Agile Sciences, Inc. provides commercial solutions to industries plagued by the effects of biofilms.
A bacterial biofilm is a community of bacterial cells that are attached to a surface and are protected by an extracellular matrix, making them exceptionally hardy and difficult to deal with. Biofilms that form in the human body are up to ten thousand times more resistant to antibiotics and immune systems than free-floating bacteria. In agriculture, every year billions of dollars of crops are lost due to the formation of biofilms. Industrial needs for effective biofilm dispersion include surface coatings and cleansing products.
Agile Sciences technology is based on a family of novel organic compounds that have potent anti-biofilm properties. The molecular architecture of the compounds is highly tunable for addressing specific needs in a diverse array of product markets. Agile Sciences was co-founded by North Carolina State University professors Christian Melander and John Cavanagh. Dr. Melander focuses on defining small molecules that inhibit and disperse bacterial biofilms and Dr. Cavanagh is an expert in protein structural biology, particularly in how bacteria are able to protect themselves. It was through a conversation with each other about their work that they each realized they needed the other scientist’s expertise to complement and complete their own work. The ensuing collaboration resulted in the technology behind Agile Sciences. Energy & Chemicals John Cavanagh Melander and Cavanagh's research at NC State received funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Agilis Biotherapeutics
agilis-biotherapeutics 2017 NIH UniversityofSouthFlorida 2013 MA 1 Agilis Biotherapeutics is advancing innovative DNA therapeutics designed to provide long-term efficacy for patients with debilitating, often fatal, rare genetic diseases that affect the central nervous system. Agilis’ technology enables precise targeting and restoration of lost gene function, while avoiding unintended off-target effects. One of the company’s lead programs is focused on Angelman syndrome (AS), a rare disorder characterized by a severe cognitive disability. It is believed that a loss of UBE3A gene function in the brain causes many of the characteristic features og AS. Agilis Biotherapeutics is advancing innovative DNA therapeutics designed to provide long-term efficacy for patients with debilitating, often fatal, rare genetic diseases that affect the central nervous system. Agilis’ technology enables precise targeting and restoration of lost gene function, while avoiding unintended off-target effects. One of the company’s lead programs is focused on Angelman syndrome (AS), a rare disorder characterized by a severe cognitive disability. It is believed that a loss of UBE3A gene function in the brain causes many of the characteristic features og AS. University of South Florida’s Dr. Edwin Weeber, one of the world’s foremost AS investigators, was the first to demonstrate the use of an effective gene therapy treatment for AS in the gold standard mouse model. Dr. Weeber received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish the viability of three distinct therapeutic strategies to ameliorate the severe cognitive impairments exhibited by AS individuals. Agilis exclusively licensed the gene therapy technology developed by Dr. Weeber, providing an excellent platform to develop an effective UBE3A gene therapy for patients with AS. Biomedical The work conducted at the University of South Florida was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
AGTC
agtc 2017 NIH UniversityofFlorida 1999 FL 51 AGTC is developing treatments for rare eye diseases, offering hope to patients with unmet medical needs. With a highly specialized team of physicians and researchers, the company uses cutting-edge techniques to develop treatments for patients who have diseases caused by broken genes. AGTC uses gene therapy, which replaces those broken genes with normal, functional genes, allowing a patient’s own body to produce proteins to treat the illness. A single injection provides long-lasting treatment, leading to a better quality of life for patients worldwide. AGTC is developing treatments for rare eye diseases, offering hope to patients with unmet medical needs. With a highly specialized team of physicians and researchers, the company uses cutting-edge techniques to develop treatments for patients who have diseases caused by broken genes. AGTC uses gene therapy, which replaces those broken genes with normal, functional genes, allowing a patient’s own body to produce proteins to treat the illness. A single injection provides long-lasting treatment, leading to a better quality of life for patients worldwide. The innovative delivery method AGTC uses is the non-toxic adeno-associated virus (AAV), a safe virus that delivers healthy copies of the gene, replacing defective copies. Company co-founder Dr. Nicholas Muzyczka, a microbiology professor at the University of Florida, was the first scientist to demonstrate the use of an AAV as a vector for transporting the corrective genes used in gene therapy. His work in the field spanned decades and was supported by the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. During this time, two other labs – those of AGTC co-founders Dr. Barry Byrne and Dr. Jude Samulski – conducted experiments on mice showing that the genetic material was long-lasting and would keep working over time. Knowing that they were onto something significant, the scientists approached large pharmaceutical companies about conducting clinical trials of the gene therapy treatments. Turned down by these companies, Dr. Muzyczka and four fellow scientists from UF and the University of North Carolina struck out on their own, founding Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation, or AGTC, in 1999. Biomedical The work at the University of Florida was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
AirLift Environmental, LLC
airlift-environmental-llc 2021 NE 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Akamai Technologies, Inc.
akamai-technologies-inc 2013 DODNSF MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology 1999 MA 1001 Akamai is the leading global service provider for accelerating content and business processes online.Akamai has deployed the most pervasive, highly-distributed cloud optimization platform with over 127,000 servers in 81 countries within over 1,150 networks. It delivers between 15-30 percent of all Web traffic, with daily Web traffic reaching more than 10 Terabits per second. It also delivers over 2 trillion daily Internet interactions and helps securely enable more than $250 billion in annual e-commerce for its online retail customers. Akamai is the leading global service provider for accelerating content and business processes online.Akamai has deployed the most pervasive, highly-distributed cloud optimization platform with over 127,000 servers in 81 countries within over 1,150 networks. It delivers between 15-30 percent of all Web traffic, with daily Web traffic reaching more than 10 Terabits per second. It also delivers over 2 trillion daily Internet interactions and helps securely enable more than $250 billion in annual e-commerce for its online retail customers. In 1996, Dr. Tom Leighton, a renowned expert on parallel algorithms and architecture and head of the Algorithms Group at MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science, recognized that a solution to web congestion could be found in applied mathematics and algorithms. He solicited the help of graduate student Danny Lewin, and several other top researchers, to tackle the problem.
With funding support from the Department of Defense, through DARPA and the Army Research Office, they developed a set of breakthrough algorithms for intelligently routing and replicating content over a large network of distributed servers — without relying on centralized servers typically used by Web site owners today. This novel coding, called consistent hashing, would evolve into the core of Akamai’s commercial technology, essentially duplicating a client’s online content — HTML code, media, software downloads, and so on — and redirecting its customers to an Akamai server with the best connection for faster download times and fewer vulnerabilities to network issues.Their research was published in 1997. Jonathan Seelig, then enrolled in the MIT Sloan MBA program, joined the founding team, and they began building the business plan that would lead to Akamai's inception. Akamai obtained an exclusive license to certain intellectual property from MIT, and development efforts began in the fall of 1998. The company launched commercial service in April 1999. Technology & Web The groundbreaking algorithms research that led to the founding of Akamai was funded by the Department of Defense, through DARPA and the Army Research Office
Akrivis Technologies
akrivis-technologies 2013 NIH NortheasternUniversity 2009 MA 1 Akrivis Technologies seeks to improve patients’ health and reduce healthcare costs by developing safer and more efficacious cancer therapies, and by providing rapid, ultrasensitive and low–cost diagnostics for both research and clinical applications. The company’s core Z–TECT™ technology platform is based on a patented, nanotechnology–derived signal amplification system that provides accurate and reproducible detection of less than a thousand individual molecules. Z–TECT™ also can serve as a novel platform for the targeted delivery of radio– and chemo–therapeutic drugs for cancer treatments. Potentially providing far safer and more efficacious targeted delivery therapeutics, Z–TECT™ could have a major impact on the emerging field of “Theranostics” which combines cancer therapies with in vivo imaging diagnostics. Akrivis Technologies seeks to improve patients’ health and reduce healthcare costs by developing safer and more efficacious cancer therapies, and by providing rapid, ultrasensitive and low–cost diagnostics for both research and clinical applications. The company’s core Z–TECT™ technology platform is based on a patented, nanotechnology–derived signal amplification system that provides accurate and reproducible detection of less than a thousand individual molecules. Z–TECT™ also can serve as a novel platform for the targeted delivery of radio– and chemo–therapeutic drugs for cancer treatments. Potentially providing far safer and more efficacious targeted delivery therapeutics, Z–TECT™ could have a major impact on the emerging field of “Theranostics” which combines cancer therapies with in vivo imaging diagnostics. Akrivis was co–founded in 2009 by Dr. Ban–An Khaw, Behrakis Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Northeastern University, to further develop and commercialize his lifelong work and discoveries on novel ultrasensitive and low–cost immunoassays. The novel delivery mechanism behind Akrivis was originally developed by Dr. Khaw to identify cardiac cell death.
Biomedical The foundational work essential to the development of the Akrivis technology was conducted by Khaw at Northeastern University with support from the National Institute of Health.
ALEKS Corporation
aleks-corporation 2010 NSF UniversityofCaliforniaIrvineUniversityofCalifornia 1996 CA 101 ALEKS Corporation is a leader in the creation of web-based, artificially intelligent educational software. ALEKS assessment and learning technologies were originally developed by a team of cognitive scientists and software engineers at the University of California, Irvine, with major funding from the National Science Foundation. ALEKS is founded on ground-breaking research in mathematical cognitive science and applied mathematics. Through adaptive questioning, ALEKS accurately assesses a student’s knowledge state and then delivers targeted instruction on the exact topics a student is most ready to learn.
ALEKS has been used by millions of students in more than 50 academic subjects ranging from basic math to precalculus at thousands of institutions throughout the world. ALEKS Corporation is a leader in the creation of web-based, artificially intelligent educational software. ALEKS assessment and learning technologies were originally developed by a team of cognitive scientists and software engineers at the University of California, Irvine, with major funding from the National Science Foundation. ALEKS is founded on ground-breaking research in mathematical cognitive science and applied mathematics. Through adaptive questioning, ALEKS accurately assesses a student’s knowledge state and then delivers targeted instruction on the exact topics a student is most ready to learn.
ALEKS has been used by millions of students in more than 50 academic subjects ranging from basic math to precalculus at thousands of institutions throughout the world. In 1993, Dr. Jean-Claude Falmagne assembled a team of software engineers, mathematicians, and cognitive scientists at University of California, Irvine.
Dr. Falmagne’s team created the core of the ALEKS interactive software system for portions of the arithmetic and algebra curricula. In May 1997, ALEKS Corporation and the University of California entered into an exclusive worldwide license. Education & Language Dr. Falmagne’s software was developed with support from grants from the National Science Foundation.
Allegro Diagnostics
allegro-diagnostics 2013 NIH BostonUniversity 2008 MA 1 Allegro Diagnostics Corp. is a molecular diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative genomic tests to support the diagnosis and management of lung cancer. These tests have the potential to enable the early diagnosis, staging and informed treatment of lung cancer and other lung diseases.The company has developed a molecular testing platform that is based on the discovery of a genomic biomarker for lung cancer. This platform has generated multiple product candidates that analyze specific changes in gene expression in epithelial cells of the airway, which are associated with the development in lung cancer in current or former tobacco smokers. Allegro Diagnostics Corp. is a molecular diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative genomic tests to support the diagnosis and management of lung cancer. These tests have the potential to enable the early diagnosis, staging and informed treatment of lung cancer and other lung diseases.The company has developed a molecular testing platform that is based on the discovery of a genomic biomarker for lung cancer. This platform has generated multiple product candidates that analyze specific changes in gene expression in epithelial cells of the airway, which are associated with the development in lung cancer in current or former tobacco smokers. Allegro Diagnostics was spun off from research by Dr. Avrum Spira and Dr. Jerry Brody, professors at Boston University’s School of Medicine. Dr. Spira and Dr. Brody wanted to address a major public health issue: lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in the United State and the world. Lung cancer’s high mortality rate relates to the physician’s inability to detect it at an early and curable stage. Dr. Spira and Dr. Brody leveraged the concept that molecular alterations in relatively accessible epithelial cells that line the upper airway could serve as biomarkers for the early detection of lung cancer among smokers. They developed a gene-expression signature in these cells that can accurately distinguish smokers with lung cancer from those without the disease and serve as a clinically relevant biomarker.
Allegro Diagnostics was spun off from research by Dr. Avrum Spira and Dr. Jerry Brody, professors at Boston University’s School of Medicine. Dr. Spira and Dr. Brody wanted to address a major public health issue: lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in the United State and the world. Lung cancer’s high mortality rate relates to the physician’s inability to detect it at an early and curable stage. Dr. Spira and Dr. Brody leveraged the concept that molecular alterations in relatively accessible epithelial cells that line the upper airway could serve as biomarkers for the early detection of lung cancer among smokers. They developed a gene-expression signature in these cells that can accurately distinguish smokers with lung cancer from those without the disease and serve as a clinically relevant biomarker.X Biomedical The initial research and development behind Allegro Diagnostics was conducted at BU with a $300,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, through the National Cancer Institute. Allegro has raised about $10M from venture capital and $3M from non-dilutive sources.
Allylix, Inc.
allylix-inc 2010 NSF UniversityofKentucky 2002 CA NA Using proprietary technology developed in 2002 at the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Allylix has developed a way to produce a group of natural products called “terpenes” at low cost. In nature, plants produce minute quantities of terpenes to serve a number of different functions. Some are flavors and fragrances, others are anti-fungal and anti-viral and still others are insect repellents. Despite their enormous potential commercial value to the flavor and fragrance, insect repellent and pharmaceutical industries, terpenes have been underexploited because of high production costs. Allylix’s proprietary technology platform has changed that.
Allylix’s technology could soon make your fruit juice taste more citrusy when the company’s version of nookatone is commercialized. Nookatone, one of three sesquiterpenes that Allylix is working with, is a grapefruit flavor that will be produced using yeast grade fermentation. Allyix recently licensed technology to a leading clean technology company to produce a specific class of terpenes for use in the development of fuels and fuel additives.
Allylix was acquired by Evolva in 2014. Using proprietary technology developed in 2002 at the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Allylix has developed a way to produce a group of natural products called “terpenes” at low cost. In nature, plants produce minute quantities of terpenes to serve a number of different functions. Some are flavors and fragrances, others are anti-fungal and anti-viral and still others are insect repellents. Despite their enormous potential commercial value to the flavor and fragrance, insect repellent and pharmaceutical industries, terpenes have been underexploited because of high production costs. Allylix’s proprietary technology platform has changed that.
Allylix’s technology could soon make your fruit juice taste more citrusy when the company’s version of nookatone is commercialized. Nookatone, one of three sesquiterpenes that Allylix is working with, is a grapefruit flavor that will be produced using yeast grade fermentation. Allyix recently licensed technology to a leading clean technology company to produce a specific class of terpenes for use in the development of fuels and fuel additives.
Allylix was acquired by Evolva in 2014. Allylix, Inc., a technology leader in the science and low-cost production of terpenes, is using proprietary technology developed in 2002 at the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Allylix has a research and development center at the University of Kentucky’s Coldstream Research Campus in Lexington. Energy & Chemicals Early work that led to technologies used by Allylix received support from National Science Foundation.
Amati Communications Corporation
amati-communications-corporation 2010 NSF StanfordUniversity 1992 CA NA In 1992, many people were touting fiber optic cables as the answer to growing consumer demand for bandwidth. Stanford researchers developed technology related to Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT) technology, the technology that came to be used in Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) which provides broadband internet access to homes and businesses around the world. ADSL was revolutionary because it enabled use of the common telephone line to transmit large amounts of data quickly — at rates 30–100 times faster than the 56K analog modems.
In 1992, Stanford’s Office of Technology Licensing issued an exclusive license to four patents to Amati Communications Corporation, which was founded by Stanford Professor John Cioffi. In 1995, Amati merged with ICOT, which was then acquired by Texas Instruments in 1998. In 1992, many people were touting fiber optic cables as the answer to growing consumer demand for bandwidth. Stanford researchers developed technology related to Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT) technology, the technology that came to be used in Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) which provides broadband internet access to homes and businesses around the world. ADSL was revolutionary because it enabled use of the common telephone line to transmit large amounts of data quickly — at rates 30–100 times faster than the 56K analog modems.
In 1992, Stanford’s Office of Technology Licensing issued an exclusive license to four patents to Amati Communications Corporation, which was founded by Stanford Professor John Cioffi. In 1995, Amati merged with ICOT, which was then acquired by Texas Instruments in 1998. Amati Communications Corporation began as a research project by Prof. John Cioffi and graduate students Jacky Chow, Peter Chow, Minnie Ho and Huiling Lou at Stanford University. Technology & Web Dr. Cioffi’s early research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation.
American BioOptics
american-biooptics 2013 NIH NorthwesternUniversity 2006 IL 1 American BioOptics LLC (ABO) is a medical device company founded to commercialize a novel optical technology platform for cancer screening and detection. This technology shines light inside the colon and analyzes how the reflected light interacts with the lining of the colon. This interaction provides unique insight into abnormalities in healthy appearing tissue that are too small to be seen with an endoscope or microscope. Based on a patented discovery at Northwestern University and NorthShore University HealthSystem, this technology is now harnessed in a commercial‐ready mobile instrumentation system and highly sensitive, easy‐to‐use, minimally invasive test for screening for colorectal cancer (CRC).
American BioOptics LLC (ABO) is a medical device company founded to commercialize a novel optical technology platform for cancer screening and detection. This technology shines light inside the colon and analyzes how the reflected light interacts with the lining of the colon. This interaction provides unique insight into abnormalities in healthy appearing tissue that are too small to be seen with an endoscope or microscope. Based on a patented discovery at Northwestern University and NorthShore University HealthSystem, this technology is now harnessed in a commercial‐ready mobile instrumentation system and highly sensitive, easy‐to‐use, minimally invasive test for screening for colorectal cancer (CRC).
In 2002, ABO’s founding scientific and clinical team at Northwestern University and the Research Institute of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (now NorthShore University Health System, an affiliate of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine) began development of the company’s optical backscattering technologies.
Biomedical This early work, supported by the National Institutes of Health, focused on the development of the company’s optical backscattering technology system and optical probes in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Northwestern. The research included significant early investigation at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare of optical biomarkers in animal models and later in human subjects to predict patients likely to be at risk of colon cancer.
Amyris, Inc.
amyris-inc 2013 DODNSF UniversityofCaliforniaBerkeleyUniversityofCalifornia 2003 CA 101 Amyris is a renewable products company providing sustainable alternatives to a broad range of petroleum-sourced products. Amyris applies its industrial synthetic biology platform to convert plant sugars into a variety of molecules -- flexible building blocks that can be used in a wide range of products.
Biofene is Amyris’s brand of a long-chain, branched hydrocarbon molecule called farnesene (trans-ß-farnesene). This building block molecule forms the basis for a wide range of products from specialty products such as cosmetics, perfumes, detergents and industrial lubricants, to transportation fuels such as diesel and jet fuel.
The company’s first product was artemisinic acid, which is used to make malaria drugs. A variety of new molecules with different applications are under development. Amyris is a renewable products company providing sustainable alternatives to a broad range of petroleum-sourced products. Amyris applies its industrial synthetic biology platform to convert plant sugars into a variety of molecules -- flexible building blocks that can be used in a wide range of products.
Biofene is Amyris’s brand of a long-chain, branched hydrocarbon molecule called farnesene (trans-ß-farnesene). This building block molecule forms the basis for a wide range of products from specialty products such as cosmetics, perfumes, detergents and industrial lubricants, to transportation fuels such as diesel and jet fuel.
The company’s first product was artemisinic acid, which is used to make malaria drugs. A variety of new molecules with different applications are under development. Professor Jay D. Keasling of the University of California, Berkeley and his research group, including postdoctoral fellows Jack Newman, Kinkead Reiling and Neil Renninger, developed the company’s foundational method. This platform technology uses synthetic biology to turn microbes such as bacteria and yeast into factories that overproduce compounds based on isoprenes/terpene chemical building blocks. Their research was funded by the National Science Foundation and Department of Defense through the Office of Naval Research. Energy & Chemicals UC Berkeleyfiled patents on the basic method, and through a series of contracts, sub-contracts, and funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ensured that the final artemisinin-based malaria treatments would be available at a low cost to those in 88 economically disadvantaged countries. The “humanitarian use”clauses in the contracts, along with the associated IP management strategies and business models, were recognized through a “Patents for Humanity” award from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to UC Berkeleyin 2013.
AnswerDash, Inc.
answerdash-inc 2017 NSF UniversityofWashington 2013 WA 1 AnswerDash provides contextual, self-service help for websites, improving the online experience that businesses deliver to their customers. AnswerDash provides this help by overlaying onto the periphery of existing web pages a small tab that, when clicked by visitors, expands into a panel containing questions commonly asked about the host web page. By clicking on one of the common questions, a visitor receives the corresponding answer. The panel then shrinks back into a tab, allowing the visitor to continue with their web-based task, having received instant, self-service help with no typing and only a few clicks. AnswerDash provides contextual, self-service help for websites, improving the online experience that businesses deliver to their customers. AnswerDash provides this help by overlaying onto the periphery of existing web pages a small tab that, when clicked by visitors, expands into a panel containing questions commonly asked about the host web page. By clicking on one of the common questions, a visitor receives the corresponding answer. The panel then shrinks back into a tab, allowing the visitor to continue with their web-based task, having received instant, self-service help with no typing and only a few clicks. AnswerDash emerged from co-founder Andrew Ko's National Science Foundation-funded research project conducted at the University of Washington. The research investigated web-scale analytics about questions that users have regarding website functionality and content. As part of the project he and his research partner deployed prototypes of what would form the basis for AnswerDash at the UW Libraries, UW School of Medicine and UW Information School. Seeing how the tool worked, they realized that providing instant answers to website visitors was not limited to an academic research setting; businesses could benefit by making the information their customers need available quickly and easily. Upon making that realization, forming a company to commercialize their work was an obvious choice. Technology & Web The work at the University of Washington was supported by research funding from the National Science Foundation.
Aortica Corporation
aortica-corporation 2017 NIH UniversityofWashington 2014 WA 1 Aortica Corp. has developed proprietary software that enables vascular surgeons to treat patients with complex abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) using less invasive endograft therapy rather than highly invasive open surgery. An aortic aneurysm is a bulge that develops in the largest artery in the human body. If untreated it could burst causing massive bleeding and most often – death. Placement of endografts (tubular stents that channel blood flow away from the aneurysm) have become the preferred method of treatment. Unfortunately, many patients have branch arteries surrounding the aneurysm that do not allow for proper anchoring of an endograft. Aortica Corp.’s AortaFit™ software allows physicians and graft manufacturers to navigate these branch arteries and safely place the endograft. Aortica Corp. has developed proprietary software that enables vascular surgeons to treat patients with complex abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) using less invasive endograft therapy rather than highly invasive open surgery. An aortic aneurysm is a bulge that develops in the largest artery in the human body. If untreated it could burst causing massive bleeding and most often – death. Placement of endografts (tubular stents that channel blood flow away from the aneurysm) have become the preferred method of treatment. Unfortunately, many patients have branch arteries surrounding the aneurysm that do not allow for proper anchoring of an endograft. Aortica Corp.’s AortaFit™ software allows physicians and graft manufacturers to navigate these branch arteries and safely place the endograft. The AortaFit is the result of company founder and vascular surgeon Benjamin Starnes seeing a need and finding the solution. As chief of vascular surgery at the University of Washington (UW), specializing in the treatment of aortic disease, he was often frustrated with the lack of treatment options for patients with complex AAA disease. Dr. Starnes began to manually modify standard endografts to account for the branch arteries around aneurysms. The process is called “fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair” (FEVAR) and involves creating a hole in a standard endograft, which allows blood to continue to perfuse branch arteries and feed vital organs. His methodology was extremely effective and saved patients the trauma of open surgery, but it was very time consuming, expensive and required high level of expertise to perform. Consequently, it was not easily transferable to other physicians.
Dr. Starnes began working with UW researchers to automate the process. This resulted in software, that when combined with a patient’s CT scan and 3D printing, produced a template to guide physician modification of a standard endograft. Aortica was founded to further develop and commercialize this technology Technology & Web Funding from the National Institutes of Health helped support the foundational work conducted at UW that led to the formation of Aortica Corp.
Applied Dexterity, Inc.
applied-dexterity-inc 2017 DODNSF UniversityofWashington 2012 WA 1 Applied Dexterity produces and sells the RAVEN surgical robotics research platform. Research institutions can use this system as a test-bed for new developments in surgical robotics. RAVEN is designed to be an extensible, robust, and programmable research tool to allow researchers in engineering, surgery, and computer science to experiment, innovate, and collaborate. Applied Dexterity produces and sells the RAVEN surgical robotics research platform. Research institutions can use this system as a test-bed for new developments in surgical robotics. RAVEN is designed to be an extensible, robust, and programmable research tool to allow researchers in engineering, surgery, and computer science to experiment, innovate, and collaborate. RAVEN was originally developed from 2002-2007 at the University of Washington with funding from the Department of Defense. The army wanted a small robust surgical robot that could be deployed on the battlefield and tele-operated by remote surgeons, out of harm’s way. UW faculty Blake Hannaford and Jacob Rosen led the team that researched, designed and developed the RAVEN. In 2010, the National Science Foundation funded an update of the RAVEN design resulting in RAVEN-II. In late 2012, Applied Dexterity was founded to sell and provide ongoing support for the RAVEN systems, which are now installed in 18 laboratories worldwide. Technology & Web The work conducted at the University of Washington was supported by research funding from the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation.
Apsidal
apsidal 2021 CA 1 Materials
AptaMatrix
aptamatrix 2013 NIH SyracuseUniversity 2003 NY 1 AptaMatrix’s focus is to accelerate the rate of aptamer discovery using its patent pending Acyclic Identification of Aptamers (AIA) approach in addition to developing its novel AlloSwitch™ sensor technology capable of creating rapid diagnostic tools for detection of chemical and biological targets, and leveraging this diagnostic platform for drug discovery applications.Aptamers are DNA/RNA molecules that have affinities for their targets similar to antibodies. Aptamers have shown great potential to replace antibodies in biosensors, point-of-care diagnostics, therapeutics, and all of the areas currently dominated by antibodies. AlloSwitches™, have demonstrated the ability to transduce molecular recognition of biological targets into a real-time (seconds) optical signal for identifying environmental and terrorist released contaminants in liquid systems. AptaMatrix’s focus is to accelerate the rate of aptamer discovery using its patent pending Acyclic Identification of Aptamers (AIA) approach in addition to developing its novel AlloSwitch™ sensor technology capable of creating rapid diagnostic tools for detection of chemical and biological targets, and leveraging this diagnostic platform for drug discovery applications.Aptamers are DNA/RNA molecules that have affinities for their targets similar to antibodies. Aptamers have shown great potential to replace antibodies in biosensors, point-of-care diagnostics, therapeutics, and all of the areas currently dominated by antibodies. AlloSwitches™, have demonstrated the ability to transduce molecular recognition of biological targets into a real-time (seconds) optical signal for identifying environmental and terrorist released contaminants in liquid systems. Syracuse University chemistry professor Philip Borer’s ground-breaking research is at the core of both the AIA method and the AlloSwitch technology. Borer’s research specializes in the structure and stability of nucleic acids and their complexes with proteins.The AlloSwitch concept was developed at Syracuse in collaboration with fellow chemistry professor Bruce Hudson as an ultrasensitive method to detect binding to the nucleocapsid protein from HIV-1. Hudson and Borer had collaborated for many years in anti-AIDS research, however it became clear that AlloSwitch technology had wide application in contaminant sensing and drug discovery. Defense, Safety, & Aerospace The fundamental research behind AptaMatrix was conducted at Syracuse University with funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Arbor Networks
arbor-networks 2010 DODNSF UniversityofMichigan 2000 MA 101 Arbor Networks is an online security company launched in 2000 by University of Michigan Computer Science professor Dr. Farnam Jahanian and doctoral student G. Robert Malan, who had developed technology in the University of Michigan Software Systems Lab.
The company boasts a 70 percent market share and 300 customers around the world. Their security solutions, which manage and protect the entire network — from the network core to the broadband edge — are deployed in the backbones of all the major service provider and MSO networks across the globe, including MCI, Sprint, AT&T, Earthlink, Asia Netcom and British Telecom. In 2006, Arbor Networks was named one of the twenty fastest growing private companies in North America. In August 2010, Arbor Networks was acquired by Tektronix Communications of Plano, TX. Recent News Arbor Networks founder Farnam Jahanian to head NSF Computer & Information Science & Engineering Directorate. Learn more Arbor Networks is an online security company launched in 2000 by University of Michigan Computer Science professor Dr. Farnam Jahanian and doctoral student G. Robert Malan, who had developed technology in the University of Michigan Software Systems Lab.
The company boasts a 70 percent market share and 300 customers around the world. Their security solutions, which manage and protect the entire network — from the network core to the broadband edge — are deployed in the backbones of all the major service provider and MSO networks across the globe, including MCI, Sprint, AT&T, Earthlink, Asia Netcom and British Telecom. In 2006, Arbor Networks was named one of the twenty fastest growing private companies in North America. In August 2010, Arbor Networks was acquired by Tektronix Communications of Plano, TX. Recent News Arbor Networks founder Farnam Jahanian to head NSF Computer & Information Science & Engineering Directorate. Learn more The company was launched in 2000 by University of Michigan computer science professor Dr. Farnam Jahanian and doctoral student G. Robert Malan, who had developed the technology in the U-M Software Systems Lab. Dr. Jahanian serves as Chairman of the Board and Dr. Malan as Chief Technology Officer.
Arbor Networks maintains R&D facilities in Ann Arbor, Michigan and has added over 60 jobs and an estimated $20 million to the local economy Technology & Web FARNAM JAHANIAN The network security research conducted at the University of Michigan Software Systems Lab was supported by a $1.5 million grant from the Department of Defense, through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Earlier networking research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation.
ArmaGen Technologies, Inc.
armagen-technologies-inc 2010 DODNIH UniversityofCaliforniaLosAngelesUniversityofCalifornia 2004 CA 1 In the 1980s, Dr. William Pardridge, Professor of Medicine and Endocrinology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and his research team were the first to show that there were receptor systems along the human blood-brain barrier (BBB) that acted as transport systems. In the two decades since, they have continued their research and, with the help of funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, have developed what they call “molecular Trojan horses” that can effectively deliver various drugs and gene therapies to the brain. ArmaGen Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2004 to use this technology to develop therapeutic products for treatment of conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and brain cancer. In the 1980s, Dr. William Pardridge, Professor of Medicine and Endocrinology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and his research team were the first to show that there were receptor systems along the human blood-brain barrier (BBB) that acted as transport systems. In the two decades since, they have continued their research and, with the help of funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, have developed what they call “molecular Trojan horses” that can effectively deliver various drugs and gene therapies to the brain. ArmaGen Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2004 to use this technology to develop therapeutic products for treatment of conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and brain cancer. ArmaGen Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2004 by Dr. William Pardridge, Professor of Medicine and Endocrinology at UCLA. The company is a spin-off from Dr. Pardridge’s laboratory at UCLA. When it was founded in 2004, ArmaGen signed a patent agreement with the University of California that gave the company exclusive license rights to pending and world-wide issued patents comprising a broad patent estate covering multiple technology platforms for the delivery to the brain, and other organs, of drugs, recombinant proteins, and non-viral gene medicines. Biomedical Dr. Pardridge’s research at UCLA has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. ArmaGen has received recent awards from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at NIH (September 2008) and the US Army (June 2008).
Arvinas
arvinas 2017 NIH YaleUniversity 2013 CT 1 Arvinas is developing a new class of drugs that employs the body’s own internal systems to eliminate the “rogue,” or uncontrolled, proteins that lead to disease, creating new and better therapies for hematological cancers. Using a novel platform technology, PROTAC™, Arvinas creates small molecule drugs that bind to disease-causing proteins and “tags” them for degradation by the ubiquitin/proteasome system – part of the natural process for the turnover of proteins in the cell. In so doing, the targeted proteins are eliminated and the cancer cell is no longer able to grow. In contrast, traditional drugs function as inhibitors, temporarily binding to and blocking the function of certain proteins. But this approach requires very high, and often toxic, dosing levels and only works on 25 percent of the body’s proteins. Arvinas is developing a new class of drugs that employs the body’s own internal systems to eliminate the “rogue,” or uncontrolled, proteins that lead to disease, creating new and better therapies for hematological cancers. Using a novel platform technology, PROTAC™, Arvinas creates small molecule drugs that bind to disease-causing proteins and “tags” them for degradation by the ubiquitin/proteasome system – part of the natural process for the turnover of proteins in the cell. In so doing, the targeted proteins are eliminated and the cancer cell is no longer able to grow. In contrast, traditional drugs function as inhibitors, temporarily binding to and blocking the function of certain proteins. But this approach requires very high, and often toxic, dosing levels and only works on 25 percent of the body’s proteins. Building on groundbreaking research at Yale University by Craig Crews, Ph.D., Arvinas’ Founder and Chief Scientific Advisor, Arvinas has developed a broad technology platform focused on high value targets, with the potential to deliver safer, more potent treatment than small molecule inhibitors, and to address the 75 percent of targets that evade inhibition and are currently undruggable. Crews’ basic research, which sought to develop a deeper understanding of the human cell, was conducted over decades and supported with grant funding from the National Institutes of Health. Biomedical The work conducted at Yale University was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
AsclepiX Therapeutics LLC
asclepix-therapeutics-llc 2017 NIH JohnsHopkinsUniversity 2011 MD 1 AsclepiX Therapeutics is creating breakthrough next gen therapies for angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis diseases. The company addresses this critical issue across multiple diseases with therapies for ocular diseases, cancer, and tissue and organ transplant. They use bioinformatics methods to design and develop new peptide drugs and the latest in biomaterials and drug delivery to design long-lasting biodegradable nano- and microparticles to deliver their therapeutic peptides to different locations in the body. The first target for their novel drug delivery strategy is vision loss, specifically diabetic macular edema (DME). They are additionally developing drugs for other indications including Neovascular (wet) Age-Related Macular Degeneration (NVAMD), liver cancer, triple negative breast cancer, small cell lung cancer, brain cancer, and skin, limb, and organ transplant. AsclepiX Therapeutics is creating breakthrough next gen therapies for angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis diseases. The company addresses this critical issue across multiple diseases with therapies for ocular diseases, cancer, and tissue and organ transplant. They use bioinformatics methods to design and develop new peptide drugs and the latest in biomaterials and drug delivery to design long-lasting biodegradable nano- and microparticles to deliver their therapeutic peptides to different locations in the body. The first target for their novel drug delivery strategy is vision loss, specifically diabetic macular edema (DME). They are additionally developing drugs for other indications including Neovascular (wet) Age-Related Macular Degeneration (NVAMD), liver cancer, triple negative breast cancer, small cell lung cancer, brain cancer, and skin, limb, and organ transplant. The company spun out from the Johns Hopkins University Department of Biomedical Engineering and Ophthalmology where JHU scientists Jordan Green and Aleksander Popel made their initial discoveries in cells and animal models. “When we looked at the eyes of mice that were a model of wet age-related macular degeneration and found that our peptide did not simply block aberrant blood vessel growth in the back of the eye, but reversed it and caused significant regression of the neovasculature, we knew that we discovered something special that could potentially reverse blindness in patients,” Green said. Their desire to see their work move from the lab to helping patients, led them to create AsclepiX to further develop and commercialize their technology. Biomedical Drs. Green and Popel’s work at Johns Hopkins was supported by the National Institutes of Health through the National Eye Institute, National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.
Athenex
athenex 2010 NIH UniversityatBuffalo 2003 NY 1 Kinex Pharmaceuticals, now called Athenex, is developing next generation anti-cancer drugs that target the molecular basis of disease. The company uses a proprietary technology platform to generate compounds that inhibit the Protein Kinase and Phosphatase family of proteins.
Mimetica™ is Kinex Pharmaceuticals’ patented technology for generating small molecule inhibitors of kinases and phosphatases that bind in the substrate pocket. The key advantage of the new protein kinase inhibitors that Kinex is developing is that because of the unique binding site against which these compounds are targeted, there is a greatly reduced chance that patients will develop resistance to these drugs — a problem that already has rendered ineffective some of the first marketed protein kinase inhibitors. Kinex Pharmaceuticals, now called Athenex, is developing next generation anti-cancer drugs that target the molecular basis of disease. The company uses a proprietary technology platform to generate compounds that inhibit the Protein Kinase and Phosphatase family of proteins.
Mimetica™ is Kinex Pharmaceuticals’ patented technology for generating small molecule inhibitors of kinases and phosphatases that bind in the substrate pocket. The key advantage of the new protein kinase inhibitors that Kinex is developing is that because of the unique binding site against which these compounds are targeted, there is a greatly reduced chance that patients will develop resistance to these drugs — a problem that already has rendered ineffective some of the first marketed protein kinase inhibitors. Kinex was formed in 2003 based on the basic research of David Hangauer, PhD, associate professor of medicinal chemistry in the Department of Chemistry in University at Buffalo’s College of Arts and Sciences. Kinex is commercializing Hangauer’s unique method for designing and synthesizing anti-cancer compounds. Phase I clinical testing of Kinex’s lead compound, KX-01, has been completed. A second compound is in pre-clinical testing. Biomedical The original research conducted at University at Buffalo was supported with funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Audyssey Laboratories
audyssey-laboratories 2010 NSF UniversityofSouthernCalifornia 2002 CA NA Audyssey Laboratories is an audio sound technology company that has created a high-tech sound system that produces accurate, enveloping and distortion-free sound everywhere in one’s listening room. Audyssey Laboratories has developed world class sound technologies for home, business and automotive use.
In late 1996, the National Science Foundation established a unique research center at University of Southern California (USC) that focused on immersive technologies. A key component of the Integrated Media Systems Center (IMSC) is the Immersive Audio Laboratory that was founded by Chris Kyriakakis and Tomlinson Holman. Over the past 10 years Tom and Chris have conducted research in audio signal processing, acoustics, and psychoacoustics.
The results of their interdisciplinary research have been published in more than 100 technical journals and several books. One of the most challenging problems that they addressed was the comprehensive understanding of the negative effects of room acoustics on sound reproduction. It took five years of intense research and experimentation and more than $6 million in research funds to fully understand and solve this intricate problem. No other facility in the world had the scientific expertise and the resources to fundamentally examine and solve this problem. UPDATE: 12/20/10 The company, which has designed high-end home theater systems since 2002, just introduced an iPod dock that follows a vertical, rather than horizontal, format. Learn more about their innovation here.
UPDATE: 9/6/2011
Audyssey founder and University of Southern California engineer Chris Kyriakakis explains the technology behind “pyschoacoustics,” the study of sound perception by the human auditory system, in the New York Times: “Sound, the Way the Brain Prefers to Hear It.”
Audyssey Laboratories is an audio sound technology company that has created a high-tech sound system that produces accurate, enveloping and distortion-free sound everywhere in one’s listening room. Audyssey Laboratories has developed world class sound technologies for home, business and automotive use.
In late 1996, the National Science Foundation established a unique research center at University of Southern California (USC) that focused on immersive technologies. A key component of the Integrated Media Systems Center (IMSC) is the Immersive Audio Laboratory that was founded by Chris Kyriakakis and Tomlinson Holman. Over the past 10 years Tom and Chris have conducted research in audio signal processing, acoustics, and psychoacoustics.
The results of their interdisciplinary research have been published in more than 100 technical journals and several books. One of the most challenging problems that they addressed was the comprehensive understanding of the negative effects of room acoustics on sound reproduction. It took five years of intense research and experimentation and more than $6 million in research funds to fully understand and solve this intricate problem. No other facility in the world had the scientific expertise and the resources to fundamentally examine and solve this problem. UPDATE: 12/20/10 The company, which has designed high-end home theater systems since 2002, just introduced an iPod dock that follows a vertical, rather than horizontal, format. Learn more about their innovation here.
UPDATE: 9/6/2011
Audyssey founder and University of Southern California engineer Chris Kyriakakis explains the technology behind “pyschoacoustics,” the study of sound perception by the human auditory system, in the New York Times: “Sound, the Way the Brain Prefers to Hear It.”
Audyssey Laboratories was conceived at the prestigious Immersive Audio Laboratory at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Sunil Bharitkar, Philip Hilmes, Prof. Tomlinson Holman, and Prof. Chris Kyriakakis were all involved in conceiving and creating the technology that was the basis for “spinning out” the company in July, 2002. Today, they are, respectively, Audyssey’s Vice President for Research, Vice President for Engineering, Chief Scientist, and Chief Technology Officer. Technology & Web The National Science Foundation established the research center at USC that focused on immersive technologies, where Audyssey was conceived.
Aurrion
aurrion 2013 DOD UniversityofCaliforniaSantaBarbaraUniversityofCalifornia 2007 CA 1 Aurrion is a privately held company located in Santa Barbara, CA. The hybrid silicon photon integration platform the company is commercializing will enable a new generation of integrated photonic devices.Aurrion is partnering with system integrators to create new systems on chips that can provide a massive ( >10x) reduction in size and weight over discretely implemented designs while providing improved power, cost, and reliability by eliminating unnecessary packaging and optical connections. In November 2011, Aurrion was awarded a $13.9M R&D contract from the U.S. Department of Defense. Aurrion is a privately held company located in Santa Barbara, CA. The hybrid silicon photon integration platform the company is commercializing will enable a new generation of integrated photonic devices.Aurrion is partnering with system integrators to create new systems on chips that can provide a massive ( >10x) reduction in size and weight over discretely implemented designs while providing improved power, cost, and reliability by eliminating unnecessary packaging and optical connections. In November 2011, Aurrion was awarded a $13.9M R&D contract from the U.S. Department of Defense. The fundamental technology for Aurrion’s silicon photon integration platform was originally developed at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where company founder John Bowers is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and of materials and co-founder Alexander Fang received his M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering. While at UCSB, Dr. Fang developed the hybrid silicon laser platform, demonstrating the first electrically pumped lasers on silicon. Materials Alexander W. Fang The work at UCSB that led to the development of Aurrion’s technology was supported by approximately $5 million in grants from the Army Research Office.
Aursos, Inc.
aursos-inc 2010 NIH MichiganTechnologicalUniversity 2007 MI NA Why is it that, while humans begin to show reduced bone mass and strength after even short periods of inactivity, black bears can hibernate for up to seven months and emerge without any loss in bone mass or strength? Dr. Seth Donahue and researchers at Michigan Technological University thought it was a question worth asking. The result was the isolation of a “bone-building biomarker” in the blood of black bears, which has great promise for osteoperosis treatment and prevention.
Aursos was founded in March of 2007. The company has licensed Dr. Donahue’s technology with an eye toward commercializing the therapeutic compounds found in black bears for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis. Why is it that, while humans begin to show reduced bone mass and strength after even short periods of inactivity, black bears can hibernate for up to seven months and emerge without any loss in bone mass or strength? Dr. Seth Donahue and researchers at Michigan Technological University thought it was a question worth asking. The result was the isolation of a “bone-building biomarker” in the blood of black bears, which has great promise for osteoperosis treatment and prevention.
Aursos was founded in March of 2007. The company has licensed Dr. Donahue’s technology with an eye toward commercializing the therapeutic compounds found in black bears for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis. Aursos is based upon patent-pending research discoveries from the laboratory of Dr. Seth Donahue at Michigan Technological University. The company has continued to sponsor research and validation of the technology in Dr. Donahue’s lab. Biomedical The research validating Dr. Donahue’s discoveries was sponsored by the Michigan Universities Commercialization Initiative and the National Institutes of Health. Aursos, with partner Proteos, Inc. in Kalamazoo, Michigan, has received critical National Institutes of Health Small Business Technology Transfer funding for follow-on laboratory validation work conducted at Michigan Technological University.
Autism Navigator
autism-navigator 2021 FL 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Autonomic Materials, Inc.
autonomic-materials-inc 2013 DODNSF UniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign 2005 IL 1 Autonomic Materials (AMI)is focused on developing and commercializing breakthrough low-cost, self-healing polymer systems for high performance coatings and structural composites. This platform technology can be readily incorporated into existing coatings of virtually all types, greatly extending useful lifetimes in a number of industrial applications.AMI's innovations translate to increased value for coatings producers and users alike. Recoating intervals are lengthened, minimizing labor costs and equipment downtime. Additionally, by extending coating lifetimes, environmental impact is minimized. Autonomic Materials (AMI)is focused on developing and commercializing breakthrough low-cost, self-healing polymer systems for high performance coatings and structural composites. This platform technology can be readily incorporated into existing coatings of virtually all types, greatly extending useful lifetimes in a number of industrial applications.AMI's innovations translate to increased value for coatings producers and users alike. Recoating intervals are lengthened, minimizing labor costs and equipment downtime. Additionally, by extending coating lifetimes, environmental impact is minimized. Dr. Scott White, professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Illinois, founded Autonomic Materials in 2005. Dr. White is also the leader of the Autonomous Materials Systems (AMS) group at University of Illinois’ world-renowned Beckman Institute. This multidisciplinary research team has been developing breakthrough technologies in the area of self-healing materials for a decade. It is the AMS group’s innovative technology platform that Autonomic Materials is currently bringing to the global coatings market to enable the production of SMART coatings. UI Professors Nancy Sottos, Jeff Moore, and Paul Braun were also involved in the research that led to the formation of Autonomic Materials. Materials The research that led to the founding of AMI was funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation.
Auxadyne, LLC
auxadyne-llc 2017 VADOD FloridaStateUniversity 2015 FL 1 Auxadyne’s foam technology does the unusual, it expands outward when stretched, meaning it gets thicker rather than thinner and making it ideal for protective equipment, medical devices and other applications. Indeed, the foam is so novel that within a few weeks of news announcing its intent to commercialize the technology, Auxadyne was contacted by top sporting equipment companies and companies making medical devices and ballistic vests.
Auxadyne’s foam technology does the unusual, it expands outward when stretched, meaning it gets thicker rather than thinner and making it ideal for protective equipment, medical devices and other applications. Indeed, the foam is so novel that within a few weeks of news announcing its intent to commercialize the technology, Auxadyne was contacted by top sporting equipment companies and companies making medical devices and ballistic vests.
Xylafoam, as the foam is called, is the outgrowth of 20 years of research at Florida State University and most directly an initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a product that could aid amputees with prosthetic limbs. As inventor and company founder Changchun “Chad” Zeng with FSU’s High Performance Materials Institute explains, “For example, the socks that amputees currently use to attach prosthetic devices do not adjust to limb shape and volume, creating lots of problems. My invention solves those issues.”
By the company’s one-year anniversary in 2016, it was negotiating a multi-year development contract with a major sports company and working on prototypes with medical device and first responder gear manufacturers. “As a direct result of this VA research funding, Auxadyne will create high-tech, high-wage manufacturing jobs in Florida allowing us to make the lives of leg amputees, military personnel, first responders and athletes of all ages safer,” said Zeng. Biomedical The work at Florida State University was supported by research funding from the Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc.
avid-radiopharmaceuticals-inc 2010 NIH UniversityofPennsylvania 2005 PA 1 Avid is a clinical-stage, product-focused molecular imaging company with significant expertise and IP in the field of molecular brain imaging. Chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and diabetes with mellitus affect tens of millions of people worldwide. Avid is working to develop novel molecular imaging agents that allow the detection of the earliest stages of these diseases, before clinical symptoms develop.
Avid has developed proprietary targeting agents to image amyloid plaques and is currently testing these compounds in clinical trials for the detection of Alzheimer’s disease. Avid has demonstrated proof of mechanism in human trials with these agents. The Avid team is also developing novel agents targeted to the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT-2) to image pathology in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and has a research project in diabetes mellitus (DM). These agents have the potential to revolutionize early diagnosis and monitoring of disease.
In 2010, Avid became a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, the 10th largest pharmaceutical company in the world. Avid is a clinical-stage, product-focused molecular imaging company with significant expertise and IP in the field of molecular brain imaging. Chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and diabetes with mellitus affect tens of millions of people worldwide. Avid is working to develop novel molecular imaging agents that allow the detection of the earliest stages of these diseases, before clinical symptoms develop.
Avid has developed proprietary targeting agents to image amyloid plaques and is currently testing these compounds in clinical trials for the detection of Alzheimer’s disease. Avid has demonstrated proof of mechanism in human trials with these agents. The Avid team is also developing novel agents targeted to the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT-2) to image pathology in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and has a research project in diabetes mellitus (DM). These agents have the potential to revolutionize early diagnosis and monitoring of disease.
In 2010, Avid became a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, the 10th largest pharmaceutical company in the world. The molecular imaging agents at the core of Avid’s work were originally developed by Dr. Hank Kung at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Kung, Professor of Radiology and Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania, serves as Avid’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board. He is regarded as a world leader in research and development of innovative radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis of brain diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Avid founder Dr. Daniel Skovronsky was previously Scientific Director of High Throughput Screening and Drug Discovery at the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research at the University of Pennsylvania. He has more than 20 peer-reviewed publications and several National Institutes of Health funded grants on Alzheimer’s disease research. Biomedical The basic research at the University of Pennsylvania that led to the development of this technology was supported by research grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Axogen
axogen 2013 NIH UniversityofFlorida 2002 FL 1 AxoGen is a regenerative medicine company focused on the science, development and commercialization of technologies for peripheral nerve regeneration and reconstruction to help patients suffering from traumatic injuries or undergoing surgeries that impact the function of their peripheral nerves.Every day, people suffer traumatic injuries or undergo surgical procedures that impact the function of their peripheral nerves. Peripheral nerves provide the pathways for both motor and sensory signals throughout the body and their damage can result in the loss of function and feeling. In order to improve surgical reconstruction and regeneration of peripheral nerves, AxoGen has developed and licensed patented and patent-pending technologies, which are used in its portfolio of products. Axogen’s Avance® Nerve Graft for bridging the gap created when the nerve is severed has been used on more than 7,000 patients, including soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. AxoGen is a regenerative medicine company focused on the science, development and commercialization of technologies for peripheral nerve regeneration and reconstruction to help patients suffering from traumatic injuries or undergoing surgeries that impact the function of their peripheral nerves.Every day, people suffer traumatic injuries or undergo surgical procedures that impact the function of their peripheral nerves. Peripheral nerves provide the pathways for both motor and sensory signals throughout the body and their damage can result in the loss of function and feeling. In order to improve surgical reconstruction and regeneration of peripheral nerves, AxoGen has developed and licensed patented and patent-pending technologies, which are used in its portfolio of products. Axogen’s Avance® Nerve Graft for bridging the gap created when the nerve is severed has been used on more than 7,000 patients, including soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. Axogen is the result of University of Florida neuroscientist David Muir’s years of research on peripheral nerve damage. Historically, peripheral nerve repairs have been done with one of the patient’s own nerves, but this requires a second surgery and can cause its own lasting damage. Muir and his colleagues developed a technique for harvesting and treating nerve tissue from cadavers to remove cells and other tissue, leaving sterile hollow nerve channels through which the patient's own nerve can regenerate. Biomedical The initial research and development was undertaken at the University of Florida with a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Axonia Medical, Inc.
axonia-medical-inc 2013 DODNIH UniversityofPennsylvania 2009 MI 1 Axonia Medical is pioneering a revolutionary approach to repair and restore damaged peripheral or central nervous systems using tissue-engineered nerve grafts (TENGs). By recapitulating the anatomy of the nervous system, TENGs act as living bridges for targeted repair of the nervous system, orchestrating a rapid, robust and complete regenerative response that promises improved restoration of sensory, motor and/or cognitive deficits. Axonia Medical’s first focus is the development of TENGs for repair of peripheral nerve injury (PNI) with follow on products for spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke. In addition, Axonia Medical will pursue opportunities for use of TENGs as a direct neural interface for programmable machines and computers (e.g., advanced prosthetic limbs). Axonia Medical is pioneering a revolutionary approach to repair and restore damaged peripheral or central nervous systems using tissue-engineered nerve grafts (TENGs). By recapitulating the anatomy of the nervous system, TENGs act as living bridges for targeted repair of the nervous system, orchestrating a rapid, robust and complete regenerative response that promises improved restoration of sensory, motor and/or cognitive deficits. Axonia Medical’s first focus is the development of TENGs for repair of peripheral nerve injury (PNI) with follow on products for spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke. In addition, Axonia Medical will pursue opportunities for use of TENGs as a direct neural interface for programmable machines and computers (e.g., advanced prosthetic limbs). Axonia Medical leverages the ground-breaking discoveries by Dr. Douglas Smith at the University of Pennsylvania regarding the growth of nerve axons to produce 3-dimenstional tissue-engineered nerve grafts that can repair and restore damaged regions of the nervous system. Dr. Smith is director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair and professor of neurosurgery at U Penn's Perelman School of Medicine. Axonia Medical was formed by Dr. Smith and the University of Pennsylvania through its UPstart Company Incubator. Axonia Medical holds an exclusive worldwide license to the relevant intellectual property owned by the University of Pennsylvania. Biomedical The research that led to the technologies behind Axonia was supported with grants from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. The company is led by CEO Harry Ledebur, a molecular and cell biologist by training.
Ayar Labs
ayar-labs 2021 MA 51 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
AzERx, Inc.
azerx-inc 2010 NIH ArizonaStateUniversity 2004 AZ 1 Arizona Engineered Therapeutics Inc. (AzERx), a new company based on the research of three Arizona State University (ASU) professors, was formed in May 2004 to develop a drug that would be beneficial to people who have suffered a specific type of stroke induced by a subarachnoid hemorrhage in the brain. In February 2006, the company was acquired by OrthoLogic, Inc., a biotechnology company committed to developing a pipeline of novel therapeutic peptides and other molecules aimed at helping patients with under-served medical conditions. (OrthoLogic is today known as Capstone Therapeutics.) Arizona Engineered Therapeutics Inc. (AzERx), a new company based on the research of three Arizona State University (ASU) professors, was formed in May 2004 to develop a drug that would be beneficial to people who have suffered a specific type of stroke induced by a subarachnoid hemorrhage in the brain. In February 2006, the company was acquired by OrthoLogic, Inc., a biotechnology company committed to developing a pipeline of novel therapeutic peptides and other molecules aimed at helping patients with under-served medical conditions. (OrthoLogic is today known as Capstone Therapeutics.) The primary compound of AzERx is based on the research of Dr. Colleen Brophy, director of the Center for Protein and Peptide Therapeutics at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, and Lokesh Joshi, an associate professor and Dr. Alyssa Panitch, an assistant professor, both in the Harrington Department of Bioengineering of the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering. Their AZX100 is a novel synthetic pre-clinical 24-amino acid peptide, one of a new class of compounds in the field of smooth muscle relaxation and fibrosis. AZX100 is currently being evaluated for commercially significant medical applications such as the treatment of pulmonary disease, the prevention of hypertrophic and keloid scarring and intimal hyperplasia. Capstone has an exclusive worldwide license to AZX100. Biomedical AZX100 was discovered at ASU with funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.
ball-aerospace-technologies-corp 2017 DOD UniversityofColoradoBoulder 1956 CO 1001 Ball Aerospace pioneers discoveries that enable customers to perform beyond expectation and protect what matters most. The company creates innovative space solutions, enables more accurate weather forecasts, drives insightful observations of the planet, delivers actionable data and intelligence, and ensures that those who defend freedom go forward bravely and return home safely.
The Ball story began 136 years ago when five brothers started a company with a $200 loan from their uncle. Seventy-six years later, one of the brother’s sons, Edmund Ball, established Ball Brothers Research Corp. in Boulder, Colorado. Ball Aerospace pioneers discoveries that enable customers to perform beyond expectation and protect what matters most. The company creates innovative space solutions, enables more accurate weather forecasts, drives insightful observations of the planet, delivers actionable data and intelligence, and ensures that those who defend freedom go forward bravely and return home safely.
The Ball story began 136 years ago when five brothers started a company with a $200 loan from their uncle. Seventy-six years later, one of the brother’s sons, Edmund Ball, established Ball Brothers Research Corp. in Boulder, Colorado. During the early days of the space program, Ed Ball hired R. Arthur Gaiser as director of research and product development in 1955. These early leaders were intent on pursuing government contract research to connect the company with a larger pool of scientific manpower and receive follow-on benefits from the resulting manufacturing process experience.
Ball and Gaiser turned to a group of University of Colorado (CU) physics students and professors, led by Dr. David Stacey, to evaluate a weighing device that the company was developing. Dr. Stacey’s group had been working to create the first biaxial pointing control for the U.S. Air Force, among other projects in the developing rocket field. Discovering the potential synergy between Stacey’s group and Ball Brothers Company, Ed decided to absorb the CU group into a newly created division – Ball Brothers Research Corporation.
Twenty years before Forbes coined the term “start-up,” Boulder scientists were unknowingly laying the groundwork for a company that would become a key contributor to some of America’s pioneering science missions.
Manufacturing, Research & Industry When Ball Brothers Research Corporation was incorporated in December 1956, Dr. Stacey was named technical director, bringing six CU colleagues with him. Today Ball Aerospace continues to have strong ties to CU, partnering on research, offering learning opportunities for students and providing career opportunities for many CU grads.
Banyan Biomarkers, Inc.
banyan-biomarkers-inc 2010 DOD UniversityofFlorida 2002 FL 1 There is currently no simple point-of-care blood test that emergency room physicians can use to establish whether a patient has brain trauma, or how severe it is. Banyan Biomarkers is the leader in developing blood test-based diagnostic products for the detection of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Banyan research has identified unique and proprietary biomarkers present in the patient’s blood following injury to the brain. Detecting these biomarkers will provide the indications of brain trauma essential for earlier intervention and management. Accurate and early diagnosis in acute care environments can significantly simplify decisions about patient management including whether to admit, discharge or to administer other time consuming, expensive and often inaccurate diagnostic tests including computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Simple, rapid diagnostic tools will immensely facilitate allocation of the medical resources required to treat TBI and other brain injuries in military cobat and civilian emergencies. There is currently no simple point-of-care blood test that emergency room physicians can use to establish whether a patient has brain trauma, or how severe it is. Banyan Biomarkers is the leader in developing blood test-based diagnostic products for the detection of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Banyan research has identified unique and proprietary biomarkers present in the patient’s blood following injury to the brain. Detecting these biomarkers will provide the indications of brain trauma essential for earlier intervention and management. Accurate and early diagnosis in acute care environments can significantly simplify decisions about patient management including whether to admit, discharge or to administer other time consuming, expensive and often inaccurate diagnostic tests including computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Simple, rapid diagnostic tools will immensely facilitate allocation of the medical resources required to treat TBI and other brain injuries in military cobat and civilian emergencies. The company was founded by University of Florida (UF) scientists Ron Hayes, Kevin Wang and Nancy Denslow with the vision of developing and commercializing biomarker diagnostic tests. Wang and Hayes established the Center for Traumatic Brain Injuries Studies and the Center for Neuroproteomics and Biomarkers within UF’s Evelyn F. and William McKnight Brain Institute. These programs have focused on neuroproteomic approaches for identifying potential brain injury biomarkers, and the use of animal models and clinical studies to reveal relationships between biomarkers and brain injury. These studies have produced an extensive pipeline of potential biomarkers which have been licensed to Banyan Biomarkers. Biomedical The enabling research was focused on developing a fast way for military doctors to diagnose traumatic brain injury in the field and was funded by the Department of Defense.
Beta Bionics, Inc.
beta-bionics-inc 2017 NIH BostonUniversity 2015 MA 1 The founders of Beta Bionics hope that there will one day be a cure for diabetes. Until then, they are focused on improving treatment for people with diabetes. They have developed a technology solution to the challenge of 24/7 monitoring and management of blood sugar levels. Their “bionic pancreas” – called the iLet™ - is a pocket-sized, wearable medical device that autonomously manages blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. The founders of Beta Bionics hope that there will one day be a cure for diabetes. Until then, they are focused on improving treatment for people with diabetes. They have developed a technology solution to the challenge of 24/7 monitoring and management of blood sugar levels. Their “bionic pancreas” – called the iLet™ - is a pocket-sized, wearable medical device that autonomously manages blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. Boston University professor Ed Damiano, along with Firas El-Khatib, Ed Raskin, Serafina Raskin and Gibb Clark, founded Beta Bionics in 2015 as a public benefit corporation committed to serving in the best interest of people with type 1 diabetes and their families. The technology behind the company was more than a decade in the making and traces its inspiration to Damiano’s son, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2000 at just 11-months-old. At the time – when continuous glucose monitoring did not exist – Damiano envisioned an engineering approach of automated glucose control via continuous glucose monitoring and mathematical algorithms to automatically control insulin and glucagon to raise and lower blood sugar. Beta Bionics hopes to have its first product on the market by the end of 2018. Biomedical About half of the $42 million that Damiano and his team have raised to develop and test their bionic pancreas technology has come from the National Institutes of Health (beyond the funding noted above that contributed to their licensed inventions, the group has received substantial additional support from NIH). Says Damiano, “The bionic pancreas simply would not be where it is today had it not been for our NIH-funded clinical research.”
BioFront Technologies
biofront-technologies 2017 NIHUSDA FloridaStateUniversity 2011 FL 1 BioFront Technologies provides kits and services that enable the detection of food allergens and infectious diseases. BioFront Technologies provides kits and services that enable the detection of food allergens and infectious diseases. As a graduate student at Florida State University, Jason Robotham worked on U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded research in the lab of Dr. Kenneth Roux to develop monoclonal antibodies for use in identifying and characterizing major allergenic proteins in tree nuts. This food allergy research served as the basis for Robotham’s doctoral dissertation, and after completing his post-doctoral training, it also led to the creation of BioFront Technologies. Biomedical The work at Florida State University was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
BioMarck Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.
biomarck-pharmaceuticals-ltd 2010 NIH NorthCarolinaStateUniversity 2002 NC 1 BioMarck Pharmaeceuticals, founded in 2002, is dedicated to the discovery and development of new drugs for the treatment of pulmonary diseases and disorders – such as bronchitis, asthma and cystic fibrosis — that are associated with the over-secretion of mucus and pulmonary inflammation. BioMarck’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Kenneth Adler of the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences at North Carolina State University (NCSU), is one of the best respected researchers in the field of airway disease. His research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for more than two decades and has also been supported by funding from the Environmental Protection Agency. His discoveries at NCSU provided the platform “MARCKS technology” for BioMarck.
BioMarck recently announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the company two new patents enhancing its intellectual property portfolio in support of its current lead drug for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. BioMarck Pharmaeceuticals, founded in 2002, is dedicated to the discovery and development of new drugs for the treatment of pulmonary diseases and disorders – such as bronchitis, asthma and cystic fibrosis — that are associated with the over-secretion of mucus and pulmonary inflammation. BioMarck’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Kenneth Adler of the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences at North Carolina State University (NCSU), is one of the best respected researchers in the field of airway disease. His research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for more than two decades and has also been supported by funding from the Environmental Protection Agency. His discoveries at NCSU provided the platform “MARCKS technology” for BioMarck.
BioMarck recently announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the company two new patents enhancing its intellectual property portfolio in support of its current lead drug for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. BioMarck’s platform technology is based on the research of Dr. Kenneth Adler of the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences at North Carolina State University. BioMarck has licensed the “MARCKS technology” on a worldwide exclusive basis and includes therapeutic peptides and their analogs for the treatment of respiratory diseases related to mucus hypersecretion and inflammation in diseases such as asthma, COPD, cystic fibrosis, and rhinitis and certain non-respiratory diseases. Biomedical Development of the MARCKS technology at NCSU was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency.
BioNano Genomics
bionano-genomics 2010 NIH PrincetonUniversity 2003 PA 1 Until now, whole genome analysis has been slow, complicated and expensive. But in his laboratory in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Princeton University, Professor Stephen Chou developed a technology that could lead to a way to sequence DNA “so fast and cheap that an entire human genome can be read in eight hours for $100 or less.”
BioNano Genomics, or BioNanomatrix, Inc. as it was originally called, was founded in 2003 with technology exclusively licensed from Princeton University. The company’s development programs are partly supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The company is also collaborating with commercialization partners for nearer-term applications.
The affordability, speed and simplicity of the technology are expected to make the routine use of genetic information feasible for genetic diagnostics, personalized medicine and biomedical research.
“If the company succeeds, a physician could biopsy a cancer patient’s tumor, sequence all its DNA, and use that information to determine a prognosis and prescribe treatment — all for less than the cost of a chest X-ray,” according to Technology Review Magazine. “If the ailment is lung cancer, for instance, the doctor could determine the particular genetic changes in the tumor cells and order the chemotherapy best suited to that variant.” Until now, whole genome analysis has been slow, complicated and expensive. But in his laboratory in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Princeton University, Professor Stephen Chou developed a technology that could lead to a way to sequence DNA “so fast and cheap that an entire human genome can be read in eight hours for $100 or less.”
BioNano Genomics, or BioNanomatrix, Inc. as it was originally called, was founded in 2003 with technology exclusively licensed from Princeton University. The company’s development programs are partly supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The company is also collaborating with commercialization partners for nearer-term applications.
The affordability, speed and simplicity of the technology are expected to make the routine use of genetic information feasible for genetic diagnostics, personalized medicine and biomedical research.
“If the company succeeds, a physician could biopsy a cancer patient’s tumor, sequence all its DNA, and use that information to determine a prognosis and prescribe treatment — all for less than the cost of a chest X-ray,” according to Technology Review Magazine. “If the ailment is lung cancer, for instance, the doctor could determine the particular genetic changes in the tumor cells and order the chemotherapy best suited to that variant.” BioNano Genomics technology was developed at Princeton University in Professor Stephen Chou’s laboratory in the Department of Electrical Engineering. Professor Chou, working in collaboration with Han Cao, on a project funded by the Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), developed the company’s core single-molecule nanoscale whole genome analysis technology. BioNanomatrix’s technology is exclusively licensed from Princeton University. Han Cao serves as Chief Science Officer at BioNano Genomics. Biomedical STEPHEN Y. CHOU The work at Princeton that led to the technology behind BioNano Genomics was funded in part by the Department of Defense through its Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The company’s ongoing development programs are partly supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and an $8.8 million government award to jointly develop a platform capable of sequencing the entire human genome at a cost of just $100.
Bioner Sonar, Inc.
bioner-sonar-inc 2021 MA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
BioResource International, Inc.
bioresource-international-inc 2010 USDA NorthCarolinaStateUniversity 1999 NC 1 BioResource International (BRI) is a global biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of enzymes to enhance and protect animal and human health. BRI’s patented VersazymeTM is a feed additive that has been shown to improve the nutritional value of feed in a number of academic and commercial feeding trials. In addition, BRI has developed an enzyme product called Valkerase™ that can turn poultry feathers into a digestible and nutritious poultry feed additive.
BRI, in collaboration with researchers in the United States and Europe, has also developed a patented process that can be used to disinfect instruments and equipment that may transmit BSE (“Mad Cow Disease”) and the human form of the disease, CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease). BioResource International (BRI) is a global biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of enzymes to enhance and protect animal and human health. BRI’s patented VersazymeTM is a feed additive that has been shown to improve the nutritional value of feed in a number of academic and commercial feeding trials. In addition, BRI has developed an enzyme product called Valkerase™ that can turn poultry feathers into a digestible and nutritious poultry feed additive.
BRI, in collaboration with researchers in the United States and Europe, has also developed a patented process that can be used to disinfect instruments and equipment that may transmit BSE (“Mad Cow Disease”) and the human form of the disease, CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease). Research conducted by Dr. John Shih of the Department of Poultry Science at North Carolina State University resulted in several inventions related to improving animal health and nutrition. The technology, now exclusively licensed to BRI, was further developed in NC State’s Technology Incubator. Biomedical Development of the technology was supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Blackrock Microsystems
blackrock-microsystems 2017 NIHDOD UniversityofUtah 2008 UT 1 Blackrock Microsystems’ products support neuroscience research from project conceptualization through data analysis and interpretation. Their tools empower neuroscience researchers to better understand a final frontier of human knowledge – the brain and the human nervous system. The company is a leader in translating neural engineering innovation into products making it a key partner for the National Institutes of Health, DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and leading university and industrial research centers worldwide. Blackrock has the largest portfolio of FDA-cleared and CE-marked products (those approved for sale in Europe) for neuro-electrophysiology research. Many high-profile neuro-prosthetics demonstrations allowing paralyzed patients to regain motor or sensory function, including BrainGate, are enabled using Blackrock Microsystems’ products. Blackrock Microsystems’ products support neuroscience research from project conceptualization through data analysis and interpretation. Their tools empower neuroscience researchers to better understand a final frontier of human knowledge – the brain and the human nervous system. The company is a leader in translating neural engineering innovation into products making it a key partner for the National Institutes of Health, DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and leading university and industrial research centers worldwide. Blackrock has the largest portfolio of FDA-cleared and CE-marked products (those approved for sale in Europe) for neuro-electrophysiology research. Many high-profile neuro-prosthetics demonstrations allowing paralyzed patients to regain motor or sensory function, including BrainGate, are enabled using Blackrock Microsystems’ products. Blackrock Microsystems was founded by University of Utah professor of microelectronics Florian Solzbacher and Marcus Gerhardt in 2008, fulfilling a dream of Solzbacher’s to create a link between the human brain and artificial limbs. Solzbacher had spent many years researching and developing implantable technologies that could help bridge this gap. Rather than start from scratch, the two built their company on top of an existing legacy of high-tech innovation that began with Bionic Technologies, a spin-off from the University of Utah in 1997, which was later taken over by Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc. (CKI). After achieving major strides in applying neuroscience research technology to the human body, Blackrock Microsystems acquired CKI’s research business in 2008, using it as the vehicle to commercialize Solzbacher’s implantable technology. The foundational technologies at the heart of Blackrock Microsystems were developed with support from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. Technology & Web The work at the University of Utah was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense.
BluHaptics, Inc.
bluhaptics-inc 2017 NSF UniversityofWashington 2013 WA 1 BluHaptic’s technology enables telerobotic work in places where operations are exceedingly complex or dynamically challenging for legacy telerobotic technology. The company builds software for situational awareness and control to unleash the combined power of humans and machines. The company’s technology leverages data fusion, machine learning and haptic control to simplify the setup and use of robotics. Robust, high resolution situational awareness then enables precision tracking, avoidance and guidance to multiple and/or moving objects. BluHaptic’s technology enables telerobotic work in places where operations are exceedingly complex or dynamically challenging for legacy telerobotic technology. The company builds software for situational awareness and control to unleash the combined power of humans and machines. The company’s technology leverages data fusion, machine learning and haptic control to simplify the setup and use of robotics. Robust, high resolution situational awareness then enables precision tracking, avoidance and guidance to multiple and/or moving objects. BluHaptics is a Seattle, WA based company that was spun out of the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory in 2013. Since its founding it has filed for several patents related to haptic control of telerobotic systems. Although the company’s initial focus is on the marine robotics market, the technology is directly portable to space, defense and industrial applications. Prior to the founding of the company, federal research funding supported the graduate studies of co-founder Fredrik Ryden during work on his Ph.D. BluHaptics has been awarded Phase I & II grants from the National Science Foundation. Technology & Web The work conducted at the University of Washington was supported by research funding from the National Science Foundation.
Buffalo BioBlower Technologies, LLC
buffalo-bioblower-technologies-llc 2010 DOD UniversityatBuffalo 2005 NY 1 Buffalo BioBlower Technologies develops products that instantaneously sterilize high-volume airstreams; all spores, bacteria and viruses in the airstream are killed. BioBlower products are based on patented technology that uses compressive heating to sterilize air. No chemicals, radiation or filters are required. Additionally, a BioBlower moves as well as sterilizes the air, eliminating the need for fans required in HEPA filtration, radiation and other competitive technologies. Potential applications include healthcare facilities, military, homeland defense, emergency response, pharmaceutical production, and food production, among others.
In 2008, tests conducted by the US Department of Defense (DOD) found that the BioBlower destroyed biological agents to a level of better than one part per million. The company is currently completing a DOD contract to scale up the BioBlower technology to allow for protection of an entire building from external biological attack. Buffalo BioBlower Technologies develops products that instantaneously sterilize high-volume airstreams; all spores, bacteria and viruses in the airstream are killed. BioBlower products are based on patented technology that uses compressive heating to sterilize air. No chemicals, radiation or filters are required. Additionally, a BioBlower moves as well as sterilizes the air, eliminating the need for fans required in HEPA filtration, radiation and other competitive technologies. Potential applications include healthcare facilities, military, homeland defense, emergency response, pharmaceutical production, and food production, among others.
In 2008, tests conducted by the US Department of Defense (DOD) found that the BioBlower destroyed biological agents to a level of better than one part per million. The company is currently completing a DOD contract to scale up the BioBlower technology to allow for protection of an entire building from external biological attack. Buffalo BioBlower Technologies was incorporated in 2005 to commercialize BioBlower™ technology invented at the University at Buffalo where the inventors and founders of the Company, Dr. John Lordi and Dr. Jim Garvey, are both professors. Defense, Safety, & Aerospace JAMES F. GARVEY, PHD Initial development of the technology was funded by the Department of Defense, the University at Buffalo and NYSTAR (New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation).
Caballeta Bio
caballeta-bio 2021 PA 1 Biomedical
Cadence Design Systems
cadence-design-systems 2010 DOD UniversityofCaliforniaBerkeleyUniversityofCalifornia 1983 CA 1001 To keep pace with market demand for more performance and functionality in today’s mobile phones, digital cameras, computers, automotive systems and other electronics products, manufacturers pack billions of transistors onto a single chip. This would not be technologically possible without “electronic design automation” (EDA).
Cadence Design Systems (started as SDA Systems in 1983 and renamed after its merger with ECAD in 1987) is one of the world’s leading EDA companies. It had its roots in University of California, Berkeley’s research program in design automation, which received funding from the Department of Defense. It is now the second largest firm in the electronic design automation industry.
Cadence customers use their software, hardware, and services to overcome a range of technical and economic hurdles. Cadence’s technologies help customers create mobile devices with longer battery life. Designers of ICs for game consoles and other consumer electronics speed their products to market using Cadence hardware simulators to run software on a ‘virtual’ chip — long before the actual chip exists. Cadence bridges the traditional gap between chip designers and fabrication facilities, so that manufacturing challenges can be addressed early in the design stage. To keep pace with market demand for more performance and functionality in today’s mobile phones, digital cameras, computers, automotive systems and other electronics products, manufacturers pack billions of transistors onto a single chip. This would not be technologically possible without “electronic design automation” (EDA).
Cadence Design Systems (started as SDA Systems in 1983 and renamed after its merger with ECAD in 1987) is one of the world’s leading EDA companies. It had its roots in University of California, Berkeley’s research program in design automation, which received funding from the Department of Defense. It is now the second largest firm in the electronic design automation industry.
Cadence customers use their software, hardware, and services to overcome a range of technical and economic hurdles. Cadence’s technologies help customers create mobile devices with longer battery life. Designers of ICs for game consoles and other consumer electronics speed their products to market using Cadence hardware simulators to run software on a ‘virtual’ chip — long before the actual chip exists. Cadence bridges the traditional gap between chip designers and fabrication facilities, so that manufacturing challenges can be addressed early in the design stage. SDA Systems (now known as Cadence Design Systems) was formed by James Solomon, a University of California, Berkeley alumnus, and two faculty members in the department of electrical engineering at UC Berkeley, Richard Newton and Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli, to support and improve upon SPICE and other electronic design automation software developed at UC Berkeley. In 1993, Cadence established the Cadence Research Laboratories (CRL) in Berkeley to focus on advanced research in Electronic Design Automation. CRL maintains a variety of collaborations with other research institutions and universities. But it is particularly involved with the University of California, Berkeley. Technology & Web Development of SPICE and other electronic design automation programs at UC Berkeley was funded by the Department of Defense.
Caribou Biosciences, Inc.
caribou-biosciences-inc 2017 NIHNSF UniversityofCaliforniaBerkeleyUniversityofCalifornia 2011 CA 1 Caribou Biosciences is a pioneer in the revolutionary field of CRISPR-Cas genome editing. Caribou's tools and technologies provide transformative capabilities to basic and applied biological research, therapeutic development, agricultural biotechnology, and industrial biotechnology. CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins are enzymes that include over 70 families of proteins with the ability to manipulate RNA and DNA in specific ways. Among these, CRISPR-Cas 9 stands out as a breakthrough tool. It allows scientists with relative ease and precision to snip out a segment of mutated or damaged DNA to correct genes that are disease-causing, opening the door to potential treatments for diseases where there currently are none. Caribou Biosciences is a pioneer in the revolutionary field of CRISPR-Cas genome editing. Caribou's tools and technologies provide transformative capabilities to basic and applied biological research, therapeutic development, agricultural biotechnology, and industrial biotechnology. CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins are enzymes that include over 70 families of proteins with the ability to manipulate RNA and DNA in specific ways. Among these, CRISPR-Cas 9 stands out as a breakthrough tool. It allows scientists with relative ease and precision to snip out a segment of mutated or damaged DNA to correct genes that are disease-causing, opening the door to potential treatments for diseases where there currently are none. Caribou was founded by scientists from the University of California, Berkeley to drive the commercialization of applications based on the remarkable nucleic acid modification capabilities found in prokaryotic CRISPR systems. In 2007, Rodolphe Barrangou, a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Caribou and current scientific advisor, led the group that characterized CRISPR systems as a form of prokaryotic adaptive immunity that provides a critical line of defense against invading phages, plasmids, and environmental nucleic acids. Caribou co-founder Jennifer Doudna further advanced the technology by demonstrating in her UC Berkeley lab that Cas9 can be programmed to bind and cleave virtually any DNA sequence.
At the core of Caribou's extensive CRISPR technology IP portfolio is an exclusive license to the foundational CRISPR-Cas9 work from the University of California and the University of Vienna. Biomedical Research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation helped support the foundational research that led to these discoveries at the University of California.
CartoFusion Technologies, Inc.
cartofusion-technologies-inc 2017 NSF TexasA&MUniversity 2015 TX 1 CartoFusion Technologies is a geospatial technology company. The company’s first product, SituMap, is an easy-to-learn planning and mapping software that allows multiple people to simultaneously and collaboratively make maps. Once SituMap is installed on a large touch-screen display, often found in control centers, multiple users are provided a space for collaboration around a single screen. SituMap also operates on tablets, which can be deployed in the field for in-situ mapping and decision making. CartoFusion Technologies is a geospatial technology company. The company’s first product, SituMap, is an easy-to-learn planning and mapping software that allows multiple people to simultaneously and collaboratively make maps. Once SituMap is installed on a large touch-screen display, often found in control centers, multiple users are provided a space for collaboration around a single screen. SituMap also operates on tablets, which can be deployed in the field for in-situ mapping and decision making. The SituMap application was created in Dr. Richard Smith’s lab at Texas A&M University, based on his experiences in mapping during disasters such as the 2003 Columbia Shuttle recovery effort and the 2011 tsunami in Japan (where his travel was funded by a National Science Foundation RAPID grant). Dr. Smith observed the challenges to mapping in these type of situations and thought, “why not make a mapping software that is as easy to use as a paper map, but has the benefits of a digital map?” Originally, SituMap was considered a lab project with no consideration of commercialization. However, during an NSF-funded summer institute for disasters, an early version of SituMap was demonstrated and received an overwhelmingly positive response. Subsequent requests to purchase SituMap by the participating first responders sparked the idea of commercializing the application and creating CartoFusion Technologies. Technology & Web The work at Texas A&M University was supported by research funding by the National Science Foundation.
Cell Biologics
cell-biologics 2013 NIH UniversityofIllinoisatChicago 2011 IL 1 Cell Biologics provides genetically modified (knockout or transgenic) or normal mouse primary endothelial cells, mouse leukocytes, mouse bone marrow cells, and other mouse primary cell types for customized solutions to specific research problems. The company offers more than 120 high-quality and ready-to-use mouse primary cell types derived from genetically modified mice and more than 70 high-quality and read-to-use mouse primary cell types derived from several different wild type mice.Cell Biologics is dedicated to the rapid development of significant basic and clinical research on the endothelium by saving investigators time, money, and laboratory costs in the production of consistent normal and genetically modified cells in a timely and reproducible manner. Cell Biologics provides genetically modified (knockout or transgenic) or normal mouse primary endothelial cells, mouse leukocytes, mouse bone marrow cells, and other mouse primary cell types for customized solutions to specific research problems. The company offers more than 120 high-quality and ready-to-use mouse primary cell types derived from genetically modified mice and more than 70 high-quality and read-to-use mouse primary cell types derived from several different wild type mice.Cell Biologics is dedicated to the rapid development of significant basic and clinical research on the endothelium by saving investigators time, money, and laboratory costs in the production of consistent normal and genetically modified cells in a timely and reproducible manner. The products being developed and offered by Cell Biologics are based on research conducted at the University of Illinois at Chicago by Professors Asrar Malik and Xiao-Pei Gao on endothelial cells. Long-term research on lung biology using endothelial cells has led to the development of a novel method of isolation, purification, and culturing of these cells from rats to be used in many different types of subsequent experiments to test various aspects of lung function. These methods have been further modified to be useful for other cells types including epithelial cells, leukocytes, bone marrow cells, stem cells, fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, cardiomyocytes, hepatocytes, plenocytes, and central nervous system neurons, and using different types of animal donors. Manufacturing, Research & Industry The initial research and development that led to Cell Biologics was undertaken as part of a $24 million program project grant awarded to investigators at the University of Illinois at Chicago by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Cell Habitats
cell-habitats 2013 NIH UniversityofIllinoisatChicago 2005 IL 1 Cell Habitats, Inc. is redefining the field of tissue repair by using biological and physical cues to prompt the body’s own stem cells to restore normal function to damaged or diseased tissue. Cell Habitats’ novel approach is accomplished by injecting regenerods, micro-sized devices that mimic biological material, attract the body’s own stem cells, and act as a substitute cellular habitat that promotes endogenous stem cell growth. This innovation could potentially improve outcomes in the treatment of heart muscle disease. It also serves as a platform for the repair of bone, cartilage, muscle and nerve tissues.
Cell Habitats, Inc. is redefining the field of tissue repair by using biological and physical cues to prompt the body’s own stem cells to restore normal function to damaged or diseased tissue. Cell Habitats’ novel approach is accomplished by injecting regenerods, micro-sized devices that mimic biological material, attract the body’s own stem cells, and act as a substitute cellular habitat that promotes endogenous stem cell growth. This innovation could potentially improve outcomes in the treatment of heart muscle disease. It also serves as a platform for the repair of bone, cartilage, muscle and nerve tissues.
The products being developed by Cell Habitats are based on research conducted at the University of Illinois at Chicago by Professors Brenda Russell, Tejal Desai (now at the University of California, San Francisco), and Paul Goldspink (now at the Medical College of Wisconsin) on tissue engineering and how three-dimensional cellular interactions affect cellular functions, such as proliferation. The research into the mechanisms of these three-dimensional interactions led to the development of novel microd structures that increase cell proliferation and can regenerate cardiac muscle in rodents that have suffered from a myocardial infarction. These microd structures are being developed by Cell Habitats as a platform technology for tissue regeneration, first in cardiac muscle and then in other tissues.
Biomedical Initial research and development was funded by grants totaling approximately $6.4 million from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Cellec Technologies, Inc.
cellec-technologies-inc RochesterInstituteofTechnology 2016 NY 1
CELLMIC
cellmic 2013 NASADODNIH UniversityofCaliforniaLosAngelesUniversityofCalifornia 2011 CA 1 Holomic LLC, now called CELLMIC, was formed to turn simple cell phones into powerful microscopes using advanced BioPhotonics technologies developed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Two of the company’s technologies are the Holomic Rapid Diagnostic Reader (HRDR), an economical handheld reader enabling more reliable lateral flow immunoassay tests, instant access to electronic health records, and real-time, wide-area diagnostic data collection, and the LUCAS (Lens-free Ultra wide-field Cell Monitoring Array Platform based on shadow imaging), which can be used to mathematically reconstruct the microscopic image of an object without any lenses. The result is an inexpensive, small, and robust portable microscope that can be used anywhere.Holomic’s technologies will find widespread applications in telemedicine, mobile health, scientific research, point-of-care diagnostics, diagnostics for global health and pathology. The company’s mission is to commercialize LUCAS and other advanced photonics to benefit societies in the United States and other developed countries as well as resource-limited countries globally. Holomic LLC, now called CELLMIC, was formed to turn simple cell phones into powerful microscopes using advanced BioPhotonics technologies developed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Two of the company’s technologies are the Holomic Rapid Diagnostic Reader (HRDR), an economical handheld reader enabling more reliable lateral flow immunoassay tests, instant access to electronic health records, and real-time, wide-area diagnostic data collection, and the LUCAS (Lens-free Ultra wide-field Cell Monitoring Array Platform based on shadow imaging), which can be used to mathematically reconstruct the microscopic image of an object without any lenses. The result is an inexpensive, small, and robust portable microscope that can be used anywhere.Holomic’s technologies will find widespread applications in telemedicine, mobile health, scientific research, point-of-care diagnostics, diagnostics for global health and pathology. The company’s mission is to commercialize LUCAS and other advanced photonics to benefit societies in the United States and other developed countries as well as resource-limited countries globally. The technologies at the core of Holomic were developed in the world-renowned research laboratory of Aydogan Ozcan, a professor at UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and Holomic founder and director. Biomedical Professor Ozcan's research at UCLA has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, NASA, and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Cellular Dynamics International (CDI), Inc.
cellular-dynamics-international-cdi-inc 2013 NIH UniversityofWisconsin-Madison 2004 WI 51 Cellular Dynamics International, Inc. (CDI) is a leading developer of stem cell technologies for in vitro drug development, in vivo cellular therapeutics, and stem cell banking. CDI harnesses its unique manufacturing technology to produce differentiated tissue cells in industrial quality, quantity and purity from any individual’s stem cell line created from a standard blood draw. CDI was founded in 2004 by Dr. James Thomson, a pioneer in human pluripotent stem cell research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
CDI has commercialized iCell™ Cardiomyocytes, iPS cell-derived heart cells, with several other cell types in development, including hepatocytes, neurons, and endothelial cells. The company’s mission is to become the leader in producing industrial quantities of any cell type in the human body produced from a biological sample of any genetic background. Cellular Dynamics International, Inc. (CDI) is a leading developer of stem cell technologies for in vitro drug development, in vivo cellular therapeutics, and stem cell banking. CDI harnesses its unique manufacturing technology to produce differentiated tissue cells in industrial quality, quantity and purity from any individual’s stem cell line created from a standard blood draw. CDI was founded in 2004 by Dr. James Thomson, a pioneer in human pluripotent stem cell research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
CDI has commercialized iCell™ Cardiomyocytes, iPS cell-derived heart cells, with several other cell types in development, including hepatocytes, neurons, and endothelial cells. The company’s mission is to become the leader in producing industrial quantities of any cell type in the human body produced from a biological sample of any genetic background. Cellular Dynamics is today a consolidation of three separate Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) start-up companies – the original Cellular Dynamics International, Stem Cell Products and iPS Cells Inc. – which were merged together into a single company in July of 2008. All three companies were founded with UW inventor Dr. James Thomson. Federally funded research developed by Dr. Thomson was licensed to the company. Manufacturing, Research & Industry Initial and ongoing funding for Dr. Thomson’s research is provided by the National Institutes of Health.
Cerulean Pharma, Inc.
cerulean-pharma-inc 2010 NIH MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology 2006 MA 1 Nanopharmaceuticals are a revolutionary new approach to designing drugs within ultra-small particles and enhancing their properties with the goal of creating improved therapies for fighting disease.
Within the field of nanopharmaceuticals, Cerulean Pharma is uniquely focused on a next-generation approach it calls nanobiology. Cerulean’s nanobiology-based drug development is based on a deep understanding of the complex biological microenvironment of human disease combined with engineering therapies on a nanoscale, enabling the creation of breakthrough drugs that optimally target the root causes of disease. Cerulean is focused on the therapeutic areas of oncology and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
An example of Cerulean’s nanobiology focus is its first technological application, the Nanocell. Licensed exclusively from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cerulean uses its proprietary Nanocell technology to develop multi-compartmental nanoparticle-based therapeutics in which two or more drugs with varied release times are packaged within the Nanocell, allowing for sequential delivery of the drugs, optimizing the location, time and combinatorial effect of two therapies while minimizing toxicities. Nanopharmaceuticals are a revolutionary new approach to designing drugs within ultra-small particles and enhancing their properties with the goal of creating improved therapies for fighting disease.
Within the field of nanopharmaceuticals, Cerulean Pharma is uniquely focused on a next-generation approach it calls nanobiology. Cerulean’s nanobiology-based drug development is based on a deep understanding of the complex biological microenvironment of human disease combined with engineering therapies on a nanoscale, enabling the creation of breakthrough drugs that optimally target the root causes of disease. Cerulean is focused on the therapeutic areas of oncology and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
An example of Cerulean’s nanobiology focus is its first technological application, the Nanocell. Licensed exclusively from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cerulean uses its proprietary Nanocell technology to develop multi-compartmental nanoparticle-based therapeutics in which two or more drugs with varied release times are packaged within the Nanocell, allowing for sequential delivery of the drugs, optimizing the location, time and combinatorial effect of two therapies while minimizing toxicities. Cerulean Pharma, originally called Tempo Pharmaceuticals, was co-founded by Ram Sasisekahran of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Shiladitya Sengupta of Harvard Medical School. Both continue to serve as scientific advisors to the company. In addition, Sasisekharan serves as a member of the Board of Directors, and is the Edward Hood Taplin Professor of Health Sciences & Technology and Biological Engineering at MIT. Sengupta is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. Biomedical RAM SASISEKHARAN, PHD The basic research behind the Nanocell technology was conducted at MIT with support from the National Institutes of Health.
Chromatin, Inc.
chromatin-inc 2010 NSF UniversityofChicago 2001 IL 51 Chromatin’s patented mini-chromosome technologies enable the development of new seed products and the delivery of multiple genetic traits. Consumers, growers, seed companies, and processors derive greater value from crop plants through the application of Chromatin’s technologies. More efficient and faster product development, greater product differentiation, and creation of novel products are among the benefits Chromatin’s technologies deliver to these users.
Chromatin is now entering the bioenergy feedstock market, where there are significant opportunities to create and capture value using the company’s transformation technology. Chromatin’s first feedstock products are targeting crops such as switchgrass, miscanthus, sorghum and sugarcane where the addition of traits can improve crop and sugar yield and allow digestion of cellulosic fiber. Chromatin is also using this synthetic biology technology to develop scalable and competitive solutions for the North American cellulosic biofuels market. Chromatin’s patented mini-chromosome technologies enable the development of new seed products and the delivery of multiple genetic traits. Consumers, growers, seed companies, and processors derive greater value from crop plants through the application of Chromatin’s technologies. More efficient and faster product development, greater product differentiation, and creation of novel products are among the benefits Chromatin’s technologies deliver to these users.
Chromatin is now entering the bioenergy feedstock market, where there are significant opportunities to create and capture value using the company’s transformation technology. Chromatin’s first feedstock products are targeting crops such as switchgrass, miscanthus, sorghum and sugarcane where the addition of traits can improve crop and sugar yield and allow digestion of cellulosic fiber. Chromatin is also using this synthetic biology technology to develop scalable and competitive solutions for the North American cellulosic biofuels market. Dr. Daphne Preuss did pioneering research into chromosomes and chromosome assembly at the University of Chicago. Working with Arabidopsis, a weed variant of mustard, she invented techniques for identifying the location of centromeres and for inserting gene plasmids. In 2000, the team secured its first of many patents through the University of Chicago; in 2004 the company received $7.3 million in funding. Biomedical DAPHNE PREUSS The majority of Dr. Preuss’ enabling work was funded by National Science Foundation grants.
Cisco Systems, Inc.
cisco-systems-inc 2010 DOD StanfordUniversity 1984 CA 10001 Cisco Systems, Inc. is the world’s leading supplier of computer networking products, systems, and services. Cisco was born 25 years ago out of a need to address a simple problem: Husband and wife Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner, both working for Stanford University, wanted to email each other from their respective offices located in different buildings but couldn’t due to technological shortcomings. A technology had to be invented to deal with disparate local area protocols. In solving their problem the multi-protocol router was born. Since then Cisco has helped shape the Internet and transformed how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Cisco Systems, Inc. is the world’s leading supplier of computer networking products, systems, and services. Cisco was born 25 years ago out of a need to address a simple problem: Husband and wife Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner, both working for Stanford University, wanted to email each other from their respective offices located in different buildings but couldn’t due to technological shortcomings. A technology had to be invented to deal with disparate local area protocols. In solving their problem the multi-protocol router was born. Since then Cisco has helped shape the Internet and transformed how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Len Bosack and Sandra Lerner both earned their graduate degrees at Stanford University and were employed by the university in the early 1980s. Bosack was the Director of Computer Facilities for Stanford’s Department of Computer Science, and Lerner was Director of Computer Facilities for Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. In his role at Stanford’s Department of Computer Sciences, Bosack was instrumental in Stanford’s participation in the evolving Department of Defense-funded Internet. Technology & Web Bosack was involved in Stanford’s Department of Defense-funded work through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop the Internet.
Clearside Biomedical, Inc.
clearside-biomedical-inc 2013 NIH EmoryUniversity 2011 GA 1 Clearside Biomedical, Inc. is an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company developing technologies to improve drug delivery to the eye to treat diseases that threaten sight. The microinjection platform supplies drugs to a targeted section of the eye –– the suprachoroidal space between the choroid and sclera, allowing eye care professionals to treat patients in their offices without complicated surgical techniques. Clearside Biomedical’s initial studies testing this delivery method are showing encouraging results. The company was established through a $4 million investment from Hatteras Venture Partners, Georgia Research Alliance and Kenan Flagler Venture Fund. In 2013 the company received additional funding of $7.9 million from Santen Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd in Osaka, Japan and Mountain Group Capital. Clearside Biomedical, Inc. is an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company developing technologies to improve drug delivery to the eye to treat diseases that threaten sight. The microinjection platform supplies drugs to a targeted section of the eye –– the suprachoroidal space between the choroid and sclera, allowing eye care professionals to treat patients in their offices without complicated surgical techniques. Clearside Biomedical’s initial studies testing this delivery method are showing encouraging results. The company was established through a $4 million investment from Hatteras Venture Partners, Georgia Research Alliance and Kenan Flagler Venture Fund. In 2013 the company received additional funding of $7.9 million from Santen Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd in Osaka, Japan and Mountain Group Capital. The technology at the center of Clearside Biomedical is the result of a multiyear collaboration between Henry Edelhauser of the Emory University School of Medicine and Mark Prausnitz of the Georgia Institute of Technology. In contrast to standard intravitreal injections, their microneedle technology provides a more targeted approach for the treatment of retinal diseases, improves the effectiveness of the drug by confining it to the site of the disease, and reduces side effects that can occur when the drug enters other parts of the eye. Co-founder Dr. Samirkumar Patel completed his doctoral degree at Georgia Tech in the drug delivery lab of Dr. Prausnitz. Biomedical Federal grants awarded to Emory University from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supported their work.
Clerio Vision, Inc.
clerio-vision-inc 2017 NIH UniversityofRochester 2014 NY 1 Clerio Vision is developing a novel vision correction procedure. Instead of changing the shape of the cornea, as current LASIK-based approaches do, its approach is to use a femtosecond laser to change the refractive index of the cornea with small pulses to “write” a corrective prescription onto the cornea non-invasively. Because this approach doesn’t thin the cornea, it can be repeated as needed to correct vision over a person’s lifetime. The approach, called LIRIC, is being commercialized by some of the original architects of the world’s first LASIK systems. Clerio Vision is developing a novel vision correction procedure. Instead of changing the shape of the cornea, as current LASIK-based approaches do, its approach is to use a femtosecond laser to change the refractive index of the cornea with small pulses to “write” a corrective prescription onto the cornea non-invasively. Because this approach doesn’t thin the cornea, it can be repeated as needed to correct vision over a person’s lifetime. The approach, called LIRIC, is being commercialized by some of the original architects of the world’s first LASIK systems. Sometimes the key to moving forward is seeing things in a new way. That’s what happened when Wayne Knox, a professor of optics and physics and the director of the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester, was presenting his work on using ultrafast lasers to change optical materials like intra-ocular lenses to a group of scientists discussing lasers, optics, and human vision. Krystel Huxlin, an associate professor of ophthalmology at the Flaum Eye Institute, part of the University of Rochester Medical Center, chimed in with a question: “Have you ever tried this in living materials?” With that, a collaboration was born and the two embarked and the basic research and technological validation that ultimately led to the formation of Clerio Vision, Inc. to pursue commercialization of their technology. Funding from the National Institutes of Health helped support their research. Biomedical The work conducted at the University of Rochester was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Codapillar Inc.
codapillar-inc 2017 NSF PaceUniversity 2015 NY 1 Codapillar is an education technology platform that teaches middle school and high school students how to code. Curriculum and instructional material on web design are built into a social network comprised of a classroom or school of students, allowing students to share what they have created, and check out one another’s code. Codapillar’s focus is on making sure that students have a creative, confidence-building, and practical experience with their first exposure to coding, and giving teachers the opportunity to bring peer-learning to technology education. Codapillar is an education technology platform that teaches middle school and high school students how to code. Curriculum and instructional material on web design are built into a social network comprised of a classroom or school of students, allowing students to share what they have created, and check out one another’s code. Codapillar’s focus is on making sure that students have a creative, confidence-building, and practical experience with their first exposure to coding, and giving teachers the opportunity to bring peer-learning to technology education. Codapillar is the brain child of Pace University undergrads – Julie Gauthier and Olga Bogomolova – who worked together at a camp for high school students interested in the STEM disciplines. The camp, the Pace STEM Collaboratory™, was supported with a grant from the National Science Foundation. After trying various resources to help students learn to code, the same problems kept surfacing. The students were getting frustrated, and so were Julie and Olga. The pair reflected back to what worked when they were learning how to code, and realized that creativity and collaboration were the biggest keys. So, they decided to go off-book, create a custom curriculum and teach students the tools that professional web developers were using. The results were dramatic. They saw a huge leap in student success, as well as their happiness. The founders reported they have run into their students at hackathons and watched them build incredible projects for the future. Education & Language Their successful education platform launched as a result of their work on a National Science Foundation grant for Curriculum + Community Enterprise for Restoration Science.
Codelucia, LLC
codelucia-llc 2017 NSF UniversityofArizona 2012 AZ 1 Codelucida is developing a disruptive error-correction technology for next-generation solid-state drives (SSD). The enabling technology addresses a major need in the growing market as SSDs face major issues in terms of reliability due to the growing demands for higher storage capacity at reduced cost, and increased speed and endurance for emerging storage applications. The technology will have a major impact on consumer devices such as laptops and tablets as well as data centers and cloud-based storage systems which are all migrating to the use of SSDs over conventional hard disk drives to enable faster speeds and reduced power usage. Codelucida is developing a disruptive error-correction technology for next-generation solid-state drives (SSD). The enabling technology addresses a major need in the growing market as SSDs face major issues in terms of reliability due to the growing demands for higher storage capacity at reduced cost, and increased speed and endurance for emerging storage applications. The technology will have a major impact on consumer devices such as laptops and tablets as well as data centers and cloud-based storage systems which are all migrating to the use of SSDs over conventional hard disk drives to enable faster speeds and reduced power usage. The idea behind Codelucida took root in a café in France. Bane Vasic, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Arizona and expert in the field of error correction, was on sabbatical in France. He would meet David Declercq, a professor at the ENSEA in Cergy-Pontoise, France, and a renowned researcher in the area of LDPC code and decoder design, for morning coffee. At one of these coffee-sessions, the idea of a new type of a decoder was born. This low-density parity check decoder corrects errors accumulated in data transmitted over a noisy medium by propagating messages in a similar manner to the neurons in a neural network exchange. During the next couple of years they developed this concept further. Shiva Planjery’s Ph.D. thesis formulated the methodology for designing the decoders, which was later patented and licensed from the University of Arizona and the University of Cergy-Pontoise (Planjery participated in a dual degree program with the universities). Technology & Web Federal funding from the National Science Foundation, which supported Vasic’s UA lab, was essential to the development of ideas behind Codelucida.
Cognex Corporation
cognex-corporation 2010 NSF MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology 1981 MA 501 Founded in 1981 by three academics, Cognex is the world’s largest supplier of industrial machine vision. Cognex vision systems and sensors help companies improve their manufacturing quality and performance by eliminating defects, verifying assembly, and tracking and capturing information at every stage of production. Cognex vision systems perform tasks that are difficult or impossible for people to do reliably and consistently — such as finding very small product defects on high-speed production lines, capturing and recording complex identification information, and guiding robots. The TV-like cameras that Cognex makes equip computers with artificial eyesight, without which razor blades could not be made in quantity — and semiconductor chips could not be made at all. And the three founding academics? They are still actively engaged in the company’s day-to-day operations. Founded in 1981 by three academics, Cognex is the world’s largest supplier of industrial machine vision. Cognex vision systems and sensors help companies improve their manufacturing quality and performance by eliminating defects, verifying assembly, and tracking and capturing information at every stage of production. Cognex vision systems perform tasks that are difficult or impossible for people to do reliably and consistently — such as finding very small product defects on high-speed production lines, capturing and recording complex identification information, and guiding robots. The TV-like cameras that Cognex makes equip computers with artificial eyesight, without which razor blades could not be made in quantity — and semiconductor chips could not be made at all. And the three founding academics? They are still actively engaged in the company’s day-to-day operations. Cognex Corporation was founded by Dr. Robert J. Shillman, a lecturer in human visual perception at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Shillman decided to leave academia to start Cognex, investing his life savings into the company. He invited two MIT graduate students — Marilyn Matz and Bill Silver — to embark on this business venture with him, offering free bicycles to convince them to leave MIT for a summer. What began as a summer job for Marilyn and Bill turned out to be the start of a career, as they stayed on to help co-found the company. These three individuals gave Cognex its start — and its name, which was derived from the phrase “Cognition Experts.” Today, Shillman is Cognex’s Chairman and CEO, Matz is Senior Vice President of the Vision Software Business Group, and Silver is Senior Vice President and Senior Fellow, pursuing research into new product areas. The company continues to focus heavily on its technology. A 2004 Fortune article about Cognex noted, “More than 100 of its emplyees possess advanced degrees in industrial machine vision — the largest concentration of such specialists at any university or company.” Manufacturing, Research & Industry Cognex was founded to develop a commercial product based on research in machine vision that Dr. Shillman carried out as a National Science Foundation Fellow at MIT.
Cognivive, Inc.
cognivive-inc 2021 CA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
ColdQuanta, Inc.
coldquanta-inc 2013 DOD UniversityofColoradoBoulder 2007 CO 1 ColdQuanta focuses on the development of BEC (Bose-Einstein Condensate) and cold atom generating devices and systems. Since its founding in 2007, ColdQuanta has been instrumental in transitioning the science of ultracold matter into a viable commercial applied technology. ColdQuanta is the world’s first commercial company to sell complete ultracold matter systems. The company seeks to enable engineers and scientists around the globe by lowering the barrier to ultracold matter research, simplifying ultracold matter production, and bringing to the research, educational, and industrial communities the tools that make possible the development of ultracold matter systems for practical applications. ColdQuanta focuses on the development of BEC (Bose-Einstein Condensate) and cold atom generating devices and systems. Since its founding in 2007, ColdQuanta has been instrumental in transitioning the science of ultracold matter into a viable commercial applied technology. ColdQuanta is the world’s first commercial company to sell complete ultracold matter systems. The company seeks to enable engineers and scientists around the globe by lowering the barrier to ultracold matter research, simplifying ultracold matter production, and bringing to the research, educational, and industrial communities the tools that make possible the development of ultracold matter systems for practical applications. ColdQuanta™ grew out of decades of research by University of Colorado professor Dana Anderson and his work at JILA, a collaboration of the University of Colorado Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to make ultracold matter systems simpler, more compact, and more practical through an applied research development of atom chiptechnology. Atom chips provide a means to substantially simplify the production of ultracold matter and provide a standardized pathway for developing practical ultracold matter based sensors. Manufacturing, Research & Industry Dana Z. Anderson Initial funding of $5M from the Army Research Office within a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) supported a collaboration of 10 researchers in fundamental atomic, molecular and optical science, applied physics, and engineering, with the objective of transitioning the research accomplishments of fundamental science in ultracold matter towards a more applied direction. Successful outcomes from that collaboration, including the first demonstration of an atom chip based matter wave interferometer, led to subsequent DARPA funding of a program led by Anderson to specifically develop cold and ultracold matter enabling technology. The six-year $12M program led to a large suite of technological developments that served as the basis for ColdQuanta.
CollabWorx
collabworx 2013 DOD SyracuseUniversity 2000 NY 1 CollabWorx is a provider of secure real-time collaboration and Conferencing over Internet Protocol (CoIP) solutions in the government, health care, education, and green technology markets. CollabWorx specializes in supporting both synchronous and asynchronous communications to facilitate secure collaboration within the most demanding environments.The company’s flagship product, the Secure Real-Time Collaboration (SRTC) platform, is based on patented event-sharing technology that provides secure communications for voice, video, chat, instant messaging, advanced co-browsing, virtual whiteboards, document editing, and application and desktop sharing. This event-sharing technology differentiated CollabWorx SRTC platform from all other products and has been used for a variety of purposes ranging from on-line foreign language and advanced technical training to delivering a secure and dependable collaborative command and control solution for U.S. defense and intelligence agencies. Current deployments of CollabWorx technology include an on-line communication system for the FBI’s “Render Safe” congressionally mandated operation essential for national security. CollabWorx is a provider of secure real-time collaboration and Conferencing over Internet Protocol (CoIP) solutions in the government, health care, education, and green technology markets. CollabWorx specializes in supporting both synchronous and asynchronous communications to facilitate secure collaboration within the most demanding environments.The company’s flagship product, the Secure Real-Time Collaboration (SRTC) platform, is based on patented event-sharing technology that provides secure communications for voice, video, chat, instant messaging, advanced co-browsing, virtual whiteboards, document editing, and application and desktop sharing. This event-sharing technology differentiated CollabWorx SRTC platform from all other products and has been used for a variety of purposes ranging from on-line foreign language and advanced technical training to delivering a secure and dependable collaborative command and control solution for U.S. defense and intelligence agencies. Current deployments of CollabWorx technology include an on-line communication system for the FBI’s “Render Safe” congressionally mandated operation essential for national security. In the early days of the Internet, Dr. Marek Podgorny, a professor at Syracuse University’s College of Engineering, was interested in how to harness the interconnectedness of the web as a tool in defense applications. Dr. Podgorny’s significant contributions to development and application of massively parallel database systems, video-on-demand, and Internet collaboration led to the implementation of the first network-centric command and control architecture. The patented results of this DARPA-sponsored research project have been turned into the foundation of the CollabWorx Secure Real-Time Collaboration (SRTC) platform. Currently, the company is developing on-line health care solutions for medical consults and for advanced home care and patient monitoring over Internet. Technology & Web Dr. Podgorny’s research was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), part of the Department of Defense.
Community Forensic Interventions
community-forensic-interventions 2021 NIHNationalInstituteofMentalHealth UniversityofRochester 2013 NY 1 Biomedical
Conidio Tec, LLC
conidio-tec-llc 2017 USDA PennsylvaniaStateUniversity 2014 PA NA ConidioTec is a start-up company with a revolutionary product, Aprehend™, for the control and prevention of bed bug infestations. Aprehend™ is a non-chemical, non-toxic product that is not only more effective than chemicals in controlling bed bug infestations, but also offers the first preventive treatment for protection of hotel rooms and public spaces. ConidioTec will formulate its fungal biopesticide product and sell to professional pest extermination professionals via registered chemical distributors. Aprehend™ is undergoing registration with the U.S. EPA, and ConidioTec will seek regulatory approval in Canada and the European Union. ConidioTec is a start-up company with a revolutionary product, Aprehend™, for the control and prevention of bed bug infestations. Aprehend™ is a non-chemical, non-toxic product that is not only more effective than chemicals in controlling bed bug infestations, but also offers the first preventive treatment for protection of hotel rooms and public spaces. ConidioTec will formulate its fungal biopesticide product and sell to professional pest extermination professionals via registered chemical distributors. Aprehend™ is undergoing registration with the U.S. EPA, and ConidioTec will seek regulatory approval in Canada and the European Union. Company co-founders Nina Jenkins, a senior research associate in the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences’ Department of Entomology, and Matthew Thomas, a professor of entomology, were looking for additional applications of a technology that had been developed for the control of locusts and grasshoppers. In collaboration with grad student Giovani Bellicanta, they evaluated the potential for use of their biopesticide for bed bug control. Energy & Chemicals With funding support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, they were able to conduct the research necessary to develop extensive efficacy data and begin to pursue commercialization.
Conidiotec, LLC
conidiotec-llc 2021 PA 1 Energy & Chemicals
ContraFect Corporation
contrafect-corporation 2017 DOD TheRockefellerUniversity 2010 NY 1 ContraFect is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing therapeutic proteins and antibodies for life-threatening, drug-resistant infectious diseases, particularly those treated in hospital settings. An estimated 700,000 deaths worldwide each year are attributed to antimicrobial-resistant infections. ContraFect’s lysin and monoclonal antibody platforms target conserved regions of bacteria or viruses (regions that are not prone to mutation). ContraFect's initial product candidates include new agents to treat antibiotic-resistant infections such as MRSA and influenza. ContraFect is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing therapeutic proteins and antibodies for life-threatening, drug-resistant infectious diseases, particularly those treated in hospital settings. An estimated 700,000 deaths worldwide each year are attributed to antimicrobial-resistant infections. ContraFect’s lysin and monoclonal antibody platforms target conserved regions of bacteria or viruses (regions that are not prone to mutation). ContraFect's initial product candidates include new agents to treat antibiotic-resistant infections such as MRSA and influenza. Lysins are enzymes that digest the bacterial cell wall and kill bacteria rapidly upon contact, much faster than conventional antibiotics which typically require time for bacterial metabolism to occur before killing bacteria or stopping their growth. ContraFect has acquired worldwide exclusive rights to nine lysins discovered by co-founder Dr. Vincent Fischetti at The Rockefeller University. Each lysin targets specific gram-positive bacteria, including Staph aureus, pneumococcus, group B streptococcus, enterococcus and anthrax. Biomedical The research leading to these discoveries was funded in part by the Department of Defense through its Defense Advanced Research Programs Agency (DARPA).
Core Quantum Technologies, Inc.
core-quantum-technologies-inc 2017 NSF OhioStateUniversity 2012 OH 1 Core Quantum Technologies specializes in a type of nano-particle that emits different colors and is used to tag molecules in biomedical tests. CQT’s primary product, the MultiDot, is a group of semi-conductor nanoparticle quantum dots encapsulated in polymer-based micelles that allow researchers to continuously track tagged molecules with greater brightness, longevity and stability than currently available technologies. In biomedical applications, researchers can attach the MultiDot to specific cell structures and better identify and understand disease progression. Core Quantum Technologies specializes in a type of nano-particle that emits different colors and is used to tag molecules in biomedical tests. CQT’s primary product, the MultiDot, is a group of semi-conductor nanoparticle quantum dots encapsulated in polymer-based micelles that allow researchers to continuously track tagged molecules with greater brightness, longevity and stability than currently available technologies. In biomedical applications, researchers can attach the MultiDot to specific cell structures and better identify and understand disease progression. Core Quantum Technologies was co-founded in 2013 by Jessica Winter, a professor in The Ohio State University College of Engineering; Gang Ruan, a chemical and biomolecular engineering adjunct professor at Ohio State; and chemical engineering alumnus Kunal Parikh. It was founded to bridge the gap between writing about research findings and bringing those findings to bear in a therapeutic way on patients. Winter had been diagnosed with breast cancer and wanted her work to have a greater impact. That’s when her students approached her with the idea of entering a university-sponsored business plan competition and parlaying the lab’s nanotechnology advances to develop tools for cancer research and diagnosis. The group won the competition and launched Core Quantum Technologies. They further secured a National Science Foundation I-Corps grant, enabling them to refine their business plan and market focus. The basic research that led to the founding of Core Quantum Technologies was supported with funding from the National Science Foundation. Biomedical The work at Ohio State University was supported by research funding from the National Science Foundation.
CREE, Inc.
cree-inc 2010 DOD NorthCarolinaStateUniversity 1987 NC 1001 Cree, Inc. is a market-leading innovator and manufacturer of semiconductors that enhance the value of LED solid-state lighting, power and communications products by significantly increasing their energy performance. Cree customers range from innovative lighting fixtures makers to defense-related federal agencies. Cree, Inc. is a market-leading innovator and manufacturer of semiconductors that enhance the value of LED solid-state lighting, power and communications products by significantly increasing their energy performance. Cree customers range from innovative lighting fixtures makers to defense-related federal agencies. The scientific work that led to the founding of Cree, Inc. began in the early 1980s at North Carolina State University (NCSU), where brothers Eric Hunter and Neal Hunter, along with Calvin Carter, began investigating the physical and electronic properties of silicon carbide (SiC), a rare, naturally occurring material. Their first work was funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), which hoped to develop processes for the production of microwave transistors from SiC that would supply the basis for higher power electronic systems for military aircraft.
The physical characteristics of silicon carbide led researchers to believe that the material possessed significant advantages over the semiconductor materials being used at the time, such as silicon. It was thought that silicon carbide-based devices would be able to operate at much higher temperatures, much higher power and voltage levels, and much higher frequencies than those made from silicon. It was also believed that blue light emitting LEDs could be produced from silicon carbide. The problem with silicon carbide is that it was difficult to work with — it is extremely hard, which makes it difficult to cut into wafers and etch with circuits; its crystals have to be grown at temperatures above 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit; and the crystals have to be grown carefully because silicon carbide can crystallize in more than 100 atomic arrangements, many of which make the end product unusable.
The NCSU team found ways around many of these barriers; it developed proprietary processes for growing bulk SiC in single crystalline form, for applying SiC films, and for dry etching the material. In July 1987 the core group of scientists left NCSU and formed Cree Research, Inc. in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Materials The research that led to CREE was supported in part by the Department of Defense Office of Naval Research.
Crossbar, Inc.
crossbar-inc 2017 NSF UniversityofMichigan 2010 CA 1 Crossbar is bringing a new approach to memory technology and storage. The company has developed a resistive random access Memory (ReRAM) based on the movement of silver ions through amorphous silicon to form a filamentary structure. The company’s ReRAM technology is available as non-volatile, low latency, low power embedded memory IP blocks. Low latency, high-density memory chips are in development. Crossbar is bringing a new approach to memory technology and storage. The company has developed a resistive random access Memory (ReRAM) based on the movement of silver ions through amorphous silicon to form a filamentary structure. The company’s ReRAM technology is available as non-volatile, low latency, low power embedded memory IP blocks. Low latency, high-density memory chips are in development. Crossbar is co-founded by Wei Lu, an associate professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Applied Physics at the University of Michigan, and Michigan alumnus Sung Hyun Jo. While earning his Ph.D. at Michigan, Jo’s research focus was emerging nonvolatile memory technology, with a special interest in ReRAM, and programmable logics based on ReRAM devices. Their foundational work, much of it conducted at the UM Lurie Nanofabrication Facility, received support from the National Science Foundation. Technology & Web The work conducted at the University of Michigan was supported through research funding from the National Science Foundation.
Crystal IS, Inc.
crystal-is-inc 2013 DOD RensselaerPolytechnicInstitute 1997 NY 1 Crystal IS, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of proprietary, high-performance UVC LEDs for monitoring, purification and sterilization applications in the water, food, air, and healthcare sectors. The performance and design freedom of the company’s LEDs enable engineers to develop new applications and product designs, unconstrained by the limitations of traditional UV sources.Crystal IS was acquired by Asahi KASEI (AK), a leading manufacturer in the chemicals and fibers, housing and construction materials, electronics and health care sectors, in 2011. Crystal IS continues to maintain its operations in Cohoes, NY, not far from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Crystal IS, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of proprietary, high-performance UVC LEDs for monitoring, purification and sterilization applications in the water, food, air, and healthcare sectors. The performance and design freedom of the company’s LEDs enable engineers to develop new applications and product designs, unconstrained by the limitations of traditional UV sources.Crystal IS was acquired by Asahi KASEI (AK), a leading manufacturer in the chemicals and fibers, housing and construction materials, electronics and health care sectors, in 2011. Crystal IS continues to maintain its operations in Cohoes, NY, not far from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Crystal IS was founded in 1997 by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Professors Glen Slack and Leo Schowalter, with the goal of aggressively developing defect-free, native aluminum nitride (AlN) substrates to enable reliable nitride semiconductor devices. Materials The Department of Defense Office of Naval Research &Ballistic Missile Defense Organizationfunded the initial work that led to the formation of the company. RPI had unique facilities that made this research possible and Crystal IS has continued to take advantage of the unique facilities and expertise on the RPI campus.
CyDex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
cydex-pharmaceuticals-inc 2013 NIH UniversityofKansas 1993 CA 1 CyDex is a specialty pharmaceutical company that owns the powerful Captisol® drug formulation technology platform. Cydex has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Ligand Pharmaceuticals since 2011. Captisol is a patented, chemically modified cyclodextrin. This unique technology has enabled six FDA-approved products, including Onyx Pharmaceuticals’ Kyprolis®, Baxter International’s Nexterone®, BMS’s injectable Abilify, Pfizer’s Vfend® IV and IM Geodon, as well as a veterinary product, injectable Cerenia, also sold by Pfizer. These products are treatments for multiple myeloma, ventricular fibrillation, schizophrenia and fungal infections.In addition, the company is supporting drug development efforts with more than 40 other companies worldwide. CyDex maintains patents in the United States and worldwide for its Captisol technology, Captisol manufacturing and Captisol-enabled products, as well as a comprehensive Captisol Drug Master Files (DMF) that is used by partners when filing for regulatory approval with regulatory agencies. CyDex is a specialty pharmaceutical company that owns the powerful Captisol® drug formulation technology platform. Cydex has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Ligand Pharmaceuticals since 2011. Captisol is a patented, chemically modified cyclodextrin. This unique technology has enabled six FDA-approved products, including Onyx Pharmaceuticals’ Kyprolis®, Baxter International’s Nexterone®, BMS’s injectable Abilify, Pfizer’s Vfend® IV and IM Geodon, as well as a veterinary product, injectable Cerenia, also sold by Pfizer. These products are treatments for multiple myeloma, ventricular fibrillation, schizophrenia and fungal infections.In addition, the company is supporting drug development efforts with more than 40 other companies worldwide. CyDex maintains patents in the United States and worldwide for its Captisol technology, Captisol manufacturing and Captisol-enabled products, as well as a comprehensive Captisol Drug Master Files (DMF) that is used by partners when filing for regulatory approval with regulatory agencies. Valentino Stella, a Distinguished Professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of Kansas, developed the chemical agent Captisol in his lab, assisted by KU graduate student Roger Rajewski. Captisol significantly enhances the solubility, stability, and dosing of injected medical compounds. During his tenure as director of KU's Center for Drug Delivery Research (1989-99), Dr. Stella received numerous patents and co-founded three spin-off companies, including CyDex Pharmaceuticals. Biomedical Valentino Stella The research that enabled Professor Stella's discovery of Captisol was funded initially in part by the National Institutes of Health.
CytomX Therapeutics, Inc.
cytomx-therapeutics-inc 2017 NIHNSF UniversityofCaliforniaSantaBarbaraUniversityofCalifornia 2010 CA 51 CytomX Therapeutics is working to develop safer and more effective cancer therapies based on a novel technology that designs therapeutics to bind selectively to tumors and not to healthy tissue. The company’s Probody™ Platform allows the design of drugs that remain inactive until they reach their intended target, selectively activating in the tumor microenvironment. This unique ability to localize therapeutic effects to the tumor reduces systemic toxicity, with potential for safer and more effective therapies for a broad array of validated and previously inaccessible oncology targets. CytomX Therapeutics is working to develop safer and more effective cancer therapies based on a novel technology that designs therapeutics to bind selectively to tumors and not to healthy tissue. The company’s Probody™ Platform allows the design of drugs that remain inactive until they reach their intended target, selectively activating in the tumor microenvironment. This unique ability to localize therapeutic effects to the tumor reduces systemic toxicity, with potential for safer and more effective therapies for a broad array of validated and previously inaccessible oncology targets. CytomX was formed based on discoveries made by Dr. Patrick Daugherty, a professor of chemical engineering, and biomolecular science and engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, while he was undertaking research funded by grants from both the National Science Foundation and National Institutes for Health. Biomedical The work at UC Santa Barbara was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Cytovale
cytovale 2021 CA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
CytoVas, LLC
cytovas-llc 2013 NIHDOD UniversityofPennsylvania 2010 PA 1 CytoVas, LLC is an early-stage, in-vitro diagnostics company developing advanced cell- and particle-based assays for evaluating the health of the cardiovascular system. The company’s first product, the Vascular Health Profile (VHP), is a simple blood test that integrates multi-factorial measures of endothelial stress and response to provide a comprehensive profile of the patient’s vascular health status. The platform technology leverages the science of cytomics (the study of cellular networks by looking at individual cells) and uses well established flow cytometry methods and proprietary computational algorithms (cytometric fingerprinting) to yield the VHP.CytoVas fills the urgent need for a cardiovascular diagnostic test that can identify asymptomatic individuals at risk for cardiovascular events, stratify patients, monitor therapeutic effectiveness and disease progression and evaluate cardiovascular disease risk during drug development. The company has partnerships with the American Heart Association and BC Biosciences. CytoVas, LLC is an early-stage, in-vitro diagnostics company developing advanced cell- and particle-based assays for evaluating the health of the cardiovascular system. The company’s first product, the Vascular Health Profile (VHP), is a simple blood test that integrates multi-factorial measures of endothelial stress and response to provide a comprehensive profile of the patient’s vascular health status. The platform technology leverages the science of cytomics (the study of cellular networks by looking at individual cells) and uses well established flow cytometry methods and proprietary computational algorithms (cytometric fingerprinting) to yield the VHP.CytoVas fills the urgent need for a cardiovascular diagnostic test that can identify asymptomatic individuals at risk for cardiovascular events, stratify patients, monitor therapeutic effectiveness and disease progression and evaluate cardiovascular disease risk during drug development. The company has partnerships with the American Heart Association and BC Biosciences. CytoVas was founded by physicians and scientists at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Emile Mohler, MD, a vascular medicine specialist, Jonni Moore, PhD, an expert in flow cytometry, and Wade Rogers, PhD, director of computational biology and research informatics at Perelman, collaborated for more than five years to develop the Vascular Health Profile that is at the core of CytoVas. They founded the company with the University of Pennsylvania through the school’s UPstart Company Incubator. CytoVas holds an exclusive worldwide license to the core company technology from the University of Pennsylvania. Company president, Todd Johnson, received his B.A. and M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Biomedical Mohler, Moore, and Rogerswork's work was supported by grants from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.
Dataware Ventures, LLC
dataware-ventures-llc 2017 NSF UniversityofArizona 2012 AZ 1 Dataware is a software company whose products help application vendors optimize the performance of their products via Dataware's patent-pending field specialization technology. Just as Cisco speeds up the flow of data through networks, Dataware speeds up the flow of data through applications. Dataware addresses the performance needs of companies providing software for enterprise IT and for many other application domains. Dataware's technology can also be applied to a range of other domains, including cloud computing, simulation, video/image analysis, and more. Dataware is a software company whose products help application vendors optimize the performance of their products via Dataware's patent-pending field specialization technology. Just as Cisco speeds up the flow of data through networks, Dataware speeds up the flow of data through applications. Dataware addresses the performance needs of companies providing software for enterprise IT and for many other application domains. Dataware's technology can also be applied to a range of other domains, including cloud computing, simulation, video/image analysis, and more. The company’s original technology, an invention called micro-specialization, was developed in the University of Arizona College of Science's Department of Computer Sciences; Saumya Debray, Ph.D. and Richard Snodgrass, Ph.D., professors of computer science led the research. Rui Zhang, Ph.D. initiated the work as part of a computer science research project while he was a doctoral student in Debray and Snodgrass’s lab. The technology then was developed over three years; the last six months were spent developing a working prototype, with a patent application for the technology submitted in December 2012. Technology & Web Federal funding from the National Science Foundation was integral throughout the research and validation process.
Deepbits Technology, Inc.
deepbits-technology-inc 2021 CA 1 Agriculture & Environment
Diagnostics for All (DFA)
diagnostics-for-all-dfa 2013 NIH HarvardUniversity 2007 MA 1 Diagnostics For All’s (DFA) mission is to save lives and improve health in the developing world through pioneering technological innovation.DFA is a non-profit enterprise fusing biotechnology and development, dedicated to creating low-cost, easy-to-use, point-of-care diagnostics designed specifically for the 60 percent of the developing world that lives beyond the reach of urban hospitals and medical infrastructures. DFA uses simple and low-cost patterned paper technology to create diagnostic devices, which require minimal training to use, practically no sample preparation, and no electricity or additional equipment to process a sample. Results are displayed quickly in an easy-to-read format and all devices are compatible with telemedicine networks.Diagnostics for All supports its mission through general public donations, project-specific funding, and philanthropic support, as well as licensing opportunities for their technology with corporate partners for use in the developed world. Diagnostics For All’s (DFA) mission is to save lives and improve health in the developing world through pioneering technological innovation.DFA is a non-profit enterprise fusing biotechnology and development, dedicated to creating low-cost, easy-to-use, point-of-care diagnostics designed specifically for the 60 percent of the developing world that lives beyond the reach of urban hospitals and medical infrastructures. DFA uses simple and low-cost patterned paper technology to create diagnostic devices, which require minimal training to use, practically no sample preparation, and no electricity or additional equipment to process a sample. Results are displayed quickly in an easy-to-read format and all devices are compatible with telemedicine networks.Diagnostics for All supports its mission through general public donations, project-specific funding, and philanthropic support, as well as licensing opportunities for their technology with corporate partners for use in the developed world. Dr. George Whitesides, a professor of chemistry, and his research team at Harvard University were studying mammalian and bacterial cell motility and the electrophysiology of ion channels to develop new ways to examine these biological processes using microtools. This research led to the patterned-paper technology that forms the basis of Diagnostics for All’s low-cost diagnostics.DFA holds an exclusive worldwide license from Harvard for medical and other applications of the technology. Biomedical Dr. George Whitesides The Harvard-based research that led to Diagnostics For All was supported in part by a $310,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health. Additional support came from the National Science Foundation for the lab and an NSF research fellow.
Directed Vapor Technologies International, Inc.
directed-vapor-technologies-international-inc 2010 DODDOENSF UniversityofVirginia 2000 VA 1 In the mid-1990s, University of Virginia Professor Haydn Wadley and his team of researchers invented a revolutionary new coating method that could be used by manufacturers. The technology they created, “Directed Vapor Deposition (DVD),” is akin to “spray painting” coating. It can be used on such products as turbine engines, batteries and liquid crystal displays. DVD allows coatings to be applied faster, with a greater variety of materials, with greater control and at lower cost than other methods. Directed Vapor Technologies International, Inc. (DVTI) was formed in 2000 to capitalize on Dr. Wadley’s patents associated with this coating method. In the mid-1990s, University of Virginia Professor Haydn Wadley and his team of researchers invented a revolutionary new coating method that could be used by manufacturers. The technology they created, “Directed Vapor Deposition (DVD),” is akin to “spray painting” coating. It can be used on such products as turbine engines, batteries and liquid crystal displays. DVD allows coatings to be applied faster, with a greater variety of materials, with greater control and at lower cost than other methods. Directed Vapor Technologies International, Inc. (DVTI) was formed in 2000 to capitalize on Dr. Wadley’s patents associated with this coating method. Directed Vapor Deposition (DVD) is a novel physical vapor deposition tool invented at the University of Virginia in the School of Engineering and Applied Science Material Laboratory under the direction of Haydn Wadley, PhD.
DVTI recently opened a 6,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Albemarle County, Virginia, and maintains its relationship with the University by hiring interns, recent graduates and alumni. The company has sponsored research at the University in the amount of $150,500. The company also works closely with the University of Virginia Patent Foundation to manage DVTI’s extensive intellectual property portfolio.
As the university’s publication Explorations reports, “Wadley sees himself engaged in the interrelated activities of training students and doing basic research at the frontiers of materials science and physics. While his focus is on fundamental research, there are occasions when his work has led to patentable discoveries. Wadley believes that having University of Virginia intellectual property available to be licensed by startup companies is an important way to further economic development… he stresses that the decline in industrial research and development makes the role of universities even more critical.” Manufacturing, Research & Industry Development of the technologies behind DVTI was supported by grants from the Department of Defense through the Office of Naval Research, NAVAIR, Air Force Research Labs, and Army Research Labs, as well as the Department of Energy and National Science Foundation.
DoseOptics, LLC
doseoptics-llc 2017 NIH DartmouthCollege 2015 NH 1 DoseOptics was formed to improve the delivery of radiation therapy to cancer patients. It is creating the world’s first camera that images radiation dose to human tissue. While over 14 million people a year receive radiation therapy as an essential component of cancer care, there is currently no way to verify the dosage of radiation actually delivered to a patient’s body. By visualizing radiation therapy, DoseOptics technology has the potential the reduce misadministration, improve treatment outcomes and save lives. DoseOptics was formed to improve the delivery of radiation therapy to cancer patients. It is creating the world’s first camera that images radiation dose to human tissue. While over 14 million people a year receive radiation therapy as an essential component of cancer care, there is currently no way to verify the dosage of radiation actually delivered to a patient’s body. By visualizing radiation therapy, DoseOptics technology has the potential the reduce misadministration, improve treatment outcomes and save lives. In 2011, a group of researchers at Dartmouth – in a collaboration between the Thayer School of Engineering and the Geisel School of Medicine – first documented how to use a specialized intensified and time-gated camera to capture small light signals from radiation deposition in tissue, called Cherenkov light. This seminal discovery, and the realization of its potential impact on radiation therapy, spurred the group to work to commercialize their camera and accompanying software. DoseOptics was founded in 2015 by Dartmouth engineering professors Brian Pogue and Scott Davis, along with William Ware. Initial clinical trials of their technology began in the summer of 2016. Biomedical The work of the Dartmouth researchers to visualize radiation therapy was supported by the National Institutes of Health. Company founders credit the existence of DoseOptics today to the initial federal funding that supported the basic research that led to their discovery. They additionally credit NIH support since then with helping the company get through its first two years of development.
Drone Amplified
drone-amplified 2021 NE 1 Agriculture & Environment
Dysonics Corporation
dysonics-corporation 2013 NSF UniversityofCaliforniaDavisUniversityofCalifornia 2011 CA 1 Dysonics is an innovator in audio technology. The company redefines the way people listen to sound on headphones by capturing, recording and reproducing spatial sounds otherwise not available to provide a feeling of "being there." Dysonics technology, specifically developed for headphone listening, is based on several years of university research on spatial sound that led to several patents licensed to or owned by the company.The company's first product is a mobile application, Rondo™, designed to bring audio to life and provide smartphone listeners a new way to experience sound. Dysonics is an innovator in audio technology. The company redefines the way people listen to sound on headphones by capturing, recording and reproducing spatial sounds otherwise not available to provide a feeling of "being there." Dysonics technology, specifically developed for headphone listening, is based on several years of university research on spatial sound that led to several patents licensed to or owned by the company.The company's first product is a mobile application, Rondo™, designed to bring audio to life and provide smartphone listeners a new way to experience sound. The company originated out of the University of California, Davis technology incubator known as the Engineering Translational Technology Center (ETTC). UC Davis Professor Vidal Ralph Algazi and researchers Richard Duda and Dennis Thompson developed a simple and radically new method to improve the realism of sound with all its spatial characteristics. This invention has a broad range of applications for either live or recorded sound. The technology accounts for dynamic effects caused by the motion of a listener. Until now, this sense of complete immersion in the environment was not possible. The technology overcomes major limitations of existing spatial sound technologies for headphones and open new opportunities for applications.Dysonics investors include Rawah Partners LLC and other private Angel investors. Technology & Web The initial research and development that led to the creation of Dysonics was supported by four grants from the National Science Foundation over a period of nine years.
ECM Technologies, LLC
ecm-technologies-llc 2017 NIH TexasA&MUniversity 2007 TX 1 ECM Technologies is developing “designer” collagens for a variety of biomedical needs. Collagen provides structure to tissue and directions to the body’s cells. Traditionally, collagens for biomedical uses are developed from animal proteins, which carry disease risk and purity concerns. In contrast, ECMT’s designer collagens are engineered proteins with collagen properties produced from a non-pathogenic bacterial source that possess biological cues intended to direct specific cell attachment and growth. Designer collagens can be used in a variety of medical devices such as wound dressings, vascular grafts and soft tissue applications. ECM Technologies is developing “designer” collagens for a variety of biomedical needs. Collagen provides structure to tissue and directions to the body’s cells. Traditionally, collagens for biomedical uses are developed from animal proteins, which carry disease risk and purity concerns. In contrast, ECMT’s designer collagens are engineered proteins with collagen properties produced from a non-pathogenic bacterial source that possess biological cues intended to direct specific cell attachment and growth. Designer collagens can be used in a variety of medical devices such as wound dressings, vascular grafts and soft tissue applications. ECMT’s technology emerged from the lab of company founder Dr. Marcus Hook, a director of the Center for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases, Institute of Bioscience and Technology at the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center. Biomedical Dr. Hook's work was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Eden Park Illumination, Inc.
eden-park-illumination-inc 2010 DODNSF UniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign 2007 NJ 1 Eden Park Illumination, Inc. was founded in May 2007, to develop and commercialize products based on new lighting technology called Microplasma. The company is committed to developing earth-friendly products and its activities encompass the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of Microplasma Lighting™ systems for use in architectural projects. Microplasma is an earth-friendly, mercury-free light source with a long expected lifetime.
The company’s co-founders, University of Illinois professors Gary Eden and Sung-Jin Park, are recognized world leaders in this field, with many years of research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
In May 2009, the company was awarded The Red Herring Top 100 Award, which recognizes the most promising startup technology companies on the continent. The company is also a nominee for the World Technology Network 2009 Technology Award. Eden Park Illumination, Inc. was founded in May 2007, to develop and commercialize products based on new lighting technology called Microplasma. The company is committed to developing earth-friendly products and its activities encompass the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of Microplasma Lighting™ systems for use in architectural projects. Microplasma is an earth-friendly, mercury-free light source with a long expected lifetime.
The company’s co-founders, University of Illinois professors Gary Eden and Sung-Jin Park, are recognized world leaders in this field, with many years of research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
In May 2009, the company was awarded The Red Herring Top 100 Award, which recognizes the most promising startup technology companies on the continent. The company is also a nominee for the World Technology Network 2009 Technology Award. Eden Park Illumination was founded by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign professors Gary Eden and Sung-Jin Park who are leaders in the areas of research, development and commercialization of Microplasma. Technology & Web The work of professors Eden and Park at the University of Illinois Laboratory for Optical Physics and Engineering received support from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense, through the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
eFFECTOR Therapeutics
effector-therapeutics 2017 NIH UniversityofCaliforniaSanDiegoUniversityofCalifornia 2013 CA 1 eFFECTOR is taking a different approach to cancer treatment. The company is focused on inventing and developing small molecule drugs to selectively restore protein synthesis, also known as translation, to normal levels – a major paradigm shift from targeting disease-triggering mechanisms to a key effector mechanism – and if successfully executed could have a dramatic impact on the treatment of cancer. eFFECTOR is taking a different approach to cancer treatment. The company is focused on inventing and developing small molecule drugs to selectively restore protein synthesis, also known as translation, to normal levels – a major paradigm shift from targeting disease-triggering mechanisms to a key effector mechanism – and if successfully executed could have a dramatic impact on the treatment of cancer. eFFECTOR was formed based on research breakthroughs made in the laboratories of University of California, San Francisco scientists Davide Ruggero, Ph.D., and Kevan Shokat, Ph.D., who made the key discovery that certain functionally-related sets of genes are translationally controlled and when upregulated their protein products drive disease. The scientists discovered that restoring translational control of those genes can address disease pathology while preserving normal cell functions. Because multiple oncogenic signaling pathways lead to cancer by activating translation regulators, targeting these translation regulators does not only impair cancer growth, but also may delay or prevent a common mechanism of drug resistance to targeted therapeutic intervention, namely the activation of adjacent pathways. Biomedical Federal funding from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, supported the majority of the initial research that led to the ideas behind the company. According to the company founders, NIH funding allowed for the investigation of fundamental questions about cancer cell growth and dependence on what seemed like a ubiquitous process (mRNA translation—or protein production). “The NIH was instrumental in funding the research before any clear clinical applications were imaginable.”
Emotient
emotient 2017 DODNIHNSF UniversityofCaliforniaSanDiegoUniversityofCalifornia 2012 CA 1 Founded by six University of California, San Diego scientists in 2012, Emotient developed facial recognition software that can detect emotions including joy, disgust, anger and surprise. It provided cloud-based services that delivered direct measurement of a customer’s unfiltered emotional response to ads, content, products and customer service or sales interactions. In 2016, Apple purchased Emotient for an undisclosed sum. Founded by six University of California, San Diego scientists in 2012, Emotient developed facial recognition software that can detect emotions including joy, disgust, anger and surprise. It provided cloud-based services that delivered direct measurement of a customer’s unfiltered emotional response to ads, content, products and customer service or sales interactions. In 2016, Apple purchased Emotient for an undisclosed sum. Emotient grew out of a decade of research at UCSD’s Machine Perception Laboratory. While working on her doctorate in cognitive science and psychology, company co-founder Marian Bartlett explored how biological vision, where images are processed in the brain, can intersect with computer vision, the perception and understanding of images by a machine. She began collaborating with several researchers in the Machine Perception Lab – including three who would also join in founding Emotient, Terry Sejnowski, Ian Fasel and Javier Movellan – to apply ideas to facial recognition and how the way a face moves and changes might reveal about a person’s underlying emotions. Technology & Web The researchers received federal funding for their work at UCSD from the Department of Defense, through the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Emu Solutions Inc.
emu-solutions-inc 2017 DOD UniversityofNotreDame 2010 IN 1 Emu Solutions is building hardware that will redefine computing for big data. The company was founded to develop an exascale-capable computing architecture designed specifically to tackle the ‘Big Data’ applications that are choking today’s supercomputers. Emu’s architecture utilizes lightweight cores tightly linked to memory, enabling 10x+ improvements in many complex applications, including analysis of complex, arbitrarily large data relationships while having the ability to support real-time updates. Emu Solutions is building hardware that will redefine computing for big data. The company was founded to develop an exascale-capable computing architecture designed specifically to tackle the ‘Big Data’ applications that are choking today’s supercomputers. Emu’s architecture utilizes lightweight cores tightly linked to memory, enabling 10x+ improvements in many complex applications, including analysis of complex, arbitrarily large data relationships while having the ability to support real-time updates. The roots of Emu’s technology trace back to a series of research projects at the University of Notre Dame sponsored by various agencies within the Department of Defense and conducted by Emu founders Dr. Peter Kogge and Dr. Jay Brockman. Emu has continued its relationship with the DoD, which has provided additional funding to support further development of Emu’s technology. Technology & Web The work conducted at the University of Notre Dame was supported by research funding from the Department of Defense.
EpiBone, Inc.
epibone-inc 2017 NIH ColumbiaUniversity 2013 NY 1 EpiBone is in the business of growing personalized bone grafts. Using a CT scan to create a precise 3D model of the anatomical defect, stem cells taken from the patient and a custom-built bioreactor, EpiBone is able to grow a personalized bone graft – in the exact size and shape needed – ready for implantation. For the more than 900,000 patients who undergo bone-related surgeries each year, EpiBone’s technology offers the potential for greatly improved outcomes. EpiBone is in the business of growing personalized bone grafts. Using a CT scan to create a precise 3D model of the anatomical defect, stem cells taken from the patient and a custom-built bioreactor, EpiBone is able to grow a personalized bone graft – in the exact size and shape needed – ready for implantation. For the more than 900,000 patients who undergo bone-related surgeries each year, EpiBone’s technology offers the potential for greatly improved outcomes. In 2010, company Co-founders, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University, in conjunction with Nina Tandon and Sarindr “Ik” Bhumiratana, who at the time Postdoctoral Fellows in Dr. Vunjak-Novakovic’s laboratory, had demonstrated the ability to create viable bone grafts. Their work received significant attention, including being published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and was featured in an article in the New York Times. This publicity led to an invitation to apply for, and ultimately receive, a BioAccelerate Grant from the NYC Partnership Fund, which allowed them to take their work to the next stage and establish the feasibility of their technology through a large proof-of-concept study. EpiBone was officially born in 2013 to commercialize and expand their technology. While the company is focused on craniomaxillofacial applications, there is evidence that this technology could be expanded to include load bearing bone, cartilage, and ligament tissues. Biomedical Dr. Vunjak-Novakovic’s initial bone tissue engineering work, which spanned more than 15 years, was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Epicrop Technologies, Inc.
epicrop-technologies-inc 2017 NSFDOE UniversityofNebraska 2013 NE 1 As the world’s population continues to grow and human activity places increasing stress on the environment, finding new ways to increase crop yields is a pressing problem. University of Nebraska spinout company Epicrop aims to address this challenge with its revolutionary epigenetic technology for improving crop yields. As the world’s population continues to grow and human activity places increasing stress on the environment, finding new ways to increase crop yields is a pressing problem. University of Nebraska spinout company Epicrop aims to address this challenge with its revolutionary epigenetic technology for improving crop yields. Epigenetic modifications are naturally occurring biological marks on the plant’s DNA or chromatin. These epigenetic marks help the plant develop normally and to adapt to its environment. Epicrop’s epigenetic technology is unique as it is able to improve crop yields and stress tolerance without making any changes to the DNA sequence of the plant. The final crop plant is genetically identical to the starting plant and contains no foreign genes or any changes to the plant’s DNA sequence.
The surprising discoveries that led to the formation of Epicrop resulted from basic research in organelle biology being conducted by Dr. Sally Mackenzie, a professor of agronomy at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her research was supported with grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Mackenzie discovered that an organellar gene affects nuclear DNA methylation and epigenetics – and more surprisingly, that these epigenetic changes cause large increases in crop yields. Agriculture & Environment The work conducted at the University of Nebraska was supported from research funding by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.
EPIR Technologies
epir-technologies 2013 DODDOENSF UniversityofIllinoisatChicago 1998 IL 51 EPIR Technologies, Inc. is a rapidly growing high-tech company that serves the defense and civilian sectors, specializing in optoelectronic materials and sensors.The company’s products in infrared materials have revolutionized the mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) based infrared materials technology space and provide much needed components for the production of infrared sensors and imagers at a reduced cost for major defense contractors and commercial manufacturers alike.The same technology that formed the basis for EPIR’s breakthrough successes in infrared imaging technology now forms the foundation for EPIR’s development of a revolutionary new photovoltaic cell.EPIR’s solar energy product line will include ultra-high efficiency tandem solar cells, novel coatings and modules that will make major reductions in the cost per watt of photovoltaic solar power. EPIR Technologies, Inc. is a rapidly growing high-tech company that serves the defense and civilian sectors, specializing in optoelectronic materials and sensors.The company’s products in infrared materials have revolutionized the mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) based infrared materials technology space and provide much needed components for the production of infrared sensors and imagers at a reduced cost for major defense contractors and commercial manufacturers alike.The same technology that formed the basis for EPIR’s breakthrough successes in infrared imaging technology now forms the foundation for EPIR’s development of a revolutionary new photovoltaic cell.EPIR’s solar energy product line will include ultra-high efficiency tandem solar cells, novel coatings and modules that will make major reductions in the cost per watt of photovoltaic solar power. As director of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Microphysics Laboratory, Dr. Siva Sivananthan has worked for over 20 years on the research and development of semiconductors in infrared and night vision technology and solar cells. Sivananthan pioneered the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth, characterization and fabrication of single-crystal II-VI materials on silicon. This laid the groundwork for the process used by EPIR Technologies to manufacture MBE-grown CdTe on silicon for defense infrared night vision applications and the development of ultra-high efficiency photovoltaic solar cells. Materials The foundational research behind EPIR was performed by Dr. Sivananthan at UIC under several grants and contracts from the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and National Science Foundation.
Estrigenix Therapeutics, Inc.
estrigenix-therapeutics-inc 2021 WI 1 Agriculture & Environment
Eucalyptus Systems
eucalyptus-systems 2013 NSF UniversityofCaliforniaSantaBarbaraUniversityofCalifornia 2009 CA 51 Eucalyptus has developed flexible private and public cloud computing systems and software. In just a few years, Eucalyptus has grown to more than 60 employees. It has raised $55.5M in funding from primarily California venture sources. There are over 25,000 Eucalyptus deployments across the globe and there have been more than 100,000 downloads of their open source software. Eucalyptus has developed flexible private and public cloud computing systems and software. In just a few years, Eucalyptus has grown to more than 60 employees. It has raised $55.5M in funding from primarily California venture sources. There are over 25,000 Eucalyptus deployments across the globe and there have been more than 100,000 downloads of their open source software. A NSF grant was given to Dr. Rich Wolski to allow him to explore novel programming and techniques for large-scale computational grid applications. By fall of 2007, his work had already produced new systems for the Linked Environment for Atmospheric Discovery (LEAD) weather forecasting system and promised to revolutionize the world of “cloud computing.” Eucalyptus Systems, Inc. was formed in 2009 based on Wolski’s groundbreaking research. Technology & Web Dr. Rich Wolski Eucalyptus Systems, Inc. began as a research project at the University of California, Santa Barbara led by Dr. Rich Wolski and funded by an exploratory grant of $769,555 from the National Science Foundation.
Exyn Technologies
exyn-technologies 2021 PA 1 Agriculture & Environment
Exyn Technologies
exyn-technologies 2021 PA 1 Biomedical
FarmSense
farmsense 2021 CA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
FAST Biomedical
fast-biomedical 2010 NIH IndianaUniversity 2006 IN 1 FAST Diagnostics is a medical technology company that has a patent-pending device and technology that will provide rapid and accurate measurement of kidney function. This technology will provide hospitals an important new tool for diagnosing kidney problems. Approximately seven percent of general hospital patients and 15 percent of intensive care unit patients suffer from acute kidney injury. Current measurement standards are trailing indicators, and thus, can take several days to indicate the presence of acute kidney injury. The new FAST Diagnostics test will provide a true measure of the glomerular filtration rate (kidney function) in 30 minutes. FAST Diagnostics is a medical technology company that has a patent-pending device and technology that will provide rapid and accurate measurement of kidney function. This technology will provide hospitals an important new tool for diagnosing kidney problems. Approximately seven percent of general hospital patients and 15 percent of intensive care unit patients suffer from acute kidney injury. Current measurement standards are trailing indicators, and thus, can take several days to indicate the presence of acute kidney injury. The new FAST Diagnostics test will provide a true measure of the glomerular filtration rate (kidney function) in 30 minutes. Founder, Dr. Bruce Molitoris is a professor in the Indiana University School of Medicine and is director of its Indiana Center for Biological Microscopy, where he uses some of the most sophisticated microscopy systems in the world to fuel his research. Molitoris also serves as the FAST Diagnostics medical director. Biomedical The research conducted at Indiana University, which formed the basis for the intellectual property behind FAST Diagnostics was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
FastBridge Learning, LLC
fastbridge-learning-llc 2017 ED UniversityofMinnesota 2015 MN 1 FastBridge Learning provides evidence-based classroom assessments—created with and for teachers – that help foster greater learning outcomes. The company provides assessments in math, reading and behavior that offer the best data and real-time feedback with which teachers can inform intervention and instruction decisions that are highly targeted to the individual learner. FastBridge Learning provides evidence-based classroom assessments—created with and for teachers – that help foster greater learning outcomes. The company provides assessments in math, reading and behavior that offer the best data and real-time feedback with which teachers can inform intervention and instruction decisions that are highly targeted to the individual learner. Company founder Ted Christ was an intern school psychologist in 2000 when he lamented to his supervisor that the assessment data available to him were insufficient to guide diagnostic decisions and design treatment programs. His supervisor said, “Well Ted, this is what we have. If you come up with something better, then we will use that.”
Over the next 15 years, Christ and colleagues at the University of Minnesota received U.S. Department of Education funding to build knowledge and improve educational assessments through research and development. A set of improved assessments and refined ideas emerged from their work. In 2010, FastBridge co-founders Drs. Christ and Zoheb Borbora conceptualized and created the Formative Assessment System for Teachers (FAST™) as a cloud-based system at the University of Minnesota, to make it easier for teachers to collect and use data more effectively. They spun out FastBridge Learning in 2015 and have seen rapid adoption of FAST™, exceeding 9 million administrations in the 2015-16 schoolyear. Education & Language The work conducted at the University of Minnesota was supported by research funding from the U.S. Department of Education.
Firefly Photonics
firefly-photonics 2021 IA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
FluGen, Inc.
flugen-inc 2010 NIH UniversityofWisconsin-Madison 2007 WI 1 The method for making influenza vaccines hasn’t changed much since it was first created in the 1930s: A team of experts decides which viruses to target. Then chicken eggs are injected with the viruses and grown to create the vaccine. However, avian flu expert Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Dr. Gabriele Neumann at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have pioneered a new method, producing vaccine within cells (rather than embryonic chicken eggs), which will dramatically increase the speed and reduce the expense of making vaccines.
FluGen has licensed this technology and is an emerging leader in the development, production, and delivery of influenza vaccines and related infectious disease products. The new method could lead to the need for smaller facilities and means faster production of appropriate vaccines, critical in the event of a pandemic. The method for making influenza vaccines hasn’t changed much since it was first created in the 1930s: A team of experts decides which viruses to target. Then chicken eggs are injected with the viruses and grown to create the vaccine. However, avian flu expert Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Dr. Gabriele Neumann at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have pioneered a new method, producing vaccine within cells (rather than embryonic chicken eggs), which will dramatically increase the speed and reduce the expense of making vaccines.
FluGen has licensed this technology and is an emerging leader in the development, production, and delivery of influenza vaccines and related infectious disease products. The new method could lead to the need for smaller facilities and means faster production of appropriate vaccines, critical in the event of a pandemic. FluGen was co-founded by Paul V. Radspinner and researchers Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Dr. Gabriele Neumann at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The company licenses technology developed by the researchers at the UW-Madison Influenza Research Institute and patented by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). Biomedical Initial and ongoing funding for both Dr. Kawaoka’s and Dr. Neumann’s research is provided by the National Institutes of Health.
Food Chain Safety
food-chain-safety 2013 DOD WashingtonStateUniversity 2010 WA 1 Food Chain Safety is the exclusive provider of the latest generation, FDA-approved, advanced food sterilization process. The company’s proprietary microwave-based systems are used for food sterilization and pasteurization. Food Chain Safety is actively engaged with academia, government, research organizations, and industry members to develop alternate uses of technology to provide safer, environmentally-preferred solutions in the life sciences field.The Microwave Assisted Thermal Sterilization (MATS®) food sterilization system is a new technology developed by Washington State University (WSU) that addresses many of the problems to which current food processing methods are prone and accustomed. Microwave Assisted Thermal Sterilization uses new microwave food processing practices to create fresher, higher-quality foods with improved organoleptic characteristics. Food Chain Safety is the exclusive provider of the latest generation, FDA-approved, advanced food sterilization process. The company’s proprietary microwave-based systems are used for food sterilization and pasteurization. Food Chain Safety is actively engaged with academia, government, research organizations, and industry members to develop alternate uses of technology to provide safer, environmentally-preferred solutions in the life sciences field.The Microwave Assisted Thermal Sterilization (MATS®) food sterilization system is a new technology developed by Washington State University (WSU) that addresses many of the problems to which current food processing methods are prone and accustomed. Microwave Assisted Thermal Sterilization uses new microwave food processing practices to create fresher, higher-quality foods with improved organoleptic characteristics. The MATS® technology is based on the work of Washington State University scientist Dr. Juming Tang.In 2010, the WSU Research Foundation licensed the MATS technology to Food Chain Safety, which was created to commercialize the MATS™ system.Dr. Tang and his research team remain involved in the effort to commercialize MATS technology by working to validate the performance and efficacy of Food Chain Safety’s commercial systems at partner facilities and continuing research to further improve the technology. Defense, Safety, & Aerospace The work of Dr. Tang and his team was supported over the course of a decade by the Department of Defense, as the technology has immediate implications for military MREs and food aid, promising longer shelf-life, better flavor, and more nutritional value than canning or other forms of preserving food.
FORGE Life Science
forge-life-science 2017 NIH PrincetonUniversity 2012 PA 1 FORGE Life Sciences is taking a different approach to developing antiviral drugs and vaccines. Antivirals developed at FORGE use the host cell's intrinsic immunity to fight infection. The company seeks to develop first-in-class antivirals that are safe, address the problem of acquired drug resistance, and provide unique broad-spectrum treatment modalities. Addressing the infectious disease condition as opposed to targeting a specific virus-type is a potentially transformative approach to treating and curing viral infections. For example, instead of a flu-antiviral, FORGE is developing a single antiviral that is effective against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and other respiratory viruses in addition to influenza A and B. FORGE Life Sciences is taking a different approach to developing antiviral drugs and vaccines. Antivirals developed at FORGE use the host cell's intrinsic immunity to fight infection. The company seeks to develop first-in-class antivirals that are safe, address the problem of acquired drug resistance, and provide unique broad-spectrum treatment modalities. Addressing the infectious disease condition as opposed to targeting a specific virus-type is a potentially transformative approach to treating and curing viral infections. For example, instead of a flu-antiviral, FORGE is developing a single antiviral that is effective against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and other respiratory viruses in addition to influenza A and B. FORGE Life Sciences was founded to develop technologies discovered in the laboratories of Princeton University Professors Thomas Shenk and Ileana Cristea. With support from the National Institutes of Health, the two collaborators discovered that proteins called sirtuins are evolutionarily conserved viral restriction factors. In other words, sirtuins naturally function to restrict virus growth in host cells. A screen was then conducted to find small molecules that could modulate sirtuin deacetylase activity. Several unique molecules were discovered, and as predicted, these modulators of sirtuin enzyme activity also inhibited the replication of any virus the researchers tested, suggesting that sirtuin modulators could be developed as broad-spectrum antiviral medicines. Biomedical The work at Princeton University was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
framergy™
framergy 2013 DOENSF TexasA&MUniversity 2011 TX 1 Framergy™ is commercializing a comprehensive toolbox of uniquely-designed enabling materials that function as reliable, high-volume, high-quality, low-cost products for clean energy and other applications.Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) refers to an extensive class of crystalline materials with ultra-high porosity and enormous internal surface area. MOFs are revolutionizing clean energy. With their incredible and unparalleled storage capacity, along with their extraordinary degree of variability, MOFs are the ideal energy warehouse. Framergy’s intellectual property bundle includes multiple novel designs for a variety of MOFs to take form in a wide range of creations such as sponges in the abatement of greenhouse gases; storage devices for hydrogen or natural gas-fueled vehicles; vessels for carefully-controlled catalysts; and even enhancements to electromagnetic materials. Framergy™ is commercializing a comprehensive toolbox of uniquely-designed enabling materials that function as reliable, high-volume, high-quality, low-cost products for clean energy and other applications.Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) refers to an extensive class of crystalline materials with ultra-high porosity and enormous internal surface area. MOFs are revolutionizing clean energy. With their incredible and unparalleled storage capacity, along with their extraordinary degree of variability, MOFs are the ideal energy warehouse. Framergy’s intellectual property bundle includes multiple novel designs for a variety of MOFs to take form in a wide range of creations such as sponges in the abatement of greenhouse gases; storage devices for hydrogen or natural gas-fueled vehicles; vessels for carefully-controlled catalysts; and even enhancements to electromagnetic materials. Framergy™ was founded in early 2011 by technology inventor Joe Zhou, Ph.D. and entrepreneur J.M. Ornstein to commercialize the groundbreaking chemistry innovations being developed in Dr. Zhou's laboratory at Texas A&M University. These discoveries, which allow for the creation of precisely designed MOFs and molecule traps, will enable industry to leverage the remarkable attributes of these materials for their clean energy and other needs. Energy & Chemicals Dr. Hongcai Zhou The research to develop the technologies behind framergy™ was supported in part through federal funding from the Department of Energy and National Science Foundation.
FreshAir Sensor LLC
freshair-sensor-llc 2017 NIHNSF DartmouthCollege 2013 NH 1 FreshAir’s devices protect people from unwanted exposure to secondhand smoke. Forty-two thousand Americans die every year from exposure to secondhand smoke and 36.8 percent of nonsmokers who live in rental housing are exposed to secondhand smoke. People are exposed to hazardous substances long after smoking takes place. A widely publicized 2013 study showed that rooms exposed to smoking maintain high levels of toxins. The study also found that even extensive cleaning is unable to remove dangerous chemical residue. FreshAir’s devices protect people from unwanted exposure to secondhand smoke. Forty-two thousand Americans die every year from exposure to secondhand smoke and 36.8 percent of nonsmokers who live in rental housing are exposed to secondhand smoke. People are exposed to hazardous substances long after smoking takes place. A widely publicized 2013 study showed that rooms exposed to smoking maintain high levels of toxins. The study also found that even extensive cleaning is unable to remove dangerous chemical residue. It makes sense that FreshAir Sensor co-founder Jack O’Toole hates cigarette smoke. The company he co-founded with Dartmouth chemist Joe BelBruno has developed a novel technology which detects nicotine or marijuana from secondhand smoke. FreshAir Sensor produces a plug-in device that uses their sensors to provide continuous monitoring and detection of smoking in unauthorized areas, immediate notification when smoking is detected and scientific proof via a timestamped chart that smoking occurred.The polymer-based sensors at the heart of FreshAir’s first product, the FreshAir1, are the result of years of work by BelBruno and the staff and students in his lab to develop and test polymer coatings sensitive to specific chemicals in the air. The foundational research behind FreshAir’s technology was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Since its founding in 2013, FreshAir Sensor has grown from two employees to 21 and is expanding the range of hazardous chemicals it can detect. Other sensors are in development. Energy & Chemicals The work at Dartmouth College was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Galaxy Diagnostics, Inc.
galaxy-diagnostics-inc 2013 NIH NorthCarolinaStateUniversity 2007 NC 1 Galaxy Diagnostics offers the most sensitive and specific test for the detection of Bartonella species bacteria. Bartonella is a hard-to-detect bacteria that is linked to both acute and chronic illnesses in humans and animals The company’s Bartonella ePCRTM testing platform combines an enrichment culture in its patented BAPGM (Bartonella Alpha Proteobactera Growth Medium) medium with state-of-the-art molecular detection to significantly increase the odds of detecting the presence of Bartonella species bacteria in a given patient sample. Galaxy Diagnostics offers the most sensitive and specific test for the detection of Bartonella species bacteria. Bartonella is a hard-to-detect bacteria that is linked to both acute and chronic illnesses in humans and animals The company’s Bartonella ePCRTM testing platform combines an enrichment culture in its patented BAPGM (Bartonella Alpha Proteobactera Growth Medium) medium with state-of-the-art molecular detection to significantly increase the odds of detecting the presence of Bartonella species bacteria in a given patient sample. Bartonella Alpha Proteobacteria Growth Medium (BAPGM) was envisioned, refined and patented by research scientists at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Vector Borne Disease Diagnostics Laboratory, including company co-founders Dr. Edward Breitschwerdt and Dr. Ricardo Maggi. The scientists were working to enhance the growth of these highly fastidious bacteria from animal and human patient samples. The NCSU-CVM team was able to overcome the low detectability problem faced by existing methods by combining a BAPGM enrichment culture step with highly sensitive PCR and sequence verification.Dr. Breitschwerdt, internist and professor of medicine and infectious diseases at NCSU-CVM, is co-director of the Vector Borne Disease Diagnostic Laboratory which has been testing animals for vector borne infections, including Bartonella since 1984. Breitschwerdt’s research at the NCSU Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory has produced significant research findings concerning the medical importance of Bartonella and other emerging infectious disease pathogens. Dr. Maggi, assistant professor of medical microbiology at NCSU-CVM, played an integral role in the development of Galaxy Diagnostics’ proprietary diagnostic technology and directs all assay development and quality control activities for both Animal and Human Health Services. Biomedical The work of the team at NCSU-CVM was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.
gel-e Life Sciences
gel-e-life-sciences 2017 NSF UniversityofMaryland 2010 MD 1 gel-e Life Sciences has developed a medical device platform that can rapidly, safely and cost-effectively stop almost any kind of bleeding. The company’s products can serve clinical settings where intended (surgical) as well as unintended (injuries) wounds are being overseen by expert and amateur care givers. These wounds range from garden-variety lacerations to those from traumatic military injuries. Because these wounds vary in presentation, patient type and threat to life and limb the company’s hemostatic platform provides bandages, gels, foams, films and even putty-like products to meet these diverse applications. gel-e Life Sciences has developed a medical device platform that can rapidly, safely and cost-effectively stop almost any kind of bleeding. The company’s products can serve clinical settings where intended (surgical) as well as unintended (injuries) wounds are being overseen by expert and amateur care givers. These wounds range from garden-variety lacerations to those from traumatic military injuries. Because these wounds vary in presentation, patient type and threat to life and limb the company’s hemostatic platform provides bandages, gels, foams, films and even putty-like products to meet these diverse applications. The technology platform that is now the basis of gel-e Life Sciences was developed by Matt Dowling, Ph.D. while he was a graduate student at the University of Maryland Fischell Department of Bioengineering. Federal research grants supported cutting-edge research and product development that ultimately led to an FDA approval for the company’s first hemostatic bandage. Additionally, a recent National Science Foundation grant has allowed the company to optimize and expand its technology from solid products (e.g bandages, films and putties) to flowable products (e.g. surgical gels and foams). In particular, this funding has allowed the company to achieve five issued U.S. patents and publish six peer-reviewed articles describing pivotal animal studies of severe hemorrhage. Biomedical The work at the University of Maryland was supported through research funding from the National Science Foundation.
Gemstone Biotherapeutics, LLC
gemstone-biotherapeutics-llc 2017 NIH JohnsHopkinsUniversity 2013 MD 1 Gemstone Therapeutics is focused on improving wound care. The company is developing new wound-healing technologies that target and repair the physiological deficiencies of acute and chronic wounds to heal them more rapidly and ensure they remain healed. Gemstone Therapeutics is focused on improving wound care. The company is developing new wound-healing technologies that target and repair the physiological deficiencies of acute and chronic wounds to heal them more rapidly and ensure they remain healed. The company is pursuing two approaches to wound care, both emanating from research conducted at Johns Hopkins University. Gemstone’s core technology uses cell engineering methods and biomaterials to promote vascularization, a critical component in advanced tissue repair and regeneration. This scaffold technology was developed by Gemstone co-founder Sharon Gerecht, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering. Gemstone is also pursuing a topical treatment for wound care based on the discovery by Johns Hopkins researchers that a well-known category of medications used to treat hypertension have a profoundly positive impact on the healing of chronic wounds, particularly those in older and diabetic patients. Biomedical The foundational research conducted at Johns Hopkins University that led to the technologies Gemstone is working to develop and commercialize was supported by approximately $4 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health
Genentech, Inc.
genentech-inc 2010 NSFNIH StanfordUniversityUniversityofCaliforniaSanFranciscoUniversityofCalifornia 1976 CA 10001 The story of how Herbert Boyer, a faculty member at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Stanford University professor Stanley Cohen discovered recombinant DNA technology — over pastrami and corned beef sandwiches at a convention in Hawaii — has become the stuff of legends. The subsequent pioneering university-based research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation and opened the door to the whole world of genetic engineering.
Boyer went on to establish Genentech, a leading biotechnology company. Established in 1976, it played a significant role in the formation of the biotechnology industry. Genentech develops and manufactures drugs for asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, blood clots, and a variety of cancers. In March 2009, Genetech became a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. The story of how Herbert Boyer, a faculty member at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Stanford University professor Stanley Cohen discovered recombinant DNA technology — over pastrami and corned beef sandwiches at a convention in Hawaii — has become the stuff of legends. The subsequent pioneering university-based research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation and opened the door to the whole world of genetic engineering.
Boyer went on to establish Genentech, a leading biotechnology company. Established in 1976, it played a significant role in the formation of the biotechnology industry. Genentech develops and manufactures drugs for asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, blood clots, and a variety of cancers. In March 2009, Genetech became a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Genentech was established by Herbert Boyer, a faculty member at University of California, San Francisco, in collaboration with Robert Swanson of Kleiner Perkins, a venture capital partnership. Genentech capitalized on recombinant DNA technology developed by Boyer at UCSF and Stanley Cohen at Stanford University. Biomedical Boyer and Cohen’s pioneering research on recombinant DNA technology was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
General Sentiment
general-sentiment 2013 NSF StonyBrookUniversity 2008 NY 1 General Sentiment is a social analytics company that delivers insights that change the way brands make product and marketing decisions. Fueled by big data natural language processing and text analytics, the company offers a Social Intelligence Platform that analyzes more than 75 million online news and media sources every day and interprets these online conversations to discover actionable social insights.In addition to the Social Intelligence Platform, General Sentiment provides an application program interface and a custom reporting service, which also allow corporate executives to comprehensively understand brand perception and optimize the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. General Sentiment is a social analytics company that delivers insights that change the way brands make product and marketing decisions. Fueled by big data natural language processing and text analytics, the company offers a Social Intelligence Platform that analyzes more than 75 million online news and media sources every day and interprets these online conversations to discover actionable social insights.In addition to the Social Intelligence Platform, General Sentiment provides an application program interface and a custom reporting service, which also allow corporate executives to comprehensively understand brand perception and optimize the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. General Sentiment was founded in 2008 to harness the power of a natural language processing (NLP) and sentiment analysis system called Lydia, which was developed at Stony Brook University by company cofounder and professor of computer science Dr. Steven Skiena. Dr. Skiena serves as the company’s chief science officer. Technology & Web The initial research and development behind General Sentiment was undertaken at Stony Brook University with an $800,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.
Genocea Biosciences
genocea-biosciences 2013 NIH HarvardUniversity 2006 MA 1 Technology developed by Genocea Bioscience allows for quick insight into the immune system’s response to specific viruses or bacteria and helps determine if a strong immune response can be triggered to resist attack by invaders to which the immune system has a weak or no response. The Genocea process has the potential to significantly reduce the time it takes to discover vaccine candidates and to improve preventative medical care in a way that mirrors the body’s natural response.Currently, Genocea is using their innovative approach to vaccine creation to develop vaccines for diseases like malaria and herpes. In the future, Genocea’s work may also be applied to existing vaccines in order to make them more effective at protecting recipients against illness and disease. Technology developed by Genocea Bioscience allows for quick insight into the immune system’s response to specific viruses or bacteria and helps determine if a strong immune response can be triggered to resist attack by invaders to which the immune system has a weak or no response. The Genocea process has the potential to significantly reduce the time it takes to discover vaccine candidates and to improve preventative medical care in a way that mirrors the body’s natural response.Currently, Genocea is using their innovative approach to vaccine creation to develop vaccines for diseases like malaria and herpes. In the future, Genocea’s work may also be applied to existing vaccines in order to make them more effective at protecting recipients against illness and disease. Harvard Medical School Professor Dr. Darren Higgins knew that Listeria monocytogenes was the most deadly bacteria causing food-borne illnesses and a prominent public health risk. He also knew that animal models had shown protective immunity to L. monocytogenes. In order to stimulate these protective effector cells, subclinical infection with the live bacteria was necessary. However, infecting patients with live cultures of bacteria posed a significant health risk. Ultimately, Dr. Higgins discovered a novel strategy for the generation of replication-deficient bacterial vaccine capable of stimulating protective cell responses. Thanks to grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, Higgins found that his strategy did work with L. monocytogenes and other pathogens. In 2006, he helped launch Genocea Biosciences to apply his strategy to create new and improved vaccines.
Today, Genocea Biosciences is a leading biotech start-up. It was selected as the "Best Vaccine Startup" at the 2008 World Vaccine Congress and one of the 15 most exciting biotech startup companies by FierceBiotech. Genocea is backed by leading investors including Lux Capital Management, Polaris Venture Partners, Morningside Ventures, SR One, Auriga Partners, Cycad Group and Alexandria Real Estate Equities. In 2011 alone, Genocea received $35 million in venture capital funding. Biomedical Higgins' research was funded by grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health
Genomatica, Inc.
genomatica-inc 2013 NIHNSF UniversityofCaliforniaSanDiegoUniversityofCalifornia 2000 CA 51 Genomatica is working to transform the chemical industry by delivering new manufacturing processes that enable its partners to produce the world’s most widely-used chemicals from renewable feedstocks, with better economics and greater sustainability than petroleum-based processes. Using its proprietary biotechnology platform, the company creates fermentation-based manufacturing processes designed to convert a range of renewable feedstocks into target chemicals that meet industry specifications for large, established markets. Among its first target chemicals are butanediol, or BDO, and butadiene. Genomatica is working to transform the chemical industry by delivering new manufacturing processes that enable its partners to produce the world’s most widely-used chemicals from renewable feedstocks, with better economics and greater sustainability than petroleum-based processes. Using its proprietary biotechnology platform, the company creates fermentation-based manufacturing processes designed to convert a range of renewable feedstocks into target chemicals that meet industry specifications for large, established markets. Among its first target chemicals are butanediol, or BDO, and butadiene. As a graduate student, Genomatica CEO Christophe Schilling studied under Bernhard Palsson, the Galetti professor of bioengineering in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of California, San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. After receiving his Ph.D. in 2000, Schilling founded Genomatica with licensed technology developed in Palsson’s lab.
Since founding, Genomatica has raised $125 million in venture financing. Energy & Chemicals The initial research and development behind this technology was undertaken at the UCSD with five grants totaling $2.2 million from the National Science Foundation and National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Genome Profiling, LLC
genome-profiling-llc 2017 NSF UniversityofDelaware 2014 DE 1 GenPro is a molecular information company focused on discovering novel epigenetic biomarkers from next generation sequencing (NGS) data. The company translates its EpiMarkers into new clinically valuable information, assays and therapeutics that accelerate the promise of precision medicine across many chronic and life threatening diseases. The company’s primary disease focus is cancer and its primary customers are biopharma companies with whom it enters into EpiMarker discovery and licensing collaboration partnerships. GenPro is a molecular information company focused on discovering novel epigenetic biomarkers from next generation sequencing (NGS) data. The company translates its EpiMarkers into new clinically valuable information, assays and therapeutics that accelerate the promise of precision medicine across many chronic and life threatening diseases. The company’s primary disease focus is cancer and its primary customers are biopharma companies with whom it enters into EpiMarker discovery and licensing collaboration partnerships. Company co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer Adam Marsh, Ph.D invented GenPro's underlying software technology while a faculty member in the University of Delaware in the Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology and the School of Marine Science and Policy. His primary research efforts focused on epigenetics of environmental imprinting in animals living in extreme environments (polar seas, deep oceans). His quantitative epigenetic profiling algorithm work started more than 10 years ago as an innovation of necessity. He wanted to understand how invertebrate genomes thrived from generation to generation under the polar sea ice in Antarctica, but there was no reference genome for the polar marine invertebrates he was studying.
Frustrated, he drew on his deep programming skills to invent an innovative computational approach to gene methylation quantification from NGS data including algorithms to derive unique new epigenetic insights from the data. Soon thereafter Marsh and GenPro co-founder Jeb Connor envisioned the application of this technology to human precision health opportunities where epigenetics was about to become very important. They conducted a small human pilot study profiling methylation in breast cancers and results were stunning in terms of the sensitivity and quantitative separation achieved for early detection. All the statistical finesse and expertise that were required for working on unknown polar organisms resulted in a highly robust software tool when applied to an organism (humans) with tons of supporting genomic resources. Biomedical Marsh’s foundational research was supported by the National Science Foundation.
GeoVax Labs, Inc.
geovax-labs-inc 2010 NIH EmoryUniversity 2001 GA 1 In 1998 Dr. Harriet Robinson and her research team at the Emory Vaccine Center and Yerkes National Primate Research Center began working on a vaccine that could fight off HIV in uninfected people and potentially reduce the virus in those already infected by 100- to 1,000-fold. Emory and Dr. Robinson’s team formed a company called GeoVax, now a $100 million publicly held company.
The company aspires to develop, manufacture, and clinically test AIDS vaccines and obtain regulatory approval of these vaccines in the United States and in specifiied international markets. GeoVax is in the process of conducting five clinical trials. Successful results from all phase 1 trials of GeoVax’s vaccines supported the initiation of the phase 2 trials of the company’s product candidates. GeoVax’s phase 2 human trials began in January 2009 and involve 225 participants at sites in the United States and South America. In 1998 Dr. Harriet Robinson and her research team at the Emory Vaccine Center and Yerkes National Primate Research Center began working on a vaccine that could fight off HIV in uninfected people and potentially reduce the virus in those already infected by 100- to 1,000-fold. Emory and Dr. Robinson’s team formed a company called GeoVax, now a $100 million publicly held company.
The company aspires to develop, manufacture, and clinically test AIDS vaccines and obtain regulatory approval of these vaccines in the United States and in specifiied international markets. GeoVax is in the process of conducting five clinical trials. Successful results from all phase 1 trials of GeoVax’s vaccines supported the initiation of the phase 2 trials of the company’s product candidates. GeoVax’s phase 2 human trials began in January 2009 and involve 225 participants at sites in the United States and South America. GeoVax’s recombinant DNA and MVA AIDS vaccines were initially developed at Emory University by Dr. Harriet Robinson, in collaboration with researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These vaccines comprise the major HIV-1 subtypes (A, B and C), and can be used alone or in combination, depending on a local infection. Biomedical HARRIET ROBINSON, PHD Development of the Emory technologies was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. GeoVax’s human trials are conducted by HIV Vaccine Trials Network established and funded by the NIH.
Google Inc.
google-inc 2010 NSF StanfordUniversity 1998 CA 10001 Google Inc. provides advertising and global Internet search solutions as well as intranet solutions via an enterprise search appliance. Google Inc. maintains an index of websites and other online content, which it makes freely available via its search engine to anyone with an Internet connection. It is focused on building products and services on its websites that benefit Google’s users and let them find relevant information quickly and easily. Google Inc. provides advertising and global Internet search solutions as well as intranet solutions via an enterprise search appliance. Google Inc. maintains an index of websites and other online content, which it makes freely available via its search engine to anyone with an Internet connection. It is focused on building products and services on its websites that benefit Google’s users and let them find relevant information quickly and easily. Google Inc. began as a research project by Larry Page, who was soon joined by Sergey Brin, while they were both PhD students at Stanford University. They hypothesized that a search engine that analyzed the relationships between websites would produce a better ranking of results than existing techniques, which ranked results according to the number of times the search term appeared on a page. Their search engine was originally nicknamed “BackRub” because the system checked the backlinks to estimate the importance of a site. Technology & Web Development of the search engine “BackRub” was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation.
GPB Scientific, LLC
gpb-scientific-llc 2017 DODNIHNSF PrincetonUniversity 2012 VA 1 GPB Scientific is developing a technology to isolate and identify tumor cells in the blood. The detection of circulating tumor cells provides a "liquid biopsy" and can inform drug selection, dosing and scheduling, and continued monitoring of a patient's response to treatment. This is particularly important in precision medicine. GPB Scientific is developing a technology to isolate and identify tumor cells in the blood. The detection of circulating tumor cells provides a "liquid biopsy" and can inform drug selection, dosing and scheduling, and continued monitoring of a patient's response to treatment. This is particularly important in precision medicine. GPB’s technology is based on a technology developed at Princeton University for separating cells by size, by flowing them through a microfluidic platform consisting of miniscule obstacles etched in a silicon chip. The original research was conducted in the laboratories of James Sturm, the Stephen R. Forrest Professor in Electrical Engineering, and Robert Austin, professor of physics, at Princeton. Federal research funding was essential in supporting the fundamental research into microfabrication technology and the creation of microfluidic platforms in which cells can be sorted by size. To optimize this technology for cancer cell sorting, GPB brought in the expertise in cell biology and medicine of Curt Civin, director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Biomedical Funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, part of the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, as well as the State of New Jersey supported the foundational research at Princeton University.
Graphene Frontiers
graphene-frontiers 2013 DODNSF UniversityofPennsylvania 2010 PA 1 Graphene Frontiers is a materials company that manufactures and sells graphene, which the company calls the “miracle material of the 21st century”. Graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms and is exceptionally strong, yet flexible, transparent and highly electrically conductive, impermeable and less than 1 nanometer thick. Graphene has the potential to disrupt billion dollar markets and enable new technologies in thin, flexible displays and touchscreens, photovoltaics, corrosion protection, energy storage, organic light emitting diodes, printed electronics and more.Graphene Frontiers implements a proprietary atmospheric pressure growth and transfer method and is working toward roll-to-roll manufacturing, which allows high throughput, lower cost production of large swaths of graphene with uniform high quality. The company’s etch-free process is a quantum leap over existing technologies, giving Graphene Frontiers a competitive advantage because of its minimal environmental footprint. Graphene Frontiers will be a catalyst for the explosive growth of a multi-billion dollar market for flexible organic electronics. Graphene Frontiers is a materials company that manufactures and sells graphene, which the company calls the “miracle material of the 21st century”. Graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms and is exceptionally strong, yet flexible, transparent and highly electrically conductive, impermeable and less than 1 nanometer thick. Graphene has the potential to disrupt billion dollar markets and enable new technologies in thin, flexible displays and touchscreens, photovoltaics, corrosion protection, energy storage, organic light emitting diodes, printed electronics and more.Graphene Frontiers implements a proprietary atmospheric pressure growth and transfer method and is working toward roll-to-roll manufacturing, which allows high throughput, lower cost production of large swaths of graphene with uniform high quality. The company’s etch-free process is a quantum leap over existing technologies, giving Graphene Frontiers a competitive advantage because of its minimal environmental footprint. Graphene Frontiers will be a catalyst for the explosive growth of a multi-billion dollar market for flexible organic electronics. While grapheme, because of its strength and conductivity, promises to revolutionize everything from scientific instruments to consumer electronics, its use is limited by current manufacturing techniques that can only produce small flakes of it at a time. This is where Graphene Frontiers founders A.T. “Charlie” Johnson and Zhengtang Lou come in. Johnson, a University of Pennsylvania physics professor, and Lou, a postdoctoral fellow in Johnson’s lab at the time, developed a novel production technique to overcome the current limits on graphene manufacturing. Their atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) production method applied a process common to the semiconductor industry to the making of graphene sheets. Materials The work of Drs. Johnson and Lou was supported by grants from the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation. Their company was formed with the University of Pennsylvania through its UPstart Company Incubator. The core technology of Graphene Frontiers was licensed from the University of Pennsylvania. The company’s CEO, Mike Patterson, is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
Ground Fluor Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
ground-fluor-pharmaceuticals-inc 2013 NSF UniversityofNebraska 2012 NE 1 Ground Fluor Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a biomedical company developing new imaging agents for use in diagnosis and management of disease, and to help other companies better manufacture imaging agents for positron emission tomography (PET) scans. GFP’s PET products are based on its novel platform technology, SWIFT™, Swift Iodonium Fluorine Tagging. SWIFT™ chemistry makes it possible to produce F18 radiopharmaceuticals rapidly, in much higher yields, with much higher potency and more reliably than current methods. SWIFT™ chemistry allows the routine clinical production of agents that cannot be otherwise manufactured economically and reliably. Ground Fluor Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a biomedical company developing new imaging agents for use in diagnosis and management of disease, and to help other companies better manufacture imaging agents for positron emission tomography (PET) scans. GFP’s PET products are based on its novel platform technology, SWIFT™, Swift Iodonium Fluorine Tagging. SWIFT™ chemistry makes it possible to produce F18 radiopharmaceuticals rapidly, in much higher yields, with much higher potency and more reliably than current methods. SWIFT™ chemistry allows the routine clinical production of agents that cannot be otherwise manufactured economically and reliably. University of Nebraska-Lincoln chemistry professor Stephen DiMagno received a grant in 2007 from the National Science Foundation to study the chemistry of anhydrous fluoride salts to develop new synthetic methods to fluorinate compounds. Fluorinated compounds are commonly used in medicines, and also in medical imaging. Ground Fluor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (GFP) is the exclusive worldwide licensee of the breakthrough iodonium chemistry for the rapid, carrier-free, high-yielding synthesis of F18 PET imaging agents developed by DiMagno. SWIFT™ technology allows Swift Fluorine Tagging of small aryl fluoride molecules, which are present in natural products, and therapeutically important compounds such as positron emission tomography (PET) tracers and pharmaceuticals. These imaging biomarkers have potential application in brain cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and other diseases. GFP’s novel biomarkers will support pharmaceutical development of new effective therapeutic agents by providing a tool for the rapid assessment of in vivo biodistribution and drug targeting. Biomedical Stephen DiMagno Professor DiMagno's research was made possible through a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Guavus Inc.
guavus-inc 2017 NSF BostonUniversity 2006 CA 101 Guavus is all about enabling businesses to use their own data – the instant it’s captured – to improve their business. The company’s operations analytics applications identify unique trends in network and operational activity to help major companies become more efficient and profitable. Guavus is all about enabling businesses to use their own data – the instant it’s captured – to improve their business. The company’s operations analytics applications identify unique trends in network and operational activity to help major companies become more efficient and profitable. Soon after receiving his doctorate in computer science from Boston University, Guavus founder and CEO Anukool Lakhina worked for Sprint Labs analyzing data delivered on hard drives via FedEx. It was there he realized that the current process of analyzing hard drives after the fact yielded insights too late to be acted upon. Yet, he knew that his dissertation and the work of his BU professor Mark Crovella held the key to solving this problem. Technology & Web Guavus was founded in 2006. Its suite of offerings is built upon a technique developed by Dr. Crovella with funding from the National Science Foundation and licensed from BU. “Funding from the NSF was critical to the success of our research and ultimately to the birth of Guavus,” says Lakhina.
HaloSource, Inc.
halosource-inc 2013 USDADOD AuburnUniversity 1998 WA 51 HaloSource, Inc. is a global clean water technology company that develops and manufactures products and out-licenses proprietary technology for the water treatment and antimicrobial coatings markets. HaloSource is focused on the provision of cleaner, clearer and safer water using its proprietary technologies for drinking water, recreational water, textile coatings, and environmentally friendly wastewater recycling. HaloSource, Inc. is a global clean water technology company that develops and manufactures products and out-licenses proprietary technology for the water treatment and antimicrobial coatings markets. HaloSource is focused on the provision of cleaner, clearer and safer water using its proprietary technologies for drinking water, recreational water, textile coatings, and environmentally friendly wastewater recycling. HalosSource was established based on the potential of an Auburn University professor’s discoveries. The company’s principal antimicrobial technology was developed at Auburn University in the early 1990’s. S. Davis Worley was concerned about the lack of access to clean water in many parts of the world. An estimated one billion people do not have access to clean drinking water, with an estimated two million people dying from waterborne diseases every year. A low-cost, effective system for point-of-use water disinfection could dramatically change this public health problem. A key application of Worley’s technology involves attaching biocidal bromine onto polystyrene porous beads for use in inexpensive disinfecting cartridges that can be incorporated into water purification and filtration devices. This HaloPure™ technology purifies water to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards and kills bacteria and viruses on contact at the point-of-use. HaloPure enhances drinking water while eliminating germs, including poliovirus, rotavirus, MS2, Klebsiella terrigena, Escherichia coli (E.Coli), salmonella, and vibrio cholera. Defense, Safety, & Aerospace Worley’s work on polymeric water disinfection and detoxication was supported in part by the Department of Defense, through the Army and Navy, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Hexatech, Inc.
hexatech-inc 2017 DOD NorthCarolinaStateUniversity 2001 NC 1 HexaTech is the world leader in manufacturing aluminum nitride (AIN) semiconductor crystals. It focuses on being the leading integrated manufacturer of AIN substrates and AIN-based devices, commercializing first-in-kind technology for applications ranging from clean water to highly efficient power conversion. HexaTech is the world leader in manufacturing aluminum nitride (AIN) semiconductor crystals. It focuses on being the leading integrated manufacturer of AIN substrates and AIN-based devices, commercializing first-in-kind technology for applications ranging from clean water to highly efficient power conversion. HexaTech’s crystal growth process is the outgrowth of research at North Carolina State University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering by company founders Dr. Raoul Schlesser and Dr. Zlatko Sitar. In the 1990’s, the potentially revolutionary properties of III-nitride semiconductors became apparent, based on research that initially focused on the deposition of nitride thin films on then-available substrates (e.g., sapphire, silicon carbide). The achievable film quality remained limited, as the substrates’ crystal structure did not match the overgrown nitride layers. Ideally, use of a III-nitride substrate would resolve these issues, but nitride single crystals required for substrate fabrication don’t occur naturally, and a commercially viable, synthetic fabrication process had yet to be invented. Schlesser and Sitar’s work focused on the development of a high-quality, scalable crystal growth process for aluminum nitride (AlN) crystals. They demonstrated growth of an AIN crystal using an AIN seed, a key element to overcoming the limitations of film quality and laying the foundation of HexaTech’s proprietary crystal growth technology. Manufacturing, Research & Industry Their work was supported by the Department of Defense, and particularly the Office of Naval Research (ONR).
Hiperwall Inc.
hiperwall-inc 2013 NSF UniversityofCaliforniaIrvineUniversityofCalifornia 2008 CA 1 Hiperwall makes it simple to build high performance, scalable video wall from ordinary computers, ordinary monitors and an ordinary LAN. Hiperwall’s software solution can display a wide variety of content with unmatched speed, flexibility and functionality in extremely high-resolution. It uses proprietary technology and an easy-to-use interface to transfer data from any laptop or desktop PC directly to a wall of monitors, which can be installed in any size and configuration. The Hiperwall system is installed in hundreds of locations around the world for a variety of different applications, including command-and-control rooms, airports, trading floors, aerial imaging, education environments, and medical and scientific imaging, among others. Hiperwall makes it simple to build high performance, scalable video wall from ordinary computers, ordinary monitors and an ordinary LAN. Hiperwall’s software solution can display a wide variety of content with unmatched speed, flexibility and functionality in extremely high-resolution. It uses proprietary technology and an easy-to-use interface to transfer data from any laptop or desktop PC directly to a wall of monitors, which can be installed in any size and configuration. The Hiperwall system is installed in hundreds of locations around the world for a variety of different applications, including command-and-control rooms, airports, trading floors, aerial imaging, education environments, and medical and scientific imaging, among others. Hiperwall, Inc. is a University of California, Irvine (UCI) spinoff established to commercialize video wall display technology based on research at UCI's California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2). The project took shape over a year and was unveiled in the summer of 2005: a 23x9-foot, 50-screen display that allowed researchers to view their data as a single, full-screen visual or as a series of smaller images displayed simultaneously for comparison purposes. At the time, the Highly Interactive Parallelized Display Wall – HIPerWall, as it was known – was the world’s highest-resolution grid-based system, providing a total resolution of 200 million pixels. HIPerWall quickly became a boon for researchers and a popular destination for visitors to the building. Jenks and Kim recognized the presence of a commercial market and started Hiperwall Inc. in 2008 with CEO Jeff Greenberg at the helm. Technology & Web In 2004, researchers at Calit2 secured a $393,533 National Science Foundation grant to build a tiled display wall for visualizing massive data sets. The team was led by former assistant professor Falko Kuester and included electrical engineering and computer science professor Steve Jenks and postdoctoral researcher Sung-Jin Kim. They developed the middleware and software for the distributed computing and rendering display system and would end up founding Hiperwall.
HistoSonics, Inc.
histosonics-inc 2017 NIH UniversityofMichigan 2010 MI 1 HistoSonics is developing a technology, histotripsy, for tissue ablation that it hopes will fundamentally change the nature of surgery. Histotripsy uses the mechanical, as opposed to thermal, properties of focused ultrasound to precisely destroy targeted tissues without damaging surrounding tissue or structures. With faster healing, easier recovery, and lower cost, histotripsy has the potential to make surgery better for patients, doctors and insurers. HistoSonics is developing a technology, histotripsy, for tissue ablation that it hopes will fundamentally change the nature of surgery. Histotripsy uses the mechanical, as opposed to thermal, properties of focused ultrasound to precisely destroy targeted tissues without damaging surrounding tissue or structures. With faster healing, easier recovery, and lower cost, histotripsy has the potential to make surgery better for patients, doctors and insurers. Histotripsy was conceived at the University of Michigan over 10 years ago, and the initial proof of concept was demonstrated by the Histotripsy Research Group led by Charles Cain, a UM professor of biomedical engineering. While most ultrasound products on the market today use heat to destroy unwanted tissue, Cain and his colleagues took a different approach. They used cavitation—the production of tiny energetic bubbles—to create a surgical scalpel that liquefies tissues without heat.
"The conventional wisdom was that cavitation should be avoided, but no one could tell me why," Cain said. "So I decided to study it as a possible mechanism for non-invasive surgery." With support from his research team and long-term funding from the National Institutes of Health, Cain developed histotripsy, a non-invasive form of therapeutic ultrasound that employs cavitation rather than heat to ablate tissues and uses ultrasound imaging to monitor the treatment in real time. They formed HistoSonics in 2010 to further develop their technology and pursue its commercialization. Biomedical The work conducted at the University of Michigan was supported through research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Hummingbird Nano Inc.
hummingbird-nano-inc 2013 EDNSF UniversityofKentucky 2012 KY 1 Hummingbird Nano, Inc. (HBN) is a high-tech start-up company on the leading edge of precision micro and nano-scale manufacturing. HBN is a manufacturer of ultra-small, precision-molded components for the telecommunications, biotechnology, aerospace, energy, and defense industries. The company specializes in maintaining extreme tolerances and pristine quality using patent-pending machinery developed exclusively for mass production of molded plastic and glass parts. Hummingbird Nano, Inc. (HBN) is a high-tech start-up company on the leading edge of precision micro and nano-scale manufacturing. HBN is a manufacturer of ultra-small, precision-molded components for the telecommunications, biotechnology, aerospace, energy, and defense industries. The company specializes in maintaining extreme tolerances and pristine quality using patent-pending machinery developed exclusively for mass production of molded plastic and glass parts. University of Kentucky researchers in the Department of Mechanical Engineering wanted to solve problems that limit the mass production of very small molded parts – that of adequate geometric repeatability. Basic research into the limitations of existing machinery revealed the direction for new processes and machines that could be adapted to solve this problem. The result is a manufacturing system for the mass production of micro-sized parts and assemblies with unparalleled precision. This technology now enables products to be produced in quantities exceeding 100 million annually that could not be produced economically before.
The launch of HBN signals the transition from an R&D company to a commercial enterprise centered on the manufacturing of molded parts. This manufacturing technology is the basis for HBN’s competitive advantage in the marketplace where it is the sole solution in many cases for supplying economical, mass-produced molded parts with ultra-precise tolerances. Manufacturing, Research & Industry The initial research that led to Hummingbird Nano was undertaken at the University of Kentucky with approximately $300,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education.
HylaPharm
hylapharm 2017 NIHDOD UniversityofKansas 2010 KS 1 HylaPharm is developing National Cancer Institute-funded chemotherapies targeted for potentially deadly, locally advanced cancers that affect nearly 200,000 Americans each year. Unlike conventional chemotherapy that enters a vein and diffuses all over the body before getting to the tumor, HylaPharm’s patented drug HylaPlat™ is injected into tumor or surrounding at-risk tissues. This results in very high tumor dosing. HylaPlat™ then drains into local lymph nodes, which is where tumors generally metastasize first. The drug already has worked successfully in pet dogs with several different kinds of real cancer, including lymph node metastasis. Real cancers in pet dogs are much closer to what will happen during human trials, as opposed to the usual artificial tumors in mice. HylaPharm is developing National Cancer Institute-funded chemotherapies targeted for potentially deadly, locally advanced cancers that affect nearly 200,000 Americans each year. Unlike conventional chemotherapy that enters a vein and diffuses all over the body before getting to the tumor, HylaPharm’s patented drug HylaPlat™ is injected into tumor or surrounding at-risk tissues. This results in very high tumor dosing. HylaPlat™ then drains into local lymph nodes, which is where tumors generally metastasize first. The drug already has worked successfully in pet dogs with several different kinds of real cancer, including lymph node metastasis. Real cancers in pet dogs are much closer to what will happen during human trials, as opposed to the usual artificial tumors in mice. HylaPharm draws on deep expertise in drug delivery methods at the University of Kansas. Laird Forrest, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, developed the technology behind HylaPharm and founded the company. He continues to serve as the chief science officer. Daniel Aires, director of the Division of Dermatology at the KU Medical Center, is president and CEO of HylaPharm. Forrest’s initial research was funded, starting in 2007, primarily by the National Institutes of Health via the National Cancer Institute, with some additional support from the Department of Defense. Biomedical The work at the University of Kansas was supported through research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense.
iCardiac Technologies
icardiac-technologies 2010 NIH UniversityofRochester 2006 NY 51 iCardiac Technologies was formed in 2006 to develop and market drug safety technology. This technology allows for a more accurate and reliable method to analyze data from electrocardiograms (ECGs) and other types of heart monitors to determine whether an experimental drug is toxic for the heart. The iCardiac software allows researchers to evaluate data produced by ECGs — including the QT interval — to identify specific risks associated with a new drug. The QT interval measures the process of ventricular repolarization — the split second period between the heart’s contraction and recovery phase that represents an important determinant of a drug’s safety.
Since the 1990s, a wide range of drugs from anti-migraines and antihistamines to diuretics have been found to cause heart arrhythmias in certain people. In rare cases, arrhythmias can lead to sudden cardiac death. The FDA now mandates that all drugs in development go through a QT study to determine if a drug prolongs the QT interval on an electrocardiogram. QT prolongation has been associated in clinical studies with heart arrhythmias.
The company, which is based in Rochester, New York, provides clinical trial contract services to several pharmaceutical companies. In 2006, the company entered into a multi-year research partnership with Pfizer to develop advanced cardiac safety biomarkers. iCardiac Technologies was formed in 2006 to develop and market drug safety technology. This technology allows for a more accurate and reliable method to analyze data from electrocardiograms (ECGs) and other types of heart monitors to determine whether an experimental drug is toxic for the heart. The iCardiac software allows researchers to evaluate data produced by ECGs — including the QT interval — to identify specific risks associated with a new drug. The QT interval measures the process of ventricular repolarization — the split second period between the heart’s contraction and recovery phase that represents an important determinant of a drug’s safety.
Since the 1990s, a wide range of drugs from anti-migraines and antihistamines to diuretics have been found to cause heart arrhythmias in certain people. In rare cases, arrhythmias can lead to sudden cardiac death. The FDA now mandates that all drugs in development go through a QT study to determine if a drug prolongs the QT interval on an electrocardiogram. QT prolongation has been associated in clinical studies with heart arrhythmias.
The company, which is based in Rochester, New York, provides clinical trial contract services to several pharmaceutical companies. In 2006, the company entered into a multi-year research partnership with Pfizer to develop advanced cardiac safety biomarkers. The iCardiac technology consists of software created by University of Rochester Medical Center biomedical engineer Jean-Philippe Couderc, PhD. It evolved from the University of Rochester’s Heart Research Follow-up Program, which is home to an international database of an inherited condition (called long QT syndrome) that is similar to the drug-induced syndrome. Biomedical The software discovery that spawned iCardiac Technologies was developed with the support of the National Institutes of Health.
IDx, LLC
idx-llc 2017 USDANIHVA UniversityofIowa 2010 IA 1 The back of the eye – the retina – is the only part of the human body where both blood vessels and nerve tissue can be observed and measured without contrast, injections or scanning. IDx's approach to smart retinal imaging uses snapshots of the retina to detect biomarkers of vision-threating eye disease, on a fully automated basis. But eye health is just the beginning: IDx believes that its work to leverage cutting edge machine learning on the front lines of medicine will ultimately increase the quality, accessibility and affordability of healthcare across the globe The back of the eye – the retina – is the only part of the human body where both blood vessels and nerve tissue can be observed and measured without contrast, injections or scanning. IDx's approach to smart retinal imaging uses snapshots of the retina to detect biomarkers of vision-threating eye disease, on a fully automated basis. But eye health is just the beginning: IDx believes that its work to leverage cutting edge machine learning on the front lines of medicine will ultimately increase the quality, accessibility and affordability of healthcare across the globe Dr. Michael Abramhoff brought his cutting edge work in machine learning to the University of Iowa in 2003, an area of research he had been pioneering in the Netherlands. Dr. Abramhoff secured several competitive federal grants, including from the Department of Agriculture, the National Eye Institute (part of the National Institutes of Health) and the Veterans Administration. The research sought to leverage the algorithms to automatically screen the patients for diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is the largest cause for blindness is the developed world among working-age adults - a condition almost entirely manageable if identified early. On the heels of this research, he and several colleagues at the University of Iowa founded IDx to translate his technology to practice. Biomedical The work at the University of Iowa was supported through research funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health, and the Veterans Administration.
Image Sensing Systems, Inc.
image-sensing-systems-inc 2010 DOT UniversityofMinnesota 1984 MN 51 As traffic backs up across the country and around the world, demand grows for the traffic monitoring products of Image Sensing Systems.Image Sensing Systems designs computer software and hardware that help keep traffic flowing and help traffic managers monitor the roadways. The company’s systems are used in about 60 countries around the world.“With the proliferation of traffic surveillance cameras, it’s impossible for an individual to monitor every camera,” explains Ken Aubrey, Image Sensing Systems CEO. “Our computer-enabled detection software extracts key information so a human doesn’t have to. For instance, our devices can detect if there’s a stopped vehicle in the road, or if a vehicle is going the wrong direction, or if a pedestrian is on the road, or if there’s debris on the road.”When the system detects a potential problem, it will flag a person in the traffic control center to investigate.Typically, the firm’s systems are used to monitor intersections, bridges, highways and tunnels. For instance, in China, its system is used to monitor the 200 cameras installed in the 11-mile long Zhongnanshan tunnel. As traffic backs up across the country and around the world, demand grows for the traffic monitoring products of Image Sensing Systems.Image Sensing Systems designs computer software and hardware that help keep traffic flowing and help traffic managers monitor the roadways. The company’s systems are used in about 60 countries around the world.“With the proliferation of traffic surveillance cameras, it’s impossible for an individual to monitor every camera,” explains Ken Aubrey, Image Sensing Systems CEO. “Our computer-enabled detection software extracts key information so a human doesn’t have to. For instance, our devices can detect if there’s a stopped vehicle in the road, or if a vehicle is going the wrong direction, or if a pedestrian is on the road, or if there’s debris on the road.”When the system detects a potential problem, it will flag a person in the traffic control center to investigate.Typically, the firm’s systems are used to monitor intersections, bridges, highways and tunnels. For instance, in China, its system is used to monitor the 200 cameras installed in the 11-mile long Zhongnanshan tunnel. Image Sensing Systems, Inc., (ISS) was founded in 1984 by University of Minnesota Civil Engineering Professor Dr. Panos Michalopoulos, who saw the potential for using video cameras and computers in real-life traffic applications to help resolve problems. Technology & Web DR. PANOS MICHALOPOULOS Dr. Michalopoulos’ research was partially funded by the Federal Highway Administration, part of the Department of Transportation.
ImagineOptix
imagineoptix 2013 NSF NorthCarolinaStateUniversity 2004 NC 1 ImagineOptix (“IO”) is a development, licensing and manufacturing company. The company is commercializing patented optical thin-films and related products. One initial application area is to improve video projector devices, enabling the world’s smallest, lowest-cost and most battery efficient projectors to be imbedded in many consumer electronics devices such as cell phones and laptops. IO is also applying their technologies to revolutionize telecommunications markets, other optical consumer electronics markets, as well as military and industrial equipment markets. ImagineOptix (“IO”) is a development, licensing and manufacturing company. The company is commercializing patented optical thin-films and related products. One initial application area is to improve video projector devices, enabling the world’s smallest, lowest-cost and most battery efficient projectors to be imbedded in many consumer electronics devices such as cell phones and laptops. IO is also applying their technologies to revolutionize telecommunications markets, other optical consumer electronics markets, as well as military and industrial equipment markets. ImagineOptix is commercializing technology developed by Dr. Michael Escuti, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at North Carolina State University where he leads research within the Opto-electronics and Lightwave Engineering Group. Dr. Escuti is a leading liquid crystal display expert pioneering the development of polarization-independent devices. His research has shown how polarization gratings, as well as devices and applications based on them, can solve problems in optics that had been previously thought unsolvable. Technology & Web Dr. Escuti's work has been supported by the National Science Foundation.
Immersive Touch
immersive-touch 2013 NISTNIH UniversityofIllinoisatChicago 2005 IL 1 ImmersiveTouch is a leader in simulation based surgical training and exploration. ImmersiveTouch simulators ‘immerse’ surgeons in a digitally replicated operating environment with high-fidelity 3D virtual anatomies and haptic instrument replicates. ImmersiveTouch™-SENSIMMER® is the first system that integrates a haptic device with a head and hand tracking system and a high resolution high pixel-density stereoscopic display. Its ergonomic design provides a comfortable working volume in the space of a standard desktop. Most surgeons who have interacted with the simulator ImmersiveTouch has developed say that it is like performing real surgery. ImmersiveTouch is a leader in simulation based surgical training and exploration. ImmersiveTouch simulators ‘immerse’ surgeons in a digitally replicated operating environment with high-fidelity 3D virtual anatomies and haptic instrument replicates. ImmersiveTouch™-SENSIMMER® is the first system that integrates a haptic device with a head and hand tracking system and a high resolution high pixel-density stereoscopic display. Its ergonomic design provides a comfortable working volume in the space of a standard desktop. Most surgeons who have interacted with the simulator ImmersiveTouch has developed say that it is like performing real surgery. While at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Professor Pat Banerjee and his colleagues pioneered the development of a multi-sensorial computer interface that is able to simultaneously incorporate vision, touch, and hearing into its system. Force and audio feedbacks as well as high resolution images recreate an augmented reality environment that incorporates the user’s hands with the virtual 3D computer generated models in real time. The novel system they developed and went on to commercialize as Immersive Touch is a device that produces images with high resolution and high pixel density.
Biomedical Banerjee’s initial research was funded by grants from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of the National Institutes of Health.
ImmuneWorks
immuneworks 2010 NIH IndianaUniversity 2006 IN 1 For those with advanced lung disease or damage, a lung transplant has been a way to buy a little more time. However, patients who receive newly transplanted lungs have just a 50/50 chance of being alive five years later. ImmuneWorks researchers say they may be able to improve survival rates. They found a way to suppress the autoimmune response by conditioning the body with small doses of a protein, collagen V, before lung transplantation. (When a patient has a lung transplant, the body thinks the collagen V that is released is a bad thing, and the autoimmune response kicks in to get rid of it.) “If you know what the trigger is, you might be able to educate the body not to respond,” said David Wilkes, co-founder and chief scientific officer of ImmuneWorks. He also is a professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology at Indiana University (IU); he directs the medical school’s Center for Immunobiology. “We think we’ve found a key trigger,” he said.
Human clinical trials for developing the pharmaceutical-grade collagen compound are underway.
ImmuneWorks is also working on developing effective treatments for serious lung diseases like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), which accounts for about the same number of deaths each year as breast cancer. The company has already identified triggers for IPF and is working on blood tests that can diagnose the disease as well as monitor a patient’s progress during treatment. For those with advanced lung disease or damage, a lung transplant has been a way to buy a little more time. However, patients who receive newly transplanted lungs have just a 50/50 chance of being alive five years later. ImmuneWorks researchers say they may be able to improve survival rates. They found a way to suppress the autoimmune response by conditioning the body with small doses of a protein, collagen V, before lung transplantation. (When a patient has a lung transplant, the body thinks the collagen V that is released is a bad thing, and the autoimmune response kicks in to get rid of it.) “If you know what the trigger is, you might be able to educate the body not to respond,” said David Wilkes, co-founder and chief scientific officer of ImmuneWorks. He also is a professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology at Indiana University (IU); he directs the medical school’s Center for Immunobiology. “We think we’ve found a key trigger,” he said.
Human clinical trials for developing the pharmaceutical-grade collagen compound are underway.
ImmuneWorks is also working on developing effective treatments for serious lung diseases like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), which accounts for about the same number of deaths each year as breast cancer. The company has already identified triggers for IPF and is working on blood tests that can diagnose the disease as well as monitor a patient’s progress during treatment. The company was founded by Indiana University School of Medicine researchers; it resides in the Indiana University Emerging Technologies Center. Biomedical The work by Dr. Wilkes at IU to discover the disease mechanism underlying lung transplant rejection and the progression of IPF was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
ImmuNext
immunext 2013 NIH DartmouthCollege 2010 NH 1 ImmuNext is dedicated to developing novel therapeutics that modulate the immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company is developing immune-based, protein-based therapeutics to treat patients with immune-related disorders, including autoimmunity, cancer, transplantation rejection and infectious disease. ImmuNext targets critical immuno-modulatory molecules that either promote or suppress immune responses to restore immune homeostasis and cure disease. Using both antibody-based therapeutics and novel recombinant fusion proteins, a spectrum of newly identified molecules are being targeted to achieve disease remission. ImmuNext is dedicated to developing novel therapeutics that modulate the immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company is developing immune-based, protein-based therapeutics to treat patients with immune-related disorders, including autoimmunity, cancer, transplantation rejection and infectious disease. ImmuNext targets critical immuno-modulatory molecules that either promote or suppress immune responses to restore immune homeostasis and cure disease. Using both antibody-based therapeutics and novel recombinant fusion proteins, a spectrum of newly identified molecules are being targeted to achieve disease remission. Dr. Randolph Noelle, ImmuNext founder and Chief Scientific Officer, is a professor in the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. His research has identified a number of immuno-modulatory targets and related drug candidates. The lead ImmuNext program is based on Dr. Noelle’s research on VISTA, a novel checkpoint regulator in the B7 family. VISTA was founded in Noelle’s lab and is one of the targets that was licensed from Dartmouth to ImmuNExt to develop for therapeutic use in cancer and autoimmunity. Biomedical Dr. Noelle's research has received funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Infinity Pharmaceuticals
infinity-pharmaceuticals 2013 NIH HarvardUniversity 2001 MA 101 Infinity Pharmaceuticals is an innovative drug discovery and development company primarily focused on discovering and developing oncology related drugs. Utilizing the chemical and biological knowledge it has developed, Infinity’s drug candidates seek to combat inflammatory disease and disrupt cancer and tumor growth.
Infinity’s mission is to build a community and company capable of sustainably discovering, developing and delivering innovative, important new medicines to people that make a material difference in their health, well-being and lives. Infinity Pharmaceuticals is an innovative drug discovery and development company primarily focused on discovering and developing oncology related drugs. Utilizing the chemical and biological knowledge it has developed, Infinity’s drug candidates seek to combat inflammatory disease and disrupt cancer and tumor growth.
Infinity’s mission is to build a community and company capable of sustainably discovering, developing and delivering innovative, important new medicines to people that make a material difference in their health, well-being and lives. The foundation for Infinity Pharmaceuticals was laid in 1998, when Harvard Professor Dr. Stuart Schreiber was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to work on new methods for cancer treatment involving cell-permeable small molecules that could be used to manipulate the function of any given protein target. Infinity Pharmaceuticals maintains Dr. Schreiber’s focus on small molecules to discover, develop and deliver to patients best-in-class medicines for diseases with significant unmet need, including a therapeutic focus on oncology.
Since its formation, Infinity has developed and refined Dr. Schreiber’s research and currently has three drugs in clinical trials. Biomedical Dr. Schreiber's research was made possible through a grant from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc.
inhibikase-therapeutics-inc 2013 NIH EmoryUniversity 2010 GA 1 Inhibikase Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company developing host-targeted antiviral therapeutics to treat and prevent infectious diseases including polyoma virus-based diseases.
The company focuses on compounds that can be used to target a variety of diseases based on a common mechanism: the inhibition of certain cellular kinase pathways. The company has received FDA approval for a phase II trial in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) caused by the JC virus. Inhibikase Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company developing host-targeted antiviral therapeutics to treat and prevent infectious diseases including polyoma virus-based diseases.
The company focuses on compounds that can be used to target a variety of diseases based on a common mechanism: the inhibition of certain cellular kinase pathways. The company has received FDA approval for a phase II trial in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) caused by the JC virus. Inhibikase was founded based on Emory technology from Daniel Kalman, Ph.D. Dr. Kalman is an associate professor in the Emory School of Medicine Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Dr. Kalman’s lab is focused on understanding how bacterial and viral pathogens interface with the host. His lab was the first to demonstrate that inhibition of non-receptor host tyrosine kinases can block replication and propagation of certain types of viruses in animals. Dr. Kalman received his Ph.D. at University of California, Los Angeles and trained under Nobel Laureate Michael Bishop at University of California, San Francisco in virology before opening his own laboratory at Emory University in 2001. He is the scientific founder of the company and continues to work on technology in host-targeted antivirals. Biomedical Federal grants awarded to Emory University from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, partially funded the research leading to these inventions.
InkTank
inktank 2017 DOE UniversityofCaliforniaSantaCruzUniversityofCalifornia 2012 NC NA Inktank developed and marketed the Ceph cloud storage platform, a scalable, open source, software-defined storage system that runs on commodity hardware. The company was acquired by Red Hat in 2014 for $175 million. Inktank developed and marketed the Ceph cloud storage platform, a scalable, open source, software-defined storage system that runs on commodity hardware. The company was acquired by Red Hat in 2014 for $175 million. Ceph grew out of a research project by company founder Sage Weil while earning his Ph.D. at University of California, Santa Cruz. Already the founder of a web hosting company, Weil saw the need for affordable, scalable data storage systems. He, along with his academic advisor and other faculty and staff at the UCSC Storage Systems Research Center worked on the research that led to the development of Ceph. Their project was primarily funded by a Department of Energy grant from the Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, and Sandia National Laboratories. Data storage is a big concern for the national labs, where the most powerful supercomputers in the world run simulations that generate vast amounts of data. Technology & Web The work at UC Santa Cruz was supported by research funding by the Department of Energy.
Instrumems, Inc.
instrumems-inc 2021 NJ 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), Inc.
integrated-dna-technologies-idt-inc 2013 NIH UniversityofIowa 1987 IA 501 Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc. (IDT) is a major force in advancing biomedical research as both a supplier of custom oligonucleotides (short, synthetic DNA strands), and a developer of innovative new biotechnology. As the largest global manufacturer of synthetic DNA/RNA, IDT provides products to over 70,000 customers worldwide. With a global sales and distribution network, IDT has a strong presence in both the academic and corporate research marketplace. In addition to its product manufacturing mission, the company operates a world-class molecular biology research division that is a proven innovator of novel applications for DNA and RNA-based compounds. Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc. (IDT) is a major force in advancing biomedical research as both a supplier of custom oligonucleotides (short, synthetic DNA strands), and a developer of innovative new biotechnology. As the largest global manufacturer of synthetic DNA/RNA, IDT provides products to over 70,000 customers worldwide. With a global sales and distribution network, IDT has a strong presence in both the academic and corporate research marketplace. In addition to its product manufacturing mission, the company operates a world-class molecular biology research division that is a proven innovator of novel applications for DNA and RNA-based compounds. As a biochemistry professor at the University of Iowa, Dr. Joseph Walder was active in the development of anti-sickling compounds and hemoglobin derivative blood substitutes, the cloning of restriction-modification systems, and the development of modified nucleic acids as anti-sense reagents. This work was the foundation of his interest in biotechnological innovation. Manufacturing, Research & Industry Early research and development by Dr. Walder was made possible through grants totaling $5.7 million from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. Such federal funding directed toward basic and applied research was essential to forming the core technologies, which were then patented by the University of Iowa Research Foundation and licensed back to Dr. Walder. IDT was formed because of that product of that federal funding, and its commercial success since (more than 600 employees worldwide, and sales approaching $100M annually) can be traced back to that funding, and to Walder’s entrepreneurial spirit.
Integrated Genomics
integrated-genomics 2010 NSFNIH UniversityofChicago 1997 IL 1 Chicago-based Integrated Genomics specializes in research in microbial genomics, biochemistry, and gene expression. These products and services are based on ERGO™, a web-based genome analysis platform. The company’s scientists have broad experience in both in silico and wet lab sequencing, research and development with more than 100 relevant publications in these areas. Integrated Genomics has particularly long-standing relationships and active research in the area of lactic acid bacteria and pathogenic microbes, as well as a broad customer base across industry, academic and government institutions.
In 2013 Integrated Genomics™ business operations were transitioned to a new corporation, Igenbio, Inc. Chicago-based Integrated Genomics specializes in research in microbial genomics, biochemistry, and gene expression. These products and services are based on ERGO™, a web-based genome analysis platform. The company’s scientists have broad experience in both in silico and wet lab sequencing, research and development with more than 100 relevant publications in these areas. Integrated Genomics has particularly long-standing relationships and active research in the area of lactic acid bacteria and pathogenic microbes, as well as a broad customer base across industry, academic and government institutions.
In 2013 Integrated Genomics™ business operations were transitioned to a new corporation, Igenbio, Inc. Co-Founder Dr. Robert Haselkorn is the F.L. Pritzker Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He has published more than 200 papers in the field of molecular genetics and is a world-renowned authority on the genetics of photosynthetic bacteria and cyanobacteria. Manufacturing, Research & Industry Throughout his career, Dr. Haselkorn’s laboratory has been funded primarily through federal grants from the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation.
IntelliCyt Corporation
intellicyt-corporation 2017 NIH UniversityofNewMexico 2006 NM 51 At IntelliCyt, they say every cell has a story to tell. The company specializes in tools and solutions to discern those stories: a result of interactions between cells, between cells and their microenvironment, as well as within cells. IntelliCyt provides both suspension cell-based and bead-based analyses. The company’s high throughput cell screening solutions using flow cytometry are used for drug discovery and research. In June 2016 was acquired by the German pharmaceutical and laboratory equipment provider Sartorius. The company continues to operate in Albuquerque as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sartorius. At IntelliCyt, they say every cell has a story to tell. The company specializes in tools and solutions to discern those stories: a result of interactions between cells, between cells and their microenvironment, as well as within cells. IntelliCyt provides both suspension cell-based and bead-based analyses. The company’s high throughput cell screening solutions using flow cytometry are used for drug discovery and research. In June 2016 was acquired by the German pharmaceutical and laboratory equipment provider Sartorius. The company continues to operate in Albuquerque as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sartorius. IntelliCyt was formed in 2006 around high throughput flow cytometry technology developed at the University of New Mexico by Dr. Larry Sklar and Dr. Bruce Edwards whose work was supported by numerous National Institutes of Health research grants. Before IntelliCyt launched its products, standard commercial flow cytometers slowly fed test tube-based cellular samples one at a time and much of the sample was wasted due to the way conventional flow cytometers work. IntelliCyt created an innovative automated system so that many more and smaller volume samples in standard 96, 384, or 1536 well microtiter plates could be fed into the cytometer at extremely fast speeds, which allowed more screening to take place in less time and at a reduced cost. IntelliCyt’s automated systems enable samples to be analyzed 30-40 times faster and use 90 percent less sample than conventional flow cytometers.
By 2015, the company had achieved $13.4 million in sales. Biomedical The work conducted at the University of New Mexico was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
InterSeeder Technologies, LLC
interseeder-technologies-llc 2017 USDA PennsylvaniaStateUniversity 2014 PA 1 InterSeeder Technologies manufactures an agricultural planting implement known as the InterSeeder. The InterSeeder allows the user to plant cover crop within the rows of their cash crops such as corn, cotton or soybean much earlier in the year. This enhances the success of the cover crop and does not compete with the main crop. The InterSeeder allows the user to improve the environment as well as improves the cash crop yields over time. InterSeeder Technologies also offers expert consultation on all the agronomic aspects of inter-seeding cover crops. InterSeeder Technologies manufactures an agricultural planting implement known as the InterSeeder. The InterSeeder allows the user to plant cover crop within the rows of their cash crops such as corn, cotton or soybean much earlier in the year. This enhances the success of the cover crop and does not compete with the main crop. The InterSeeder allows the user to improve the environment as well as improves the cash crop yields over time. InterSeeder Technologies also offers expert consultation on all the agronomic aspects of inter-seeding cover crops. The InterSeeder began as a research project at Penn State University with the goal of helping farmers to have greater success using cover crops. Cover crops provide many benefits, including improving soil nutrients and reducing erosion and runoff. Led by PSU professors of agronomy and weed science, Greg Roth and William Curran, the project produced stunning results: a consistent and lush stand of cover crops growing under a dense corn canopy, followed six weeks later by a corn harvest with no yield penalty. This success opened the door to further testing and industry adoption Energy & Chemicals Research funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture supported the initial research on the InterSeeder.
InVivo Biosystems
invivo-biosystems 2021 OR 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
iota Motion
iota-motion 2021 IA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
iRobot Corporation
irobot-corporation 2010 DODNASA MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology 1990 MA 101 iRobot was founded in 1990 when Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scientists Colin Angle and Helen Greiner teamed up with their professor, Dr. Rodney Brooks, with the vision of making practical robots a reality. Their goal was to develop robotics and artificial intelligence technologies in order to produce and market robots. Today, iRobot has grown to a $299 million public company that employs more than 500 of the robot industry’s top professionals, including mechanical, electrical and software engineers and related support staff.
iRobot Corporation provides robots that enable people to complete complex tasks in a better way. For more than 20 years, the company has developed proprietary technology incorporating advanced concepts in navigation, mobility, manipulation and artificial intelligence to build military, industrial and consumer-focused robots. The most well known robot the company makes is the iRobot Roomba, the floor vacuuming robot. In all, more than five million iRobot home robots have been sold worldwide.
For very different markets, the military and public safety organizations worldwide, iRobot has created several products. One major product for military use is the iRobot 510 PackBot. This robot provides soldiers with a tool to identify and dispose of roadside bombs and other unexploded ordnance while keeping them at safe distances. PackBot robots have performed tens of thousands of missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and are credited with saving soldiers’ lives. iRobot was founded in 1990 when Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scientists Colin Angle and Helen Greiner teamed up with their professor, Dr. Rodney Brooks, with the vision of making practical robots a reality. Their goal was to develop robotics and artificial intelligence technologies in order to produce and market robots. Today, iRobot has grown to a $299 million public company that employs more than 500 of the robot industry’s top professionals, including mechanical, electrical and software engineers and related support staff.
iRobot Corporation provides robots that enable people to complete complex tasks in a better way. For more than 20 years, the company has developed proprietary technology incorporating advanced concepts in navigation, mobility, manipulation and artificial intelligence to build military, industrial and consumer-focused robots. The most well known robot the company makes is the iRobot Roomba, the floor vacuuming robot. In all, more than five million iRobot home robots have been sold worldwide.
For very different markets, the military and public safety organizations worldwide, iRobot has created several products. One major product for military use is the iRobot 510 PackBot. This robot provides soldiers with a tool to identify and dispose of roadside bombs and other unexploded ordnance while keeping them at safe distances. PackBot robots have performed tens of thousands of missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and are credited with saving soldiers’ lives. iRobot was founded in 1990 when Massachusetts Institute of Technology roboticists Colin Angle and Helen Greiner teamed up with their professor Dr. Rodney Brooks with the vision of making practical robots a reality. Defense, Safety, & Aerospace iRobot emerged from the federally funded work on robotics that was being done at MIT. Funding agencies included NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), part of the Department of Defense.
Itaconix Corporation
itaconix-corporation 2017 NSF UniversityofNewHampshire 2008 NH 1 Itaconix is the world’s leading producer of polymers from itaconic acid. These novel bio-based polymers have unique functionality for use in detergents, personal care products, and industrial coatings. In June 2016, Itaconix was acquired by British specialty chemical company Revolymer. The company continues to operate in New Hampshire with 19 employees. Itaconix is the world’s leading producer of polymers from itaconic acid. These novel bio-based polymers have unique functionality for use in detergents, personal care products, and industrial coatings. In June 2016, Itaconix was acquired by British specialty chemical company Revolymer. The company continues to operate in New Hampshire with 19 employees. The Itaconix technology platform is based on breakthrough economics for producing polymers of itaconic acid that Dr. Yvon Durant originally began at his research laboratory at the University of New Hampshire. His work was funded by small federal research grants for renewable chemicals from the National Science Foundation. Durant and co-founder John Shaw met at a business plan forum where Durant’s breakthrough research results were presented. Despite having economics and functionality on their side, the two still had questions about the commercial value of their product. Then a detergent company contacted them to report that a sample of their polymer had been successful in solving a nagging hard water problem, which convinced them of the extraordinary value of their first polymer.
From 2009 to 2011, Itaconix was awarded four state-funded Granite State Technology Innovation Grants from the New Hampshire Innovation Research Center (NHIRC). The grants funded various research and development projects in collaboration with UNH faculty, which directly enabled the growing company to launch five new products, gain eight patents, and receive over $2.8 million in additional grants. Energy & Chemicals The work conducted at the University of New Hampshire was supported by research funding from the National Science Foundation.
J.A. Woollam Co., Inc.
ja-woollam-co-inc 2010 DODNASANSF UniversityofNebraska 1987 NE 1 Starting as a spin-off from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the J.A. Woollam Company has rapidly grown to become a worldwide leader in the manufacturing of spectroscopic ellipsometers for non-destructive thin film and bulk material characterization. Spectroscopic ellipsometry has become the standard for measuring thin film thickness and optical constants and is used for characterization of all types of materials: dielectrics, semiconductors, metals, organics, and more. J.A. Woollam Company has been perfecting this technology for 20 years and has secured over 100 patents internationally. The company employs more than 40 people, the majority of whom are engineers and scientists dedicated to the advancement of ellipsometry. Each system is hand-assembled using custom-machined aluminum and high quality optics and electronics. The Woollam Co. has multiple worldwide distributors and over 60 percent of annual sales are exported globally. Starting as a spin-off from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the J.A. Woollam Company has rapidly grown to become a worldwide leader in the manufacturing of spectroscopic ellipsometers for non-destructive thin film and bulk material characterization. Spectroscopic ellipsometry has become the standard for measuring thin film thickness and optical constants and is used for characterization of all types of materials: dielectrics, semiconductors, metals, organics, and more. J.A. Woollam Company has been perfecting this technology for 20 years and has secured over 100 patents internationally. The company employs more than 40 people, the majority of whom are engineers and scientists dedicated to the advancement of ellipsometry. Each system is hand-assembled using custom-machined aluminum and high quality optics and electronics. The Woollam Co. has multiple worldwide distributors and over 60 percent of annual sales are exported globally. J.A. Woollam Company was founded in 1987 as a spinoff company from ongoing research by Dr. John A. Woollam, a physics and electrical engineering professor at University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). The Woollam Company has continued to partner with UNL on many research projects over the past 20 years to further the knowledge and applications of ellipsometry. The Woollam Company and UNL recently completed a joint STTR Phase I contract with the US Army. Based on the success of this joint research project, the US Army has asked the Woollam Company and UNL to continue this research with a Phase 2 contract. UNL recently received research funding from the National Science Foundation-supported Nebraska EPSCoR program and will partner with the Woollam Company in another collaborative research project Manufacturing, Research & Industry Dr. Woollam’s research has been funded by Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense — through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), US Air Force, US Army — and NASA. This funding played an essential role in growing J.A. Woollam Co., Inc. to further develop its spectroscopic ellipsometers and continue meaningful research partnerships with the University of Nebraska.
Jeeva Wireless
jeeva-wireless 2021 UniversityofWashington WA 1 Technology & Web
KAI Pharmaceuticals
kai-pharmaceuticals 2013 NIH StanfordUniversity 2002 CA NA KAI Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Amgen since 2012, is a drug discovery and development company with multiple, novel clinical-stage programs in the areas of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and pain. At the time of its acquisition by Amgen, the company was developing an experimental treatment for secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with chronic kidney disease who are on dialysis. KAI Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Amgen since 2012, is a drug discovery and development company with multiple, novel clinical-stage programs in the areas of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and pain. At the time of its acquisition by Amgen, the company was developing an experimental treatment for secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with chronic kidney disease who are on dialysis. The original platform technology that spawned KAI Pharmaceuticals in 2002 was based on peptide research from the lab of Dr. Daria Mochly-Rosen at Stanford University. Basic research over 10 years in Dr. Mochly-Rosen’s lab had resulted in the discovery of a series of molecules that work by selectively targeting a family of proteins called Protein Kinase C (PKC). Originally, Dr. Mochly-Rosen hoped to license the technology to an existing company for drug development. However, these companies had tried and failed to make PKC-targeting drugs in the past. They could not be convinced that the novel set of drug candidates from Stanford were able to zero-in on individual PKC family members and avoid the unwanted side effects that caused problems with previous drug candidates. So with assistance from Stanford’s Office of Technology Licensing, Dr. Mochly-Rosen and co-founder Leon Chen became entrepreneurs. Chen had just completed his Ph.D. in molecular pharmacology from Stanford University. Biomedical The foundational research behind KAI was supported by grant funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Kalion, Inc.
kalion-inc 2021 MA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Kapteyn-Murnane Laboratories Inc.
kapteyn-murnane-laboratories-inc 2017 NSFDOE UniversityofColorado 1994 CO 1 KMLabs develops and manufactures the most capable ultrashort-pulse femtosecond (fs) laser systems in the world. Using these lasers, KMLabs has developed what is in essence the first tabletop-scale x-ray laser. This capability has broad application for a variety of basic research studies. In industry, this technology has the potential to provide critical capabilities for imaging and measurement at the nanoscale, with application in microelectronics and nanotechnology. KMLabs develops and manufactures the most capable ultrashort-pulse femtosecond (fs) laser systems in the world. Using these lasers, KMLabs has developed what is in essence the first tabletop-scale x-ray laser. This capability has broad application for a variety of basic research studies. In industry, this technology has the potential to provide critical capabilities for imaging and measurement at the nanoscale, with application in microelectronics and nanotechnology. KMLabs was founded based on work of professors Murnane and Kapteyn that demonstrated the first simple and robust laser capable of generating pulses just a few optical cycles—0.00000000000001 seconds – in duration. These very short flashes of light can be used as a strobe to observe the motion of atoms in a molecule or chemical reaction. The development of this laser resulted in an explosion of work in ultrafast studies. Based on this work and further work funded by the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy, Murnane and Kapteyn showed how to use these ultrashort, super intense pulses to coherently convert laser light to much shorter wavelengths – up to 1000x shorter in the x-ray spectral region. Previous work used nuclear explosions and building-sized lasers to accomplish the same thing. KMLabs commercialized this technology, and this attracted the interest of investors including Intel Capital. Very short wavelengths are useful for seeing very small objects, such as transistors on a chip, and laser light is particularly useful for making the very sensitive measurements needed for successful commercial nanotechnology. Technology & Web The work at the University of Colorado was supported by research funding from the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.
Kionix, Inc.
kionix-inc 2010 DODNSF CornellUniversity 1993 NY 101 Kionix, Inc. designs and manufactures silicon micro machined inertial sensors. It offers microfluidic systems, microrelays, micromirror arrays, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and combination sensors. The company serves the automotive, consumer electronics, wireless communications, pharmaceutical research, and biotechnology industries.
Kionix was acquired by ROHM Co., Ltd. of Japan on November 16, 2009 Kionix, Inc. designs and manufactures silicon micro machined inertial sensors. It offers microfluidic systems, microrelays, micromirror arrays, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and combination sensors. The company serves the automotive, consumer electronics, wireless communications, pharmaceutical research, and biotechnology industries.
Kionix was acquired by ROHM Co., Ltd. of Japan on November 16, 2009 Kionix’s founding technology was developed by Cornell University engineering faculty. Kionix’s motion sensors are based on more than 30 Cornell technologies that involve MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) and motion sensing. Kionix has an exclusive license to the technology from the Cornell University Research Foundation. The company’s founders received their doctoral degrees from the College of Engineering, and two members of Kionix’s board of directors are Cornellians. Several employees are also Cornell graduates. Materials The Cornell work that became the technology basis for Kionix was supported by the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation.
KLAR Scientific
klar-scientific 2021 WA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Klogene Therapeutics, Inc.
klogene-therapeutics-inc 2017 NIH BostonUniversity 2015 MA 1 Klogene Therapeutics seeks to tap the potential of the Klotho protein to protect against neurodegenerative disease. The company’s first target is Alzheimer’s disease. Klogene Therapeutics seeks to tap the potential of the Klotho protein to protect against neurodegenerative disease. The company’s first target is Alzheimer’s disease. Klogene Therapeutics grew out of founder Carmela Abraham’s more than three decades of research on Alzheimer’s disease and specifically her work on Klotho, a large, multi-functional protein produced in the kidneys and brain that circulates in the blood and cerebral spinal fluid that may protect against Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Abraham, a Boston University School of Medicine professor, and her team were the first to show in 2003 that Klotho levels are lower in the aged brain. More recently, she has been on the hunt for small molecule compounds that will enhance the levels of Klotho in the brain (since the Klotho protein itself is too large to cross the blood-brain barrier) and have a therapeutic effect. It is here that her work hit a wall and Klogene Therapeutics was born. Biomedical Although, Dr. Abraham had received substantial support from the National Institutes of Health for her basic research (the National Institute on Aging funded her seminal work on Klotho), she was not having the same type of success securing grants for this translational work. She thought if she created a company she might be able to move her life’s work forward. So she and her research collaborator Kevin Hodgetts of Harvard Medical School along with her husband, a successful entrepreneur, founded Klogene in 2015. In May 2016, the company won a $1.49 million Small Business Innovation Research grant from NIA to support their mission. “I dedicated the last 36 years of my career to Alzheimer’s disease research and I do not intend to stop until we have a treatment or a cure,” Abraham says.
Kolltan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
kolltan-pharmaceuticals-inc 2013 NIH YaleUniversity 2007 CT 1 Kolltan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a next generation cancer therapeutics company that develops novel drugs such as monoclonal antibody (mAb) and small-molecule drugs targeting receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) activation. RTKs comprise a large family of cell surface receptors that control many fundamental cellular processes, such as cell proliferation, differentiation and metabolism as well as cell survival and cell migration. Cancer and other human diseases are caused by dysfunctional RTKs or their intracellular signaling pathways. Kolltan uses fundamental insights into the mechanisms of action and activation of RTKs to discover and develop a new family of targeted medicines. This allows Kolltan to create more genetically precise cancer treatments based on an individual patient’s molecular structure. Kolltan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a next generation cancer therapeutics company that develops novel drugs such as monoclonal antibody (mAb) and small-molecule drugs targeting receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) activation. RTKs comprise a large family of cell surface receptors that control many fundamental cellular processes, such as cell proliferation, differentiation and metabolism as well as cell survival and cell migration. Cancer and other human diseases are caused by dysfunctional RTKs or their intracellular signaling pathways. Kolltan uses fundamental insights into the mechanisms of action and activation of RTKs to discover and develop a new family of targeted medicines. This allows Kolltan to create more genetically precise cancer treatments based on an individual patient’s molecular structure. Kolltan's primary therapies derive from basic research discoveries made in the laboratory of company founder, Dr. Joseph Schlessinger, Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology at the Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Schlessinger's laboratory has characterized a novel molecular mechanism underlying activation of RTKs that, for the first time, provides a clear molecular explanation — at atomic resolution — for the oncogenic activity of mutations that have been identified in a variety of human cancers.Dr. Schlessinger’s research has focused on the ways signals from growth factor proteins circulating in the blood and other tissues reach the interior of the cells and stimulate them to divide and grow - or ignore checkpoints that would normally cause them to die. This understanding of cellular molecular pathways has led to a new class of targeted anti-cancer drugs, known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Biomedical Three grants to Dr. Schlessinger’s lab at Yale, awarded between 2004-2006, from the National Institutes of Health’s Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases were critical to the founding of Kolltan.
Koning Corporation
koning-corporation 2013 NIHDOD UniversityofRochester 2002 NY 1 Koning Corporation develops and manufactures advanced medical imaging systems that combine computed tomography with flat panel digital acquisition to produce superior high-quality images with true isotropic resolution. This revolutionary technology provides 3D volumetric imaging in significantly less acquisition time and at lower cost than comparative modalities. Koning Corporation’s cornerstone product, Koning Breast CT (KBCT) is focused on the early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. The KBCT is the first fully-integrated, dedicated CT scanner designed specifically to image the entire breast with high spatial and contrast resolution at a radiation dose in the range of diagnostic mammography. The KBCT virtually eliminates tissue overlap and superimposition of structures, which are two factors often responsible for failure to diagnose breast cancer early, when it is more treatable. Koning Corporation develops and manufactures advanced medical imaging systems that combine computed tomography with flat panel digital acquisition to produce superior high-quality images with true isotropic resolution. This revolutionary technology provides 3D volumetric imaging in significantly less acquisition time and at lower cost than comparative modalities. Koning Corporation’s cornerstone product, Koning Breast CT (KBCT) is focused on the early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. The KBCT is the first fully-integrated, dedicated CT scanner designed specifically to image the entire breast with high spatial and contrast resolution at a radiation dose in the range of diagnostic mammography. The KBCT virtually eliminates tissue overlap and superimposition of structures, which are two factors often responsible for failure to diagnose breast cancer early, when it is more treatable. The Koning imaging system was invented by company founder Ruola Ning, Ph.D., a professor of Radiology at the University of Rochester Medical Center. The initial research funding to Dr. Ning led to the development of the concept for the cone beam CT scanner, the technology behind the KBCT. The technology was further developed under the direction of URMC Imaging Science Chair David L. Waldman, M.D., Ph.D., whose work led to the first patient scans with the KBCT in 2006. Substantial additional grant funding from NIH and the Department of Defense supported work by Koning and the University of Rochester to fully develop and commercialize the technology. The University of Rochester holds several patents on the cone beam scanner, and the UR licensed the technology to Koning Corporation to make, use and sell the devices. Biomedical The initial research that led to the discovery of the cone beam CT scanner was funded by the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Language Weaver
language-weaver 2010 DOD UniversityofSouthernCalifornia 2002 CA NA Language Weaver provides organizations with the ability to translate large volumes of information into one or more languages, at high speed and with great accuracy.
Daniel Marcu, Kevin Knight and William Wong founded the company in 2002 when Marcu and Knight were teaching at the University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI); Wong was their student. Language Weaver actually grew out of what Knight calls a “watershed workshop” in 1999. Knight’s workshop discovered that the translation protocols developed for one language could move seamlessly to another without having to start over from scratch with each new tongue. The group’s work enabled it to win all-important research funds, and within two years, the commercial venture began.
Most machine-translation systems work with individual words or use complicated sets of translation guidelines, which must be devised by linguists and coded by hand. Language Weaver, on the other hand, uses innovative technology that overcomes many of the problems of traditional automated translation. Rather than use the rules of language to provide the basis of converting from one language to another, Language Weaver uses statistical measures that analyze the frequency of phrases, sentences and relationships within the text, and then convert them to the targeted foreign language. In July 2010, Language Weaver announced that it would be acquired by SDL, a world leader in global information management, based in Maidenhead, UK. Language Weaver provides organizations with the ability to translate large volumes of information into one or more languages, at high speed and with great accuracy.
Daniel Marcu, Kevin Knight and William Wong founded the company in 2002 when Marcu and Knight were teaching at the University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI); Wong was their student. Language Weaver actually grew out of what Knight calls a “watershed workshop” in 1999. Knight’s workshop discovered that the translation protocols developed for one language could move seamlessly to another without having to start over from scratch with each new tongue. The group’s work enabled it to win all-important research funds, and within two years, the commercial venture began.
Most machine-translation systems work with individual words or use complicated sets of translation guidelines, which must be devised by linguists and coded by hand. Language Weaver, on the other hand, uses innovative technology that overcomes many of the problems of traditional automated translation. Rather than use the rules of language to provide the basis of converting from one language to another, Language Weaver uses statistical measures that analyze the frequency of phrases, sentences and relationships within the text, and then convert them to the targeted foreign language. In July 2010, Language Weaver announced that it would be acquired by SDL, a world leader in global information management, based in Maidenhead, UK. Language Weaver’s technology was developed at the University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute (USC/ISI). Technology & Web Development of the technology behind Language Weaver was funded through a federal grant from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), part of the Department of Defense.
LI-COR Biosciences
li-cor-biosciences 2010 USDA UniversityofNebraska 1971 NE 101 From the extremes of the rainforests in South America to the harsh conditions of the Antarctic, and to cutting-edge research laboratories around the globe, scientists rely on products from LI-COR Biosciences to provide answers to their questions. LI-COR first introduced scientific instruments for plant science research and quickly grew to provide scientists tools for such diverse disciplines as atmospheric research and the study of how proteins interact at the cellular level. Today LI-COR is a global leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of scientific instruments for plant biology, biotechnology, drug discovery, and environmental research. More than 30,000 customers in more than 100 countries use LI-COR instruments. In addition to its Lincoln, Nebraska headquarters, LI-COR has offices in Germany and the United Kingdom. The company also sells products through a global network of distributors. From the extremes of the rainforests in South America to the harsh conditions of the Antarctic, and to cutting-edge research laboratories around the globe, scientists rely on products from LI-COR Biosciences to provide answers to their questions. LI-COR first introduced scientific instruments for plant science research and quickly grew to provide scientists tools for such diverse disciplines as atmospheric research and the study of how proteins interact at the cellular level. Today LI-COR is a global leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of scientific instruments for plant biology, biotechnology, drug discovery, and environmental research. More than 30,000 customers in more than 100 countries use LI-COR instruments. In addition to its Lincoln, Nebraska headquarters, LI-COR has offices in Germany and the United Kingdom. The company also sells products through a global network of distributors. In the late 1960s, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln started a large project to develop sorghum as a food product. William Biggs was hired to develop research instruments for the project. One of the instruments Biggs helped design — an accurate, inexpensive sensor and meter for measuring photosynthetically active radiation — was described in an article in the journal Ecology. Soon after, scientists from laboratories around the world began requesting similar instruments. In 1971, Biggs co-founded the Lambda Instruments Corporation to manufacture these sensors and other products. The name was formally changed to LI-COR in 1978. Manufacturing, Research & Industry BILL BIGGS Initial funding for the research project on light transmission in sorghum fields which led to development of the research instruments was provided by the Rockefeller Foundation. The US Department of Agriculture, particularly Hatch Act funding for Agricultural Experiment Station research, played a significant role in funding the university professors, their graduate students, their laboratories, and their research projects.
LighTopTech
lightoptech 2021 NIHNationalEyeInstitute UniversityofRochester 2013 NY 1 Technology & Web
LineRate Systems, Inc.
linerate-systems-inc 2013 DOD UniversityofColoradoBoulder 2008 CO 1 LineRate Systems provides “Software Defined Networking” (SDN) technology to online companies and web hosting companies to scale their network services to support growing web traffic. The LineRate® Proxy product provides intelligent policy-based traffic steering that optimizes HTTP traffic flows between the necessary services. The LineRate® Proxy is a software product that has performance comparable to specialized hardware systems. Custom-tailored traffic management policies can be rapidly created using LineRate’s unique data path scripting technology. LineRate Systems provides “Software Defined Networking” (SDN) technology to online companies and web hosting companies to scale their network services to support growing web traffic. The LineRate® Proxy product provides intelligent policy-based traffic steering that optimizes HTTP traffic flows between the necessary services. The LineRate® Proxy is a software product that has performance comparable to specialized hardware systems. Custom-tailored traffic management policies can be rapidly created using LineRate’s unique data path scripting technology. Company founders John Giacomoni and Manish Vachharajani developed the core technologies behind LineRate while at the University of Colorado Boulder. The LineRate® Operating System (LROS) is based on Giacomoni’s doctoral research in high-performance networking systems and design. Giacomoni and Vachharajani’s work in hardware optimization led to their breakthrough high-rate software processing technology for network acceleration. Technology & Web John Giacomoni A grant from the U.S. Army Research Office funded a wide array of projects at the University, including some of the Giacomoni’s time.
Linnaeus Therapeutics
linnaeus-therapeutics 2021 PA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Liquid Biotech USA, Inc.
liquid-biotech-usa-inc 2017 NIH UniversityofPennsylvania 2015 PA 1 Liquid Biotech USA is a biotechnology company with a unique and powerful approach to diagnosing cancer: a rapid, non-invasive test that can detect cancer at early stages of the disease. Liquid Biotech’s technology is based on the analysis of live, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) directly from patient blood, a so-called “liquid biopsy.” The rapid, non-invasive test is designed to detect the presence of CTCs in the blood when they are present at very low levels, offering the potential to manage the disease early in development, including before the tumors have seeded distant organs. Further, this approach can guide physicians both during treatment, allowing the oncologist to monitor a treatment in real time during chemotherapy, as well as post-treatment, when a patient is in remission but there is the likelihood of recurrence. Liquid Biotech USA is a biotechnology company with a unique and powerful approach to diagnosing cancer: a rapid, non-invasive test that can detect cancer at early stages of the disease. Liquid Biotech’s technology is based on the analysis of live, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) directly from patient blood, a so-called “liquid biopsy.” The rapid, non-invasive test is designed to detect the presence of CTCs in the blood when they are present at very low levels, offering the potential to manage the disease early in development, including before the tumors have seeded distant organs. Further, this approach can guide physicians both during treatment, allowing the oncologist to monitor a treatment in real time during chemotherapy, as well as post-treatment, when a patient is in remission but there is the likelihood of recurrence. Liquid Biotech is based on the liquid biopsy technology developed in the laboratories of doctors Jay Dorsey, Stephen Hann and Gary Kao in the Department of Radiation Oncology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. They founded the company in partnership with Penn in 2015 to accelerate the advancement of their technology and more quickly bring it to clinical use. Biomedical Research funding from the National Institutes of Health played an instrumental role in development of Liquid Biotech’s foundational technology.
Liquid Light
liquid-light 2013 NSFDOEDOD PrincetonUniversity 2009 NJ 1 Liquid Light helps chemical companies turn their industrial waste into a profitable source of revenue. The company has developed technology to produce industrial chemicals and fuels from carbon dioxide, one of the lowest cost and most abundant carbon sources. A greenhouse gas and pollutant, carbon dioxide can be captured at the point of release and used as the starting material for Liquid Light's technology. The company has developed a novel electrochemical technology including an innovative set of electrocatalysts for converting carbon dioxide into industrial chemicals such as glycols, alcohols, and carboxylic acids. Liquid Light helps chemical companies turn their industrial waste into a profitable source of revenue. The company has developed technology to produce industrial chemicals and fuels from carbon dioxide, one of the lowest cost and most abundant carbon sources. A greenhouse gas and pollutant, carbon dioxide can be captured at the point of release and used as the starting material for Liquid Light's technology. The company has developed a novel electrochemical technology including an innovative set of electrocatalysts for converting carbon dioxide into industrial chemicals such as glycols, alcohols, and carboxylic acids. Liquid Light was founded based on the groundbreaking discoveries of Andrew Bocarsly, a professor of chemistry at Princeton University and a leading electrochemistry researcher and innovator. In the mid-1990s, Bocarsly and a graduate student began to study methods for converting carbon dioxide to methanol. The initial studies involved an electrode and an inexpensive catalyst to drive the reaction. The project picked up speed in the mid-2000s when graduate student Emily Cole revived the project and began to explore ways to optimize the reaction. The team discovered their technology could produce compounds containing carbon-carbon bonds, allowing for a range of commercially valuable products to be produced.
Upon graduation, Cole and Bocarsly cofounded Liquid Light with Kyle Teamey, an engineer and entrepreneur, and a colleague, Narayanappa Sivasankar. The company scientists have since explored ways to optimize the technology to create new products at higher yields. Liquid Light’s backers include VantagePoint Capital Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital, Osage University Partners, and BP Ventures.
Energy & Chemicals Early funding for Cole and Bocarsly's work was provided by the National Science Foundation, to support the development of the materials chemistry and electrochemistry of cyanometalate compounds. The Department of Energy (Basic Energy Sciences) also provided funding specifically for the photoelectrochemical conversion of CO2 to methanol and related compounds. Liquid Light received a Small Business Technology Transfer grant with Princeton University as the collaborator from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
LiquiGlide, Inc.
liquiglide-inc 2017 DODNSF MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology 2012 MA 1 What the wheel was to transportation, LiquiGlide is to liquids. LiquiGlide Inc. is the first and only viable technology that allows viscous liquids to slide effortlessly. Using its patented platform, LiquiGlide can create custom coatings that work and are safe across countless consumer and industrial applications, from including oil and gas and consumer goods to medicines and high-tech medical equipment. What the wheel was to transportation, LiquiGlide is to liquids. LiquiGlide Inc. is the first and only viable technology that allows viscous liquids to slide effortlessly. Using its patented platform, LiquiGlide can create custom coatings that work and are safe across countless consumer and industrial applications, from including oil and gas and consumer goods to medicines and high-tech medical equipment. LiquiGlide’s technology was developed in the MIT lab of the Kripa Varanasi with federal support from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense, including the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency and the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship. Dave Smith, a PhD student in the Varanasi Research Group was trying to solve the problem of methane hydrate build-ups in oil and gas pipelines by using liquid-impregnated, slippery surfaces. Seeing success in this area, Varanasi and Smith began to think of other applications, including consumer goods and packaging applications. In 2012, they won the Audience Choice Award at the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition and Smith created the iconic glass ketchup video, which went viral, triggering thousands of inquiries from consumer packaged goods companies wanting to use LiquiGlide’s technology. The two founded their company shortly after in the fall of 2012. Materials The work at MIT was supported by research funding from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense.
Locus Biosciences
locus-biosciences 2021 NC 1 Biomedical
Lodo Therapeutics Corporation
lodo-therapeutics-corporation 2017 NIH TheRockefellerUniversity 2015 NY 1 Lodo Therapeutics is a drug discovery and development company focused on the creation of naturally derived novel therapeutics that will have a dramatic impact human health on a global basis. Lodo aims to work in partnership with global pharmaceutical companies and world leading non-governmental organizations to tackle some of the greatest challenges in human health: Resistant infectious disease and cancers. Lodo Therapeutics is a drug discovery and development company focused on the creation of naturally derived novel therapeutics that will have a dramatic impact human health on a global basis. Lodo aims to work in partnership with global pharmaceutical companies and world leading non-governmental organizations to tackle some of the greatest challenges in human health: Resistant infectious disease and cancers. Lodo believes that the potential cures for a number of deadly or debilitating diseases literally lie at our feet. The company was created to pursue the scientific vision of Dr. Sean Brady at The Rockefeller University. With funding from the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Brady and his laboratory have developed a genome-based, culture-independent platform for the discovery, biosynthesis, and characterization of small molecules from microbial sources present in soil samples. By combining the advancements in DNA sequencing and bioinformatics, this innovative discovery platform exploits the power of microbial evolution for the identification of therapeutically valuable pharmaceutical products derived from natural sources. Biomedical The work at The Rockefeller University was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Lycera Corp
lycera-corp 2013 NIH UniversityofMichigan 2006 MI 1 Lycera is pioneering innovative approaches to oral medicines for treating autoimmune diseases with high unmet medical need. The company is targeting two novel autoimmune pathways to develop new classes of small molecules to treat immune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease. Lycera's world-class team and biological insights in the immunology and inflammation arenas uniquely position the company to realize the promise of translating cutting-edge science into first-in-class oral therapies. Lycera is pioneering innovative approaches to oral medicines for treating autoimmune diseases with high unmet medical need. The company is targeting two novel autoimmune pathways to develop new classes of small molecules to treat immune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease. Lycera's world-class team and biological insights in the immunology and inflammation arenas uniquely position the company to realize the promise of translating cutting-edge science into first-in-class oral therapies. The research in the lab of Dr. Gary Glick, a biological chemistry professor at the University of Michigan, resulted in a drug discovery platform uniquely poised to identify and develop small molecules that regulate cell growth and survival. These molecules modulate a target that is central to bioenergetic processes within cells. This discovery spawned the creation of Lycera. The company’s medicines that have emerged from these therapies will represent first-in-class agents to treat a broad range of conditions. These drugs are anticipated to have significant advantages over competitive products, including better efficacy, fewer side effects, ease of administration. Biomedical Dr. Glick's research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Lyncean Technologies, Inc.
lyncean-technologies-inc 2013 NIHDOE StanfordUniversitySLAC 2002 CA 1 Lyncean Technologies, Inc. has developed a miniature synchrotron x-ray source, the Compact Light Source, to better see and understand the sub-microscopic details of our physical and biological world.The Compact Light Source (CLS) is a breakthrough technology that addresses the increasing demand for access to high-quality X-rays by offering a synchrotron x-ray source for local laboratory applications. The CLS provides scientists with access to local, on-demand synchrotron light, allowing for an unprecedented new level of productivity. The CLS opens a broad range of X-ray science, from structural biology and biomedical imaging, to pharmaceutical and chemical sciences, to semiconductor metrology and nanotechnology. Lyncean Technologies, Inc. has developed a miniature synchrotron x-ray source, the Compact Light Source, to better see and understand the sub-microscopic details of our physical and biological world.The Compact Light Source (CLS) is a breakthrough technology that addresses the increasing demand for access to high-quality X-rays by offering a synchrotron x-ray source for local laboratory applications. The CLS provides scientists with access to local, on-demand synchrotron light, allowing for an unprecedented new level of productivity. The CLS opens a broad range of X-ray science, from structural biology and biomedical imaging, to pharmaceutical and chemical sciences, to semiconductor metrology and nanotechnology. In 1996, while working on basic accelerator technology at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, professor Ronald Ruth and then-Stanford-student Zhirong Huang invented a way to shrink synchrotrons – particle accelerators that produce intense X-ray beams – from the size of a stadium to the size of a small car. Later, then-Stanford-student Roderick Loewen explored the idea in detail and did experiments concerning the laser technology necessary for this type of miniature synchrotron. The Compact Light Source developed by Lyncean is a spinoff of this basic research which was licensed from Stanford.Lyncean Technologies, Inc. was founded specifically to develop the Compact Light Source. The three co-founders were SLAC professor Ronald Ruth, former SLAC engineer Jeff Rifkin and Dr. Rod Loewen. In 2002 the company opened an R&D manufacturing plant employing up to 20 people. In late 2012, the company sold its first Compact Light Source to the Center for Advanced Laser Applications in Germany. SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy. Energy & Chemicals The initial research was undertaken at SLAC as part of basic research funded by the U.S Department of Energy Office of High Energy Physics.
M3 Biotechnology
m3-biotechnology 2017 DODNIHNSF WashingtonStateUniversity 2011 WA 1 M3 Biotechnology is an innovative therapeutics company focused on altering the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and other neuro-deterioration. The company has a novel platform of regenerative small molecules that can be developed into non-intrusive treatment options for patients. The lead drug compound has demonstrated potential to stop the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, and perhaps even restore lost function. M3 Biotechnology is an innovative therapeutics company focused on altering the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and other neuro-deterioration. The company has a novel platform of regenerative small molecules that can be developed into non-intrusive treatment options for patients. The lead drug compound has demonstrated potential to stop the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, and perhaps even restore lost function. Where current and emerging therapies are focused primarily on disease symptoms and improving the quality of life of patients suffering from disease, M3 is addressing the neurodegenerative process, providing a cost-effective, non-intrusive treatment option. M3 Biotechnology was launched at Washington State University in 2011 by researchers Joe Harding and Jay Wright. The lead compound, MM-201, began with basic research to better understand some of the most fundamental building blocks of life: growth factor proteins.
Twenty years of basic research about these life-driving proteins funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense, through the US Army, allowed Wright and Harding to uncover mechanisms that make the proteins function and to then build the small molecules that are behind M3’s lead compound. After incorporating the company, former graduate student Leen Kawas became CEO and began moving the lead compound and other treatments in M3’s pipeline toward commercial markets and the people who need treatment. Joe Harding remains the company’s Chief Scientific Officer, and continues research sponsored by federal funding that could lead to future treatments for other diseases. Biomedical The work conducted at Washington State University was supported by research funding from the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation.
MacuCLEAR, Inc.
macuclear-inc 2013 NIH TexasA&MUniversity 2006 TX 1 MacuCLEAR™, Inc., is focused on the design and development of small molecule products for ophthalmic treatment for age-related diseases of the eye. With the use of MC-1101, a patented, topically-delivered drug developed at Texas A&M University, the company is producing innovative eye drops to treat the leading cause of blindness and vision impairment. MacuCLEAR is driving ophthalmic innovation and commercialization with their development of the first and only eye drop treatment for the dry (early) phase of Age-related Macular Degeneration (dAMD), a condition which affects around 15 million Americans and 30 million people globally. MacuCLEAR™, Inc., is focused on the design and development of small molecule products for ophthalmic treatment for age-related diseases of the eye. With the use of MC-1101, a patented, topically-delivered drug developed at Texas A&M University, the company is producing innovative eye drops to treat the leading cause of blindness and vision impairment. MacuCLEAR is driving ophthalmic innovation and commercialization with their development of the first and only eye drop treatment for the dry (early) phase of Age-related Macular Degeneration (dAMD), a condition which affects around 15 million Americans and 30 million people globally. MacuCLEAR was formed to commercialize MC-1101 following its discovery as a potential breakthrough dAMD treatment by Dr. George C.Y. Chiou, professor of neuroscience and experimental therapeutics in the College of Medicine at the Texas A&M University Health Science Center. Dr. Chiou also serves as professor and director of the Institute of Ocular Pharmacology. Upon discovery and protection of MC-1101 (and related compounds) for use in various ocular disease treatments, The Texas A&M University System launched MacuCLEAR-- a university-owned start-up company to capture development support and lead clinical trial efforts around MC-1101 and future generations of ocular disease therapeutics.Since 1969, Dr. Chiou’s eye-drug research has been largely supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with funding for various projects coming from the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke and the National Eye Institute. Biomedical NIH funding has supported the basis of Dr. Chiou’s research and commercialization of treatments for glaucoma, macular edema, diabetic retinopathy, as well as dAMD.
Mammoth Biosciences, Inc.
mammoth-biosciences-inc 2021 CA 1 Technology & Web
Manifold Robotics
manifold-robotics 2021 NSF NewYorkUniversity 2017 NY 1
Maroon Biotech
maroon-biotech 2010 NIH UniversityofChicago 2002 IL 1 Maroon Biotech has developed a new category of pharmaceuticals called surfactant chaperones. This technology has the capability to restore structure and viability to cells disrupted by physical and chemical trauma. By reversing post-traumatic molecular alterations, Maroon Biotech’s technology promises to improve recovery from vehicular, military and other types of severe traumatic injuries, electrical shock and reperfusion injury. The technology has already demonstrated effectiveness at treating experimental spinal cord injury, myocardial infarction (heart attack) and brain injury.
Fundamentally, surfactant chaperones mimic behaviors exhibited by naturally occurring stress proteins that protect living systems after injury. The safety of certain synthetic surfactants that act as molecular chaperones has been proven over time. In particular, polymeric surfactant chaperones that are symmetric block copolymers of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-polyethylene oxide (PEO-PPO-PEO) have been used to reduce blood viscosity for more than 50 years. Maroon Biotech has developed a new category of pharmaceuticals called surfactant chaperones. This technology has the capability to restore structure and viability to cells disrupted by physical and chemical trauma. By reversing post-traumatic molecular alterations, Maroon Biotech’s technology promises to improve recovery from vehicular, military and other types of severe traumatic injuries, electrical shock and reperfusion injury. The technology has already demonstrated effectiveness at treating experimental spinal cord injury, myocardial infarction (heart attack) and brain injury.
Fundamentally, surfactant chaperones mimic behaviors exhibited by naturally occurring stress proteins that protect living systems after injury. The safety of certain synthetic surfactants that act as molecular chaperones has been proven over time. In particular, polymeric surfactant chaperones that are symmetric block copolymers of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-polyethylene oxide (PEO-PPO-PEO) have been used to reduce blood viscosity for more than 50 years. The capability of this surfactant to repair damaged cell membranes was unknown until the late 1980’s when Raphael C. Lee, MD, ScD, PhD, Professor of Molecular Medicine and Surgery at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, discovered its unique cell membrane healing properties. Biomedical RAPHAEL C. LEE, MD, SCD, FACS Funding for Dr. Lee’s research has come primarily through grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Marquette Energy Analytics, LLC
marquette-energy-analytics-llc 2021 WI 1 Materials
Melanovus Oncology
melanovus-oncology 2013 NIH PennsylvaniaStateUniversity 2012 PA 1 Melanovus Oncology is a late pre-clinical stage company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative new therapies and diagnostics for late stage melanoma and other skin cancers. Through research, its main function has been to discover, develop, and commercialize new and inventive ways to treat melanoma skin cancer during its late stages. The company has identified numerous ways to identify, prevent, and treat melanoma through each stage. Melanovus Oncology was acquired by Cipher Pharmaceutical in 2015. Melanovus Oncology, Inc. is focusing their efforts on compounds that will deter progression and development of melanoma. One Multi-Target Inhibitor (MTI) known as Nanilipolee-007 is the most complex compound developed thus far with the intentions of reaching Phase I clinical trials. Pre-clinical studies have shown that these developed compounds have slowed progression and development of advanced forms of melanoma. Melanovus Oncology is a late pre-clinical stage company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative new therapies and diagnostics for late stage melanoma and other skin cancers. Through research, its main function has been to discover, develop, and commercialize new and inventive ways to treat melanoma skin cancer during its late stages. The company has identified numerous ways to identify, prevent, and treat melanoma through each stage. Melanovus Oncology was acquired by Cipher Pharmaceutical in 2015. Melanovus Oncology, Inc. is focusing their efforts on compounds that will deter progression and development of melanoma. One Multi-Target Inhibitor (MTI) known as Nanilipolee-007 is the most complex compound developed thus far with the intentions of reaching Phase I clinical trials. Pre-clinical studies have shown that these developed compounds have slowed progression and development of advanced forms of melanoma. Melanovus Oncology was founded in 2012 following almost 12 years of research at the Pennsylvania State University leading to the development of the company’s portfolio. The company was formed on the basis of a series of technologies relating to the treatment of melanoma developed by Dr. Gavin P. Robertson, Penn State professor of pharmacology, pathology, dermatology and surgery and his associates. An exclusive global license to a library of compounds and related IP was obtained from the Penn State Research Foundation. Dr. Robertson serves as Chief Scientific Officer of Melanovus Oncology and Dr. Rogerio I. Neves, professor of surgery, dermatology, pharmacology and medicine at Penn State University College of Medicine, is the company’s Chief Medical Officer. Robertson and Neves’ research focuses on the signaling pathways and biology identified with malignant melanoma and the treatment and the development of skin cancer, respectively. Biomedical The fundamental research conducted at Penn State was supported with funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Mersive Technologies
mersive-technologies 2010 NSF UniversityofKentucky 2006 CO 1 Mersive Technologies, founded in 2004, is a company that develops and uses software to create high-resolution video displays. The company’s most recent display includes an image 25-and-a-half-feet wide and 11-feet tall and so clear you might expect to walk right into it.
The company has its roots in the University of Kentucky College of Engineering Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments. Mersive co-founder and chief technical officer Christopher Jaynes helped establish the UK center and it was there that he mentored student Stephen Webb, another Mersive co-founder.
Mersive™ software simplifies the way high-resolution displays are designed, configured, and maintained to merge multiple projectors into a seamless display of almost any size, shape and resolution. The company has a background rooted in military simulation applications; it has created technology that can sync well over a dozen projection screens. Mersive minimizes the complexities associated with building multi-projector displays while eliminating the need for cumbersome hardware.
Mersive’s military simulation clientele includes the four branches of the US armed forces and a number of homeland security agencies. The company also counts a number of Fortune 500 corporations, museums and academic labs as clients. Mersive Technologies, founded in 2004, is a company that develops and uses software to create high-resolution video displays. The company’s most recent display includes an image 25-and-a-half-feet wide and 11-feet tall and so clear you might expect to walk right into it.
The company has its roots in the University of Kentucky College of Engineering Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments. Mersive co-founder and chief technical officer Christopher Jaynes helped establish the UK center and it was there that he mentored student Stephen Webb, another Mersive co-founder.
Mersive™ software simplifies the way high-resolution displays are designed, configured, and maintained to merge multiple projectors into a seamless display of almost any size, shape and resolution. The company has a background rooted in military simulation applications; it has created technology that can sync well over a dozen projection screens. Mersive minimizes the complexities associated with building multi-projector displays while eliminating the need for cumbersome hardware.
Mersive’s military simulation clientele includes the four branches of the US armed forces and a number of homeland security agencies. The company also counts a number of Fortune 500 corporations, museums and academic labs as clients. Mersive’s technology is based on research from the University of Kentucky College of Engineering’s Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments. Mersive co-founder and chief technical officer Christopher Jaynes helped establish the Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments at the University of Kentucky where he secured more than $5 million in funding to study issues related to virtual reality and novel display systems. Mersive co-founder Stephen Webb worked closely with Jaynes as an undergraduate, conducting research in multi-projector systems. As a graduate student Webb continued his work in large-scale displays, focusing on camera-based calibration methods, and developed a method for calibrating multiple projectors on curved display surfaces. Technology & Web Jaynes’ work at University of Kentucky was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation. Mersive Technologies is a partner with NSF to define a new standard for how media can be transmitted, manipulated, and displayed on Ultra Definition (UD) devices.
MesoScribe Technologies Inc.
mesoscribe-technologies-inc 2013 DOD StonyBrookUniversity 2002 NY 1 MesoScribe specializes in manufacturing harsh environment sensors and structurally integrated electronics using its proprietary Mesoplasma™ Direct Write (DW) Technology. Direct Write devices are robust and reliable, and process automation enables high-precision manufacturing and high throughput production for cost-effective implementation. Offering unique advantages for sensor fabrication and electronics integration, Direct Write is a platform suited for extreme environment diagnostics, health management and prognosis, wiring and infrastructure, and integrated antenna solutions. MesoScribe specializes in manufacturing harsh environment sensors and structurally integrated electronics using its proprietary Mesoplasma™ Direct Write (DW) Technology. Direct Write devices are robust and reliable, and process automation enables high-precision manufacturing and high throughput production for cost-effective implementation. Offering unique advantages for sensor fabrication and electronics integration, Direct Write is a platform suited for extreme environment diagnostics, health management and prognosis, wiring and infrastructure, and integrated antenna solutions. MesoScribe Technologies was founded in 2002 to commercialize the Mesoplasma™ Direct Write (DW) Technology developed at Stony Brok University. The company is the sole commercialization lead for the Mesoplasma™ Direct Write process originally developed under the DARPA MICE (Mesoscopic Integrated Conformal Electronics) Program. Dr. Sanjay Sampath, a distinguished professor of materials science and engineering, led the DARPA research at Stony Brook. He cofounded the company with Stony Brook colleagues Richard Gambino, professor emeritus of materials science, and Dr. Jon Longtin, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Manufacturing, Research & Industry The research performed at Stony Brook University’s College of Engineering was funded by a $4 million grant from the Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Agency
Metamagnetics Inc.
metamagnetics-inc 2013 DODNSF NortheasternUniversity 2008 MA 1 Metamagnetics Inc. is a research and development company that combines multidisciplinary expertise in advanced materials and electronics to develop novel microwave materials and device solutions for use in microwave and millimeter-wave electronics and multifunctional integrated circuits.
The company is working to develop leading edge technologies that operate well beyond current operational limits, especially in the area of radar, communication, sensing and other high frequency electromagnetic technologies. Metamagnetics works closely with the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to generate and transfer novel and advanced technologies to the defense community. Metamagnetics Inc. is a research and development company that combines multidisciplinary expertise in advanced materials and electronics to develop novel microwave materials and device solutions for use in microwave and millimeter-wave electronics and multifunctional integrated circuits.
The company is working to develop leading edge technologies that operate well beyond current operational limits, especially in the area of radar, communication, sensing and other high frequency electromagnetic technologies. Metamagnetics works closely with the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to generate and transfer novel and advanced technologies to the defense community. Metamagnetics is a spin-out from the Northeastern University Center for Microwave Magnetic Materials and Integrated Circuits (CM3IC) led by Professor Vincent Harris. CM3IC is internationally renowned for its accomplishments in microwave magnetic materials and devices. Metamagnetics is in the process of licensing various technologies developed there. Materials Vincent Harris Harris and the work of CM3IC have received support from the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Defense through the Office of Naval Research, DARPA and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
Mobitrac, Inc.
mobitrac-inc 2013 DODNSF UniversityofIllinoisatChicago 2001 CO NA Mobitrac is the market-leading provider of next-generation Transportation Execution Systems (TES), making it possible to manage fleet profitability in real-time. The modular services developed and commercialized by Mobitrac are used by less-than-truckload (LTL), private fleet, pickup and deliver (P&D), specialty and service fleet organizations. The software combines functions such as pinpointing exact locations of vehicles, traveling employees, or specific goods and resources, along with commercially or strategically useful information such as tracking histories, work schedules and calendars. The software hopes to improve the efficient use of resources and personnel.
In 2006, Mobitrac was acquired by RFID-enabled asset management provider, Fluensee, Inc. Mobitrac is the market-leading provider of next-generation Transportation Execution Systems (TES), making it possible to manage fleet profitability in real-time. The modular services developed and commercialized by Mobitrac are used by less-than-truckload (LTL), private fleet, pickup and deliver (P&D), specialty and service fleet organizations. The software combines functions such as pinpointing exact locations of vehicles, traveling employees, or specific goods and resources, along with commercially or strategically useful information such as tracking histories, work schedules and calendars. The software hopes to improve the efficient use of resources and personnel.
In 2006, Mobitrac was acquired by RFID-enabled asset management provider, Fluensee, Inc. While at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Professor Ouri Wolfson observed that there were numerous industries that dealt with management of location information, such as air traffic control, dispatch applications, fleet management and, increasingly, location-based services in which hand-held wireless devices are used to help locate specific places. All these applications had a common core - they all dealt with location of moving or mobile devices. This gave Wolfson the idea of developing software to capture and extract the commonalities of these diverse applications and produce a platform upon which future applications could be developed faster. The resulting software package became the basis for Mobitrac.
Technology & Web Initial research and development at UIC was funded by grants totaling approximately $1 million from the National Science Foundation and the Army Research Laboratories.
Modulated Imaging, Inc.
modulated-imaging-inc 2017 DODNIH UniversityofCaliforniaIrvineUniversityofCalifornia 2008 CA 1 Modulated Imaging develops light based imaging devices that give professionals transformative tools for preventing, diagnosing, and curing medical skin conditions. Products developed include the Ox-Imager CSTM which allows clinicians to better manage chronic wounds and burns by measuring important indicators of tissue health and providing a surface color photograph. The Reflect RSTM is a non-contact imaging device for biomedical researchers to detect and visualize spatially resolved optical and functional parameters of biological tissue based on spatial frequency domain imaging. The MI-VISTM is a stand-alone software visualization tool for displaying and interacting with spatial frequency domain imaging scientific datasets. Modulated Imaging develops light based imaging devices that give professionals transformative tools for preventing, diagnosing, and curing medical skin conditions. Products developed include the Ox-Imager CSTM which allows clinicians to better manage chronic wounds and burns by measuring important indicators of tissue health and providing a surface color photograph. The Reflect RSTM is a non-contact imaging device for biomedical researchers to detect and visualize spatially resolved optical and functional parameters of biological tissue based on spatial frequency domain imaging. The MI-VISTM is a stand-alone software visualization tool for displaying and interacting with spatial frequency domain imaging scientific datasets. Founder David Cuccia began exploring new light-based ways to more accurately image and measure the health of tissue during his undergraduate career at the University of California, Irvine. With funding from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health, and the help of his mentors at the Beckman Laser Institute, Cuccia was able to develop a new imaging technique known as Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging (SFDI). SFDI was the subject of his doctoral dissertation in 2006, which laid the foundation for later applications of his work. In 2008, Dr. Cuccia began to build the Modulated Imaging team, who assisted in further development of the product. While Modulated Imaging was originally housed within the Photonic Incubator at the Beckman Laser Institute at UC Irvine, in 2014, the company expanded and moved into its first commercial space.
In December 2016, the team received their first FDA 510(k) clearance to market and sell Ox-Imager CS to physicians and hospitals. Biomedical The work at UC Irvine was supported by research funding from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.
Molecular Imaging, Inc.
molecular-imaging-inc 2010 NSF ArizonaStateUniversity 1993 AZ NA Molecular Imaging was founded in 1993 by Arizona State University (ASU) Professor Stuart Lindsay and engineer Tianwei Jing. The company was acquired by Agilent Technologies, Inc. in 2005. The Atomic Force Microscopes designed by Lindsay and Jing are key tools in the field of nanotechnology, where work is done on the scale of nanometers, which are one-billionth of a meter. The diameter of the average human hair, by comparison, is 70,000 nanometers. With atomic microscopes, scientists can develop new and better materials, such as thin coating on eyeglasses, paint for cars and houses, and the new soft-touch coating used on some toothbrushes, razors and car CD players.
Many everyday products have been improved by researchers using atomic microscopes, which allow the user to see extremely tiny objects such as cells, chromosomes, DNA and even atoms.
Lindsay and Jing hold nearly 40 patents for their Atomic Force Microscope design and technology. Their company became a premier developer and supplier of Atomic Force Microscope and Scanning Probe Microscope systems. These products are designed for nanotechnology research applications in life science, biotechnology, electrochemistry and material and polymer science for high-resolution imaging in fluids or ambient air under controlled temperatures and environmental conditions. Molecular Imaging was founded in 1993 by Arizona State University (ASU) Professor Stuart Lindsay and engineer Tianwei Jing. The company was acquired by Agilent Technologies, Inc. in 2005. The Atomic Force Microscopes designed by Lindsay and Jing are key tools in the field of nanotechnology, where work is done on the scale of nanometers, which are one-billionth of a meter. The diameter of the average human hair, by comparison, is 70,000 nanometers. With atomic microscopes, scientists can develop new and better materials, such as thin coating on eyeglasses, paint for cars and houses, and the new soft-touch coating used on some toothbrushes, razors and car CD players.
Many everyday products have been improved by researchers using atomic microscopes, which allow the user to see extremely tiny objects such as cells, chromosomes, DNA and even atoms.
Lindsay and Jing hold nearly 40 patents for their Atomic Force Microscope design and technology. Their company became a premier developer and supplier of Atomic Force Microscope and Scanning Probe Microscope systems. These products are designed for nanotechnology research applications in life science, biotechnology, electrochemistry and material and polymer science for high-resolution imaging in fluids or ambient air under controlled temperatures and environmental conditions. Molecular Imaging was founded by Arizona State University Professor Stuart Lindsay who continues to be a professor at the ASU Biodesign Institute. While the Molecular Imaging name has been retired, Agilent continues to have a very close working relationship with ASU and the Lindsay Lab at the Biodesign Institute. Manufacturing, Research & Industry DR. STUART LINDSAY ASU Professor Stuart Lindsay received National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for his work to develop the first commercial prototype of the atomic force microscope, which became the foundational product for Molecular Imaging, Inc.
Molecular Imprints, Inc.
molecular-imprints-inc 2010 DOD UniversityofTexasatAustin 2001 TX 101 Molecular Imprints is a startup company spun out of the University of Texas at Austin in 2001 and acquired by Cannon in 2014. The company was created to commercialize a newly invented technology called “Step and Flash Imprint Lithography,” which has demonstrated the ability to pattern features as small as 3 nanometers (nm), or about the diameter of a DNA molecule.
Nano-lithography is the method of creating very small patterns on a substrate. The technology is critically important, especially to the production of electronic devices such as computer chips. Today, the technology used to do this is an optical technique, much like making photographic prints, where the patterns are projected onto a light sensitive resist on the substrate using a very sophisticated and expensive camera. However, as demand grows for smaller and faster chips, this technology is limited by the wavelength of light — it is difficult to make a 50nm feature with a 200nm light source. Step and flash technology requires neither a light source nor a complicated lens assembly. Instead, it allows for the production of a very accurate “master” using an electron beam tool of almost unlimited resolution. The master is then used to simply print, using a special ink, the features onto the substrate. The technology holds the prospect of denser storage at a lower cost. Molecular Imprints is a startup company spun out of the University of Texas at Austin in 2001 and acquired by Cannon in 2014. The company was created to commercialize a newly invented technology called “Step and Flash Imprint Lithography,” which has demonstrated the ability to pattern features as small as 3 nanometers (nm), or about the diameter of a DNA molecule.
Nano-lithography is the method of creating very small patterns on a substrate. The technology is critically important, especially to the production of electronic devices such as computer chips. Today, the technology used to do this is an optical technique, much like making photographic prints, where the patterns are projected onto a light sensitive resist on the substrate using a very sophisticated and expensive camera. However, as demand grows for smaller and faster chips, this technology is limited by the wavelength of light — it is difficult to make a 50nm feature with a 200nm light source. Step and flash technology requires neither a light source nor a complicated lens assembly. Instead, it allows for the production of a very accurate “master” using an electron beam tool of almost unlimited resolution. The master is then used to simply print, using a special ink, the features onto the substrate. The technology holds the prospect of denser storage at a lower cost. The technology used by Molecular Imprints is based on the pioneering research of University of Texas at Austin professors Dr. S. V. Sreenivasan and Dr. Grant Willson. Sreenivasan is chief technology officer of the company, while continuing to teach at UT Austin. Willson, who holds the Rashid Engineering Regents Chair at the Cockrell School of Engineering, received the National Medal for Technology and Innovation for his work on lithographic imaging materials and techniques. Manufacturing, Research & Industry Some of the funding for the research conducted at UT Austin that led to the creation of Molecular Imprints was provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), part of the Department of Defense.
Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
momenta-pharmaceuticals-inc 2010 NIH MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology 2001 MA 101 Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 2001 based on technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the precise sequencing of complex sugar molecules. This original technology platform and the resulting improvements made over the past five years have enabled Momenta to grow from a small, development-stage startup to a public company with more than 175 employees.
Momenta’s technology platform enables the thorough characterization of sugar sequences that are found on human cells and proteins, as well as in complex drugs. Since the configuration and structure of sugars are instrumental to mechanisms of diseases and drug action, the company is able to gain valuable insight into complex biological processes by leveraging its understanding of sugar structure and relating it to activity. Momenta is using its in-depth knowledge of sugars to:
• Develop technology-enabled generic versions of complex drugs that historically have been difficult to duplicate. • Engineer improved versions of currently marketed drugs that contain sugars. • Create new sugar-based drugs based on the novel biology of sugars. Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 2001 based on technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the precise sequencing of complex sugar molecules. This original technology platform and the resulting improvements made over the past five years have enabled Momenta to grow from a small, development-stage startup to a public company with more than 175 employees.
Momenta’s technology platform enables the thorough characterization of sugar sequences that are found on human cells and proteins, as well as in complex drugs. Since the configuration and structure of sugars are instrumental to mechanisms of diseases and drug action, the company is able to gain valuable insight into complex biological processes by leveraging its understanding of sugar structure and relating it to activity. Momenta is using its in-depth knowledge of sugars to:
• Develop technology-enabled generic versions of complex drugs that historically have been difficult to duplicate. • Engineer improved versions of currently marketed drugs that contain sugars. • Create new sugar-based drugs based on the novel biology of sugars. The initial research into the characterization of sugar molecules was performed by company founders, Ram Sasisekharan, PhD, Professor of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Ganesh Venkataraman, PhD, now Momenta Chief Scientific Officer. Sasisekharan, a molecular biologist, collaborated initially with Dr. Robert Langer, an established professor at MIT, to overcome many technical obstacles to create the first heparinase, an enzyme that cuts sugar sequences into smaller components. Dr. Venkataraman then started collaborating with Dr. Sasisekharan, looking at quantitative approaches for capturing the diversity of complex sugars. Ram Sasisekharan serves on the Board of Directors of the company. Biomedical RAM SASISEKHARAN, PHD The MIT research received support from the National Institutes of Health.
Moterum, LLC
moterum-llc 2017 NIH UniversityofSouthFlorida 2014 SC 1 Moterum LLC is a medical device development company specializing in products for the rehabilitation and physical therapy markets. The company currently has four technologies in differing developmental stages in its portfolio and is the developer of the MTip, a device enabling more freedom to crutch users through efficient movement, controlled uphill and downhill descent and greater traction. The tip also results in less shoulder pain and fewer falls for crutch users. Moterum LLC is a medical device development company specializing in products for the rehabilitation and physical therapy markets. The company currently has four technologies in differing developmental stages in its portfolio and is the developer of the MTip, a device enabling more freedom to crutch users through efficient movement, controlled uphill and downhill descent and greater traction. The tip also results in less shoulder pain and fewer falls for crutch users. The backbone science and method to exactly predict the effective dynamics of the MTip were serendipitously discovered by a graduate student, Ismet Handzic, in the biomechanical and mechanical laboratories of the University of South Florida. As part of his Ph.D. research on kinetic shapes for rehabilitation devices, he was attempting to accurately predict and optimize the shape of a non-uniform rolling object. He wound up developing the crutch tip technology: a small rubber piece that fits on the bottom of a crutch and replaces the existing tip. By changing the shape of the crutch tip, the piece significantly reduces the effort needed to walk with crutches and provides greater stability. Funding from the National Institutes of Health helped support the basic research behind the MTip. Subsequent funding from the National Science Foundation to Handzic, Moterum’s CEO David Huizenga and Kyle Reed, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at USF, helped them investigate the customer need and commercial value of the technology. Biomedical The work conducted at the University of South Florida was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Myriad Genetics, Inc.
myriad-genetics-inc 2013 DODNIH UniversityofUtah 1991 UT 1001 Myriad was formed in 1991 as one of the first genomic companies dedicated to examining the role genes play in human disease. The company is focused on revolutionizing patient care through the development and marketing of transformative tests and novel molecular diagnostic products that address pressing clinical needs across multiple medical specialties. Over the last 20 years, Myriad has invested heavily in the education of patients and health care providers on the role genes and their related proteins play in disease. Almost one million patients have already benefited from Myriad’s informative testing, which helps physicians better manage their health care.
Myriad’s discoveries include the BRCA1 and BRCA2 hereditary breast and ovarian cancer genes; the p16 cell cycle control gene that increases the risk of developing a variety of cancers, notably melanoma; the PTEN tumor suppressor gene that is involved in the development of many cancers; and the ELAC2 prostate cancer gene. Myriad was formed in 1991 as one of the first genomic companies dedicated to examining the role genes play in human disease. The company is focused on revolutionizing patient care through the development and marketing of transformative tests and novel molecular diagnostic products that address pressing clinical needs across multiple medical specialties. Over the last 20 years, Myriad has invested heavily in the education of patients and health care providers on the role genes and their related proteins play in disease. Almost one million patients have already benefited from Myriad’s informative testing, which helps physicians better manage their health care.
Myriad’s discoveries include the BRCA1 and BRCA2 hereditary breast and ovarian cancer genes; the p16 cell cycle control gene that increases the risk of developing a variety of cancers, notably melanoma; the PTEN tumor suppressor gene that is involved in the development of many cancers; and the ELAC2 prostate cancer gene. The formation and development of Myriad stems from research at the University of Utah, which began in 1975 and was led by Mark Skolnick, then a professor in the Department of Medical Informatics. Much of the research surrounded the discovery of BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are both hereditary breast and ovarian cancer genes.The BRCA1 and BRCA2 research, as well as significant other work related to mapping, sequencing and understanding the relationship between the genes and disease, culminated in the formation of Myriad. Myriad was created to commercially develop genetic tests developed at the University of Utah. Biomedical From January 1975 to September 1995, researchers at the University of Utah received $25 million in combined funding from the National Institutes of Health, through the National Cancer Institute, National Human Genome Research Institute and the National Center for Research Resources, and the U.S. Army.
Nabsys
nabsys 2013 NSF BrownUniversity 2004 RI 1 Nabsys is pioneering the development of positional sequencing, a novel technology with broad applicability for DNA analysis. The Nabsys platform uses solid-state nanodetectors to analyze single DNA molecules, revealing both location and identity of DNA sequences over long distances. The system is designed to set new standards for accuracy, speed and scalability, offering compelling advantages for the analysis of genome structural variation, genome mapping, and both targeted and whole genome sequencing. The company is dedicated to enabling advances in life sciences and healthcare through deployment of its novel positional sequencing platform. The company was the first to receive a “$1,000 Genome” award from the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health for the development of an electronic approach to DNA sequencing. Nabsys has raised $21 million in venture financing since 2009. Nabsys is pioneering the development of positional sequencing, a novel technology with broad applicability for DNA analysis. The Nabsys platform uses solid-state nanodetectors to analyze single DNA molecules, revealing both location and identity of DNA sequences over long distances. The system is designed to set new standards for accuracy, speed and scalability, offering compelling advantages for the analysis of genome structural variation, genome mapping, and both targeted and whole genome sequencing. The company is dedicated to enabling advances in life sciences and healthcare through deployment of its novel positional sequencing platform. The company was the first to receive a “$1,000 Genome” award from the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health for the development of an electronic approach to DNA sequencing. Nabsys has raised $21 million in venture financing since 2009. Xinsheng Sean Ling, a professor of physics at Brown University, was instrumental in the founding of Nabsys. Nabsys is developing a technology that builds off Ling’s research. By combining solid-state systems with innovations in chemistry, the technology can sequence and analyze DNA at a much lower cost and greater speed than existing technologies. Biomedical The initial research and development was undertaken at Brown University with a grant from the Division of Materials Research at the National Science Foundation to develop a low-cost table-top nanofabrication technique that could be used for DNA sequencing.
Nanofiber Solutions™
nanofiber-solutions 2013 NSF OhioStateUniversity 2009 OH 1 Nanofiber Solutions™ is an engineering and manufacturing firm that produces revolutionary 3D scaffolds that are changing the paradigm of how life science researchers and developers look at cell culture, cell-based therapy, regenerative medicine, and tissue engineered artificial tissues. Nanofiber Solutions’ novel platform technology provides researchers with more biologically realistic 3-dimensional in vivo cell culture environment. Nanofiber Solutions™ is an engineering and manufacturing firm that produces revolutionary 3D scaffolds that are changing the paradigm of how life science researchers and developers look at cell culture, cell-based therapy, regenerative medicine, and tissue engineered artificial tissues. Nanofiber Solutions’ novel platform technology provides researchers with more biologically realistic 3-dimensional in vivo cell culture environment. In 2006, Jed Johnson, an Ohio State graduate student in materials science and engineering, was studying the properties of metals, plastics, glass and other materials. He had an interest in generating a tissue engineering toolbox containing electrospun topographies that could provide novel, beneficial control of the growth and proliferation of mammalian cells. He believed the technique of electrospinning could play a central role in medicine. Researchers at Ohio State’s James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute were looking for a medium that mimicked the structure of white matter in the brain in order to better predict the migratory behaviors of malignant tumor cells. Johnson, working under faculty adviser John Lannutti (Nanofiber’s co-founder), developed a process to create molecule-sized nanofibers capable of producing a more natural, three-dimensional environment to study cancer cells outside the brain and test potential drugs for treating the disease. Johnson went on to design and build the nanofiber tracheal scaffold, the first U.S.-made synthetic trachea created from nanofibers to be successfully transplanted into a human. Materials Nanofiber Solutions™ was founded by Lannutti and Johnson as an extension of Johnson's doctoral research at The Ohio State University. His research was supported by the National Science Foundation.
Nanopharma Technologies, Inc.
nanopharma-technologies-inc 2010 NIH UniversityofSouthFlorida 2004 FL 1 Nanopharma Technologies, Inc., a “spin-out” company at the University of South Florida (USF), got its start in 2004 when it won two federal Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants for development of anti-anthrax antibiotics and drug-delivery platforms. The platforms were discovered by USF Chemistry professor Edward Turos, founder and scientific director of the company.
In 2004, the Turos research group announced that it had active scientific collaborations around the world., including at the USF Center for Biological Defense, the USF Medical School, and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. “USF is a perfect place for us to do this kind of work,” said co-founder Dr. Seyoung Jang. “We are grateful for the university’s commitment to provide a nourishing atmosphere for new businesses like ours.”
Nanopharma is currently researching and developing new antibiotics and biomaterials to treat and prevent drug-resistant hospital infections. In addition, the company is developing anti-bioterrorism agents against anthrax and is seeking new anticancer therapies. The cancer therapies include designing nano-sized vehicles — one billion times smaller than the head of a pin — to provide improved antibiotics passage to infection sites. Nanopharma Technologies, Inc., a “spin-out” company at the University of South Florida (USF), got its start in 2004 when it won two federal Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants for development of anti-anthrax antibiotics and drug-delivery platforms. The platforms were discovered by USF Chemistry professor Edward Turos, founder and scientific director of the company.
In 2004, the Turos research group announced that it had active scientific collaborations around the world., including at the USF Center for Biological Defense, the USF Medical School, and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. “USF is a perfect place for us to do this kind of work,” said co-founder Dr. Seyoung Jang. “We are grateful for the university’s commitment to provide a nourishing atmosphere for new businesses like ours.”
Nanopharma is currently researching and developing new antibiotics and biomaterials to treat and prevent drug-resistant hospital infections. In addition, the company is developing anti-bioterrorism agents against anthrax and is seeking new anticancer therapies. The cancer therapies include designing nano-sized vehicles — one billion times smaller than the head of a pin — to provide improved antibiotics passage to infection sites. Dr. Edward Turos is co-founder and Chief Scientific Advisor to the company. He is a Full Professor at the Department of Chemistry at the University of South Florida. Biomedical “Antibacterially-Active Nanoparticles” was funded by the National Science Foundation. “A Mechanically Novel Antibiotic for Anthrax” was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
NanoPhotonica
nanophotonica 2013 DODDOE UniversityofFlorida 2009 FL 1 NanoPhotonica brings innovative nanomaterials and production techniques to enable market-altering improvements to displays and solar panels, as well as other electronic device industries. The increased conductivity of the materials enhances electrical-optical conversion, and its ability to act as a moisture, oxygen and UV barrier prevents premature degradation and increases device lifespan.
NanoPhotonica's quantum dot LED display technology utilizes up to 50 percent less power, decreases production costs up to 75 percent and increases color vividness and ease of viewing vs. traditional LCDs. The technology, known as S-QLED, costs significantly less to operate and manufacture than existing technologies. The company has also used the material to manufacture thin film solar panels. In addition to reducing production costs and improving efficiency, they have found that it tripled the life expectancy of the panels. NanoPhotonica brings innovative nanomaterials and production techniques to enable market-altering improvements to displays and solar panels, as well as other electronic device industries. The increased conductivity of the materials enhances electrical-optical conversion, and its ability to act as a moisture, oxygen and UV barrier prevents premature degradation and increases device lifespan.
NanoPhotonica's quantum dot LED display technology utilizes up to 50 percent less power, decreases production costs up to 75 percent and increases color vividness and ease of viewing vs. traditional LCDs. The technology, known as S-QLED, costs significantly less to operate and manufacture than existing technologies. The company has also used the material to manufacture thin film solar panels. In addition to reducing production costs and improving efficiency, they have found that it tripled the life expectancy of the panels. NanoPhotonica is a result of the combined work of two research teams at the University of Florida. Research by Jiangeng Xue, a UF associate professor of materials science and engineering, focused on improving existing organic LEDs. Complementing Xue’s team was another headed by Paul Holloway, distinguished professor of materials science and engineering at UF, which delved into quantum dots, or QDs. These nano-particles are tiny crystals just a few nanometers (billionths of a meter) wide. When excited by electricity, QDs emit an array of colored light. By integrating the work of both teams, researchers created a high-performance hybrid LED, comprised of both organic and QD-based layers. Materials The initial research and development was undertaken at the University of Florida with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Army Research Office.
NanoSonic, Inc.
nanosonic-inc 2010 DODDOENSFNISTNASA VirginiaPolytechnicInstituteandStateUniversity 1998 VA 51 NanoSonic got its start in a kitchen with two part-time employees. Today, it has more than 70 employees and has as its customers NASA, defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman, major chemical suppliers, rubber industries and electronic companies.
Metal RubberTM one of NanoSonic’s nanotechnology products, can twist, stretch, cook to 200 degrees Celsius; it is wrinkle free and scar free. However, it holds its electrical conductivity as well as metal, and can easily return to its original shape after being twisted or bent.
The company has licensed several patents from Virginia Tech, including two that use a process known as electrostatic self-assembly (ESA). That patent has been the key to the development of NanoSonic’s films and products because of its ability to create nanocomposites at room temperature and in an environmentally safe (and low-cost) manner. NanoSonic got its start in a kitchen with two part-time employees. Today, it has more than 70 employees and has as its customers NASA, defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman, major chemical suppliers, rubber industries and electronic companies.
Metal RubberTM one of NanoSonic’s nanotechnology products, can twist, stretch, cook to 200 degrees Celsius; it is wrinkle free and scar free. However, it holds its electrical conductivity as well as metal, and can easily return to its original shape after being twisted or bent.
The company has licensed several patents from Virginia Tech, including two that use a process known as electrostatic self-assembly (ESA). That patent has been the key to the development of NanoSonic’s films and products because of its ability to create nanocomposites at room temperature and in an environmentally safe (and low-cost) manner. NanoSonic was established in 1998 as a result of a spinoff of federally-funded research at Virginia Tech. The company was founded by Rick Claus, then a professor at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering, Linda Duncan, and Yanjing Liu, then a chemistry graduate student. Materials Funding from the Department of Defense — an Army Research Office equipment grant awarded at Virginia Tech — led to the establishment of NanoSonic.
NanoSonic has since received Department of Defense funding through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Air Force, and the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization. Other funding has come from NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Nanosys, Inc.
nanosys-inc 2017 DOE UniversityofCaliforniaBerkeleyUniversityofCaliforniaLawrenceBerkeleyNationalLaboratory 2001 CA 51 Nanosys calls itself The Quantum Dot Company™. Its quantum dot technology provides uncompromised color accuracy and brightness for energy efficient electronic displays such as tablets, smartphones, laptops and HD televisions. Nanosys calls itself The Quantum Dot Company™. Its quantum dot technology provides uncompromised color accuracy and brightness for energy efficient electronic displays such as tablets, smartphones, laptops and HD televisions. Quantum dots are tiny manmade crystals 10,000 times narrower than a human hair with the unique ability to convert light into nearly any color in the visible spectrum with very high efficiency. Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) discovered that these nanocrystals could be made to emit multiple colors of light depending on their size. Led by Nanosys co-founder Paul Alivisatos, who had a joint appointment to LBNL and the University of California, Berkeley, they further learned how to manipulate quantum dots to emit extremely pure color at nearly 100 percent photo conversion efficiency.
Nanosys was founded in 2001 and licensed LBNL’s breakthrough quantum dot technology portfolio. The company today operates out of a state-of-the-art 60,000 square foot manufacturing, research and development facility in Milpitas, California, and has partnered with some of the biggest names in tablets and televisions, including 3M, Samsung, Sharp and LG, to bring this technology to everyday consumers. Technology & Web The foundational work at LBNL was supported with funding from the Department of Energy.
Natura Therapeutics, Inc.
natura-therapeutics-inc 2010 NIH UniversityofSouthFlorida 2004 FL 1 Natura Therapeutics was founded by scientists from the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa with the mission to become a leading provider of cell-targeted nutrition for the health supplement and vitamin industry.
In 2008, USF and Natura Therapeutics received a patent for a dietary supplement designed to boost stem cells – the supplement is called NutraStem, a blend of active botanicals and antioxidants aimed at adult stem cell regeneration. The patent demonstrates that the combination of ingredients found in NutraStem helps to significantly promote stem cell nutrition and the natural growth of adult stem cell populations commonly found within the body.
Adult stem cells have the potential to develop into most tissues in the body and have the capacity to migrate toward damaged areas. According to the National Institutes of Health, the primary role of adult stem cells is to maintain and repair tissues. “Many people are unaware that adults possess stem cells and that keeping those cells functioning normally can greatly benefit our health, especially as we age,” said Cyndy D. Sanberg, PhD, president of Natura Therapeutics, Inc. “Our research focuses on natural elements of our diet that may protect those cells.”
The company’s products are researched and developed by a team of leading experts in the fields of nutritional science and adult stem cell research. Because the company takes a science-based approach to product development, Natura Therapeutics donates a portion of profits to adult stem cell research.
March 2014 News Release: Natura Therapeutics Products Available at Krogers Natura Therapeutics was founded by scientists from the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa with the mission to become a leading provider of cell-targeted nutrition for the health supplement and vitamin industry.
In 2008, USF and Natura Therapeutics received a patent for a dietary supplement designed to boost stem cells – the supplement is called NutraStem, a blend of active botanicals and antioxidants aimed at adult stem cell regeneration. The patent demonstrates that the combination of ingredients found in NutraStem helps to significantly promote stem cell nutrition and the natural growth of adult stem cell populations commonly found within the body.
Adult stem cells have the potential to develop into most tissues in the body and have the capacity to migrate toward damaged areas. According to the National Institutes of Health, the primary role of adult stem cells is to maintain and repair tissues. “Many people are unaware that adults possess stem cells and that keeping those cells functioning normally can greatly benefit our health, especially as we age,” said Cyndy D. Sanberg, PhD, president of Natura Therapeutics, Inc. “Our research focuses on natural elements of our diet that may protect those cells.”
The company’s products are researched and developed by a team of leading experts in the fields of nutritional science and adult stem cell research. Because the company takes a science-based approach to product development, Natura Therapeutics donates a portion of profits to adult stem cell research.
March 2014 News Release: Natura Therapeutics Products Available at Krogers Natura Therapeutics was founded by scientists from the University of South Florida Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair. Its founders are USF professors Dr. Paula C. Bickford, Professor of Neurosurgery, and Paul R. Sanberg, Distinguished University Professor and Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation. Biomedical DR. PAULA BICKFORD Some Natura Therapeutics pivotal studies were funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the University of South Florida. Natura has received two Small Business Innovation Reserach grants from the NIH?with the University of South Florida.
Naurex Inc.
naurex-inc 2017 DODNIH NorthwesternUniversity 2008 IL 1 Naurex was founded in 2008 based on nearly 20 years of research on learning and memory processes in the brain conducted by Northwestern university professor of biomedical engineering Joseph Moskal. The company’s drug, GLYX-13, targets the MNDA receptor in the brain, which plays a pivotal role in the learning and memory processes as well as various mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, anxiety, autism and depression. GLYX-13 has demonstrated significant potential to treat major depressive disorder, working within hours rather than weeks for current drugs and with fewer toxic side effects than other depression drugs.
In 2015, Naurex was acquired by Dublin-based pharmaceutical company Allergan for $560 million. Following this transaction, the Naurex team, including founder Moskal, spun out another company, Aptinyx Inc., to collaborate with Allergan in certain areas and to further develop potential treatments for diseases of the brain and central nervous system outside the Allergan agreement. Naurex was founded in 2008 based on nearly 20 years of research on learning and memory processes in the brain conducted by Northwestern university professor of biomedical engineering Joseph Moskal. The company’s drug, GLYX-13, targets the MNDA receptor in the brain, which plays a pivotal role in the learning and memory processes as well as various mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, anxiety, autism and depression. GLYX-13 has demonstrated significant potential to treat major depressive disorder, working within hours rather than weeks for current drugs and with fewer toxic side effects than other depression drugs.
In 2015, Naurex was acquired by Dublin-based pharmaceutical company Allergan for $560 million. Following this transaction, the Naurex team, including founder Moskal, spun out another company, Aptinyx Inc., to collaborate with Allergan in certain areas and to further develop potential treatments for diseases of the brain and central nervous system outside the Allergan agreement. Biomedical According to Moskal, federal research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, through the Office of Naval Research, was extremely important to developing the base knowledge needed to identify therapeutic targets and interventions as well as to bridging gaps in funding at an early stage to keep his work going.
NemaMetrix Inc.
nemametrix-inc 2017 NIH UniversityofOregon 2011 1 NemaMetrix’s technology, the ScreenChip System, is used for drug discovery and environmental testing. It is a portable device that can quickly test the effects of drugs or environmental toxins on the C. elegans worm, a tiny, clear nematode widely used as a stand-in for humans in disease research. The first-in-class drug discovery and development platform is an order of magnitude faster and cheaper than traditional mouse-model systems. NemaMetrix’s technology, the ScreenChip System, is used for drug discovery and environmental testing. It is a portable device that can quickly test the effects of drugs or environmental toxins on the C. elegans worm, a tiny, clear nematode widely used as a stand-in for humans in disease research. The first-in-class drug discovery and development platform is an order of magnitude faster and cheaper than traditional mouse-model systems. NemaMetrix is an outgrowth of the work of University of Oregon neuroscientist Shawn Lockery. He spent several years studying the neuronal control of behavior and began placing worms in microfluidic channels to facilitate behavioral and neuronal recordings. Lockery took a sabbatical leave at Harvard University to study with George Whitesides—a pioneer behind microfluidics, which involves precise control and manipulation of constrained fluids. Lockery returned to Oregon with a clear idea of how to apply his knowledge to drug screening and began fabricating the microfluidic device. Lockery’s research was supported by the National Institutes of Health. Biomedical The work conducted a the University of Oregon was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Network Perception
network-perception 2017 DHSNSF UniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign 2013 IL 1 Network Perception aims to help organizations keep their networks safe by visualizing potential cyber risks and uncovering problems that can remain easily hidden in long configuration files. Network Perception’s technology performs an automated and comprehensive path analysis of complex computer networks, solving the firewall audit problem. And, by visualizing and simplifying the analysis of what would otherwise take hours – or days – of tedious manual work, it creates an interactive map out of isolated firewall configuration files. The company’s software additionally automatically identifies security vulnerabilities and misconfigurations of firewalls. Network Perception aims to help organizations keep their networks safe by visualizing potential cyber risks and uncovering problems that can remain easily hidden in long configuration files. Network Perception’s technology performs an automated and comprehensive path analysis of complex computer networks, solving the firewall audit problem. And, by visualizing and simplifying the analysis of what would otherwise take hours – or days – of tedious manual work, it creates an interactive map out of isolated firewall configuration files. The company’s software additionally automatically identifies security vulnerabilities and misconfigurations of firewalls. For years, professors David Nicol and William Sanders of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have co-led the development of the network access policy tool, NetAPT. The original version of the tool was a little command-line-driven program that ran on a Unix box. It would go out and download configuration information directly from firewalls and then check policies; if there were any changes, it would report on all the rules that would hit certain criteria. In recognition of the potential importance of the tool in ensuring security of critical cyber infrastructures, the US Department of Homeland Security announced funding for a one-year effort to support commercialization of the technology. The UI team, including Mouna Bamba, Robin Berthier and Edmond Rogers, used the funds to develop additional training materials, enhance user support, and increase the value of the software by adding new functionalities that are critical for larger set of users. The team also received funding from the National Science Foundation. Technology & Web The work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was supported by research funding from the Department of Homeland Security and the National Science Foundation.
Nexgenia, Inc.
nexgenia-inc 2017 NIH UniversityofWashington 2011 WA 1 Nexgenia’s smart magnetic nanoparticles have the potential to significantly improve the speed, efficiency and sensitivity of molecular and cell separations for diagnostic and life science applications, particularly immunotherapy.
Personalized immunotherapies, such as CAR T-cell therapies, rely heavily on the ability to separate cells from a patient sample quickly and efficiently. Most cellular separations are performed on magnetic beads of micron-plus dimensions. While beads of this size are easily separable in a magnetic field, they have limited surface area for the loading of antibodies and have extremely limited diffusion rates, both of which lead to slow binding of targets and long assay times. Nexgenia’s polymer-bearing nanoparticles enable antibodies to be utilized at much higher concentrations and to bind with targets much faster. Following target binding, the nanoparticles can co-aggregate within seconds to a large size for faster, more complete separations leading to faster and more sensitive assays. This offers particular advantages when separating cells with low surface biomarker density. Nexgenia’s smart magnetic nanoparticles have the potential to significantly improve the speed, efficiency and sensitivity of molecular and cell separations for diagnostic and life science applications, particularly immunotherapy.
Personalized immunotherapies, such as CAR T-cell therapies, rely heavily on the ability to separate cells from a patient sample quickly and efficiently. Most cellular separations are performed on magnetic beads of micron-plus dimensions. While beads of this size are easily separable in a magnetic field, they have limited surface area for the loading of antibodies and have extremely limited diffusion rates, both of which lead to slow binding of targets and long assay times. Nexgenia’s polymer-bearing nanoparticles enable antibodies to be utilized at much higher concentrations and to bind with targets much faster. Following target binding, the nanoparticles can co-aggregate within seconds to a large size for faster, more complete separations leading to faster and more sensitive assays. This offers particular advantages when separating cells with low surface biomarker density. Nexgenia emerged from the University of Washington lab of Pat Stayton, director of the UW Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute. Biomedical Funding from the National Institutes of Health contributed to the foundational research behind Nexgenia.
NimbleGen Systems, Inc.
nimblegen-systems-inc 2017 NIH UniversityofWisconsin-Madison 1999 WI 51 Founded as NimbleGen in 1999 and acquired by Roche in 2007, Roche NimbleGen makes gene chips for pharmaceutical research. Roche NimbleGen produces high-density DNA microarrays that use proprietary Maskless Array Synthesis (MAS) technology. The technology allows researchers to examine an entire genome in a single experiment. That genetic data furthers the understanding of the genetic causes of disease and its genetic predisposition factors. The microarrays are used for comparative genomic analysis and to identify potential drug targets. Founded as NimbleGen in 1999 and acquired by Roche in 2007, Roche NimbleGen makes gene chips for pharmaceutical research. Roche NimbleGen produces high-density DNA microarrays that use proprietary Maskless Array Synthesis (MAS) technology. The technology allows researchers to examine an entire genome in a single experiment. That genetic data furthers the understanding of the genetic causes of disease and its genetic predisposition factors. The microarrays are used for comparative genomic analysis and to identify potential drug targets. NimbleGen is an example of collaborative interdisciplinary research at University of Wisconsin-Madison involving an engineer (Franco Cerrina), a chemist (Michael Sussman), a geneticist (Frederik Blattner) and a graduate student (Roland Green) who later earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology. When Dr. Sussman was overheard talking with campus visitors about the issues with current DNA chip technology, the university provost suggested he meet Dr. Cerrina, an electrical engineering professor and expert in the semiconductor industry. The result was an innovative application of a technology from an unrelated field, something that none of the individuals involved would have been able to develop on their own. A National Institutes of Health campus training grant enabled Green to work on the technology in Sussman’s labs in the UW-Madison Horticulture Department and Biotechnology Center. Green’s Ph.D. thesis described the invention. Once the technology was proven and the results published in a paper in Nature Biotechnology, angel investor money allowed Doctors Sussman, Blattner and Cerrina to establish the company. Green joined shortly thereafter. Biomedical The work conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Novesentis
novesentis 2013 DOD PennsylvaniaStateUniversity 2006 PA 1 Strategic Polymers, now called Novosentis, develops cutting-edge technologies for electro mechanical actuators. It is the world’s leading developer of Electro-Mechanical Polymers (EMP) and the producer of the world’s thinnest high performance EMP actuators. EMP actuators vibrate and deform, are ultra-light, high strain, cost-competitive and customizable. No other actuator technology competes with so many characteristics.Strategic Polymers is focused on designing, producing and delivering actuators to enable OEMs worldwide to deliver the most advanced multimodal user experience to their customers. The emergence of the world’s thinnest EMP have enabled advances in applications including increased haptic capabilities, acoustics, advancing and animating touchscreen technologies, and technology access tool kits for developers and technology engineers. Strategic Polymers, now called Novosentis, develops cutting-edge technologies for electro mechanical actuators. It is the world’s leading developer of Electro-Mechanical Polymers (EMP) and the producer of the world’s thinnest high performance EMP actuators. EMP actuators vibrate and deform, are ultra-light, high strain, cost-competitive and customizable. No other actuator technology competes with so many characteristics.Strategic Polymers is focused on designing, producing and delivering actuators to enable OEMs worldwide to deliver the most advanced multimodal user experience to their customers. The emergence of the world’s thinnest EMP have enabled advances in applications including increased haptic capabilities, acoustics, advancing and animating touchscreen technologies, and technology access tool kits for developers and technology engineers. Strategic Polymer Inc. was founded based on the research of Dr. Qiming Zhang, a distinguished professor in electrical engineering and material science engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Zhang’s research in the past has concentrated on electroactive polymers. Zhang and his group of researchers were responsible for the discovery and furthering development of high strain and resilient electrostrictive polymer technology essential to electro-mechanical polymer actuators. Manufacturing, Research & Industry Zhang's research was supported by the Department of Defense.
Novobiotic
novobiotic 2013 NSF NortheasternUniversity 2003 MA 1 NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals is a privately held, early stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel antibiotics.
NovoBiotic has developed a method for growing previously "unculturable" microorganisms in the laboratory. The company is using this proprietary technology as a platform for antibiotic discovery. NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals is a privately held, early stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel antibiotics.
NovoBiotic has developed a method for growing previously "unculturable" microorganisms in the laboratory. The company is using this proprietary technology as a platform for antibiotic discovery. While 70 percent of antibiotics are derived from microorganisms, few new classes of antibiotics have been introduced since the 1960s and large pharmaceutical companies have exhausted the <1 percent of bacteria/fungi that are accessible for drug discovery using traditional culture techniques.
NovoBiotic’s founding scientists, Northeastern University professors Dr. Kim Lewis, and Dr. Slava Epstein, discovered a unique, proprietary method to isolate and cultivate previously unculturable microorganisms in their laboratory, giving NovoBiotic sole access to a virtually unlimited and as yet unexploited source of novel natural product compound diversity. The novel diffusion chamber technology, called the Cultursys™ chamber, allows the diffusion of growth-sustaining materials from the organisms’ natural environment but restricts the movement of cells. Biomedical The initial research and development that led to Novobiotic was supported by a $65,723 grant from the National Science Foundation.
LATEST NEWS: New York Times 1/7/2015From a Pile of Dirt, Hope for a Powerful New Antibiotic
Octagen Corporation
octagen-corporation 2013 NIH EmoryUniversity 1997 PA NA Octagen Corporation, an Emory University research spin out, was a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of hemophilia and other disorders of the clotting process. Octagen’s key technology, OBI-1 was purchased in 2008 by French specialty pharmaceutical company Ipsen. Ipsen subsequently sold the OBI-1 assets to U.S.-based Baxter International in early 2013. OBI-1 is currently in late phase III trials for acquired hemophilia and a Biologic License Application (BLA) filing is expected shortly. Octagen Corporation, an Emory University research spin out, was a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of hemophilia and other disorders of the clotting process. Octagen’s key technology, OBI-1 was purchased in 2008 by French specialty pharmaceutical company Ipsen. Ipsen subsequently sold the OBI-1 assets to U.S.-based Baxter International in early 2013. OBI-1 is currently in late phase III trials for acquired hemophilia and a Biologic License Application (BLA) filing is expected shortly. OBI-1, a genetically engineered molecule with the potential to treat Hemophilia A, was discovered by Emory University professor John S. (Pete) Lollar. Lollar discovered that this recombinant porcine Factor VIII (OBI-1) possesses low cross reactivity to the Factor VIII antibodies. This was important, since about 25 percent of hemophiliacs develop antibodies or inhibitors to human factor VIII and end up rejecting the replacement Factor VIII antibodies.
Biomedical Federal grants awarded to Emory University from the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute part of the National Institutes of Health, partially funded the research leading to these inventions.
OmniLife
omnilife 2021 IA 1 Materials
OmniSpeech, LLC
omnispeech-llc 2013 NSFNIH UniversityofMaryland 2009 MD 1 OmniSpeech is an innovative software technology company that aims to revolutionize the enhancement of voice communication in digital mobile devices and server-based applications. OmniSpeech takes a novel approach to the challenge of ensuring clear speech in noisy environments. In a departure from traditional approaches that focus primarily on noise suppression, OmniSpeech instead focuses on speech extraction.OmniClear™ technology successfully extracts speech from stationary and non-stationary noise, thereby significantly improving the overall voice experience. OmniClear™ offers superior and natural voice quality and intelligibility in a software-only solution, enabling users of IP communications, speech recognition applications and mobile devices, to experience enhanced voice clarity in noisy environments. OmniSpeech is an innovative software technology company that aims to revolutionize the enhancement of voice communication in digital mobile devices and server-based applications. OmniSpeech takes a novel approach to the challenge of ensuring clear speech in noisy environments. In a departure from traditional approaches that focus primarily on noise suppression, OmniSpeech instead focuses on speech extraction.OmniClear™ technology successfully extracts speech from stationary and non-stationary noise, thereby significantly improving the overall voice experience. OmniClear™ offers superior and natural voice quality and intelligibility in a software-only solution, enabling users of IP communications, speech recognition applications and mobile devices, to experience enhanced voice clarity in noisy environments. The groundbreaking research on the physiology of human speech by University of Maryland professor of electrical and computer engineering Dr. Carol Espy-Wilson led to the creation of OmniSpeech LLC. Dr. Espy-Wilson wanted to solve the problem of making speech technologies perform robustly in everyday environments. She started with a model of how the ear detects tones in noise, and expanded on this approach to deal with speech (many tones) in noise. Espy-Wilson found that some of her feature extraction techniques combined with the speech model gave even better performance. Later, she focused on the problem of two speakers at the same time where the target and the noise are both speech. The discovered technology is the first single-channel solution that can deal effectively with non-stationary noise. Technology & Web The initial research conducted by Espy-Wilson that led to OmniSpeech was supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
ONY, Inc.
ony-inc 2010 NIH UniversityatBuffalo 1985 NY 1 ONY, Inc. was formed to commercialize InfaSurf, a lung surfactant developed by two professors of pediatrics at the University at Buffalo (UB).
InfaSurf was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1999 for the prevention and treatment of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in premature and newborn infants. Since then the surfactant has been administered to more than 250,000 premature babies in the United States to assist with their breathing in the first critical hours after birth. ONY, Inc. was formed to commercialize InfaSurf, a lung surfactant developed by two professors of pediatrics at the University at Buffalo (UB).
InfaSurf was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1999 for the prevention and treatment of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in premature and newborn infants. Since then the surfactant has been administered to more than 250,000 premature babies in the United States to assist with their breathing in the first critical hours after birth. Dr. Edmund Egan and Dr. Bruce Holm developed the lung surfactant technology based on research conducted by University at Buffalo, University of Rochester and University of Western Ontario.
Edmund Egan is the president and chief executive officer of ONY, Inc., and UB professor of pediatrics, physiology and biophysics. Co-inventor Bruce Holm is the executive director of UB’s New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences and UB professor of pediatrics, gynecology-obstetrics and pharmacology. Both are faculty members in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Biomedical The original research conducted at University at Buffalo was supported with funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Open Water Power, Inc.
open-water-power-inc 2017 DOD MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology 2013 MA 1 Open Water Power has developed a novel aluminum-water platform technology for undersea power generation. Invented and patented by company founders at MIT, the electrochemical system provides safe, scalable and non-toxic energy storage with extremely high energy density, promising a 10-times improvement in the endurance of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and sensors. This addresses a critical technology gap for the U.S. Navy and for the oil and gas industry. Open Water Power has developed a novel aluminum-water platform technology for undersea power generation. Invented and patented by company founders at MIT, the electrochemical system provides safe, scalable and non-toxic energy storage with extremely high energy density, promising a 10-times improvement in the endurance of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and sensors. This addresses a critical technology gap for the U.S. Navy and for the oil and gas industry. Open Water's founders met in a research course offered by MIT and Lincoln Laboratory (a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security) called Naval Underwater System Design. Tom Milnes was the teaching assistant and Ian McKay and Ruaridh Macdonald were students. It was in that course that McKay first conceived of and demonstrated Open Water’s technology. They refer to it as a modest experiment in a beaker: a small enriched blob of gallium in water and a platinum wire so thin you could barely see it. But that very simple beaker “battery” generated the telltale hydrogen bubbles that indicated that the reaction was working. More importantly, it indicated that they were onto something very significant. The company’s aluminum-seawater technology can store as much as 10 times the energy of a lithium ion battery of a similar size, without the safety risks typically associated with lithium-ion batteries. Technology & Web Open Water Power’s core technology was originally conceived and developed at MIT with research funding from the Department of Defense through the US Air Force and the Office of Naval Research.
Optimeos Life Sciences
optimeos-life-sciences 2021 NJ 1 Biomedical
Orbital ATK Inc.
orbital-atk-inc 2010 NASA HarvardUniversity 1982 VA 1001 Orbital Sciences Corporation is one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of smaller, more affordable space and launch systems. Founded in 1982, the company has pioneered new classes of rockets, satellites and other space-based technologies that help make the benefits of space more affordable, accessible and useful to millions of people on Earth. Following the completion of a merger with the Aerospace and Defense groups of Alliant Techsystems Inc. in 2015, the company is known as Orbital ATK. Orbital Sciences Corporation is one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of smaller, more affordable space and launch systems. Founded in 1982, the company has pioneered new classes of rockets, satellites and other space-based technologies that help make the benefits of space more affordable, accessible and useful to millions of people on Earth. Following the completion of a merger with the Aerospace and Defense groups of Alliant Techsystems Inc. in 2015, the company is known as Orbital ATK. The foundation for Orbital Sciences Corporation was laid in 1980, when David Thompson, Bruce Ferguson, and Scott Webster met at Harvard Business School and worked together on a NASA-sponsored study of commercial space applications. They submitted their study to NASA in 1981 and subsequently won the Space Foundation Prize for Space Business Research. On April 2, 1982, Space Systems Corporation (SSC) — the predecessor to Orbital Sciences Corporation — was incorporated in Delaware to develop, manufacture, test, and market commercial space transportation systems. Defense, Safety, & Aerospace The research project that was the genesis of Orbital was funded by NASA.
Organovo Holdings, Inc.
organovo-holdings-inc 2017 NSF UniversityofMissouri 2007 CA 101 Organovo designs and creates functional, three-dimensional human tissues for use in medical research and therapeutic applications using a proprietary three-dimensional bioprinting technology. Reproducible 3D tissues that accurately represent human biology open up ground-breaking opportunities in disease modeling and toxicology, drug testing prior to human trials and the repair and replacement of damaged or diseased tissues in humans. Organovo’s ExVive Human Kidney Tissue was named a 2016 Top Ten Innovation by The Scientist magazine for offering a reliable means to test for renal toxicity and its potential to transform drug development Organovo designs and creates functional, three-dimensional human tissues for use in medical research and therapeutic applications using a proprietary three-dimensional bioprinting technology. Reproducible 3D tissues that accurately represent human biology open up ground-breaking opportunities in disease modeling and toxicology, drug testing prior to human trials and the repair and replacement of damaged or diseased tissues in humans. Organovo’s ExVive Human Kidney Tissue was named a 2016 Top Ten Innovation by The Scientist magazine for offering a reliable means to test for renal toxicity and its potential to transform drug development Organovo is based on bio-printing work that began in 2004 and was led by Dr. Gabor Forgacs at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Forgacs and a multi-institution team received a $5 million National Science Foundation Frontiers in Integrative Biological Research grant to pursue 3-D bioprinting. The work of Dr. Forgacs and colleagues led to multiple patents, which form the basis of Organovo’s technologies and which the company licenses from the University. Biomedical The work conducted at University of Missouri was supported by research funding by the National Science Foundation.
OrthoAccel Technologies Inc.
orthoaccel-technologies-inc 2013 NIH UniversityofIllinoisatChicago 2007 TX 1 Based in Houston, TX, OrthoAccel® Technologies, Inc. is a privately held, medical device company focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing innovative technologies to enhance dental care and orthodontic treatment. The company’s first product, the AcceleDent™ System, is designed to accelerate the rate of tooth movement for patients wearing braces. AcceleDent™ relies on the application of cyclic forces (sometimes described as “pulsing” or “vibratory” forces) in combination with standard orthodontics to move teeth in bone faster via accelerated bone remodeling. The removable device is used just 20 minutes per day as a complement to braces to accelerate tooth movement. Gentle micro vibrations stimulate local bone biology to increase remodeling. This allows teeth to move 38 percent to 50 percent faster. OrthoAccel® has been selling the AcceleDent™ System outside the United States since October 2009. AcceleDent™ received FDA clearance in November 2011 and is now available in the United States. Based in Houston, TX, OrthoAccel® Technologies, Inc. is a privately held, medical device company focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing innovative technologies to enhance dental care and orthodontic treatment. The company’s first product, the AcceleDent™ System, is designed to accelerate the rate of tooth movement for patients wearing braces. AcceleDent™ relies on the application of cyclic forces (sometimes described as “pulsing” or “vibratory” forces) in combination with standard orthodontics to move teeth in bone faster via accelerated bone remodeling. The removable device is used just 20 minutes per day as a complement to braces to accelerate tooth movement. Gentle micro vibrations stimulate local bone biology to increase remodeling. This allows teeth to move 38 percent to 50 percent faster. OrthoAccel® has been selling the AcceleDent™ System outside the United States since October 2009. AcceleDent™ received FDA clearance in November 2011 and is now available in the United States. The foundation for the AcceleDent™ System was based on groundbreaking research started at the University of Illinois at Chicago and continued at Columbia University by Professor Dr. Jeremy Mao on the use of biomechanical forces to induce bone growth in intramembranous bones, such as those found in the human jaw. This foundational work led to the demonstration that the application of pulsating, low magnitude forces to dentation and surrounding bone accelerates orthodontic tooth movement through enhanced bone remodeling. Biomedical The initial research that spurred the development of the AcceleDent™ System was conducted with the support of a $1.3 million grant awarded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health.
OscillaVent
oscillavent 2021 IA 1 Biomedical
Oscine Therapeutics
oscine-therapeutics 2021 NIHNationalInstituteofNeurologicalDisordersandStroke UniversityofRochester 2018 NY 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Pacific Biosciences
pacific-biosciences 2010 DOENIHNSF CornellUniversity 2004 CA 101 Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) is a biotechnology company developing a transformative Single Molecule Real Time (SMRT™) DNA sequencing platform. PacBio’s goal is to commercialize SMRT™ DNA sequencing technology, eventually enabling sequencing of individual genomes as part of routine medical care. Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) is a biotechnology company developing a transformative Single Molecule Real Time (SMRT™) DNA sequencing platform. PacBio’s goal is to commercialize SMRT™ DNA sequencing technology, eventually enabling sequencing of individual genomes as part of routine medical care. PacBio, formerly Nanofluidics, Inc., is a spin-off from the Cornell Nanbiotechnology Center.
The Single Molecule Real Time (SMRT™) approach for nucleic acid sequencing concept was initially developed at Cornell University in the Laboratories of Watt Webb and Harold Craighead. Cornell has been a preeminent world leader in nanotechnology research for more than 25 years, and leads the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) — an integrated partnership of 13 facilities. Manufacturing, Research & Industry Initial research that led to PacBio was done at Cornell in part with funding from National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.
In 2005, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institute of Health established two major grant programs to facilitate the development of technologies that would enable the sequencing of a human genome at significantly less cost than is possible today. Two categories of grants were established: one for the development of technology that promised to enable sequencing of the human genome at a cost of $100,000, and a second category for the $1,000 genome. The NHGRI awarded PacBio an Advanced Sequencing Technology Award grant of $6.6 million for development of technology leading to the $1,000 genome, the largest grant of any company applying at any level.
Pani Clean
pani-clean 2021 IA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Paper Battery Company
paper-battery-company 2017 NSF RensselaerPolytechnicInstitute 2008 NY 1 The Paper Battery Company manufactures an ultrathin high-energy supercapacitor that enables companies to replace batteries or use smaller batteries without compromising energy or peak performance. The company’s patented form factor solution allows for revolutionary size changes in wearables, accessories, and mobile electronics, relieving a major gap between advanced computing power in smaller devices and the slow pace of performance improvement in lithium battery technology. The company’s products will help make batteries safer, deliver better peak performance and can further save space by eliminating components from the circuit board. The company has a first high energy product on the market now with the ultrathin supercapacitor as a second product in manufacturing scale up. The Paper Battery Company manufactures an ultrathin high-energy supercapacitor that enables companies to replace batteries or use smaller batteries without compromising energy or peak performance. The company’s patented form factor solution allows for revolutionary size changes in wearables, accessories, and mobile electronics, relieving a major gap between advanced computing power in smaller devices and the slow pace of performance improvement in lithium battery technology. The company’s products will help make batteries safer, deliver better peak performance and can further save space by eliminating components from the circuit board. The company has a first high energy product on the market now with the ultrathin supercapacitor as a second product in manufacturing scale up. The Paper Battery Company was founded in late 2008 by the multi-disciplinary (biotech, nanotech materials, electronics) team of scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that made the discovery and an entrepreneur-in-residence at the university. In 2006 RPI Professor Robert Linhardt, the Broadbent Senior Constellation Professor of Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering, was trying to perfect a blood-thinner containing membrane for hemodialysis. He approached Pulickel Ajayan at the RPI Nanotechnology Center to see if carbon nanotubes might increase the strength of his membranes. The first approach was to merge Linhardt’s cellulose with aligned carbon nanotubes and test for strength. “One of the students said, you know if you fold that in half, you have a supercapacitor,” said Linhardt. “And so we did. And he was right.” Manufacturing, Research & Industry The research that led to the scientific discovery behind Paper Battery Company was supported by the National Science Foundation.
ParaTools, Inc.
paratools-inc 2021 OR 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Personalis, Inc.
personalis-inc 2017 NIHNSF StanfordUniversity 2011 CA 51 Personalis, Inc. is a precision medicine company that offers next generation sequencing-based services for biotech and pharmaceutical clinical trials in immuno-oncology, and for diagnoses of individual clinical patients, in cancer and inherited genetic diseases. Personalis, Inc. is a precision medicine company that offers next generation sequencing-based services for biotech and pharmaceutical clinical trials in immuno-oncology, and for diagnoses of individual clinical patients, in cancer and inherited genetic diseases. In mid-2009, John West (now CEO of Personalis) signed himself and his family up for a new genome sequencing service from a company called Illumina. His was the first family of four to be sequenced by Illumina. At about that same time, a team at Stanford University, whose work was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, published a landmark paper “Clinical Assessment Incorporating a Personal Genome” in The Lancet. The Wests began collaboration with this Stanford team to apply those techniques to their genome data, and to advance the techniques by leveraging the power of a family data set. Initial results from this collaboration were published on-line in PLoS Genetics in 2011 and led the four Stanford faculty members involved – Dr. Euan Ashley, Dr. Atul Butte, Dr. Russ Altman and Dr. Michael Snyder – along with Mr. West to realize that the demand for this type of analysis could grow exponentially. Personalis was founded soon thereafter.
According to Personalis CEO John West, “At the time of Stanford’s seminal work, next-generation DNA sequencing was brand new and there was no commercial market for clinical use. Federal funding made this early proof-of-principle possible. Other countries such as China have invested heavily to catch up, but federal funding helped U.S. companies be first.” Biomedical The work at Stanford University was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
PhageTech, Inc.
phagetech-inc 2017 NIH UniversityofCaliforniaIrvineUniversityofCalifornia 2014 CA 1 PhageTech aims to make the process of conducting traditional lab tests faster, simpler and more mobile. The California-based development-stage company has an innovative platform that employs a bacteriophage substrate for detecting analytes in urine, blood and most any other body fluid. The platform does not require complex sample preparation or reagents and can be run by minimally trained medical staff. Results are virtually instant and it can be implemented as a point of care test. PhageTech aims to make the process of conducting traditional lab tests faster, simpler and more mobile. The California-based development-stage company has an innovative platform that employs a bacteriophage substrate for detecting analytes in urine, blood and most any other body fluid. The platform does not require complex sample preparation or reagents and can be run by minimally trained medical staff. Results are virtually instant and it can be implemented as a point of care test. PhageTech’s patented, bioconducting technology is remarkably effective and inexpensive to produce. It is antibody-free, reagent-free, label-free and nearly instantaneous. The result is a multi-channel biosensor that is biologically active and electrically passive. It can deliver quantitative, semi-quantitative and qualitative results. It is capable of performing multiple simultaneous assays without any complex sample preparation and processing. Since the operational model is simple (fluid-in, data-out), it eliminates the need for special training, lab equipment or capital equipment. Each biosensor can be read by a self-powered handheld reader. A simple smart phone app can instantly display patient results and securely transport this data to the cloud.
Biomedical PhageTech’s innovative bioconducting materials are an outgrowth of 10 years of research by company co-founders Dr. Reginald Penner and Dr. Gregory Weiss, along with the students and postdocs, at University of California, Irvine. Their research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Pharmacyclics
pharmacyclics 2017 NIHNSF UniversityofTexasatAustin 1991 CA 101 Pharmacyclics is a biopharmaceutical company that was co-founded by a cancer-fighting University of Texas at Austin chemist, and later acquired by AbbVie in 2015 for $21 billion. The company specializes in developing revolutionary cancer treatments as well as therapies for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Their pharmaceutical drug development candidates are synthetic small-molecules designed to target key biochemical pathways involved in human diseases with critical unmet needs. Pharmacyclics is a biopharmaceutical company that was co-founded by a cancer-fighting University of Texas at Austin chemist, and later acquired by AbbVie in 2015 for $21 billion. The company specializes in developing revolutionary cancer treatments as well as therapies for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Their pharmaceutical drug development candidates are synthetic small-molecules designed to target key biochemical pathways involved in human diseases with critical unmet needs. While at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Jonathan Sessler developed molecules that could disrupt cancer cells and keep them from forming or spreading. Unbeknownst to him at the time, these discoveries would be the basis of a new company that would go on to become one of Silicon Valley’s biggest success stories, resulting in one of its largest acquisitions in history.
Dr. Sessler, a cancer patient himself, teamed up with his oncologist Dr. Richard Miller, to defeat his cancer. They were successful, and wanted to help others by finding molecules that could be turned into new therapeutic drugs. In 1991, Sessler and Miller co-founded Pharmacyclics. Federal research funding was a critical factor in Sessler’s research. “The National Science Foundation provided initial seed funding that allowed the first synthesis and coordination chemical studies of Texaphyrins (the founding but not ultimate technology for Pharmacyclics). Subsequently, I was able to obtain National Institutes of Health funding that allowed some key proof-of-concept biomedical studies to be completed,” explains Sessler. Biomedical The work at the University of Texas at Austin was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Pharmasset, Inc.
pharmasset-inc 2010 NIH EmoryUniversity 1998 CA NA Pharmasset, Inc. is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes novel antiviral therapeutic drugs. Pharmasset was founded by Dr. Raymond Schinazi and Dr. Dennis Liotta, faculty members at Emory University. Emory has multiple license agreements with Pharmasset.
Pharmasset’s current focus is on the development of oral therapeutics for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV is a leading cause of chronic liver disease and liver transplants. The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 180 million people worldwide, or approximately 3% of the world’s population, are infected with HCV.
As a result of the limited benefits and serious side effects of existing therapies, the leadership at Pharmasset believes there are significant opportunities for new antiviral therapies to fight HCV. Pharmasset currently has three products that are in various phases of clinical trials. The company has established strategic partnerships with Roche, one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups in the field of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, and Bukwang Pharmaceutical Company, a publicly-traded Korean pharmaceutical, oral hygiene, and cosmetics company.
Pharmasset was acquired by Gilead Sciences Inc. in 2011. Pharmasset, Inc. is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes novel antiviral therapeutic drugs. Pharmasset was founded by Dr. Raymond Schinazi and Dr. Dennis Liotta, faculty members at Emory University. Emory has multiple license agreements with Pharmasset.
Pharmasset’s current focus is on the development of oral therapeutics for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV is a leading cause of chronic liver disease and liver transplants. The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 180 million people worldwide, or approximately 3% of the world’s population, are infected with HCV.
As a result of the limited benefits and serious side effects of existing therapies, the leadership at Pharmasset believes there are significant opportunities for new antiviral therapies to fight HCV. Pharmasset currently has three products that are in various phases of clinical trials. The company has established strategic partnerships with Roche, one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups in the field of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, and Bukwang Pharmaceutical Company, a publicly-traded Korean pharmaceutical, oral hygiene, and cosmetics company.
Pharmasset was acquired by Gilead Sciences Inc. in 2011. Pharmasset was founded by Dr. Raymond Schinazi and Dr. Dennis Liotta, world-renowned scientists and drug discovery experts at Emory University. Emory has multiple license agreements with Pharmasset. Biomedical RAYMOND SCHINAZI, PHD, DSC The technology development was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Phoebus Optoelectronics LLC
phoebus-optoelectronics-llc 2013 NSFDOD TheCityUniversityofNewYork 2003 NY 1 Phoebus is a research-phase nanotechnology company focused on design, prototyping and licensing of metamaterials – a new class of enabling optical materials - for alternative energy, remote sensing and chem/bio detection applications. Phoebus is currently developing advanced solar cells, hydrogen generating and methanol generating devices, bio sensors, chemical sensors, and infrared imaging systems. The company has partnerships with numerous government agencies and large defense companies and is in discussions with several sets of venture capitalists for a large investment. Phoebus is a research-phase nanotechnology company focused on design, prototyping and licensing of metamaterials – a new class of enabling optical materials - for alternative energy, remote sensing and chem/bio detection applications. Phoebus is currently developing advanced solar cells, hydrogen generating and methanol generating devices, bio sensors, chemical sensors, and infrared imaging systems. The company has partnerships with numerous government agencies and large defense companies and is in discussions with several sets of venture capitalists for a large investment. Phoebus Optoelectronics LLC was founded in 2003 to transition technology and commercialize nanotechnology, metamaterials, photonic and optical devices developed by company founders and researchers at the Center for Metamaterials at the City College of City University of New York (CUNY). Funding to the Center for Metamaterials from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense, through the Army Research Laboratory supported the preliminary research and development on the technology that would become Phoebus’s first commercialized device. Company founder David Crouse continues to lead the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Center for Metamaterials.
As Phoebus has grown, it has increased its technical staff to six scientists and engineers and currently performs two-thirds of its research and development tasks within the company and subcontracts to CUNY about one-third of the R&D tasks. The company participates in programs offered by the CUNY Center for Advanced Technology in Photonics Applications (CUNY CAT), which supports industry/university collaborative projects leading to the transfer of technology to industry and the generation of economic impact. Energy & Chemicals
PhotoniCare, Inc.
photonicare-inc 2017 NIHNSF UniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign 2013 IL 1 PhotoniCare is revolutionizing management of ear infections, the most common childhood disease. Ear infections are the leading cause of hearing loss and surgeries in children, yet they are still diagnosed using the otoscope, essentially a magnifying glass. With the otoscope, physicians look at the surface of the eardrum and have to guess at what is going on in the middle ear, which they cannot see. PhotoniCare has developed an otoscope that can look through the eardrum to directly visualize the disease in the middle ear, empowering physicians to make better decisions about antibiotics and surgery for this common disease. PhotoniCare is revolutionizing management of ear infections, the most common childhood disease. Ear infections are the leading cause of hearing loss and surgeries in children, yet they are still diagnosed using the otoscope, essentially a magnifying glass. With the otoscope, physicians look at the surface of the eardrum and have to guess at what is going on in the middle ear, which they cannot see. PhotoniCare has developed an otoscope that can look through the eardrum to directly visualize the disease in the middle ear, empowering physicians to make better decisions about antibiotics and surgery for this common disease. PhotoniCare was founded by a physician and two engineers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, based on an acute need they perceived in their own lives through the patients they cared for and the experiences of their own children. As fathers of children with chronic middle ear disease, they had seen firsthand the frustration and helplessness of endless office visits for antibiotics that rarely worked. Leveraging their expertise in optical imaging technologies for other medical applications, they proposed a bold solution—just look through the eardrum to improve diagnosis. One of the founders submitted a proposal to the National Institutes of Health, which funded the proposed project for a five-year period. The founders additionally received funding from the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program. Federal support was instrumental in moving their idea from the bench to the bedside.
As of February 2017, FDA 510 (K) clearance for the PhontiCare device was pending. Biomedical The work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Chamaign was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Physcient, Inc.
physcient-inc 2013 NIHNSF NorthCarolinaStateUniversity 2007 NC 1 Physcient is developing hand-held, robotic surgical instruments to help patients hurt less and heal faster. The company combines modern automation and unique knowledge of surgical biomechanics to develop minimally traumatic surgical devices.
Physcient’s first product, called a “thoracic retractor,” is used to gain surgical access for open-chest surgical procedures — lung and heart surgeries. Rather than develop complicated minimally invasive approaches, Physcient has demonstrated in pre-clinical trials that many of the advantages of minimally invasive surgeries (less pain, less trauma, improved respiratory function) can be delivered by improving the thoracic retractor. Physcient is developing hand-held, robotic surgical instruments to help patients hurt less and heal faster. The company combines modern automation and unique knowledge of surgical biomechanics to develop minimally traumatic surgical devices.
Physcient’s first product, called a “thoracic retractor,” is used to gain surgical access for open-chest surgical procedures — lung and heart surgeries. Rather than develop complicated minimally invasive approaches, Physcient has demonstrated in pre-clinical trials that many of the advantages of minimally invasive surgeries (less pain, less trauma, improved respiratory function) can be delivered by improving the thoracic retractor. Physcient was founded to commercialize technology co-developed by North Carolina State University mechanical engineer Greg Bucker and a colleague, Dr. Gil Bolotin of Haifa, Israel. Their pioneering work was based on the premise that surgery could be made less traumatic if the surgical instrument was smarter. Bucker, who is a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Director of the Electro-Mechanics Research Laboratory at NCSU, serves on Physcient’s Scientific Advisory Board. Biomedical The fundamental research behind Physcient’s technologies conducted at NCSU was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Picarro, Inc.
picarro-inc 2013 DOE StanfordUniversity 1998 CA 51 Picarro's singular mission is to produce the world's highest performance and easiest to use gas analyzers. The company’s ultra-precise, easy-to-use and portable gas concentration and stable isotope analysis instruments are fully integrated with a powerful, cloud-based geo-informatics platform, P-Cubed® - the Picarro Processing Platform. The company’s high-precision gas analyzers and optical stable isotope measurement instruments are used in a wide variety of scientific and industrial applications, including: atmospheric science, air quality, greenhouse gas measurements, natural gas leak detection, food safety, hydrology, ecology and more. Deployed in places as diverse as the Greenland Ice Cap, a volcano in Nicaragua, research ships, and U.S. Coast Guard airplanes, Picarro’s analyzers are unparalleled in their precision, ease of use, portability and reliability. Picarro's singular mission is to produce the world's highest performance and easiest to use gas analyzers. The company’s ultra-precise, easy-to-use and portable gas concentration and stable isotope analysis instruments are fully integrated with a powerful, cloud-based geo-informatics platform, P-Cubed® - the Picarro Processing Platform. The company’s high-precision gas analyzers and optical stable isotope measurement instruments are used in a wide variety of scientific and industrial applications, including: atmospheric science, air quality, greenhouse gas measurements, natural gas leak detection, food safety, hydrology, ecology and more. Deployed in places as diverse as the Greenland Ice Cap, a volcano in Nicaragua, research ships, and U.S. Coast Guard airplanes, Picarro’s analyzers are unparalleled in their precision, ease of use, portability and reliability. Picarro was founded based on work conducted in Richard Zare’s laboratory at Stanford University’s Department of Chemistry on travelling wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy, a highly sensitive technique that enables measurement down to the parts per trillion levels. The research led by Zare at Stanford was supported by the Department of Energy. Zare serves as a scientific advisor to Picarro.Dr. Barbara Paldus, an inventor who earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Stanford, became the Chief Technology Officer of the start-up, originally called Informed Diagnostics, Inc. The company spent several years developing the technology and looking for an application that could generate a significant market opportunity, eventually becoming Picarro, Inc. Today, Picarro is pioneering a unique intersection of hardware, software and cloud-based computing unlike anything being done today and are transforming how world-class scientific and regulatory compliance measurements are made, and more importantly, who makes them. The company’s instruments were at the 2012 Olympics in London, measuring the air pollution in the city. They are now the leading provider of stable isotope and gas concentration measurement instruments and geo-informatics to the science community. They received the World Economic Forum 2012 Technology Pioneer award. Manufacturing, Research & Industry
PLS 3rd Learning
pls-3rd-learning 2017 ED UniversityatBuffalo 2007 NY 51 PLS 3rd Learning is an organization dedicated to improving teaching and learning in K-12 schools by leveraging advanced technologies. Its primary focus is development of technology-based systems and professional learning opportunities that promote and enhance educator effectiveness. PLS 3rd Learning is an organization dedicated to improving teaching and learning in K-12 schools by leveraging advanced technologies. Its primary focus is development of technology-based systems and professional learning opportunities that promote and enhance educator effectiveness. PLS 3rd Learning is a spinout of a highly successful program at the University at Buffalo that grew too large and had too much potential to continue to operate inside the university. Company founder Don Jacobs began the award-winning Center for Applied Technologies in Education at UB in 1999 and won a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and the New York State Education Department to create a database of learning tools and teaching aids for New York State school districts. Called “New York Learns,” the database provided teachers access to a web portal that contained information on learning standards, sample concept tools and curriculum materials. After a decade of success with NY Learns — and growing interest in the curriculum and academic standards management system from other states — the university encouraged Jacobs to consider commercializing the software.
PLS 3rd Learning was founded in 2007. Today, the company’s clients include about 100 school districts in New York State, over 800 in Texas, as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The company also works internationally, with one project in Turkey providing curriculum resources in English and Turkish to teachers across the country. Technology & Web The work at the University at Buffalo was supported by research funding by the Department of Education.
Polyera Corporation
polyera-corporation 2013 DODNASANSF NorthwesternUniversity 2006 IL 1 Polyera is focused on creating breakthrough organic materials and providing customized technologies for the commercialization of novel printed and flexible electronic products. Polyera is a leading supplier of high-performance semiconductor materials and inks for organic transistors, photovoltaics, and circuit applications. Polyera provides novel functional materials (semiconductors, dielectrics, interfacials, passivation layers) and the corresponding formulated inks to enable the next-generation of solution-processed, flexible, potentially inexpensive opto-electronic devices. These semiconductor-based products can be printed on flexible, light-weight substrates such as plastics, in contrast with traditional rigid substrates. This allows for the manufacturing of electronics, such as flat panel displays or solar panels, with radically new product designs such as displays that can fold or roll-up. In addition, flexibility provides robustness to impact since flexible things don't break easily when they get hit.Since founding, the company has received over $30M in private funding. Polyera is focused on creating breakthrough organic materials and providing customized technologies for the commercialization of novel printed and flexible electronic products. Polyera is a leading supplier of high-performance semiconductor materials and inks for organic transistors, photovoltaics, and circuit applications. Polyera provides novel functional materials (semiconductors, dielectrics, interfacials, passivation layers) and the corresponding formulated inks to enable the next-generation of solution-processed, flexible, potentially inexpensive opto-electronic devices. These semiconductor-based products can be printed on flexible, light-weight substrates such as plastics, in contrast with traditional rigid substrates. This allows for the manufacturing of electronics, such as flat panel displays or solar panels, with radically new product designs such as displays that can fold or roll-up. In addition, flexibility provides robustness to impact since flexible things don't break easily when they get hit.Since founding, the company has received over $30M in private funding. Northwestern University professors Tobin Marks’ and Antonio Facchetti’s expertise in synthesis of organic polymers with unique n-type and p-type electronic properties made these ideal vehicles to fabricate organic conducting materials with semiconductor properties. They demonstrated functioning semiconductor circuits and devices could be fabricated with these organic conductors, in place of traditional metallic based systems, employing established printing technologies. This accomplishment provided an opportunity to manufacture electronic devices on flexible materials and ultimately led to the creation of Polyera. Materials Marks’ and Facchetti’s initial research and development was conducted at Northwestern University with support from the Department of Defense, NASA and the National Science Foundation.
Praxis Biologics
praxis-biologics 2010 NIH UniversityofRochester 1983 NY NA Praxis Biologics was founded in 1983 to develop and market a new vaccine manufacturing process that was discovered by scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
The Praxis Biologics process, called conjugate vaccine technology, causes vaccines to provoke a more aggressive immune system response to infection. Praxis Biologics pioneered pediatric vaccines to fight haemophilus influenza type b (marketed under the brand name HibTITER) and pneumococcal bacteria (Prevnar). The two vaccines target bacteria that are collectively the leading causes of pneumonia, spinal meningitis, blood, and middle ear infections in children in the United States. The bacteria and the diseases it causes are also a major contributor to infant mortality globally.
In 1988, Praxis was sold to American Cyanimid, which, in turn, was acquired by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in 1994. In 2009, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Pfizer. Praxis Biologics was founded in 1983 to develop and market a new vaccine manufacturing process that was discovered by scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
The Praxis Biologics process, called conjugate vaccine technology, causes vaccines to provoke a more aggressive immune system response to infection. Praxis Biologics pioneered pediatric vaccines to fight haemophilus influenza type b (marketed under the brand name HibTITER) and pneumococcal bacteria (Prevnar). The two vaccines target bacteria that are collectively the leading causes of pneumonia, spinal meningitis, blood, and middle ear infections in children in the United States. The bacteria and the diseases it causes are also a major contributor to infant mortality globally.
In 1988, Praxis was sold to American Cyanimid, which, in turn, was acquired by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in 1994. In 2009, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Pfizer. Praxis Biologics was founded in 1983 by University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) researchers David Smith, MD, Porter Anderson, PhD and David Insel, MD. Biomedical The original research behind Praxis Biologics founding was funded by National Institutes of Health.
Preora Diagnostics Inc.
preora-diagnostics-inc 2017 NIHNSF NorthwesternUniversity 2015 IL 1 Preora Diagnostics is dedicated to helping people survive cancer. The company is developing low-cost, minimally invasive and highly sensitive cancer screening tests for the most common types of solid-tumor cancers. The tests are simple enough to be performed in a primary care physician’s office without extensive preparation. The tests use proprietary technology – Partial Wave Spectroscopic (PWS) Nanocytology imaging – that detects and measures cellular changes at the nanoscale level. Being able to detect changes on such a tiny scale means that the tests may aid in risk assessment and early detection of cancers in high-risk, asymptomatic patients. Preora Diagnostics is dedicated to helping people survive cancer. The company is developing low-cost, minimally invasive and highly sensitive cancer screening tests for the most common types of solid-tumor cancers. The tests are simple enough to be performed in a primary care physician’s office without extensive preparation. The tests use proprietary technology – Partial Wave Spectroscopic (PWS) Nanocytology imaging – that detects and measures cellular changes at the nanoscale level. Being able to detect changes on such a tiny scale means that the tests may aid in risk assessment and early detection of cancers in high-risk, asymptomatic patients. Preora Diagnostics is based on the work of Vadim Backman, a Northwestern University professor of bioengineering and biophotonics, and his research team. With federal funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation they developed the imaging technology that led them to see the potential for a company like Preora Dx. Backman explains, “When I started working at Northwestern I wasn’t thinking about commercializing. Eventually, though, I realized we were developing quite an exciting technology for cancer screening … and it’s not enough to publish, someone has to deliver these technologies to the patients. I couldn’t sit around waiting for someone else to bring my idea to life.”
Backman expects that the first of a series of cancer pre-screening tests will be available for use by physicians by the end of 2018. Biomedical The work at Northwestern University was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Promentis Pharmaceuticals Inc.
promentis-pharmaceuticals-inc 2017 NIH MarquetteUniversity 2007 WI 1 Promentis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is developing novel compounds for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Promentis' drug development efforts are focused on activating a unique target known to restore glutamatergic neurotransmission and imbalances in oxidative stress – and area with a very high level of unmet medical need.
Promentis emerged from research that defied conventional medical theory and ended up identifying a key biological basis of schizophrenia. Promentis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is developing novel compounds for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Promentis' drug development efforts are focused on activating a unique target known to restore glutamatergic neurotransmission and imbalances in oxidative stress – and area with a very high level of unmet medical need.
Promentis emerged from research that defied conventional medical theory and ended up identifying a key biological basis of schizophrenia. As a post-doctoral fellow company co-founder David Baker deviated from the neuroscience establishment by studying the role of glutamate in addiction, while others focused on another neurotransmitter called dopamine. It was slow, painstaking work. But his team was the first to show that extrasynaptic glutamate released by that mechanism is critical for brain function — and plays a part in brain dysfunction in addiction.
After arriving at Marquette and eager to follow up on his discoveries, Dr. Baker quickly applied for three major research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. Amazingly, Baker won all three grants, worth nearly $2 million. A subsequent grant from NIH’s small business innovative research program was instrumental in Promentis’ efforts to pursue promising new treatments for schizophrenia and other neurological disorders.
Biomedical The work at Marquette University was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Prommune, Inc.
prommune-inc 2017 NIH UniversityofNebraska 2002 NE 1 Prommune is a research and development company that has created a unique and patented means to safely and effectively awaken the body’s own natural immune defenses without inflammatory side-effects. Such immune activation is possible through the use of novel, molecular immune stimulatory peptides (chains of amino acids), which are derived from a naturally-occurring protein component of the immune system. The use of these host-derived immune stimulatory peptides provides a broad therapeutic platform enabling the treatment of normal and antibiotic-resistant infections and the rapid generation of a huge variety of new vaccines for human and veterinary medicine. Prommune is a research and development company that has created a unique and patented means to safely and effectively awaken the body’s own natural immune defenses without inflammatory side-effects. Such immune activation is possible through the use of novel, molecular immune stimulatory peptides (chains of amino acids), which are derived from a naturally-occurring protein component of the immune system. The use of these host-derived immune stimulatory peptides provides a broad therapeutic platform enabling the treatment of normal and antibiotic-resistant infections and the rapid generation of a huge variety of new vaccines for human and veterinary medicine. Prommune was established to translate the findings of National Institutes of Health-funded research in Dr. Sam Sanderson’s laboratory at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) into vaccines and immune stimulatory agents that can be used to fight normal and resistant infections in humans and animals. Biomedical The work conducted at the University of Nebraska was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Protea Biosciences, Inc.
protea-biosciences-inc 2010 NIH WestVirginiaUniversity 2001 WV 1 Protea Biosciences, founded in 2001, is a biotechnology manufacturing and marketing company whose products are used to improve the discovery and analysis of proteins found in biological samples and to aid the development of new protein-based pharmaceuticals.
Protein research is necessary for new pharmaceutical development. Most drugs are either proteins or substances that can interact with proteins. Current pharmaceuticals are based on only about 500 of the 300,000 proteins estimated to be present in the human body.
Protea has successfully adapted a novel method to control the flow of biological samples, or biofluids, through micro-channels embedded in plastic protein “microchips.” As a result of that process, a single, enclosed fluid path accommodates a range of processing in a protected environment.
Protea Biosciences provides identification products and services to more than 150 customers worldwide, including 11 pharmaceutical research laboratories. The proprietary technology that founder Stephen Turner and his company adapted in the laboratories of West Virginia University (WVU) is helping Protea Biosciences accomplish its mission by improving the quality, reproducibility and speed of processing protein samples. Protea Biosciences, founded in 2001, is a biotechnology manufacturing and marketing company whose products are used to improve the discovery and analysis of proteins found in biological samples and to aid the development of new protein-based pharmaceuticals.
Protein research is necessary for new pharmaceutical development. Most drugs are either proteins or substances that can interact with proteins. Current pharmaceuticals are based on only about 500 of the 300,000 proteins estimated to be present in the human body.
Protea has successfully adapted a novel method to control the flow of biological samples, or biofluids, through micro-channels embedded in plastic protein “microchips.” As a result of that process, a single, enclosed fluid path accommodates a range of processing in a protected environment.
Protea Biosciences provides identification products and services to more than 150 customers worldwide, including 11 pharmaceutical research laboratories. The proprietary technology that founder Stephen Turner and his company adapted in the laboratories of West Virginia University (WVU) is helping Protea Biosciences accomplish its mission by improving the quality, reproducibility and speed of processing protein samples. Protea Bioscience, Inc. was founded based on West Virginia University-developed technology and with the support of the WVU Research Corporation. It was founded to advance microfluidics and cell signaling technology developed at WVU and apply it to the discovery of novel protein targets to be used in the development of new pharmaceuticals and improved ways to manage disease.
Protea has 12 patents pending based on WVU-generated technology and has also branched out to sponsor research for post doctorate personnel at the University. Manufacturing, Research & Industry STEPHEN TURNER Initial funding for the WVU protein research that led to the technologies upon which Protea was founded came from the National Institute of Health.
Psikick
psikick 2017 NIH UniversityofMichigan 2013 MI 1 PsiKick develops next generation ultra-low-power wireless sensing devices – the lowest-power sensing devices in the world. Fully integrated and silicon-proven, the sensors operate at 1/100th to 1/1000th of the power budget of other low-power integrated circuit sensor platforms. Their extreme energy efficiency enables them to be powered without a battery from a variety of harvested energy modalities including vibration, thermal gradients, solar, RF or piezo actuation. PsiKick develops next generation ultra-low-power wireless sensing devices – the lowest-power sensing devices in the world. Fully integrated and silicon-proven, the sensors operate at 1/100th to 1/1000th of the power budget of other low-power integrated circuit sensor platforms. Their extreme energy efficiency enables them to be powered without a battery from a variety of harvested energy modalities including vibration, thermal gradients, solar, RF or piezo actuation. Company founders David Wentzloff and Ben Calhoun began their work together when they met in MIT’s grad program. When they returned as faculty to their respective alma maters – David to the University of Michigan, where he received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1999, and Ben to the University of Virginia – they kept their projects going as university collaborations. Research funding from the National Science Foundation allowed them to lay the groundwork for low power radios by experimenting with and prototyping their ideas in test chips – it also trained university students in low-power RFIC design (with some of those students joining Psikick after graduation). Before long they had built what would become an early proof of concept for their company: a small, wireless physiological monitor powered entirely by body heat. Technology & Web The work conducted at the University of Michigan was supported through research funding from the National Science Foundation.
Q-State Biosciences, Inc.
q-state-biosciences-inc 2017 DODNIH HarvardUniversity 2013 MA 1 Q-State Biosciences is an integrated drug discovery company built around proprietary stem cell and optogenetic technologies. Q-State has developed a technology platform that allows scientists to observe how signals flow through neurons and neural circuits by converting electrical activity into fluorescent light. Thanks to advances in stem cell research, and the ability to use human-derived stem cells to culture neurons in the lab, the tool allows researchers to understand activity in an individual’s nervous system and where that nervous system misfires –for instance in individuals with epilepsy or ALS. Q-State Biosciences is an integrated drug discovery company built around proprietary stem cell and optogenetic technologies. Q-State has developed a technology platform that allows scientists to observe how signals flow through neurons and neural circuits by converting electrical activity into fluorescent light. Thanks to advances in stem cell research, and the ability to use human-derived stem cells to culture neurons in the lab, the tool allows researchers to understand activity in an individual’s nervous system and where that nervous system misfires –for instance in individuals with epilepsy or ALS. As a theoretical physicist, company co-founder Dr. Adam Cohen’s research was pure knowledge-seeking: He wanted to understand the basic processes of light-responsive proteins. He was, however, aware that his work might apply to a fundamental of a problem in neuroscience – how to visualize the electrical impulses that transmit information in the brain and nervous system. His idea was to take light sensitive proteins that produce electricity and run them in reverse as a means of lighting up and observing neural activity. Cohen took his idea to Kenneth Blum at the Harvard Center for Brain Science. Blum gave him a small amount of seed money, and Cohen's work progressed enough to attract federal funding – first from the Department of Defense, through the Office of Naval Research, and later from the National Institutes of Health.
Ultimately, his lab found success using a protein in a unique single-celled organism – Halorubrum sodomense – discovered decades earlier by an ecologist working in the Dead Sea. “This was our 46th attempt. We knew we had discovered something that others would want to use,” Cohen said. Biomedical The work at Harvard University was supported by research funding from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.
Quantitative Radiology Solutions, LLC
quantitative-radiology-solutions-llc 2017 NIH UniversityofPennsylvania 2013 PA 1 Quantitative Radiology Solutions helps physicians make better treatment decisions through the analysis of medical images. The company’s Automatic Anatomy Recognition (AAR) technology provides a unique, efficient, and robust approach to recognizing and delineating anatomy and pathology in CT, MRI, and PET images. The company is initially applying its technologies to improve radiation therapy planning by reducing side effects during radiation treatment. Quantitative Radiology Solutions helps physicians make better treatment decisions through the analysis of medical images. The company’s Automatic Anatomy Recognition (AAR) technology provides a unique, efficient, and robust approach to recognizing and delineating anatomy and pathology in CT, MRI, and PET images. The company is initially applying its technologies to improve radiation therapy planning by reducing side effects during radiation treatment. Company founders Jay Udupa, Ph.D. and Drew Torigian, Ph.D., both experts in various aspects of medical imaging and analysis, had worked together for many years in the Department of Radiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania to develop new approaches to delineate and quantify normal tissues and disease sites on cross-sectional images in order to improve the performance and efficiency of diagnostic imaging in various clinical domains. They founded Quantitative Radiology Solutions in partnership with Penn in 2013 to translate their work to the clinic setting and improve patient treatments. Biomedical Doctors Udupa and Torigian have received federal funding from the National Institutes of Health in support of their work.
Quantum Signal, LLC
quantum-signal-llc 2013 DOD UniversityofMichigan 1999 MI 1 Quantum Signal LLC (QS) is an advanced engineering company specializing in advanced signal processing and math-based engineering. Using state-of-the-art algorithms and software, the company develops customized solutions on behalf of other organizations and works to build improved products and offerings for their customers. QS’ clients include a wide variety of public and private sector clients, including well-known organizations such as Ford, Panasonic, Sony, Whirlpool, Amway, Department of Defense, Department of State, and the United States Secret Service. QS products and technology are in use worldwide, and appear in military mobile robotic systems, forensic and clinical laboratories, police stations, at retail point-of-sale, on gaming PCs, and in training classrooms. Quantum Signal LLC (QS) is an advanced engineering company specializing in advanced signal processing and math-based engineering. Using state-of-the-art algorithms and software, the company develops customized solutions on behalf of other organizations and works to build improved products and offerings for their customers. QS’ clients include a wide variety of public and private sector clients, including well-known organizations such as Ford, Panasonic, Sony, Whirlpool, Amway, Department of Defense, Department of State, and the United States Secret Service. QS products and technology are in use worldwide, and appear in military mobile robotic systems, forensic and clinical laboratories, police stations, at retail point-of-sale, on gaming PCs, and in training classrooms. In the 1990s, Dr. William (Bill) Williams, professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, conducted pioneering work in the advanced signal processing arena. During his research, Dr. Williams’ discovered a specialized field of signal processing called Time Frequency Analysis (TFA). TFA provides a joint time-frequency representation of a signal. Using newly developed methods, one can often separate the components of a signal in ways that are difficult or impossible using time-series or spectral analysis. Seeing the potential to apply these algorithms to solve a wide array of problems in industry, Dr. Williams and a UM graduate student, Dr. Mitchell Rohde, formed Quantum Signal. Licensing several key patents from UM, Dr. Williams and Dr. Rohde began working with clients and using the technology to solve difficult problems. They also began selling a software toolbox based on the technology. Eventually, the two began applying the techniques in the biometrics arena, and winning a NIST Advanced Technology Program (ATP) grant, developed a bigger team and set of technology that could be carried forward in a variety of projects. Manufacturing, Research & Industry Though TFA plays a minor role in QS’ activities today, the early ideas, work, and technology gave birth to a robust engineering organization that has made a tremendous impact across many clients private and public. Without Dr. Williams’ TFA work and the funding that supported it, QS have had little initial technology to gain a foothold with clients and likely would not exist today. The TFA work conducted by Dr. Williams at the University of Michigan was funded by the Office of Naval Research.
RainDance Technologies, Inc.
raindance-technologies-inc 2010 NSF HarvardUniversity 2004 MA 51 RainDance Technologies manufactures instruments for genomic selection, a method to make current genetic sequencing machines much more efficient. This is important to basic biomedical research as well as to ushering in the new generation of personalized medicine.
RainDance Technologies uses microdroplet-based technology that can be extended across basic and applied research, translational research, and diagnostics. Each droplet is the functional equivalent of a test tube and can contain a single molecule, reaction, or cell. The droplets are processed on a disposable chip that has no moving parts or valves — a true breakthrough for accelerating the targeted sequencing of the human genome. The speed and simplicity of the company’s technology platform enable researchers to design experiments in ways that were previously unaffordable or unimaginable.
RainDance’s initial application focuses on the targeted resequencing of the human genome — one of the fastest-growing segments of the $1 billion DNA sequencing market. This application will enable the high-resolution analysis of genetic variation between individuals and populations at a level unmatched by current methodology. RainDance Technologies manufactures instruments for genomic selection, a method to make current genetic sequencing machines much more efficient. This is important to basic biomedical research as well as to ushering in the new generation of personalized medicine.
RainDance Technologies uses microdroplet-based technology that can be extended across basic and applied research, translational research, and diagnostics. Each droplet is the functional equivalent of a test tube and can contain a single molecule, reaction, or cell. The droplets are processed on a disposable chip that has no moving parts or valves — a true breakthrough for accelerating the targeted sequencing of the human genome. The speed and simplicity of the company’s technology platform enable researchers to design experiments in ways that were previously unaffordable or unimaginable.
RainDance’s initial application focuses on the targeted resequencing of the human genome — one of the fastest-growing segments of the $1 billion DNA sequencing market. This application will enable the high-resolution analysis of genetic variation between individuals and populations at a level unmatched by current methodology. RainDance Technologies was founded by Dr. David Weitz of Harvard University along with two collaborators from Europe and a postdoctoral scientist, Darren Link, from Dr. Weitz’s lab. The droplet-based microfluidics technology developed by Dr. Weitz’s Harvard-based research group is the essential technology behind RainDance’s current product line, as well as those in development. In addition to RainDance, four other companies have spun-out of Dr. Weitz’s lab. Each is based on droplet-based microfluidics technology, and all employ individuals who have worked under Dr. Weitz. “All of the companies employ students or post docs who have worked with me, as well as many other people, and this is one thing I am most proud of,” Weitz commented. Manufacturing, Research & Industry DR. DAVID WEITZ Development of droplet-based microfluidics was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation.
RAMDO Solutions
ramdo-solutions 2021 IA 1 Technology & Web
Rapid Radicals Technology, LLC
rapid-radicals-technology-llc 2021 WI 1 Technology & Web
Reactive NanoTechnologies, Inc.
reactive-nanotechnologies-inc 2010 NSF JohnsHopkinsUniversity 2001 NY 1 Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, Reactive NanoTechnologies, Inc. (RNT) was founded in 2001 by two Johns Hopkins University (JHU) professors to develop and manufacture the company’s patented technology, NanoFoil®.
NanoFoil® is useful for bonding components when exposure to high process temperatures must be considered, and is compatible with all solders. NanoFoil® is designed to improve the process of bonding heavy materials, using localized heat bursts to bond electronics on the nanoscale. The company has also developed its patented NanoBond® joining process to simplify manufacturing and ensure the benefits of NanoFoil® are maximized. NanoBond® localized heat is used in many bonding applications, ranging from the bonding of sputter targets to backing plates, to the attaching of a component such as an LED to a circuit board.
RNT’s breakthrough technology has earned several prestigious awards, including the 2005 “R&D 100” from R&D Magazine, the 2005 Nano 50™ from NASA Nanotech Briefs magazine and recognition in The National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan in December 2004.
RNT has entered into licensing agreements with a number of Fortune 500 companies.
In 2009 RNT was acquired by Indium Corporation. Indium is headquartered in Clinton, NY. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, Reactive NanoTechnologies, Inc. (RNT) was founded in 2001 by two Johns Hopkins University (JHU) professors to develop and manufacture the company’s patented technology, NanoFoil®.
NanoFoil® is useful for bonding components when exposure to high process temperatures must be considered, and is compatible with all solders. NanoFoil® is designed to improve the process of bonding heavy materials, using localized heat bursts to bond electronics on the nanoscale. The company has also developed its patented NanoBond® joining process to simplify manufacturing and ensure the benefits of NanoFoil® are maximized. NanoBond® localized heat is used in many bonding applications, ranging from the bonding of sputter targets to backing plates, to the attaching of a component such as an LED to a circuit board.
RNT’s breakthrough technology has earned several prestigious awards, including the 2005 “R&D 100” from R&D Magazine, the 2005 Nano 50™ from NASA Nanotech Briefs magazine and recognition in The National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan in December 2004.
RNT has entered into licensing agreements with a number of Fortune 500 companies.
In 2009 RNT was acquired by Indium Corporation. Indium is headquartered in Clinton, NY. The founders of RNT were both professors at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Timothy Weihs was a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Dr. Omar Knio was a Professor of Mechanical Engineering Materials OMAR M. KNIO, PHD & TIMOTHY P. WEIHS, PHD Funding from the National Science Foundation helped support the original research conducted at JHU.
RemoteReality
remotereality 2013 NSFDOD ColumbiaUniversity 1997 MA 1 RemoteReality builds high performance video systems with real-time 360-degree viewing for surveillance, situational awareness, and entertainment applications supporting military, government and commercial markets. Using unique patented optics, the latest in image sensors, and advanced video processing, RemoteReality’s solutions deliver high resolution, low latency video for a variety of cutting edge applications. RemoteReality’s video solutions are available in both day and night configurations, spanning the visible, LWIR and MWIR spectra.RemoteReality has solved many of the shortcomings, including imaging-quality limitations, of conventional multi-camera systems rooted in dated technology. In most cases, just one, single-lens, solid-state RemoteReality appliance is needed to provide the highest-resolution, real-time video of an entire area, even in low-bandwidth network environments. RemoteReality’s cameras allow customers to improve awareness of military vehicles, provide advanced navigation of unmanned vehicles, allow continuous perimeter surveillance, reduce maintenance costs and develop customized security solutions. RemoteReality builds high performance video systems with real-time 360-degree viewing for surveillance, situational awareness, and entertainment applications supporting military, government and commercial markets. Using unique patented optics, the latest in image sensors, and advanced video processing, RemoteReality’s solutions deliver high resolution, low latency video for a variety of cutting edge applications. RemoteReality’s video solutions are available in both day and night configurations, spanning the visible, LWIR and MWIR spectra.RemoteReality has solved many of the shortcomings, including imaging-quality limitations, of conventional multi-camera systems rooted in dated technology. In most cases, just one, single-lens, solid-state RemoteReality appliance is needed to provide the highest-resolution, real-time video of an entire area, even in low-bandwidth network environments. RemoteReality’s cameras allow customers to improve awareness of military vehicles, provide advanced navigation of unmanned vehicles, allow continuous perimeter surveillance, reduce maintenance costs and develop customized security solutions. RemoteReality is a startup company based on omnidirectional cameras developed by Dr. Shree Nayar in the Columbia Vision and Graphics Center. Dr. Nayar co-directs the Columbia Vision and Graphics Center and heads the Computer Vision Laboratory (CAVE), which is dedicated to the development of advanced computer vision systems. Nayar’s research is focused on three broad areas, namely, the creation of novel vision sensors, the design of physics based models for vision, and the development of algorithms for scene interpretation.
RemoteReality applies Nayar’s work in the design and manufacture of ultra wide-angle computational cameras and video systems. RemoteReality has received venture capital funding from companies including Chart Venture Partners (CVP) and Connecticut Innovations.
Since 2006 the company has raised over $12M in venture capital funding. Defense, Safety, & Aerospace Nayar’s research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Navy.
RightCare Solutions, Inc.
rightcare-solutions-inc 2013 NIH UniversityofPennsylvania 2011 PA 1 RightCare Solutions, Inc. specializes in discharge planning and readmission management. RightCare implements a proprietary algorithmic discharge decision support system, D2S2, which assembles key patient data into a scoring algorithm and produces a recommendation as to whether a patient is high-risk for a 30-day readmission and should be referred to receive post-acute care services.
Currently, no comprehensive, commonly accepted discharge standards exist, and four out of five hospitals fail to assess and utilize readmission risk during hospitalization. D2S2 is implemented at patient admission, providing an unparalleled ability to influence patient care in order to gain control over readmission risk. D2S2 improves upon existing models to create a best-in-class assessment with smart capabilities that customize the system based on a hospital’s specific patient population.
RightCare Solutions was acquired by naviHealth in 2105. RightCare Solutions, Inc. specializes in discharge planning and readmission management. RightCare implements a proprietary algorithmic discharge decision support system, D2S2, which assembles key patient data into a scoring algorithm and produces a recommendation as to whether a patient is high-risk for a 30-day readmission and should be referred to receive post-acute care services.
Currently, no comprehensive, commonly accepted discharge standards exist, and four out of five hospitals fail to assess and utilize readmission risk during hospitalization. D2S2 is implemented at patient admission, providing an unparalleled ability to influence patient care in order to gain control over readmission risk. D2S2 improves upon existing models to create a best-in-class assessment with smart capabilities that customize the system based on a hospital’s specific patient population.
RightCare Solutions was acquired by naviHealth in 2105. Back in 2004, a University of Pennsylvania engineering student majoring in health systems worked on his senior thesis under the direction of UPenn Nursing professor Dr. Kathy Bowles, a key opinion leader in the field of discharge planning and transitional care. At that time, they were attempting to identify the root causes of why so many patients were being discharged from the hospital without adequate post-acute care plans in place, and why vast numbers were being readmitted within 30 days. However, this research laid the groundwork for the development by Dr. Bowles, of D2S2 and for her to rejoin with her student Eric Heil (who had subsequently returned to UPenn to earn an MBA at the Wharton School) to form RightCare Solutions and commercialize her innovative research. He continues to serve as the company’s president and CEO. The company has raised more than $2.0 million in venture funding, including investments from Domain Associates and Compass Partners. Technology & Web Dr. Bowles’ research was supported by grants from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. RightCare Solutions was founded in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania through its UPstart Company Incubator. RightCare Solutions licensed the D2S2 technology and the D2S2 trademark on an exclusive worldwide basis from the University of Pennsylvania.
risQ, Inc.
risq-inc 2021 MA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
SAGE Therapeutics
sage-therapeutics 2017 DOD UniversityofCaliforniaDavisUniversityofCalifornia 2010 MA 51 SAGE Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing medicines to treat life-altering central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The company has a robust pipeline of new drugs starting with its lead drug program, SAGE-547, to treat CNS diseases such as seizure, epilepsy and tremor, which was initially developed at the University of California, Davis to treat traumatic brain injury. SAGE has several early and late stage clinical trials in progress for CNS diseases, where some of the drugs have received Fast Track and orphan drug designations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. SAGE Therapeutics was launched in 2010 with the financing led by Third Rock Ventures and entered an IPO in July 2014. SAGE Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing medicines to treat life-altering central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The company has a robust pipeline of new drugs starting with its lead drug program, SAGE-547, to treat CNS diseases such as seizure, epilepsy and tremor, which was initially developed at the University of California, Davis to treat traumatic brain injury. SAGE has several early and late stage clinical trials in progress for CNS diseases, where some of the drugs have received Fast Track and orphan drug designations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. SAGE Therapeutics was launched in 2010 with the financing led by Third Rock Ventures and entered an IPO in July 2014. The science behind SAGE’s therapies focuses on using allosteric modulation of specific excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter systems to reshape the disturbed balance that occurs during seizure or other CNS disorders, thus restoring normal brain function. SAGE was formed based on pivotal work done by UC Davis Professor Dr. Michael Rogawski to develop and test Allopregnanolone as a drug to treat severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Biomedical Dr. Rogawski's work was funded by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program of the Department of Defense.
Sample6 Technologies
sample6-technologies 2013 NIHNSF BostonUniversity 2010 MA 1 Sample6 Technologies is at the intersection of breakthroughs in synthetic biology, sensors, and data modeling and visualization. The company’s mission is to improve the health and safety of global consumers by building integrated systems that can quickly and easily detect harmful and unwanted bacteria in the food, healthcare, and other industries. Sample6’s technology is based on a proprietary Bioillumination Platform™ that allows for the rapid engineering of bioparticles that cause bacteria to effectively “light up” when a specific bacterium is identified. The platform can be applied to a narrow set of bacterial strains or a panel of bacterial species. This capability is coupled with highly sensitive sensor technology that can detect low levels of pathogens in hours or faster, all on-site. Sample6 Technologies is at the intersection of breakthroughs in synthetic biology, sensors, and data modeling and visualization. The company’s mission is to improve the health and safety of global consumers by building integrated systems that can quickly and easily detect harmful and unwanted bacteria in the food, healthcare, and other industries. Sample6’s technology is based on a proprietary Bioillumination Platform™ that allows for the rapid engineering of bioparticles that cause bacteria to effectively “light up” when a specific bacterium is identified. The platform can be applied to a narrow set of bacterial strains or a panel of bacterial species. This capability is coupled with highly sensitive sensor technology that can detect low levels of pathogens in hours or faster, all on-site. The Bioillumination Platform™ was developed by Tim Lu and Michael Koeris in the lab of Professor James Collins at Boston University*, one of the nation's foremost labs in synthetic biology. As graduate students in Professor Collins’ lab, Koeris and Lu worked in the fields of synthetic biology and systems biology. Initially they focused on developing next-generation antibiotics approaches for drug-resistant infections, winning several business plan competitions on the national stage. After surveying the market and financial landscape, Koeris and Lu pivoted the company to the industrial application space, while keeping the core technology platform intact.Koeris quit his day job, and he and Lu raised $150,000 in seed money from Boston University. In January 2011, they set out to raise a Series A from top venture investors with a sharper focus: the rapid detection of pathogens. With $5.75 million in equity funding to date, Sample6 is now poised to enter the industrial food market with a first-in-class solution to break through the time barrier (usually 24 hours or more) posed by conventional pathogen testing.
*In 2014, Jim Collins moved his lab from BU to MIT. Defense, Safety, & Aerospace James Collins Lu, Koeris and Collins' work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Sand9
sand9 2013 NSF BostonUniversity 2007 MA 1 Sand9 has developed a MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) timing device to replace quartz crystal timing devices. Timing devices are used in virtually all electronics, where they are used to transmit data at the right time and speed. Sand9’s lead MEMS product, the TCMO™, has many advantages over traditional quartz crystal, including greater durability, power efficiency and immunity to electromagnetic interference than quartz. The product can be used in GPS, LTE, 3G, WiFi, networking and industrial goods. Sand9 was acquired by Analog Devices Inc. in 2015. Sand9 has developed a MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) timing device to replace quartz crystal timing devices. Timing devices are used in virtually all electronics, where they are used to transmit data at the right time and speed. Sand9’s lead MEMS product, the TCMO™, has many advantages over traditional quartz crystal, including greater durability, power efficiency and immunity to electromagnetic interference than quartz. The product can be used in GPS, LTE, 3G, WiFi, networking and industrial goods. Sand9 was acquired by Analog Devices Inc. in 2015. Sand9 is a spin-off from research conducted by Raj Mohanty, professor of physics at Boston University. In his lab, Mohanty built high frequency silicon-based MEMS resonators that could reach gigahertz frequencies. He realized these resonators could replace quartz in timing devices used in wireless communications and an idea for a company was born.
Technology & Web Mohanty’s work at BU that developed the core technology behind Sand9 was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation.
Saneron-CCEL Therapeutics, Inc.
saneron-ccel-therapeutics-inc 2010 NIH UniversityofSouthFlorida 2001 FL 1 Saneron-CCEL Therapeutics is focused on neurological and cardiac cell therapy for the early intervention and treatment of several devastating or deadly diseases which currently lack adequate treatment options, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Saneron-CCEL Therapeutics provides readily available, non-controversial, ethically acceptable cells, both stem cells and other cell types, for cellular therapies.
Saneron-CCEL was co-founded by University of South Florida (USF) professors Dr. Paul Sanberg and Dr. Don Cameron. Sanberg has extensive experience in bringing neural transplantation therapies from the laboratory to the clinic and Cameron is well-known for his fundamental research in Sertoli cells. Recent News October 2010 - USF and Saneron get $2.6 million to develop Alzheimer's treatment using umbilical cord blood cells. Learn more Saneron-CCEL Therapeutics is focused on neurological and cardiac cell therapy for the early intervention and treatment of several devastating or deadly diseases which currently lack adequate treatment options, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Saneron-CCEL Therapeutics provides readily available, non-controversial, ethically acceptable cells, both stem cells and other cell types, for cellular therapies.
Saneron-CCEL was co-founded by University of South Florida (USF) professors Dr. Paul Sanberg and Dr. Don Cameron. Sanberg has extensive experience in bringing neural transplantation therapies from the laboratory to the clinic and Cameron is well-known for his fundamental research in Sertoli cells. Recent News October 2010 - USF and Saneron get $2.6 million to develop Alzheimer's treatment using umbilical cord blood cells. Learn more Saneron is a University of South Florida spin-out company and is located at the Tampa Bay Technology Incubator. Its founders are USF professors. Dr. Don Cameron is a Professor of Anatomy and has a joint appointment as a Professor of Neurosurgery at USF. Dr. Paul Sanberg is Distinguished University Professor and Executive Director of the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair and Senior Vice President for Research & Innovation at the University of South Florida. Biomedical Pivotal studies upon which Saneron is based were funded through USF from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Saneron has also received 10 Small Business Technology Transfer Programs (STTR) grants and one Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the NIH in collaboration with US universities. Further, throughout their careers, Dr. Cameron and Dr. Sanberg have received numerous federal research grants from agencies including NIH and NASA.
SAS
sas 2010 USDA NorthCarolinaStateUniversity 1976 NC 10001 Born from the Statistical Analysis System developed by company founder Jim Goodnight at North Carolina State University to analyze agricultural data, SAS is today the world’s largest privately held software company and the leader in business analytics software and services. It counts 91 of the Fortune 100 companies as its customers and its products are installed at more than 45,000 business, government and university sites around the world. SAS software is used today to sift through massive amounts of data. Insurance companies use SAS to flag fraudulent claims. Retailers use SAS to find profitable places to put stores and products within those stores. Financial institutions use SAS to detect money laundering, as mandated by the USA PATRIOT Act and Basel II. They also use it to sniff out fraud and to score credit applications. Born from the Statistical Analysis System developed by company founder Jim Goodnight at North Carolina State University to analyze agricultural data, SAS is today the world’s largest privately held software company and the leader in business analytics software and services. It counts 91 of the Fortune 100 companies as its customers and its products are installed at more than 45,000 business, government and university sites around the world. SAS software is used today to sift through massive amounts of data. Insurance companies use SAS to flag fraudulent claims. Retailers use SAS to find profitable places to put stores and products within those stores. Financial institutions use SAS to detect money laundering, as mandated by the USA PATRIOT Act and Basel II. They also use it to sniff out fraud and to score credit applications. On completion of his doctorate in statistics, Goodnight became employed as a member of the NC State faculty. During his doctoral research, he joined forces with Anthony Barr, a fellow North Carolina State University graduate. By this time, the department of statistics had become a focal point for incoming agricultural data from universities all over the Southeast. Rather than writing a new program each time analysis was required, Goodnight and Barr thought it would make sense to write one program that could be applied again and again. From this, Statistical Analysis System (SAS) was developed. By 1972, with federal funding for the project running out, Barr and Goodnight persuaded the schools using SAS to fund their salaries so that they could continue to develop the software. The partners then were approached by pharmaceutical and insurance companies who recognized the applications of the software for their industries. By 1976 Goodnight and Barr had 120 clients and a growing group of SAS fans. It became apparent that SAS had out-grown its initial status as a research project and needed to move out of the confines of the university. With business partners John Sall and Jane Helwig, Goodnight and Barr established the SAS Institute. Technology & Web DR. JIM GOODNIGHT A research grant from the US Department of Agriculture supported the development of Statistical Analysis System.
Science Take Out
science-take-out 2013 NIH UniversityofRochester 2008 NY 1 Science Take-Out develops, manufactures and sells innovative and easy-to-use hands-on science activity kits designed for use by an individual student or small group of students. Science Take-Out kits are pre-packaged, hands-on science activities covering numerous topics in high school biology and middle school life sciences. Each kit contains all the materials and instructions needed to complete the laboratory activity. Science Take-Out activities do not require any special laboratory equipment, and can be used in any educational setting. Science Take-Out kits are created and field-tested by a team of science educators who have extensive expertise in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Science Take-Out develops, manufactures and sells innovative and easy-to-use hands-on science activity kits designed for use by an individual student or small group of students. Science Take-Out kits are pre-packaged, hands-on science activities covering numerous topics in high school biology and middle school life sciences. Each kit contains all the materials and instructions needed to complete the laboratory activity. Science Take-Out activities do not require any special laboratory equipment, and can be used in any educational setting. Science Take-Out kits are created and field-tested by a team of science educators who have extensive expertise in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. University of Rochester faculty members, Dr. Dina Markowitz and Susan Holt started Science Take-Out in 2008 in order to make hands-on science more accessible to teachers. Dr. Markowitz, a professor of environmental medicine and director of the UR Life Sciences Learning Center, and Holt, a retired high school biology teacher and a curriculum writer at the UR Life Sciences Learning Center, have been long-time collaborators on science education projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Currently, seven Science Take-Out kits are directly based on activities from Dr. Markowitz’s university-based science education grant projects. These kits have become a successful way of disseminating University of Rochester’s curriculum materials to teachers and their students. The company has 27 different kits that are in use in almost every state in the country and also in numerous schools internationally. Education & Language Dina Markowitz Through an NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA), funded by the National Center for Research Resources the UR researchers developed hands-on lab activities for high school students.
Scipher
scipher 2017 NIH NortheasternUniversity 2014 MA 1 Few diseases have strong genetic links. Most common diseases with the largest unmet medical needs are complex in nature with weak genetic links. Instead, environmental factors have a much larger impact on the disease initiation and progression. The impact of such environmental factors cannot be discerned on a genetic level, but do impact the disease proteins. By understanding disease on a protein level Scipher Medicine is able to describe such complex diseases at a level not possible until now. Few diseases have strong genetic links. Most common diseases with the largest unmet medical needs are complex in nature with weak genetic links. Instead, environmental factors have a much larger impact on the disease initiation and progression. The impact of such environmental factors cannot be discerned on a genetic level, but do impact the disease proteins. By understanding disease on a protein level Scipher Medicine is able to describe such complex diseases at a level not possible until now. Brick by brick, the Northeastern University-led scientists behind Scipher have built the network of biological processes of human cells, using experimentally proven protein interactions and network science based algorithms. This network predicts which diseases a given drug actually will affect and if an individual patient will respond to a particular drug, or not. Using this knowledge, Scipher’s technology allows for the repurposing of existing safe drugs into new disease indications, while predicting which individual patients indeed will respond to a specific drug. Scipher’s technology positions the company at the forefront of precision medicine. Biomedical Company founder Albert-Laszlo Barabasi credits the funding from the National Institutes of Health with helping to bring down the cost of drug development. “Medicine should be affordable. Federal funding allowed my lab to systematically map pathobiological relationships between 299 diseases. New we can take existing safe drugs and repurpose them for new diseases, avoiding the expensive drug development cycle.”
Semma Therapeutics
semma-therapeutics 2017 NIH HarvardUniversity 2015 MA 1 Semma Therapeutics was founded with the goal of transforming treatment of type 1 diabetes by enabling people with this disease to generate the insulin their body needs. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin, which plays a critical role in getting glucose from the bloodstream into the cells of the body. Since the 1920s, injectable insulin has been the only treatment available for people with type 1 diabetes. Semma Therapeutics was founded with the goal of transforming treatment of type 1 diabetes by enabling people with this disease to generate the insulin their body needs. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin, which plays a critical role in getting glucose from the bloodstream into the cells of the body. Since the 1920s, injectable insulin has been the only treatment available for people with type 1 diabetes. As a post-doctoral fellow in Douglas Melton’s lab at the Harvard University Stem Cell Institute, Felicia Pagliuca led a team that identified a way to turn stem cells into functional, insulin-producing cells on a mass scale. The group founded Semma Therapeutics to further advance and commercialize their technology. The company is focused on combining the proprietary cells with a state-of-the-art device that would let doctors transplant millions of cells in diabetic patients, without immunosuppression, and enable them to generate insulin. Biomedical Funding from the National Institutes of Health provided support for the work at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
Semprius
semprius 2010 DODDOENSF UniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign 2005 NC 1 Semprius is developing low cost, high performance concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules to make solar power generation economically viable in sunny, dry climates. The company’s unique micro-transfer printing technology enables CPV modules with high performance, high reliability and low cost with scalability to high-volume production.
Semprius is also licensing its micro-transfer printing technology for non-solar applications to enable a wide variety of new products requiring large-area, thin, lightweight form factors, unprecedented performance, high reliability and low cost. Applications include flat-panel displays, flexible electronics, large-area sensors, RF devices and other applications requiring heterogeneous integration of high-performance semiconductors. The company won the coveted Spin-out of the Year Award from the Council for Entrepreneurial Development in 2007, the Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award in 2006, and was a recipient of a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Grant in 2007. Semprius closed a $6.4 million Series B round of venture funding in June 2009. Semprius is developing low cost, high performance concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules to make solar power generation economically viable in sunny, dry climates. The company’s unique micro-transfer printing technology enables CPV modules with high performance, high reliability and low cost with scalability to high-volume production.
Semprius is also licensing its micro-transfer printing technology for non-solar applications to enable a wide variety of new products requiring large-area, thin, lightweight form factors, unprecedented performance, high reliability and low cost. Applications include flat-panel displays, flexible electronics, large-area sensors, RF devices and other applications requiring heterogeneous integration of high-performance semiconductors. The company won the coveted Spin-out of the Year Award from the Council for Entrepreneurial Development in 2007, the Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award in 2006, and was a recipient of a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Grant in 2007. Semprius closed a $6.4 million Series B round of venture funding in June 2009. While solar energy is not new, the challenge today is to make solar energy more affordable, streamlined and powerful. Semprius has an advantage in this area because of a micro-transfer printing technology invented by company founder John Rogers. Rogers is a professor of Engineering and Chemistry at the University of Illinois in the Nanoelectronics and Biophotonics group. His technology allows transfer printing of high performance semiconductors onto virtually any surface, including, glass, flexible or rigid plastic, metal or other semiconductors. Energy & Chemicals The work of Professor Rogers has been supported by the Department of Energy, National Science Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), part of the Department of Defense.
Senomyx, Inc.
senomyx-inc 2013 NIH UniversityofCaliforniaSanDiegoUniversityofCalifornia 1998 CA 101 Senomyx is discovering and developing innovative flavor ingredients for the food, beverage, and ingredient supply industries. The company's key flavor programs focus on the discovery and development of savory, sweet and salt flavor ingredients that are intended to allow for the reduction of MSG, sugar and salt in food and beverage products. In addition, Senomyx has a bitter blocker program to reduce or block bitter tastes and thereby improve the taste characteristics of foods, beverages and pharmaceutical products. Senomyx also has a cool flavor program for the discovery of novel flavor ingredients intended to provide a cooling taste effect for confectioneries, foods and beverages, as well as oral care and OTC healthcare products.
Senomyx has collaborative agreements with global food, beverage, and ingredient supply companies, some of which are currently marketing products that contain Senomyx’s flavor ingredients.
Eleven Senomyx flavor ingredients have received regulatory approvals in the U.S.; many of these have also been granted approval in additional countries. Senomyx is discovering and developing innovative flavor ingredients for the food, beverage, and ingredient supply industries. The company's key flavor programs focus on the discovery and development of savory, sweet and salt flavor ingredients that are intended to allow for the reduction of MSG, sugar and salt in food and beverage products. In addition, Senomyx has a bitter blocker program to reduce or block bitter tastes and thereby improve the taste characteristics of foods, beverages and pharmaceutical products. Senomyx also has a cool flavor program for the discovery of novel flavor ingredients intended to provide a cooling taste effect for confectioneries, foods and beverages, as well as oral care and OTC healthcare products.
Senomyx has collaborative agreements with global food, beverage, and ingredient supply companies, some of which are currently marketing products that contain Senomyx’s flavor ingredients.
Eleven Senomyx flavor ingredients have received regulatory approvals in the U.S.; many of these have also been granted approval in additional countries. The proprietary taste science technologies at the root of Senomyx were discovered through research led by Charles Zuker, a professor of biochemistry and neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego. Zuker’s research discovered taste receptors for four of the five tastes (sweet, sour, bitter and savory) as well as the fact that each taste cell is hardwired for one taste. Scientists used to think that every taste bud could pick up on all five tastes, and that a different signal would be sent to the brain for each one. Manufacturing, Research & Industry Zuker’s work was supported by grants from the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Senseion
senseion 2021 IA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
SensIT Ventures, Inc.
sensit-ventures-inc 2021 CA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Sensorygen, Inc.
sensorygen-inc 2017 NIH UniversityofCaliforniaRiversideUniversityofCalifornia 2014 CA 1 Sensorygen™is a pioneer in the use of computational neurobiology to discover and develop naturally occurring small molecules that modify smell and taste behavior in humans and insects. They focus on using these natural molecules to safely protect people against vectors of infectious disease, improve the quality of food and beverages, and enhance agricultural productivity. Sensorygen™is a pioneer in the use of computational neurobiology to discover and develop naturally occurring small molecules that modify smell and taste behavior in humans and insects. They focus on using these natural molecules to safely protect people against vectors of infectious disease, improve the quality of food and beverages, and enhance agricultural productivity. Sensorygen is based on discoveries made by company co-founder Anandasankar (Anand) Ray, Ph.D., while researching basic science questions about how insect behavior is influenced by small molecules encountered in the natural environment. Since inception, the company has used basic computational neurobiology to develop in-silico screens and complementary in-vivo validation based on seminal work from Dr. Ray’s lab at the University of California, Riverside. They have screened approximately half a million chemicals and identified some 500 synthetic and 100 naturally occurring chemicals as potentially excellent insect repellents. Additionally they have identified safe natural substitutes for more than a 100 different types of smells used in food, beverage and household products. The chemicals Sensorygen is prioritizing for commercial use are not only naturally occurring, but have excellent safety and health profiles as well as other market-friendly features. Energy & Chemicals The seminal work at UC Riverside that contributed to the founding of Sensorygen was supported with federal funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Sharklet Technologies, Inc.
sharklet-technologies-inc 2010 DOD UniversityofFlorida 2007 FL 1 Sharklet Technologies, named one of the top biotech startups in the Southeast, has developed an innovative surface technology (mimicking the antimicrobial properties of shark skin) that can prevent hospital-acquired infections. The technology controls the growth of microorganisms and bacteria such as staph and E. coli. The company has also begun testing the product for use against more virulent strains of bacteria, including MRSA.
University of Florida Materials Science and Engineering Professor Anthony Brennan conducted research for the US Navy; he was looking to develop an environmentally friendly coating for hulls of ocean-going ships. Brennan’s idea was to mimic sharks’ unique scales in a ship hull coating that would prevent the growth of marine algae and barnacles.
Brennan invented a microscopic surface pattern technology comprised of billions of tiny raised bars arranged in a specific diamond pattern. The shape and pattern alone disrupts bacterial growth and the formation of bacterial biofilms. There is no chemistry, toxicity or leaching of any chemicals. The pattern itself may be manufactured onto the surfaces of medical devices such as catheters, or manufactured as a durable film that may be applied to existing objects such as bed rails or tray tables in a healthcare setting. Sharklet’s founders want to reduce the reproduction, migration and transference of bacteria everywhere in the hospital setting, so that patients have a reduced risk of getting a hospital-acquired infection.
UPDATE: 11/23/2009 [that is the date of the video]
Watch a video explaining how Sharklet’s innovative surface technology helps protect against deadly bacteria. Sharklet Technologies, named one of the top biotech startups in the Southeast, has developed an innovative surface technology (mimicking the antimicrobial properties of shark skin) that can prevent hospital-acquired infections. The technology controls the growth of microorganisms and bacteria such as staph and E. coli. The company has also begun testing the product for use against more virulent strains of bacteria, including MRSA.
University of Florida Materials Science and Engineering Professor Anthony Brennan conducted research for the US Navy; he was looking to develop an environmentally friendly coating for hulls of ocean-going ships. Brennan’s idea was to mimic sharks’ unique scales in a ship hull coating that would prevent the growth of marine algae and barnacles.
Brennan invented a microscopic surface pattern technology comprised of billions of tiny raised bars arranged in a specific diamond pattern. The shape and pattern alone disrupts bacterial growth and the formation of bacterial biofilms. There is no chemistry, toxicity or leaching of any chemicals. The pattern itself may be manufactured onto the surfaces of medical devices such as catheters, or manufactured as a durable film that may be applied to existing objects such as bed rails or tray tables in a healthcare setting. Sharklet’s founders want to reduce the reproduction, migration and transference of bacteria everywhere in the hospital setting, so that patients have a reduced risk of getting a hospital-acquired infection.
UPDATE: 11/23/2009 [that is the date of the video]
Watch a video explaining how Sharklet’s innovative surface technology helps protect against deadly bacteria. Sharklet grew out of research at the University of Florida. The company is headquartered at the university’s Sid Martin Biotechnology Center. Materials The original research was supported by the Department of Defense through the US Navy.
Silatronix
silatronix 2017 NISTNSF UniversityofWisconsin-Madison 2007 WI 1 Silatronix is improving the safety and performance of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, which suffer from many safety problems due to the use of highly flammable compounds in the electrolyte. Silatronix is the leading producer of patented Organosilicon (OS) materials that enable extreme performance in Li-ion batteries. Silatronix OS compounds extend cell life, increase cell capacity, expand temperature operability ranges, and allow the safe and effective use of higher charge voltages in Li-ion batteries. Silatronix OS compounds do all of this while also improving Li-ion battery cell safety and stability. Silatronix OS compounds can be seamlessly integrated with both current and future Li-ion chemistries. Silatronix is improving the safety and performance of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, which suffer from many safety problems due to the use of highly flammable compounds in the electrolyte. Silatronix is the leading producer of patented Organosilicon (OS) materials that enable extreme performance in Li-ion batteries. Silatronix OS compounds extend cell life, increase cell capacity, expand temperature operability ranges, and allow the safe and effective use of higher charge voltages in Li-ion batteries. Silatronix OS compounds do all of this while also improving Li-ion battery cell safety and stability. Silatronix OS compounds can be seamlessly integrated with both current and future Li-ion chemistries. Silatronix rose from the research groups of University of Wisconsin-Madison professors Robert West (Emeritus) and Robert Hamers. The first generation of OS compounds were developed at UW-Madison in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory. West and Hamers recognized their mutual interest and complementary expertise in energy storage materials and collaborated on battery materials in the UW Chemistry Department. Funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology helped support their work. They formed Silatronix in 2007. Technology & Web The work conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, and the National Science Foundation.
Sinmat
sinmat 2010 NISTNSF UniversityofFlorida 2002 FL 1 Sinmat is an emerging materials nanotechnology company developing new processes for polishing semiconductor wafers. Sinmat produces slurry that makes it cheaper to produce silicon wafers. The company designed new polishing techniques to enable the introduction of copper in integrated circuits. It also is developing new manufacturing processes as the industry moves to larger wafers.
The high hardness and chemically inert quality of gallium nitride and silicon carbide make them good materials for many applications in both the semiconductor and materials processing industries. But surface preparation is often costly, because even the best chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) finishing methods have slow removal rates (up to 100 hours per wafer) and can cause defects.
The solution from Sinmat is the Ultra-Rapid Polishing Slurry for Wide Band-Gap Semiconductors. The technology uses a combination of reactive nanoparticles and chemistry to convert hard wide band-gap material into a softer layer for rapid removal.
Sinmat is also developing new ways to manufacture microchips that can help power smarter energy systems — from more fuel-efficient hybrid cars to more responsive, efficient lighting for homes and businesses. Rajiv Singh, the company’s co-founder and inventor of the new polishing technologies, is a world leader in the field of materials science. He has 15 patents and software copyrights, and has authored over 400 papers and more than 10 books. Sinmat is an emerging materials nanotechnology company developing new processes for polishing semiconductor wafers. Sinmat produces slurry that makes it cheaper to produce silicon wafers. The company designed new polishing techniques to enable the introduction of copper in integrated circuits. It also is developing new manufacturing processes as the industry moves to larger wafers.
The high hardness and chemically inert quality of gallium nitride and silicon carbide make them good materials for many applications in both the semiconductor and materials processing industries. But surface preparation is often costly, because even the best chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) finishing methods have slow removal rates (up to 100 hours per wafer) and can cause defects.
The solution from Sinmat is the Ultra-Rapid Polishing Slurry for Wide Band-Gap Semiconductors. The technology uses a combination of reactive nanoparticles and chemistry to convert hard wide band-gap material into a softer layer for rapid removal.
Sinmat is also developing new ways to manufacture microchips that can help power smarter energy systems — from more fuel-efficient hybrid cars to more responsive, efficient lighting for homes and businesses. Rajiv Singh, the company’s co-founder and inventor of the new polishing technologies, is a world leader in the field of materials science. He has 15 patents and software copyrights, and has authored over 400 papers and more than 10 books. Rajiv Singh, the company’s co-founder and inventor of the new polishing technologies, is a professor at the University of Florida. Materials Singh’s research at the University of Florida on semiconductor polishing techniques has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
SLIPS Technologies, Inc.
slips-technologies-inc 2017 DODDOE HarvardUniversity 2014 MA 1 SLIPS Technologies aims to solve the world’s sticky situations. The company’s SLIPS™ coatings and materials solve sticky surface problems in medical, industrial, and consumer applications – for example, barnacles sticking to marine vessels, bacteria sticking to medical devices, ice sticking to heat exchangers, and ketchup sticking inside the bottle. SLIPS Technologies aims to solve the world’s sticky situations. The company’s SLIPS™ coatings and materials solve sticky surface problems in medical, industrial, and consumer applications – for example, barnacles sticking to marine vessels, bacteria sticking to medical devices, ice sticking to heat exchangers, and ketchup sticking inside the bottle. The company grew out of the work of Harvard materials scientist Dr. Joanna Aizenberg. Her lab was trying to solve the problem of making the perfect antifouling material. They knew it had to be something perfectly slippery and smooth such that any liquid or solid would slide right off. The answer was some sort of liquid, but then they had to solve the problem of stabilizing a liquid surface on materials. The answer came from an unlikely place: the pitcher plant. The carnivorous pitcher plants have a very thin layer of water on their leaves that makes insects slide down the pitcher to be consumed by the plant. By studying how this was possible in nature, Aizenberg and her team were able to mimic it in the lab leading to the technology behind SLIPS™. Materials Funding from the Department of Defense, through the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Army Research Office, and the Department of Energy, through the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy, was instrumental to the basic science and translational work that led to SLIPS Technologies.
SOAIR, LLC
soair-llc 2017 DOD UniversityofMississippi 2006 MS 1 SOAIR is a medical device development company focused on reducing traumatic falls by providing residential fall risk monitoring for older adults. SOAIR’s flagship product, Collie, tracks key fall-risk indicators in an older adult’s Walk Signature™ and provides caregivers with a convenient daily Walk Signature Score™. This allows caregivers to take meaningful, preventive care action to address stability issues before a fall occurs. SOAIR is a medical device development company focused on reducing traumatic falls by providing residential fall risk monitoring for older adults. SOAIR’s flagship product, Collie, tracks key fall-risk indicators in an older adult’s Walk Signature™ and provides caregivers with a convenient daily Walk Signature Score™. This allows caregivers to take meaningful, preventive care action to address stability issues before a fall occurs. Collie and the Walk Signature Score™ utilize a novel ultrasonic Doppler method to identify and analyze human gait developed at the University of Mississippi’s National Center for Physical Acoustics and based on Dr. James Sabatier’s research. Initially intended for use in border security, Dr. Sabatier realized the health care application of his technology while developing human gait models and simultaneously caring for his aging mother who suffered a hip fracture. The potential for an in-home fall-risk assessment device that is low-cost and minimally invasive caused an immediate shift in Dr. Sabatier’s research focus as he advanced the technology to measure more detailed gait kinematics. Dr. Sabatier’s research received support from the Army Research Office. Technology & Web The work conducted at the University of Mississippi was supported by research funding from the Department of Defense.
Solarmer Energy, Inc.
solarmer-energy-inc 2010 DODNSF UniversityofCaliforniaLosAngelesUniversityofCalifornia 2006 CA 1 Using technology developed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Solarmer Energy seeks to overcome one of the significant barriers to broader use of solar technology — its cost. According to Solarmer, their solar panels have the potential to bring down the cost of solar energy to be on par with conventional fuel costs.
The company’s flexible plastic solar cells are made using inexpensive organic materials, rendering them lightweight, transparent, aesthetically pleasing, and environmentally friendly. These attributes further open the door to using renewable solar energy in many applications where conventional silicon solar cell technology would not currently be a fit. Portable electronics — cell phones, laptops, digital music players, portable video games, etc. — are one example. Plastic solar cells have the potential to extend the portable power of these devices. In addition to consumer and portable electronics, Solarmer is targeting building-integrated photovoltaics, smart fabrics, and sensor networks for its organic photovoltaic technology. Using technology developed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Solarmer Energy seeks to overcome one of the significant barriers to broader use of solar technology — its cost. According to Solarmer, their solar panels have the potential to bring down the cost of solar energy to be on par with conventional fuel costs.
The company’s flexible plastic solar cells are made using inexpensive organic materials, rendering them lightweight, transparent, aesthetically pleasing, and environmentally friendly. These attributes further open the door to using renewable solar energy in many applications where conventional silicon solar cell technology would not currently be a fit. Portable electronics — cell phones, laptops, digital music players, portable video games, etc. — are one example. Plastic solar cells have the potential to extend the portable power of these devices. In addition to consumer and portable electronics, Solarmer is targeting building-integrated photovoltaics, smart fabrics, and sensor networks for its organic photovoltaic technology. Solarmer Energy, Inc. was founded in 2006 to commercialize a portfolio of solar cell technologies developed by UCLA Materials Science Professor Yang, PhD. Solarmer has licensed seven polymer solar cell patents registered by Yang’s lab at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at UCLA and is in the process of licensing several other key patents based on his research from the University of California.
Former UCLA doctoral students Gang Li and and Vishal Shrotriya, who both worked on polymer solar cell technology as part of Professor Yang’s research group, now lead product development at Solarmer Energy. Solarmer continues to collaborate with UCLA scientists in the development of next generation solar technologies and provides partial financial support for continuing research on the UCLA campus. Energy & Chemicals The National Science Foundation and the US Department of Defense Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) have supported Professor Yang’s research.
SomaLogic, Inc.
somalogic-inc 2017 NIH UniversityofColoradoBoulder 2000 CO 101 SomaLogic® was founded in 2000 with the goal of improving the well-being and quality of life of every individual by transforming how diseases were detected and diagnosed. Building on a previous decade of aptamer research, SomaLogic scientists have developed a new proteomics technology that overcomes the significant challenges of current technologies, and that has multiple applications across the biological and medical sciences. SomaLogic® was founded in 2000 with the goal of improving the well-being and quality of life of every individual by transforming how diseases were detected and diagnosed. Building on a previous decade of aptamer research, SomaLogic scientists have developed a new proteomics technology that overcomes the significant challenges of current technologies, and that has multiple applications across the biological and medical sciences. Company founder Larry Gold has been a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder since 1970 and involved in the formation of two biotech companies. The foundational science behind SomaLogic is rooted in research conducted in the 1980s and 1990s with support from the National Institutes of Health. This work focused on the translational regulation in bacteriophage T4-infected E. coli and led to the formation of a company called NeXstar Pharmaceuticals, which was bought by Gilead in 1999. In 2000, Larry Gold bought back from Gilead the rights he needed to found SomaLogic. The thrust of SomaLogic is to use – and greatly improve upon – the reagents discovered as part of that original NIH research to quantify proteins, an important development for diagnostics and personalized medicine. Biomedical The original work at the University of Colorado Boulder was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
SoundCure
soundcure 2013 NIH UniversityofCaliforniaIrvineUniversityofCalifornia 2009 CA 1 SoundCure, Inc. is a privately held medical device company whose mission is to revolutionize the treatment of tinnitus and provide relief to the millions of people suffering its effects.SoundCure is actively developing technology that was first pioneered at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) as a treatment to quiet the ringing in their patient’s ears. S-Tones® are the foundation of the SoundCure Serenade® technology. Research has shown that these temporally patterned sounds can produce synchronized, robust neural activity in the auditory cortex. The technology does not require sounds louder than the tinnitus being treated and uses customized sound frequencies and pulsed tones to counter the effects of tinnitus. The technology has been shown to provide long-term suppression of tinnitus through as little as one treatment. SoundCure, Inc. is a privately held medical device company whose mission is to revolutionize the treatment of tinnitus and provide relief to the millions of people suffering its effects.SoundCure is actively developing technology that was first pioneered at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) as a treatment to quiet the ringing in their patient’s ears. S-Tones® are the foundation of the SoundCure Serenade® technology. Research has shown that these temporally patterned sounds can produce synchronized, robust neural activity in the auditory cortex. The technology does not require sounds louder than the tinnitus being treated and uses customized sound frequencies and pulsed tones to counter the effects of tinnitus. The technology has been shown to provide long-term suppression of tinnitus through as little as one treatment. The treatment system grew out of a research project headed by SoundCure founder Dr. Fan-Gang Zeng, a bioengineer and director of the Hearing and Speech Lab at UC Irvine. In 2006, Zeng and colleagues at UCI began working with a patient with a cochlear implant who was suffering from tinnitus. Traditional stimulation approaches were attempted, but failed to provide relief. A low frequency electric stimulus was presented via the cochlear implant. This discovery led to the creation of S-Tones, the foundation of the SoundCure Serenade technology. Allied Minds, a seed investment corporation specializing in early stage university business ventures, partnered with UCI to establish SoundCure, Inc. to commercialize Feng’s novel acoustic therapy for the treatment and suppression of tinnitus. Technology & Web The National Institutes of Health provided core support for research leading to the technology that was eventually transferred to SoundCure.
South 8 Technologies
south-8-technologies 2021 CA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Spheryx, Inc.
spheryx-inc 2017 DODNSF NewYorkUniversity 2014 NY 1 Spheryx’s Total Holographic Characterization™ technology offers manufacturers a new window into suspensions at the sub-microscopic level, providing wealth of particle-characterization data for product development, process control and quality assurance. Applications include monitoring protein aggregation in the development of biopharmaceuticals, distinguishing between harmful contaminants and other things like bacteria and silt in wastewater treatment, and monitoring the quality of precision slurries used to polish semiconductor wafers so as to avoid costly scratches and digs. Spheryx’s Total Holographic Characterization™ technology offers manufacturers a new window into suspensions at the sub-microscopic level, providing wealth of particle-characterization data for product development, process control and quality assurance. Applications include monitoring protein aggregation in the development of biopharmaceuticals, distinguishing between harmful contaminants and other things like bacteria and silt in wastewater treatment, and monitoring the quality of precision slurries used to polish semiconductor wafers so as to avoid costly scratches and digs. Spheryx’s technology was discovered as part of a federally funded research project at New York University. A research group led by company co-founder David Grier needed a way to measure the refractive index of micrometer scale particles as they moved through a fluid in three dimensions. As Grier explains, “We tried a long-shot approach based on holographic microscopy. Not only did the long-shot work, but it also poured out all sorts of other useful data about other properties of the particles. We realized immediately that being able to extract so much information about microscopic systems so quickly would be extremely useful for lots of commercial applications.” Manufacturing, Research & Industry Funding from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense, through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) supported the research that resulted in the discovery behind Spheryx.
Spin Transfer Technologies
spin-transfer-technologies 2010 DODNSF NewYorkUniversity 2007 CA 1 Spin Transfer Technologies (STT) has developed novel magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) devices for non-volatile computer memory. It belongs to a class of memory devices that utilize a quantum mechanical effect known as spin transfer to manipulate magnetic orientations over small distances. These memory devices can maintain data without power, similar to the memory utilized in flash drives, memory sticks, and smart cards.However, a problem with flash drives and flash memory is the limited life of each memory cell write and its slow write speed, making them unsuitable for tasks requiring frequent read/write cycles. Additional disadvantages include high voltage requirements and limited scalability to smaller dimensions. STT’s patented technology provides a significant improvement over current spin transfer MRAM designs, which involve thermodynamic processes in the initiation of magnetic switching. Spin Transfer Technologies (STT) has developed novel magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) devices for non-volatile computer memory. It belongs to a class of memory devices that utilize a quantum mechanical effect known as spin transfer to manipulate magnetic orientations over small distances. These memory devices can maintain data without power, similar to the memory utilized in flash drives, memory sticks, and smart cards.However, a problem with flash drives and flash memory is the limited life of each memory cell write and its slow write speed, making them unsuitable for tasks requiring frequent read/write cycles. Additional disadvantages include high voltage requirements and limited scalability to smaller dimensions. STT’s patented technology provides a significant improvement over current spin transfer MRAM designs, which involve thermodynamic processes in the initiation of magnetic switching. STT was established by New York University (NYU) and Allied Minds. The technology was originally developed from the mesoscopic magnetism research conducted in the laboratory of Andrew Kent, professor of physics at NYU and a Fellow of the American Physical Society. Technology & Web The National Science Foundation funded the work on MRAM computer memory technology.
Spirovant Sciences
spirovant-sciences 2021 IA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Stasys Medical Corporation
stasys-medical-corporation 2017 DOD UniversityofWashington 2013 WA 1 Major trauma patients can die unnecessarily from uncontrolled bleeding because current lab-based tests that can help determine the cause of bleeding take too long. One out of three patients with major blood loss lose the ability to form robust clots to control internal bleeding. This loss of clotting ability, or coagulopathy, is due in large part to platelet dysfunction. Platelet dysfunction can manifest in minutes after injury, and can be corrected by platelet transfusion, but transfusion should only be performed in patients that really need it. So, doctors have a dilemma: transfuse a patient and subject them to potentially life altering/ending side effects, or wait and risk the patient bleeding out. Unfortunately, current tests are too slow and incomplete to adequately inform this decision. Stasys' technology – a point-of-care device using disposable microcards that have proprietary platelet force sensors – enables rapid and complete platelet function measures in less than five minutes. Major trauma patients can die unnecessarily from uncontrolled bleeding because current lab-based tests that can help determine the cause of bleeding take too long. One out of three patients with major blood loss lose the ability to form robust clots to control internal bleeding. This loss of clotting ability, or coagulopathy, is due in large part to platelet dysfunction. Platelet dysfunction can manifest in minutes after injury, and can be corrected by platelet transfusion, but transfusion should only be performed in patients that really need it. So, doctors have a dilemma: transfuse a patient and subject them to potentially life altering/ending side effects, or wait and risk the patient bleeding out. Unfortunately, current tests are too slow and incomplete to adequately inform this decision. Stasys' technology – a point-of-care device using disposable microcards that have proprietary platelet force sensors – enables rapid and complete platelet function measures in less than five minutes. Nathan Sniadecki, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Washington, had been developing a technology designed to identify immediate answers for patients rushed into a trauma ward. Is the patient on an anti-platelet medication? Do they suffer from coagulopathy? To test takes too long. To guess is not cost effective. Sniadecki utilized federal funding – a DARPA (Defense Advance Research Project Agency) Young Faculty Award – to come up with a technical solution. But he says “There’s a huge difference between manufacturing twelve of these things in a lab, and then making 12 million of them for hospitals around the world.” He worked with UW’s innovation accelerator, CoMotion, to help him further develop that technology, which ultimately led founding Stasys Medical Corporation in 2013 to pursue commercialization. Biomedical The work conducted at the University of Washington was supported by research funding from the Department of Defense.
Steady State Imaging, LLC
steady-state-imaging-llc 2013 NIH UniversityofMinnesota 2011 MN 1 Steady State Imaging was a privately held research and development company focused on the advancement of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies, that was acquired by GE Healthcare in 2011. SSI’s business strategy was dedicated to commercialization of SWIFT (Sweep Imaging with Fourier Transformation) technology and related intellectual property.
SWIFT is a new way of creating magnetic resonance images, with the advantage of visualizing tissues that were previously invisible to MRI, such as cortical bone and teeth, and doing so quietly, which makes it especially suitable for use with children. SWIFT works by capturing signals from the tissue before they decay away, including even the fastest-decaying signals. In standard MRI, delivery of the radio frequency-modulated (FM) pulse, turning on of the magnetic field, and signal detection are done in sequence. But in SWIFT they are done simultaneously; this removes the time lag time between excitation and detection and allows no chance for signal decay. Steady State Imaging was a privately held research and development company focused on the advancement of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies, that was acquired by GE Healthcare in 2011. SSI’s business strategy was dedicated to commercialization of SWIFT (Sweep Imaging with Fourier Transformation) technology and related intellectual property.
SWIFT is a new way of creating magnetic resonance images, with the advantage of visualizing tissues that were previously invisible to MRI, such as cortical bone and teeth, and doing so quietly, which makes it especially suitable for use with children. SWIFT works by capturing signals from the tissue before they decay away, including even the fastest-decaying signals. In standard MRI, delivery of the radio frequency-modulated (FM) pulse, turning on of the magnetic field, and signal detection are done in sequence. But in SWIFT they are done simultaneously; this removes the time lag time between excitation and detection and allows no chance for signal decay. The technology the spawned Steady State Imaging was developed in connection with National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants focused on the creation of a novel MRI pulse sequence and reconstruction algorithm to image "hard" tissues (bone, cartilage) in the body. Professor Michael Garwood and his team at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMMR) were convinced that a new technique could be developed to simultaneously expand the reach of MRI imaging, and reduce the reliance on "older" technology that exposes patients to ionizing radiation (X-rays). The resulting discovery, SWIFT, is particularly adept at imaging hard tissues and other tissues (lung) historically difficult to image via MRI. The technology delivers the additional benefit of rendering an MRI machine nearly silent, which is especially valuable for pediatric MRI imaging. Biomedical The discovery of the SWIFT technology was funded by competitively awarded NIH Biomedical Technology Research Resources awards--$3M in 1998 and $6.8M in 2003.
Stratatech
stratatech 2017 NIH UniversityofWisconsin-Madison 2000 WI 51 Stratatech is a regenerative medicine company focused on the commercialization of unique, proprietary skin substitute products for therapeutic and research uses. The company was founded in 2000 to commercialize an extraordinary discovery made at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It was acquired by UK-based Mallinckrodt plc in 2016. Stratatech is a regenerative medicine company focused on the commercialization of unique, proprietary skin substitute products for therapeutic and research uses. The company was founded in 2000 to commercialize an extraordinary discovery made at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It was acquired by UK-based Mallinckrodt plc in 2016. The discovery of NIKS® cells – a human keratinocyte cell line that produces living tissue nearly identical to native human skin – has the potential to revolutionize wound care. The company is using this progenitor cell line to create a portfolio of therapeutic skin substitutes to treat severe burns, non-healing ulcers, and other complex skin defects, as well as create novel three dimensional cellular models that researchers can use as an alternative to animal testing to evaluate the effects of new chemicals and compounds on human skin.
The discovery of a human keratinocyte progenitor cell line that could reproduce epidermal skin tissue was made by Dr. Lynn Allen-Hoffmann, an expert in skin biology, and her research team at UW-Madison. Upon recognizing that this cell line could be used to create a skin substitute for therapeutic purposes, Dr. Allen-Hoffmann founded a company to assemble the people and resources needed to pursue clinical development, and ultimately commercialization, of products based on this discovery. Biomedical The work conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
sun-microsystems-inc 2010 DOD UniversityofCaliforniaBerkeleyUniversityofCaliforniaStanfordUniversity 1982 CA NA Sun Microsystems, Inc. is one of Silicon Valley’s most famous startups. Sun was born in 1982 when four Bay Area tech gurus created a new class of inexpensive workstations to perform tasks that previously required costly mainframes or minicomputers. Sun Microsystems was founded in 1982 by Bill Joy, a doctoral student at University of California, Berkeley, Andreas Bechtolsheim, a doctoral student at Stanford University, and two graduates of the Stanford business school, Vinod Khosla and Scott McNealy. Their goal was to commercialize hardware and software technologies developed at UC Berkeley and Stanford University.
The design of Sun Microsystems’ first workstations was based on the Stanford University Network (SUN) workstation engineered by Bechtolsheim. The company also used the Berkeley version of the Unix operating system developed by Joy.
Sun Microsystems, Inc. is a major supplier of software, microchips, and computer workstations. Its core brands include Java, the Solaris operating system, and the UltraSPARC microprocessor. Sun sells a wide array of high-end computer servers used in the construction of data centers and IT networks. It also created the Java programming language that developers can use to create software once, so that it can then be used on any computer (Windows, Apple, Linux, etc.) and devices such as cell phones.
In 2010, Sun was acquired by Oracle Corp. for $7.4 billion. Sun Microsystems, Inc. is one of Silicon Valley’s most famous startups. Sun was born in 1982 when four Bay Area tech gurus created a new class of inexpensive workstations to perform tasks that previously required costly mainframes or minicomputers. Sun Microsystems was founded in 1982 by Bill Joy, a doctoral student at University of California, Berkeley, Andreas Bechtolsheim, a doctoral student at Stanford University, and two graduates of the Stanford business school, Vinod Khosla and Scott McNealy. Their goal was to commercialize hardware and software technologies developed at UC Berkeley and Stanford University.
The design of Sun Microsystems’ first workstations was based on the Stanford University Network (SUN) workstation engineered by Bechtolsheim. The company also used the Berkeley version of the Unix operating system developed by Joy.
Sun Microsystems, Inc. is a major supplier of software, microchips, and computer workstations. Its core brands include Java, the Solaris operating system, and the UltraSPARC microprocessor. Sun sells a wide array of high-end computer servers used in the construction of data centers and IT networks. It also created the Java programming language that developers can use to create software once, so that it can then be used on any computer (Windows, Apple, Linux, etc.) and devices such as cell phones.
In 2010, Sun was acquired by Oracle Corp. for $7.4 billion. Sun Microsystems was founded in 1982 by Bill Joy, a doctoral student at University of California, Berkeley, Andreas Bechtolsheim, a doctoral student at Stanford University, and two graduates of the Stanford business school, Vinod Khosla and Scott McNealy. Technology & Web Work on the Stanford University Network (SUN) workstation at Stanford was funded by the Defense Department’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). DARPA also supported the development of the Berkeley version of Unix.
SunPower Corporation
sunpower-corporation 2010 DOE StanfordUniversity 1985 CA 1001 SunPower is the global leader in developing high-efficiency solar solutions for homes, businesses, commercial buildings and utilities. SunPower is the global leader in developing high-efficiency solar solutions for homes, businesses, commercial buildings and utilities. In the early 1970s, SunPower co-founder Dr. Richard Swanson was pondering ways to deal with the oil crisis. At the time, he was working on his doctorate in engineering at Stanford University. While he (and the rest of the world) waited in long gas station lines, Dr. Swanson began to consider alternative energy sources. Solar cells were being used on satellites, a concept that he found extremely intriguing. His engineering challenge was to figure out how to make the cells — which were extremely expensive to produce — more cost-effective.
By 1985, Dr. Swanson (who by then was a professor of electrical engineering at Stanford) had been awarded grants from the Electric Power Research Institute and the Department of Energy to support his solar power explorations. With the help of these funds — as well as financial support from two venture capital firms — SunPower was officially incorporated.
Today, Dr. Swanson’s original vision — that solar energy generated from massive installations in the desert might power the electrical grid — is about to become reality. In 2008, SunPower signed an agreement with PG&E to build the world’s largest — 250 MW — photovoltaic (PV) power plant, set to begin energy delivery in 2010. Energy & Chemicals SunPower solar technology was developed by founder, Dr. Richard Swanson and his students while he was professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University. Financial support for Dr. Swanson’s early research was provided in part by the US Department of Energy and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
Sunthetics
sunthetics 2021 NSF NewYorkUniversity 2018 NY 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Suprasensor Technologies, LLC
suprasensor-technologies-llc 2021 OR 1 Technology & Web
SynchroPET Inc.
synchropet-inc 2017 DOE StonyBrookUniversity 2013 NY 1 SynchroPET manufactures the world’s most compact PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scanners. They are small enough to fit into existing MRI devices providing simultaneous PET/MRI devices for pre-clinical and clinical applications. PET systems track gamma rays emitted by tiny injected tracers, then use computers to construct 3D images of the body’s systems. According to SynchroPET founder Marc Alessi, MRIs and CAT scans can provide anatomical information and locate tumors, but a PET scan can tell you if there’s cancer in your body long before a tumor is present. SynchroPET manufactures the world’s most compact PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scanners. They are small enough to fit into existing MRI devices providing simultaneous PET/MRI devices for pre-clinical and clinical applications. PET systems track gamma rays emitted by tiny injected tracers, then use computers to construct 3D images of the body’s systems. According to SynchroPET founder Marc Alessi, MRIs and CAT scans can provide anatomical information and locate tumors, but a PET scan can tell you if there’s cancer in your body long before a tumor is present. Funding from the Department of Energy to a number of researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory, which is managed by Stony Brook University, made possible the basic research in detector technology that SynchroPET licensed. To date, SynchroPET has developed and marketed a miniature scanner that can image the entire brain of fully conscious lab rats, a small-animal PET insert for MRI machines, a PET scanner that’s a fraction of the size of the typical room-sized PET machine and a dual-imaging MRI-PET scanner that will reduce false-positive findings in breast screenings. Biomedical The work at Brookhaven National Laboratory was supported by research funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Synder Bio
synder-bio 2021 IA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Synlogic, Inc.
synlogic-inc 2021 MA 51 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
Syntermed, Inc.
syntermed-inc 2010 NIH EmoryUniversityGeorgiaInstituteofTechnology 1999 GA 1 Syntermed, Inc. is an Atlanta-based nuclear medicine imaging and informatics software company. The company’s lead product is a software package called Emory Cardiac ToolboxTM (ECTbTM). Today, the Emory Cardiac Toolbox is in nearly half of all nuclear medicine labs nationwide.Syntermed’s software products were developed by Emory University scientist Ernest Garcia, PhD and his colleagues, in collaboration with scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The Emory Cardiac Toolbox provides physicians with the ability to process, display, interpret, and analyze cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon computed tomography (SPECT) images. By displaying three-dimensional images of the patient’s heart, the Toolbox allows physicians to see whether or not blood is flowing to all areas of the myocardium and determine the heart’s efficiency. Syntermed, Inc. is an Atlanta-based nuclear medicine imaging and informatics software company. The company’s lead product is a software package called Emory Cardiac ToolboxTM (ECTbTM). Today, the Emory Cardiac Toolbox is in nearly half of all nuclear medicine labs nationwide.Syntermed’s software products were developed by Emory University scientist Ernest Garcia, PhD and his colleagues, in collaboration with scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The Emory Cardiac Toolbox provides physicians with the ability to process, display, interpret, and analyze cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon computed tomography (SPECT) images. By displaying three-dimensional images of the patient’s heart, the Toolbox allows physicians to see whether or not blood is flowing to all areas of the myocardium and determine the heart’s efficiency. Emory University initially licensed these software packages directly to equipment manufacturers and diagnostic imaging centers. In 1999, Syntermed was co-founded by the Emory University Office of Technology Transfer in order to streamline the commercialization of the university-developed software products, and Syntermed now does direct licensing. Biomedical ERNEST GARCIA, MD The research and product development was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Georgia Research Alliance, a state agency.
SyntheZyme
synthezyme 2013 DOD NewYorkUniversity 2008 NY 1 SyntheZyme is a sustainable chemical company that is successfully bridging the renewables and chemical industries, transforming sugars and natural plant-based oils like palm, algae, soybean, canola and corn into commodity and specialty cost-effective bio-based commercial products.The company uses the understanding of biocatalysis to replace petrochemical based industrial chemicals with bio-based and biodegradable alternatives. SyntheZyme’s key strategy is in the development of modified sophorolipids to that can be tailored to different applications, focusing on chemicals for plastics, pesticides, cosmetics and personal care product ingredients. SyntheZyme is a sustainable chemical company that is successfully bridging the renewables and chemical industries, transforming sugars and natural plant-based oils like palm, algae, soybean, canola and corn into commodity and specialty cost-effective bio-based commercial products.The company uses the understanding of biocatalysis to replace petrochemical based industrial chemicals with bio-based and biodegradable alternatives. SyntheZyme’s key strategy is in the development of modified sophorolipids to that can be tailored to different applications, focusing on chemicals for plastics, pesticides, cosmetics and personal care product ingredients. SyntheZyme’s technology is based on the innovations of Dr. Richard Gross, professor of polymer science and head of the Center for Biocatalysis and Bio-processing of Macromolecules at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University. Dr. Gross founded SyntheZyme in 2008 to pursue major opportunities in developing biocatalytic routes to bio-based monomers, polymers and surfactants. He is the inventor of the concept of biobased ω-hydroxyfatty acid monomers and their polymers from triglyceride feedstocks. Gross discovered new technological approaches for amplifying the biological activity and fine-tuning the physico-mechanical properties of surfactants produced by microbes. Energy & Chemicals The initial research that spawned SyntheZyme was funded by the Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Tableau Software
tableau-software 2017 DOD StanfordUniversity 2003 WA 1001 Tableau Software helps people see and understand their data. Tableau’s software transforms the way people use data and solve problems by making data analysis fast, easy, beautiful and useful. Tableau Software helps people see and understand their data. Tableau’s software transforms the way people use data and solve problems by making data analysis fast, easy, beautiful and useful. The company began with a Department of Defense project at the Stanford University Computer Science Department aimed at increasing people’s ability to analyze information. The project took flight with Chris Stolte, then a Ph.D. candidate who was researching visualization techniques for exploring and analyzing relational databases and data cubes. His early career as a database programmer helped him see the problems with existing data analysis tools. Hungering for a project to change the world, he knew this was it. Stolte’s advisor, Professor Pat Hanrahan – a founding member of Pixar – saw the opportunity too.
Chris, Pat and a team of Stanford Ph.D.s realized that computer graphics could deliver huge gains in people’s ability to understand data. The breakthrough arose when they brought together two computer science disciplines for the first time: computer graphics and databases. Their invention VizQL™ let people analyze data just by building “drag & drop” pictures of what they wanted to see.
“I see the future” was Christian Chabot’s reaction when he saw what they invented. Chabot had spent years analyzing data before studying entrepreneurship at Stanford Business School. Together, Christian, Chris and Pat formed Tableau and spun out of their Stanford computer lab in 2003. With over $825 million in revenue in 2016 and 3,200 employees worldwide, Tableau is revolutionizing business analytics. Technology & Web The work at Stanford University was supported by research funding from the Department of Defense.
TAG Optics Inc.
tag-optics-inc 2013 DOD PrincetonUniversity 2011 NJ 1 TAG Optics Inc. develops and produces an optical lens that focuses in response to sound waves. The tunable acoustic gradient (TAG) lens can focus in less than a microsecond and can be used in combination with many devices. The TAG Lens is based on a novel mechanism of action that involves using sound waves to create small density changes in fluids. These density variations in turn change the index of refraction of light as it travels through the device. TAG Optics Inc. develops and produces an optical lens that focuses in response to sound waves. The tunable acoustic gradient (TAG) lens can focus in less than a microsecond and can be used in combination with many devices. The TAG Lens is based on a novel mechanism of action that involves using sound waves to create small density changes in fluids. These density variations in turn change the index of refraction of light as it travels through the device. The inspiration for the TAG lens came from basic research conducted in the mid-2000s in the laboratory of Craig Arnold, associate professor in the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University. Arnold developed the concept for the sound-controlled lens with the assistance of undergraduate Adam Hopkins, graduate student Euan McLeod and postdoctoral researcher Alexandre Mermillod-Blondin. In 2010, Arnold was joined by Christian Theriault, a former student, and the two formed TAG Optics in 2011 with the goal of commercializing the lens. Technology & Web The initial research on the TAG technology was begun at Princeton University with a $300,000 grant from the Air Force Office of Sponsored Research (AFOSR) under the management of Dr. Howard Schlossberg. This starting grant was crucial in supporting the salary of the graduate student researcher along with the necessary supplies and other research related expenses. This original funding enabled the team to establish a strong scientific foundation for the TAG technology and provided the necessary proof-of-principle to encourage subsequent financial support for the development and eventual founding of the company.
TerraCOH, Inc.
terracoh-inc 2013 DOENSF UniversityofMinnesota 2012 MN 1 Now called TerraCOH, Heat Mining Company’s (HMC) proprietary technology, known as carbon dioxide plume geothermal (CPG), stands at the convergence of the practical need to burn fossil fuels to generate the vast majority of the world’s energy needs and the growing concern over the emission of carbon dioxide as the primary driver of global warming. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is currently being employed as a means of reducing CO2 emissions in an attempt to address global warming. While HMC is not in the CCS business, the CPG technology it licensed from the University of Minnesota is used in conjunction with CCS and provides the potential to mitigate or eliminate the cost of CCS projects and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects. The CPG technology also has the potential to provide super-efficient energy storage at wind farms and for these projects to generate revenue by using the captured CO2 to generate electric power from geothermal energy resources. Now called TerraCOH, Heat Mining Company’s (HMC) proprietary technology, known as carbon dioxide plume geothermal (CPG), stands at the convergence of the practical need to burn fossil fuels to generate the vast majority of the world’s energy needs and the growing concern over the emission of carbon dioxide as the primary driver of global warming. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is currently being employed as a means of reducing CO2 emissions in an attempt to address global warming. While HMC is not in the CCS business, the CPG technology it licensed from the University of Minnesota is used in conjunction with CCS and provides the potential to mitigate or eliminate the cost of CCS projects and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects. The CPG technology also has the potential to provide super-efficient energy storage at wind farms and for these projects to generate revenue by using the captured CO2 to generate electric power from geothermal energy resources. While driving to a field site in 2009, two University of Minnesota researchers, Earth Sciences professor Martin Saar and postdoctoral fellow Jimmy Randolph, imagined a new way to generate electricity through carbon dioxide plume geothermal (CPG). CPG generates power with a “two-for-one” climate benefit: It draws heat from the earth to generate electricity without producing CO2, while at the same time geologically sequestering CO2 that would otherwise be emitted from fossil-fuel-burning power plants and other CO2 emitters. Unlike traditional geothermal energy production, which uses water as its working fluid for subsurface heat transfer, their technology utilizes the geologically-stored supercritical carbon dioxide as the subsurface heat extraction fluid. Supercritical carbon dioxide is a more efficient working fluid than water, due to its higher mobility compared to water, which results in higher power production efficiencies than those commonly observed in water-based geothermal power plants. Energy & Chemicals Martin Saar The University of Minnesota’s Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment provided $600,000 seed money for this project in 2009. A U.S. Department of Energy grant of $1.8 million (includes $300,00 in additional matching funds from the University of Minnesota) followed in 2010 and in 2012, the CPG research team was awarded a highly competitive $1.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s new Sustainable Energy Pathways (SEP) program.
Tesio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
tesio-pharmaceuticals-inc 2021 CA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals
tetralogic-pharmaceuticals 2010 NIH PrincetonUniversity 2004 PA 1 TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals is a privately held biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops small molecule drugs that modulate programmed cell death pathways to treat debilitating diseases and conditions.
Professor Yigong Shi, formerly of Princeton University’s Department of Molecular Biology, developed TetraLogic’s core technology, called Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins (IAP), which enables drugs to be developed that unblock the cell death or apoptosis pathway, resulting in the death of tumor cells.
The company’s Smac Mimetics neutralize critical blocks in the apoptosis pathway to selectively destroy cancer cells. Its Necrostatin drugs block critical steps in the process leading to necrosis, enabling cell survival in a wide range of diseases and injuries where necrosis is a critical component of pathology.
TetraLogic recently announced that it has completed a $36 million Series B private equity financing process. Proceeds from the financing will be invested to advance its Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins antagonist oncology program through initial clinical trials. TetraLogic has made substantial progress in its research and development efforts on the IAP antagonist. TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals is a privately held biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops small molecule drugs that modulate programmed cell death pathways to treat debilitating diseases and conditions.
Professor Yigong Shi, formerly of Princeton University’s Department of Molecular Biology, developed TetraLogic’s core technology, called Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins (IAP), which enables drugs to be developed that unblock the cell death or apoptosis pathway, resulting in the death of tumor cells.
The company’s Smac Mimetics neutralize critical blocks in the apoptosis pathway to selectively destroy cancer cells. Its Necrostatin drugs block critical steps in the process leading to necrosis, enabling cell survival in a wide range of diseases and injuries where necrosis is a critical component of pathology.
TetraLogic recently announced that it has completed a $36 million Series B private equity financing process. Proceeds from the financing will be invested to advance its Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins antagonist oncology program through initial clinical trials. TetraLogic has made substantial progress in its research and development efforts on the IAP antagonist. One of TetraLogics’s founding scientists is Yigong Shi, formerly of Princeton University’s Department of Molecular Biology Biomedical Professor Shi’s work was supported in part with funding from the National Institutes of Health.
TetraVitae Bioscience
tetravitae-bioscience 2010 USDADOE UniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign 2006 TN NA TetraVitae Bioscience is developing bio-based chemical, plastics and fuels. Their focus is the production of biobutanol using a proprietary fermentation process and enhanced microorganism platform. Their biobutanol technology has demonstrated significant improvements over conventional approaches in key performance metrics.
TetraVitae has patented a mutant strain of Clostridium beijerinicki that produces higher levels of butanol thank wild-type strains and that is known for its stability, robustness, and responsiveness to genetic modification and improvement.
Eastman Renewable Materials, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eastman Chemical Company, acquired TetraVitae Bioscience in November 2011. TetraVitae Bioscience is developing bio-based chemical, plastics and fuels. Their focus is the production of biobutanol using a proprietary fermentation process and enhanced microorganism platform. Their biobutanol technology has demonstrated significant improvements over conventional approaches in key performance metrics.
TetraVitae has patented a mutant strain of Clostridium beijerinicki that produces higher levels of butanol thank wild-type strains and that is known for its stability, robustness, and responsiveness to genetic modification and improvement.
Eastman Renewable Materials, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eastman Chemical Company, acquired TetraVitae Bioscience in November 2011. Dr. Hans Blaschek is a professor at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and a leader in the realm of genetic manipulation of the (ABE) fermentation microorganism, Clostridium beijerinicki, for biotechnology applications. Energy & Chemicals Dr. Blaschek’s work has funding from the Department of Energy and the US Department of Agriculture Value Added Non-Foods program.
Theion Agriculture, LLC
theion-agriculture-llc 2021 IA 1 Agriculture & Environment
Therametric Technologies, Inc.
therametric-technologies-inc 2010 NIH IndianaUniversity 1996 IN 1 The roots of Therametric Technologies, Inc. (TTI) date back to the mid-1990s, when Dr. George Stookey and his Indiana University School of Dentistry colleagues, Dr. Mostafa Analoui and Dr. Mark Saxen learned about a promising laser light-scattering technology under development at an Amsterdam-based firm. It had the potential to identify dental cavities two years earlier than current X-ray-based techniques. TTI was formed in 1996 by Dr. Analoui and Dr. Saxen. Dr. Stookey bought out the company in 2002 following his retirement from Indiana University (IU) the year earlier.
TTI develops devices that use light waves to spot weaknesses in tooth enamel. The latest hand-held version is markedly improved so that dentists can perform oral exams and have the results immediately fed back into computers that record and analyze each reading. The main advantage will be helping patients avoid cavities or reverse the cavity growing process through professional treatments such as fluoride varnishes. Since tooth enamel decays slowly because acids from bacteria eat away at enamel faster than the body can rebuild, early detection of weak spots is critical. TTI has discovered an unusual niche: it is already marketing a line of patented dental health products for pets. The products include extruded rawhide products, dog biscuits, cat treats, and an additive to dissolve in pets’ water dishes that helps to prevent plaque, tartar, gingivitis, and bad breath in dogs and cats. These products are being marketed only to veterinarians for resale to their clients and are presently available in veterinary offices in 32 states. The roots of Therametric Technologies, Inc. (TTI) date back to the mid-1990s, when Dr. George Stookey and his Indiana University School of Dentistry colleagues, Dr. Mostafa Analoui and Dr. Mark Saxen learned about a promising laser light-scattering technology under development at an Amsterdam-based firm. It had the potential to identify dental cavities two years earlier than current X-ray-based techniques. TTI was formed in 1996 by Dr. Analoui and Dr. Saxen. Dr. Stookey bought out the company in 2002 following his retirement from Indiana University (IU) the year earlier.
TTI develops devices that use light waves to spot weaknesses in tooth enamel. The latest hand-held version is markedly improved so that dentists can perform oral exams and have the results immediately fed back into computers that record and analyze each reading. The main advantage will be helping patients avoid cavities or reverse the cavity growing process through professional treatments such as fluoride varnishes. Since tooth enamel decays slowly because acids from bacteria eat away at enamel faster than the body can rebuild, early detection of weak spots is critical. TTI has discovered an unusual niche: it is already marketing a line of patented dental health products for pets. The products include extruded rawhide products, dog biscuits, cat treats, and an additive to dissolve in pets’ water dishes that helps to prevent plaque, tartar, gingivitis, and bad breath in dogs and cats. These products are being marketed only to veterinarians for resale to their clients and are presently available in veterinary offices in 32 states. Stookey’s work in the field actually began in 1957, when he performed some of the original fluoride sampling for Indiana University’s Crest Toothpaste project. He spent the next four decades at Indiana University, mostly as the School of Dentistry’s associate dean for research. In that time, he earned more than 20 US and foreign patents. Original research was conducted at Indiana University, at the School of Dentistry. TTI is housed within the Indiana University Emerging Technologies Center. Biomedical Dr. Stookey received significant federal and state research funding for his work at IU to test and validate the scientific principles behind TTI’s technologies. Federal funding was provided by the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research, a part of the National Institutes of Health.
Thermal Expansion Solutions, LLC
thermal-expansion-solutions-llc 2017 NSF TexasA&MUniversity 2014 TX 1 Thermal Expansion Solutions doing business as "Allvar", is focused on creating affordable, scalable and stable Allvar (all-variant) thermal expansion alloys for optics. The company’s metal alloys are “programmable” in how they change shape with temperature. The company can match the expansion of most known materials, make the metal not change shape with temperature or even make it shrink when it heats up. The engineering innovation has many applications in aerospace, telecommunications, and optics – specifically keeping lasers and lenses in focus during temperature changes, which increases stability and reliability resulting in an increase in fiber-optic internet speeds. Thermal Expansion Solutions doing business as "Allvar", is focused on creating affordable, scalable and stable Allvar (all-variant) thermal expansion alloys for optics. The company’s metal alloys are “programmable” in how they change shape with temperature. The company can match the expansion of most known materials, make the metal not change shape with temperature or even make it shrink when it heats up. The engineering innovation has many applications in aerospace, telecommunications, and optics – specifically keeping lasers and lenses in focus during temperature changes, which increases stability and reliability resulting in an increase in fiber-optic internet speeds. Texas A&M researchers Dr. Ibrahim Karaman, Dr. Raymundo Arroyave and Dr. James A. Monroe initially discovered a way to program or tune the way certain metals change shape with temperature in 2011. Funding from the National Science Foundation allowed Dr. Monroe to pursue this new discovery for his Ph.D. research and identify a wide array of metals and processing techniques. Dr. Karaman provided alloy processing expertise while Dr. Arroyave helped with fundamental theory development.The team later received additional NSF funding as they began commercialization efforts. Materials The work at Texas A&M University was supported by research funding from the National Science Foundation.
ThermoAnalytics, Inc.
thermoanalytics-inc 2010 DOD MichiganTechnologicalUniversity 1994 MI 1 ThermoAnalytics, Inc. provides software and engineering services in the area of thermal modeling and analysis for civilian and military applications — including infrared signature modeling, climate control design and optimization, and component design and optimization. The company has been awarded contracts to develop software engineering design tools to assist in the design of Army tactical vehicles. ThermoAnalytics, Inc. provides software and engineering services in the area of thermal modeling and analysis for civilian and military applications — including infrared signature modeling, climate control design and optimization, and component design and optimization. The company has been awarded contracts to develop software engineering design tools to assist in the design of Army tactical vehicles. ThermoAnalytics was founded to make use of software and technical capabilities developed under military and civilian sponsored research at Michigan Technological University’s Keweenaw Research Center (KRC). Both organizations continue to collaborate on research, leveraging each others’ core technical strengths and business relationships. Manufacturing, Research & Industry The original ThermoAnalytics software product offering was developed in part through the US Army, part of the Department of Defense.
Tmunity Therapeutics, Inc.
tmunity-therapeutics-inc 2021 PA 1 Manufacturing, Research & Industry
TomoTherapy Incorporated
tomotherapy-incorporated 2010 NIH UniversityofWisconsin-Madison 1997 WI NA TomoTherapy Incorporated develops, markets and sells advanced radiation therapy solutions that can be used to treat a wide variety of cancers, from the most common to the most complex. The ring gantry-based TomoTherapy® platform combines integrated CT imaging with conformal radiation therapy to deliver sophisticated radiation treatments with speed and precision while reducing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. TomoTherapy’s suite of solutions include its flagship Hi·Art® treatment system, which has been used to deliver more than three million CT-guided, helical intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment fractions; the TomoHD™ treatment system, designed to enable cancer centers to treat a broader patient population with a single device; and the TomoMobile™ relocatable radiation therapy solution, designed to improve access and availability of state-of-the-art cancer care. More than 300 TomoTherapy systems are installed worldwide. TomoTherapy’s stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol TOMO.
Rival radiation therapy company, Accuray Inc., acquired TomoTherapy in 2011. TomoTherapy Incorporated develops, markets and sells advanced radiation therapy solutions that can be used to treat a wide variety of cancers, from the most common to the most complex. The ring gantry-based TomoTherapy® platform combines integrated CT imaging with conformal radiation therapy to deliver sophisticated radiation treatments with speed and precision while reducing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. TomoTherapy’s suite of solutions include its flagship Hi·Art® treatment system, which has been used to deliver more than three million CT-guided, helical intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment fractions; the TomoHD™ treatment system, designed to enable cancer centers to treat a broader patient population with a single device; and the TomoMobile™ relocatable radiation therapy solution, designed to improve access and availability of state-of-the-art cancer care. More than 300 TomoTherapy systems are installed worldwide. TomoTherapy’s stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol TOMO.
Rival radiation therapy company, Accuray Inc., acquired TomoTherapy in 2011. University of Wisconsin-Madison professors Thomas Mackie and Paul Reckwerdt wanted to solve a major problem in cancer treatment therapy — the serious damage to normal tissues and organs created by standard radiation therapy. They were intrigued with the idea of building a machine that could deliver radiation in a fashion that more accurately targeted cancerous tumors, while minimizing radiation exposure to surrounding tissue. The result is the Hi·Art® system, unique among linear accelerators in its CT platform-based design. With integrated CT imaging and helical delivery capabilities, it is the only device developed from the ground up for image-guided, intensity modulated radiation therapy.
Today, physicians in more than 20 countries use this remarkable technology to customize a treatment plan that delivers a precisely configured field of radiation to the tumor that is essentially the same shape and volume as the tumor itself.
Biomedical ROCK MACKIE The initial research and development was undertaken at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a $250,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Tonus Therapeutics
tonus-therapeutics 2013 NIH UniversityatBuffalo 2009 NY 1 Tonus Therapeutics is a young biotech company that is working to develop drugs that treat diseases involving biomechanics, with an immediate focus on muscular dystrophy.
Tonus currently has two drugs in the pipeline under patent protection that act on mechanosensitive ion channels, which are tiny conduits that help control the flow of electrolytes, such as calcium across the cell membrane. In healthy cells the channels are closed, but when a cell is stretched or contorted, the channels open and let calcium and other substances into the cell. This is what happens in muscular dystrophy. The Tonus drugs are the only drugs known to be specific for this class of ion channels. Tonus Therapeutics is a young biotech company that is working to develop drugs that treat diseases involving biomechanics, with an immediate focus on muscular dystrophy.
Tonus currently has two drugs in the pipeline under patent protection that act on mechanosensitive ion channels, which are tiny conduits that help control the flow of electrolytes, such as calcium across the cell membrane. In healthy cells the channels are closed, but when a cell is stretched or contorted, the channels open and let calcium and other substances into the cell. This is what happens in muscular dystrophy. The Tonus drugs are the only drugs known to be specific for this class of ion channels. Originally named Rose Pharmaceuticals, Tonus Therapeutics was founded based on the work of Dr. Frederick Sachs and his collaborators at the State University of New York at Buffalo in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics and the Center for Single Molecule Biophysics. Dr. Sachs and his research team, including company co-founders Dr. Thomas Suchyna and Dr. Philip Gottlieb, were studying the effect of venoms on mechanosensitive ion channels and discovered a peptide in the venom of the Chilean rose tarantula, which they named GsMTx4. This research was significant because GsMTx4, now made by chemical synthesis, has been classified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an “orphan drug” for muscular dystrophy, a designation used to recognize promising methods of treating rare diseases. Biomedical The work of Dr. Sachs and his research team that led to the formation of Tonus Therapeutics was supported with grants from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health, as well as the Oishei Foundation of Buffalo.
Topera, Inc.
topera-inc 2017 NIH UniversityofCaliforniaSanDiegoUniversityofCalifornia 2010 CA 51 Topera’s technology provides a first-in-class methodology for locating the electrical sources in complex heart-rhythm disorders such as atrial fibrillation. By mapping and imaging the electrical activity within the heart, Topera’s solution isolates the origin of abnormal heart rhythms, pinpointing the location where physicians should start treatment. The net result is a success rate after first treatment nearly double that of the previous standard of care and patients who can return to normal lives with minimal follow-up.
In 2014 Abbott acquired Topera for $250 million and launched a new division, Abbott Electrophysiology. Topera’s technology provides a first-in-class methodology for locating the electrical sources in complex heart-rhythm disorders such as atrial fibrillation. By mapping and imaging the electrical activity within the heart, Topera’s solution isolates the origin of abnormal heart rhythms, pinpointing the location where physicians should start treatment. The net result is a success rate after first treatment nearly double that of the previous standard of care and patients who can return to normal lives with minimal follow-up.
In 2014 Abbott acquired Topera for $250 million and launched a new division, Abbott Electrophysiology. Topera grew out of the hypothesis of company co-founder Sanjiv Narayan, a professor and physician at University of California, San Diego and the Veterans Administration Hospital at La Jolla. He wanted to identify the source of heart rhythm disorders and believed they were caused by electrical-rotors of abnormal electrical signaling within the heart muscle, originating from localized areas of the heart wall. If one could identify the source of the rotor, neutralize the erroneous signaling tissue, the rotor would dissipate and the entire rhythm disorder could be eliminated. With federal funding from the National Institutes of Health Dr. Narayan and physicist Dr. Wouter-Jan Rappel developed a comprehensive electrical activity mapping system to identify the existence of the hypothesized rotors and isolate their sources. Next, by using laser ablation on those sources, Dr. Narayan observed immediate improvements in his atrial fibrillation patients.
Biomedical The work at UC San Diego was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Trak Surgical, Inc.
trak-surgical-inc 2013 DOD UniversityofNebraska 2012 NE 1 Trak Surgical was formed in 2012 to commercialize the company’s freehand navigation/computer aided orthopedic surgery technology called Trak Guided Surgical System. The breakthrough technology offers the first computer-assisted system for joint replacement surgery that works without implant specific mechanical jigs, without expensive and cumbersome robots, and optionally without external navigation tracker equipment. It facilitates navigated freehand bone cutting with real-time 3D graphical feedback. The Trak Guided Surgical System transforms traditional orthopedic power instruments into “smart instruments” that can track themselves in 3D around the surgical scene and prevent the surgeon from deviating from planned cuts. In bench experiments, this cutting-edge technology promises faster, cheaper, easier and more accurate bone cuts. It naturally assists the surgeon with miniaturized electronics on-board the same powered bone cutting instruments with which they are accustomed. Trak Surgical was formed in 2012 to commercialize the company’s freehand navigation/computer aided orthopedic surgery technology called Trak Guided Surgical System. The breakthrough technology offers the first computer-assisted system for joint replacement surgery that works without implant specific mechanical jigs, without expensive and cumbersome robots, and optionally without external navigation tracker equipment. It facilitates navigated freehand bone cutting with real-time 3D graphical feedback. The Trak Guided Surgical System transforms traditional orthopedic power instruments into “smart instruments” that can track themselves in 3D around the surgical scene and prevent the surgeon from deviating from planned cuts. In bench experiments, this cutting-edge technology promises faster, cheaper, easier and more accurate bone cuts. It naturally assists the surgeon with miniaturized electronics on-board the same powered bone cutting instruments with which they are accustomed. Trak Surgical is the result of 12 years of research and development coming out of the innovative laboratory of Professor Hani Haider at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). A successful joint replacement requires a talented surgeon with a mastery of skills gained through countless hours of experience and repetition. Success also requires a complement of specialized nurses, staff and costly equipment. Haider, a biomedical engineer and professor of orthopedic surgery research at UNMC who had previously worked in fluid dynamics, knew there had to be a way to improve hip and knee replacement surgeries. The Trak Guided Surgical System is the outcome of his research. Biomedical The initial research and development that led to Trak Surgical was conducted at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. In 2010, Dr. Haider received a large grant from the Office of Naval Research that enabled the development of the prototype technology that is being commercialized.
Transgenex Nanobiotech, Inc.
transgenex-nanobiotech-inc 2010 DODNIH UniversityofSouthFlorida 2002 FL 1 Transgenex uses nanoparticle technology to create diagnostic and disease-treatment products. More specifically, Transgenex uses a unique gene expression and delivery technology to discover and develop nanoparticle formations to diagnose and treat acute and chronic pulmonary inflammatory diseases, such as asthma, and cancer. Transgenex uses nanoparticle technology to create diagnostic and disease-treatment products. More specifically, Transgenex uses a unique gene expression and delivery technology to discover and develop nanoparticle formations to diagnose and treat acute and chronic pulmonary inflammatory diseases, such as asthma, and cancer. Founder Dr. Shyam Mohapatra is a molecular biologist with more than 20 years experience in drug discovery for the treatment of allergic diseases. He is currently a Professor of Medicine and Director of Research at the Airway Disease Center at the University of South Florida (USF). Biomedical DR. SHYAM MOHAPATRA Transgenex has received awards from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Throughout his career, Dr. Mohapatra at USF was funded from the NIH which helped lead to the work being done at Transgenex.
Transphorm
transphorm 2013 DOD UniversityofCaliforniaSantaBarbaraUniversityofCalifornia 2007 CA 51 Transphorm is redefining electric power conversion by leveraging breakthroughs in modern materials. Transphorm's ultra-efficient power modules eliminate up to 90 percent of all electric conversion losses. From HVACs to hybrids; servers to solar panels, Transphorm enables significant energy savings across the grid. Transphorm is redefining electric power conversion by leveraging breakthroughs in modern materials. Transphorm's ultra-efficient power modules eliminate up to 90 percent of all electric conversion losses. From HVACs to hybrids; servers to solar panels, Transphorm enables significant energy savings across the grid. Transphorm's efficiency breakthrough comes in the form of a revolutionary material known as Gallium Nitride, or "GaN", which switches at far higher frequencies than traditional components. This superior material, coupled with innovative circuit design, enables the world's most efficient, most compact, and most cost-effective power conversion technology. Transphorm CEO and co-founder Dr. Umesh Mishra, a professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara, was recognized in 2007 for his development of gallium nitride electronics. Transphorm was originally based on research that came out of Dr. Mishra's laboratory. Company President and co-founder Dr. Primit Parikh received his Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering at UCSB and is an expert in the area of GaN materials, devices and circuits. Dr. Parikh was a student of Dr. Mishra while earning his doctorate at UCSB in 1998. Energy & Chemicals Primit Parikh The foundational work that led to the inventions being commercialized by Transphorm was done at UCSB with support from the Department of Defense through the Office of Naval Research and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
transposagen-biopharmaceuticals-inc 2017 USDA UniversityofNotreDame 2003 KY 1 Transposagen, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company that is dedicated to providing unique animal models, cell lines, stem cells, and cutting-edge research tools and technologies to improve drug discovery and development research. Transposagen has provided off-the-shelf and custom genetically modified rat models to over 300 companies and institutions around the world. Transposagen is a worldwide leader in genetically modified research reagents. Transposagen, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company that is dedicated to providing unique animal models, cell lines, stem cells, and cutting-edge research tools and technologies to improve drug discovery and development research. Transposagen has provided off-the-shelf and custom genetically modified rat models to over 300 companies and institutions around the world. Transposagen is a worldwide leader in genetically modified research reagents. When founded in 2003, Transposagen was a pioneer in the genetic modification reagent space. Over more than a decade, Transposagen has consistently stayed at the forefront of gene modification and gene editing technologies, by both licensing the most promising platform technologies and by innovating new technologies and technology improvements in-house. One of Transposagen’s core technology platforms is the piggyBac DNA Modification System, based upon the piggyBac transposon discovered by University of Notre Dame biological sciences professor Malcolm Fraser. Transposagen exclusively licensed the piggyBac technology from the University of Notre Dame initially as a tool for the creation of animal models and later for all uses, including animal and plant genetic modification, as well as human therapeutics. Biomedical Dr. Fraser’s work at Notre Dame was supported with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Tri Alpha Energy Inc.
tri-alpha-energy-inc 2017 DODDOE UniversityofCaliforniaIrvineUniversityofCalifornia 1998 CA 101 Tri Alpha Energy (TAE) is the world’s largest private fusion company. Its purpose is to deliver world-changing clean fusion energy technology as fast as possible. By developing a combination of advanced particle accelerator and plasma physics, TAE is able to develop technology that is compact, aneutronic, carbon-free and sustainable with a safe environmental profile. Tri Alpha Energy (TAE) is the world’s largest private fusion company. Its purpose is to deliver world-changing clean fusion energy technology as fast as possible. By developing a combination of advanced particle accelerator and plasma physics, TAE is able to develop technology that is compact, aneutronic, carbon-free and sustainable with a safe environmental profile. In the early 1990’s, at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), Professor Norman Rostoker, with his student Michl Binderbauer, began focusing on the need for an applied approach to fusion research. Starting with the "end in mind” of a commercially competitive fusion power plant, and with federal research support from the U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy, they examined what a customer would want and how it could be delivered. Their initial research led to the formation of Tri Alpha Energy and a larger partnership with UCI, University of Florida and TAE, which has a formal licensing agreement with UCI and UF. The strong relationship with UCI continues today in partnership with its office of Applied Innovation and the School of Physical Sciences. Energy & Chemicals The work at UC Irvine was supported by research funding by the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy.
Triangle Pharmaceuticals
triangle-pharmaceuticals 2010 NIH EmoryUniversity 1995 CA NA Since the emergence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, two Emory scientists, Dennis Liotta, PhD and Raymond Schinazi, PhD, have led the fight to develop life-saving drugs to treat its victims. Their HIV laboratory was the first of its kind, and their research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. In 1995, Schinazi and Liotta co-founded Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a faculty startup located in Research Triangle Park, NC. Triangle was a specialty pharmaceutical company developing new antiviral drugs for HIV and the hepatitis B virus. In early 2003, Triangle was acquired by Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is one of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical companies. Gilead discovers, develops and commercializes innovative medicines in areas of unmet need. Gilead’s primary areas of focus include HIV/AIDS, liver disease, and serious cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. The company currently has a portfolio of 10 products, including a number of category firsts and market leaders. Gilead is a $42 billion public company and has operations on four continents. Since the emergence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, two Emory scientists, Dennis Liotta, PhD and Raymond Schinazi, PhD, have led the fight to develop life-saving drugs to treat its victims. Their HIV laboratory was the first of its kind, and their research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. In 1995, Schinazi and Liotta co-founded Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a faculty startup located in Research Triangle Park, NC. Triangle was a specialty pharmaceutical company developing new antiviral drugs for HIV and the hepatitis B virus. In early 2003, Triangle was acquired by Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is one of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical companies. Gilead discovers, develops and commercializes innovative medicines in areas of unmet need. Gilead’s primary areas of focus include HIV/AIDS, liver disease, and serious cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. The company currently has a portfolio of 10 products, including a number of category firsts and market leaders. Gilead is a $42 billion public company and has operations on four continents. Three of the 10 products marketed by Gilead (Emtriva®, Truvada® and Atripla®) were invented by Emory scientists. Currently, over 94 percent of HIV patients in the United States on lifesaving antiviral therapy take a drug developed at Emory University. Biomedical DENNIS LIOTTA, PHD The technology development of the three Emory-invented drugs was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Tribogenics
tribogenics 2013 DOD UniversityofCaliforniaLosAngelesUniversityofCalifornia 2011 CA 1 Tribogenics is a transformative X-ray technology company developing affordable and highly portable solutions for materials analysis and imaging. The Tribogenics range of X-ray sources includes the X-Change™ cartridge, the world’s smallest turnkey X-ray source designed for use in revolutionary new XRF systems. Tribogenics technology is based on a DARPA-funded initiative that originated at UCLA and the company is venture-backed by prominent investors, including Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. Tribogenics is a transformative X-ray technology company developing affordable and highly portable solutions for materials analysis and imaging. The Tribogenics range of X-ray sources includes the X-Change™ cartridge, the world’s smallest turnkey X-ray source designed for use in revolutionary new XRF systems. Tribogenics technology is based on a DARPA-funded initiative that originated at UCLA and the company is venture-backed by prominent investors, including Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. The technologies behind Tribogenics are based on research led by UCLA professor of physics Seth Putterman who is an advisor to the company. Tribogenics disruptive technology uses static electricity rather than the high-voltage transformers used in traditional X-ray sources. Carlos Camara, a high density physicist, was a core member of the research team and serves as Chief Scientist at Tribogenics.In September 2012, Tribogenics announced a $6.2 million investment by Founders Fund, and the company had previously received $2.5M in funding from Flywheel Ventures and other angel investors. Manufacturing, Research & Industry Dr. Putterman’s research on X-ray emission from triboelectrification was funded by the Department of Defense through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
TriFusion Devices
trifusion-devices 2017 DODNSF TexasA&MUniversity 2016 TX 1 TriFusion offers breakthrough 3D printing products and services aimed at revolutionizing the healthcare industry. TriFusion serves the unmet needs of both amputees and prosthetists by simplifying and expediting the process of manufacturing a custom prosthetic device through its innovative combination of proprietary materials and precision electric fields. TriFusion promises to provide durable, high-functioning, custom-fitted prosthetics for a fraction of the standard price. In October 2016, TriFusion was acquired by Essentium Materials, which has a revolutionary process for fusing together the layers of 3D printed parts, in order to further its goal of bringing affordable prosthetic limbs to those who need them most. TriFusion offers breakthrough 3D printing products and services aimed at revolutionizing the healthcare industry. TriFusion serves the unmet needs of both amputees and prosthetists by simplifying and expediting the process of manufacturing a custom prosthetic device through its innovative combination of proprietary materials and precision electric fields. TriFusion promises to provide durable, high-functioning, custom-fitted prosthetics for a fraction of the standard price. In October 2016, TriFusion was acquired by Essentium Materials, which has a revolutionary process for fusing together the layers of 3D printed parts, in order to further its goal of bringing affordable prosthetic limbs to those who need them most. TriFusion is the result of research conducted at the Army Research Labs, Texas Tech University and Texas A&M University. After developing a strong background in 3D printing and nanotechnology at the Army Research Lab, company co-founder Brandon Sweeney had an idea early in his Ph.D. program at Texas Tech University. He developed a hypothesis for how to combine heat-responsive nanoparticles and electro-magnetic fields to solve one of the biggest challenges with 3D printing, the tendency of the layers to peel apart or break under heat or stress. Thanks to funding from the National Science Foundation, Brandon was able to take this concept, explore it, and transform it into a workable solution at Texas Tech and Texas A&M’s labs.
After developing this technology, Brandon immediately wanted to give back and directed his commercialization efforts toward creating durable, affordable prosthetics for veterans and amputees for whom standard prosthetics were cost-prohibitive. Brandon joined with Blake Teipel and Britton Eastburn to form TriFusion. Manufacturing, Research & Industry Research funding from the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation helped support the work behind TriFusion Devices.
Tule Technologies LLC
tule-technologies-llc 2017 USDA UniversityofCaliforniaDavisUniversityofCalifornia 2013 CA 1 Tule Technologies has developed sensors that can accurately tell growers how much water their plants are using and when and how much water they need to apply. Tule’s technology measures evapotranspiration, the total amount of water leaving the plant and soil system, and efficiently irrigates by only replacing what is lost. Irrigation, more than any other factor influences the yield and quality of the crop and Tule’s technology helps irrigation management and overall water efficiency – a critical issue in many parts of the world. Tule Technologies was named a 2016 World Ag Expo Top-10 New Product. Tule Technologies has developed sensors that can accurately tell growers how much water their plants are using and when and how much water they need to apply. Tule’s technology measures evapotranspiration, the total amount of water leaving the plant and soil system, and efficiently irrigates by only replacing what is lost. Irrigation, more than any other factor influences the yield and quality of the crop and Tule’s technology helps irrigation management and overall water efficiency – a critical issue in many parts of the world. Tule Technologies was named a 2016 World Ag Expo Top-10 New Product. As a student at the University of California, Davis, Thomas Shapland worked to solve a problem associated with a technology developed by one of the members of his dissertation committee, Kyaw Tha Paw U. Dr. Paw U, a professor in atmospheric science, had developed a technology for calculating water usage in fields in the 1990s. However, it needed to be calibrated for each location and that process required expensive equipment – limiting its usefulness. Shapland worked over several years on research funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to solve the calibration problem and in so doing made the technology relatively inexpensive for growers to use. Tule’s underlying technology is jointly owned by UC Davis and the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Shapland formed Tule to license the invention from the University and to build a commercial product. Agriculture & Environment Funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture helped support the research conducted at UC Davis.
TYRX, Inc.
tyrx-inc 2013 NIH RutgersUniversity 1998 NJ 1 Since its inception in 1998, TYRX scientists, engineers and marketers have focused on a singular goal — creating unique, cost-effective solutions that address surgical-site infections (SSIs) and inflammatory tissue-reaction associated with implanted medical devices.TYRX has gained market approval for a number of products, and is developing additional product franchises through the application of proprietary technologies in general, cardiovascular, neurological, cosmetic, and orthopedic surgery. The company is targeting the reduction of infection and scar development, common morbidities associated with all medical device implants. Since its inception in 1998, TYRX scientists, engineers and marketers have focused on a singular goal — creating unique, cost-effective solutions that address surgical-site infections (SSIs) and inflammatory tissue-reaction associated with implanted medical devices.TYRX has gained market approval for a number of products, and is developing additional product franchises through the application of proprietary technologies in general, cardiovascular, neurological, cosmetic, and orthopedic surgery. The company is targeting the reduction of infection and scar development, common morbidities associated with all medical device implants. TYRX, Inc. was founded upon unique biodegradable polymer technology invented by a team of scientists at Rutgers University led by professor of chemistry Dr. Joachim Kohn. TYRX acquired a license from Rutgers to a series of patents that describe the synthesis and uses of the class of unique biodegradable polymers that Dr. Kohn calls “tyrosine-derived polyarylates.” Biomedical The initial polymer research in the Kohn laboratory at Rutgers was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Universal Cells, Inc.
universal-cells-inc 2017 NIH UniversityofWashington 2013 WA 1 Universal Cells is developing and commercializing universal donor cells for use in regenerative medicine. The company has generated stem cells that do not present human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules on their surface, which are critical for determining whether donor tissue will be rejected. The company’s universal donor stem cells are therefore compatible with everyone and can be used in stem cell therapies without the need for HLA-matching. With universal donor cells, a single stem cell line can be engineered, tested for regulatory approval, and used in multiple recipients, providing a true off-the-shelf product for stem cell therapies. Universal Cells is developing and commercializing universal donor cells for use in regenerative medicine. The company has generated stem cells that do not present human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules on their surface, which are critical for determining whether donor tissue will be rejected. The company’s universal donor stem cells are therefore compatible with everyone and can be used in stem cell therapies without the need for HLA-matching. With universal donor cells, a single stem cell line can be engineered, tested for regulatory approval, and used in multiple recipients, providing a true off-the-shelf product for stem cell therapies. Universal Cells was founded in 2013 to commercialize genome editing and stem cell engineering technologies that were developed over two decades at the University of Washington. The technology being used at the company to create universal donor cells is entirely based on intellectual property developed by Dr. David Russell, a world leader in genome editing and professor of medicine at the University of Washington. The research leading to the development of this technology was almost exclusively supported by the National Institutes of Health. Without those federal research funds over the course of 20 years, the genome editing and stem cell engineering technology required to create universal donor cells would not have been developed. Biomedical The work conducted at the University of Washington was supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Universal Display Corporation
universal-display-corporation 2010 DODDOE PrincetonUniversity 1997 NJ 101 Universal Display Corporation (UDC) is a world leader in the development of innovative Organic Light Emitting Device (OLED) technology for flat panel displays, lasers and other light generating devices. Its innovations are based on technologies developed at Princeton University.
The company is developing an important portfolio of worldwide patents in the area of OLEDs and is, therefore, poised to be a force as the industry develops and a new generation of flat panel display products is sold. Universal Display has one of the largest patent portfolios in the OLED field with licensing rights to over 940 issued and pending patents worldwide in a broad array of OLED technologies, materials and processes.
“Our licensees and partners remain focused on manufacturing and selling OLED displays on a global scale,” said Sidney D. Rosenblatt, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Universal Display, in May 2009. “Our technology continues to be a key differentiator for the next generation of consumer electronics. Right now, these products are primarily personal electronic devices like MP3 players and cell phones. However, the industry has larger area displays, including TVs and computer monitors, in its sights for 2010.”
UDC has entered into more than 30 business agreements with leading manufacturers in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Europe and the United States including with companies such as Chi Mei EL, DuPont Displays, Konica Minolta, LG Display, Samsung SMD, Seiko Epson, Sony, Tohoku Pioneer and Toyota Industries. Universal Display Corporation (UDC) is a world leader in the development of innovative Organic Light Emitting Device (OLED) technology for flat panel displays, lasers and other light generating devices. Its innovations are based on technologies developed at Princeton University.
The company is developing an important portfolio of worldwide patents in the area of OLEDs and is, therefore, poised to be a force as the industry develops and a new generation of flat panel display products is sold. Universal Display has one of the largest patent portfolios in the OLED field with licensing rights to over 940 issued and pending patents worldwide in a broad array of OLED technologies, materials and processes.
“Our licensees and partners remain focused on manufacturing and selling OLED displays on a global scale,” said Sidney D. Rosenblatt, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Universal Display, in May 2009. “Our technology continues to be a key differentiator for the next generation of consumer electronics. Right now, these products are primarily personal electronic devices like MP3 players and cell phones. However, the industry has larger area displays, including TVs and computer monitors, in its sights for 2010.”
UDC has entered into more than 30 business agreements with leading manufacturers in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Europe and the United States including with companies such as Chi Mei EL, DuPont Displays, Konica Minolta, LG Display, Samsung SMD, Seiko Epson, Sony, Tohoku Pioneer and Toyota Industries. UDC’s innovations are based on technologies developed at Princeton University. A founder, Dr. Steven Forrest, now at the University of Michigan, continues to serve on UDC’s Scientific Advisory Board. Universal Display has university partners at Princeton University, the University of Southern California and the University of Michigan. Materials The work by Dr. Forrest and others in the Princeton University Departments of Electrical Engineering was supported in part by grants from the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense, including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Office of Naval Research, and the US Army.
Vaccinex, Inc.
vaccinex-inc 2010 NIH UniversityofRochester 1997 NY 1 Vaccinex is a biotechnology company that develops human monoclonal antibody technology to treat a variety of serious diseases. While the technology has many applications, one promising use is for the identification of certain proteins called monoclonal antibodies that are capable of seeking out and destroying harmful cells.
The firm’s pipeline of antibody products target disease indications such as rheumatoid arthritis, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple sclerosis, breast cancer and inflammatory diseases. From this group, two will enter clinical development in 2009, followed by the remainder in the second half of 2010, officials said.
Vaccinex was founded in 1997 by Maurice Zauderer, PhD and Deepak Sahasrabudhe, MD based on antibody platform technology developed at the University of Rochester Medical Center. It employs some 50 research and drug development scientists and staff.
“Vaccinex is well positioned to advance the development of several innovative therapies in the areas of cancer, autoimmune disease, and inflammation,” said Dr. John E. Leonard, a member of the Vaccinex Scientific Advisory Board. The antibody market is predicted to reach $34 billion by the end of the decade. Vaccinex is a biotechnology company that develops human monoclonal antibody technology to treat a variety of serious diseases. While the technology has many applications, one promising use is for the identification of certain proteins called monoclonal antibodies that are capable of seeking out and destroying harmful cells.
The firm’s pipeline of antibody products target disease indications such as rheumatoid arthritis, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple sclerosis, breast cancer and inflammatory diseases. From this group, two will enter clinical development in 2009, followed by the remainder in the second half of 2010, officials said.
Vaccinex was founded in 1997 by Maurice Zauderer, PhD and Deepak Sahasrabudhe, MD based on antibody platform technology developed at the University of Rochester Medical Center. It employs some 50 research and drug development scientists and staff.
“Vaccinex is well positioned to advance the development of several innovative therapies in the areas of cancer, autoimmune disease, and inflammation,” said Dr. John E. Leonard, a member of the Vaccinex Scientific Advisory Board. The antibody market is predicted to reach $34 billion by the end of the decade. Vaccinex was based on research developed at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Biomedical The work of Dr. Zauderer at University of Rochester was supported with grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Valtari Bio Inc.
valtari-bio-inc 2017 DODNIH WestVirginiaUniversity 2014 WV 1 Nearly 800,000 people a year in the United States will suffer a stroke and getting proper treatment within three to four hours of symptom onset is essential to preventing death and improving the odds of a successful recovery. Valtari Bio is developing a blood test to aid in the preliminary diagnosis of suspected stroke patients. The test is the first of its kind, an easy to use blood test that provides fast, unbiased, and accurate identification of stroke versus stroke mimic in emergency settings.
Currently, doctors identify a possible stroke patient based an assessment of symptoms and rudimentary stroke scale checklists. If they believe the patient has suffered stroke, they will use an MRI or CT scan to confirm that diagnosis. More than 2 million people each year have unnecessary stroke workups because there is not a good initial diagnostic tool. Additionally, 20 percent of strokes are missed leading to poor patient outcomes. Nearly 800,000 people a year in the United States will suffer a stroke and getting proper treatment within three to four hours of symptom onset is essential to preventing death and improving the odds of a successful recovery. Valtari Bio is developing a blood test to aid in the preliminary diagnosis of suspected stroke patients. The test is the first of its kind, an easy to use blood test that provides fast, unbiased, and accurate identification of stroke versus stroke mimic in emergency settings.
Currently, doctors identify a possible stroke patient based an assessment of symptoms and rudimentary stroke scale checklists. If they believe the patient has suffered stroke, they will use an MRI or CT scan to confirm that diagnosis. More than 2 million people each year have unnecessary stroke workups because there is not a good initial diagnostic tool. Additionally, 20 percent of strokes are missed leading to poor patient outcomes. When a patient is having a stroke, their body has a measurable immune response; this is the cornerstone of Valtari Bio’s science. By measuring the pattern of immune response in biomarkers found in the peripheral blood, stroke can be differentiated from conditions that mimic stroke (migraine, Bell’s palsy, etc.). Valtari’s test emerged after many years of research by company founder Dr. Taura Barr. She began her work as a doctoral student in nursing, then as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health. She later brought her work to West Virginia University’s School of Nursing where she met company co-founders Richard Giersch and Valerie Gionis. Valtari Bio (originally called CereDx) was founded in 2014 to license her discoveries in order to commercialize them and improve patient care and outcomes. Biomedical Funding from the National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense helped support Barr’s academic research.
Verenium Corporation
verenium-corporation 2010 USDADOE UniversityofFlorida 1992 MA 101 Verenium Corporation is a leader in the development and commercialization of cellulosic ethanol, an environmentally-friendly and renewable transportation fuel, as well as higher performance specialty enzymes for applications within the biofuels, industrial, and animal nutrition and health markets. Verenium operates one of the nation’s first cellulosic ethanol pilot plants, in Jennings, Louisiana. The company also has a strategic partnership with BP to accelerate the development and commercialization of cellulosic ethanol in the United States and around the world.
In 2008, Verenium was awarded a grant from the US Department of Energy to enhance the development of small-scale cellulosic ethanol biorefinery plants. Verenium started the construction of the cellulosic ethanol demonstration-scale plant that same year.
Verenium holds exclusive licenses to cellulosic ethanol conversion processes developed by University of Florida microbiologist Lonnie Ingram. Ingram and his colleagues genetically engineered the best traits of two common bacteria — E. coli and Zymomonas — to create a new organism that could perform a two-step process to convert those complex sugars to acids and then convert the acids to ethanol. In 1991, that accomplishment earned Ingram’s team the landmark 5 millionth patent granted in the United States.
Verenium was acquired by BASF in 2013. Verenium Corporation is a leader in the development and commercialization of cellulosic ethanol, an environmentally-friendly and renewable transportation fuel, as well as higher performance specialty enzymes for applications within the biofuels, industrial, and animal nutrition and health markets. Verenium operates one of the nation’s first cellulosic ethanol pilot plants, in Jennings, Louisiana. The company also has a strategic partnership with BP to accelerate the development and commercialization of cellulosic ethanol in the United States and around the world.
In 2008, Verenium was awarded a grant from the US Department of Energy to enhance the development of small-scale cellulosic ethanol biorefinery plants. Verenium started the construction of the cellulosic ethanol demonstration-scale plant that same year.
Verenium holds exclusive licenses to cellulosic ethanol conversion processes developed by University of Florida microbiologist Lonnie Ingram. Ingram and his colleagues genetically engineered the best traits of two common bacteria — E. coli and Zymomonas — to create a new organism that could perform a two-step process to convert those complex sugars to acids and then convert the acids to ethanol. In 1991, that accomplishment earned Ingram’s team the landmark 5 millionth patent granted in the United States.
Verenium was acquired by BASF in 2013. Verenium holds exclusive licenses to processes developed by University of Florida microbiologist Lonnie Ingram. Energy & Chemicals The original research on the cellulosic ethanol conversion process was supported by grants from the US Departments of Energy and Agriculture.
Veriflow
veriflow 2017 NSF UniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign 2013 CA 1 Veriflow aims to bring the same “can’t fail” precision of space launches to network security by applying formal mathematical verification to complex networks in order to prevent outages and breaches that lead to astronomical losses. Using Veriflow’s patented continuous network verification technology, enterprises can predict all possible network-wide behavior, and mathematically verify availability and security, instead of waiting for users to experience outages or vulnerabilities to be exploited. Demonstrated successful in multiple real-life network deployments, the company officially launched its continuous verification technology in November 2016 and announced customer wins, including Pandora. Veriflow aims to bring the same “can’t fail” precision of space launches to network security by applying formal mathematical verification to complex networks in order to prevent outages and breaches that lead to astronomical losses. Using Veriflow’s patented continuous network verification technology, enterprises can predict all possible network-wide behavior, and mathematically verify availability and security, instead of waiting for users to experience outages or vulnerabilities to be exploited. Demonstrated successful in multiple real-life network deployments, the company officially launched its continuous verification technology in November 2016 and announced customer wins, including Pandora. Veriflow was created by a team of computer science professors, including Matthew Caesar and Brighten Godfrey, and Ph.D. student Ashmed Khurshid at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, out of research funded by the National Science Foundation. Since founding, Veriflow has received additional research funding from NSF and the Department of Defense and significant venture capital backing. Based in San Jose, the company announced plans to expand its presence in Illinois with new space in Champaign expected to open in April 2017. With the new space, they expect to increase local employment. Technology & Web The work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was supported by research funding from the National Science Foundation.
VGX Pharmaceuticals
vgx-pharmaceuticals 2010 NIH UniversityofPennsylvania 2000 PA 51 VGX Pharmaceuticals was formed in 2000 to focus on the discovery and development of novel vaccines and therapies for infectious diseases, including HIV, and cancer. In June 2009, the company completed a merger with Inovio Biomedical Corporation. Inovio focuses on the discovery, development, and delivery of a new generation of vaccines — DNA vaccines — to prevent or treat cancers and chronic infectious diseases. VGX Pharmaceuticals was formed in 2000 to focus on the discovery and development of novel vaccines and therapies for infectious diseases, including HIV, and cancer. In June 2009, the company completed a merger with Inovio Biomedical Corporation. Inovio focuses on the discovery, development, and delivery of a new generation of vaccines — DNA vaccines — to prevent or treat cancers and chronic infectious diseases. VGX was founded based on several novel DNA vaccine technologies developed in the laboratory of Dr. David B. Weiner, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Weiner is a pioneer in the field of DNA vaccines and a VGX co-founder. Dr. Weiner continues to serve as Chairman of the Inovio Scientific Advisory Board. Biomedical The basic research at the University of Pennsylvania that led to the development of this technology was supported by research grants from the National Institutes of Health.
ViQi
viqi 2021 CA 1 Technology & Web
Virent, Inc.
virent-inc 2013 DOE UniversityofWisconsin-Madison 2002 WI 101 Virent is replacing crude oil by creating the chemicals and fuels the world demands through utilization of a wide variety of naturally occurring, renewable resources. The company’s patented BioForming® technology features catalytic chemistry, which converts plant-based sugars into a full range of hydrocarbon products identical to those made from petroleum, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and chemicals for plastics and fibers. Virent produces its hydrocarbon chemicals and fuels from plant sugars in a few hours, compared to the millions of years required for petroleum.The company has key strategic relationships in place with Royal Dutch Shell, Cargill and Honda to add vital resources and expertise required to accelerate commercialization of its technology. Virent is replacing crude oil by creating the chemicals and fuels the world demands through utilization of a wide variety of naturally occurring, renewable resources. The company’s patented BioForming® technology features catalytic chemistry, which converts plant-based sugars into a full range of hydrocarbon products identical to those made from petroleum, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and chemicals for plastics and fibers. Virent produces its hydrocarbon chemicals and fuels from plant sugars in a few hours, compared to the millions of years required for petroleum.The company has key strategic relationships in place with Royal Dutch Shell, Cargill and Honda to add vital resources and expertise required to accelerate commercialization of its technology. Virent’s Aqueous Phase Reforming (APR) technology was discovered by Dr. Randy D. Cortright and Dr. James A. Dumesic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Their discovery showed that it was possible to convert aqueous solutions of oxygenated compounds such as ethylene glycol, glycerol, sorbitol, and corn sugar over heterogeneous catalysts and generate either hydrogen or non-oxygenated hydrocarbons depending on catalyst composition and reaction conditions. The generated hydrogen could be used as either a fuel or chemical, and the non-oxygenated hydrocarbon could be used as either a fuel gas or liquid transportation fuel. These initial discoveries were patented by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). Shortly after Cortright and Dumesic founded Virent in June 2002, the company obtained an exclusive license for the APR technology from WARF. Today, Virent has grown now to 130 employees and has extended the utility of the APR technology for the generation of chemicals, gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel fuel. Energy & Chemicals The initial discovery of APR at the University of Wisconsin – Madison was funded by a grant from the Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Science Group.
Virtual Incision Corporation
virtual-incision-corporation 2010 DODNASANIH UniversityofNebraska 2006 NE 1 Virtual Incision Corporation will develop, build, and commercialize the first inexpensive, remotely operated, in vivo, miniature robotic surgical tools and camera systems to operate within the abdominal cavity. These remotely controlled robots can be inserted through a single tiny incision to perform minimally invasive surgeries, significantly reducing pain and recovery times for patients. Each camera-carrying robot would be remotely controlled by the surgeon and would be capable of performing complex surgeries such as gall bladder removal and colon resection. Virtual Incision Corporation will develop, build, and commercialize the first inexpensive, remotely operated, in vivo, miniature robotic surgical tools and camera systems to operate within the abdominal cavity. These remotely controlled robots can be inserted through a single tiny incision to perform minimally invasive surgeries, significantly reducing pain and recovery times for patients. Each camera-carrying robot would be remotely controlled by the surgeon and would be capable of performing complex surgeries such as gall bladder removal and colon resection. Virtual Incision Corporation grew from collaboration between a University of Nebraska Medical Center surgeon interested in improving surgery practices and a University of Nebraska-Lincoln mechanical engineer with expertise in designing robots. After learning of their mutual interests, they began developing mini-robots and testing them in animal models. Their exciting research led to development of a spin-off company, Virtual Incision Corporation, to commercialize and produce these novel devices. Biomedical DMITRY OLEYNIKOV The U.S. Army, part of the Department of Defense, has significantly funded the basic research and development of prototype surgical robots. TheNational Institutes of Health and NASA have also been key funding sources for these researchers.
Virtually Better, Inc.
virtually-better-inc 2017 DOD EmoryUniversity 1996 GA 1 Virtually Better Inc. (VBI) uses virtual reality to treat a wide range of behavioral and cognitive disorders including phobias, addictions and PTSD. VBI was born in 1996 and is today widely regarded as the leading innovator in the development of evidence-based, virtual reality environments. Its technologies range from highly immersive environments to easy-to-use pediatric mobile apps. Virtually Better Inc. (VBI) uses virtual reality to treat a wide range of behavioral and cognitive disorders including phobias, addictions and PTSD. VBI was born in 1996 and is today widely regarded as the leading innovator in the development of evidence-based, virtual reality environments. Its technologies range from highly immersive environments to easy-to-use pediatric mobile apps. In the early 1990s company founders, Emory University psychiatry professor Barbara Rothbaum and Larry Hodges, then a computer specialist at Georgia Tech, partnered on a study of the use of virtual reality exposure for treating a phobia—in this case, the fear of heights.
The pair knew they were onto something at the conclusion of their study when 7 out of 10 participants willingly put themselves in real life height situations. Virtual encounters could replace certain real world situations, making treatment for things like a fear of flying far more accessible. That original study was followed up by a 1995 Department of Defense-funded effort to evaluate virtual reality exposure therapy.
Biomedical The work at Emory University was supported by research funding from the Department of Defense.
"When government agencies like the National Institutes of Health or the Department of Defense fund a study, they don’t want it to be just ivory tower research that ends up in journals –they want it to get out to the public and have an impact on people's lives," says Rothbaum.
Vorbeck Materials, Inc.
vorbeck-materials-inc 2010 NASANSF PrincetonUniversity 2006 MD 1 Vorbeck Materials is a privately held specialty materials company established to manufacture and develop applications around Vor-x™, a novel graphene (carbon) nanomaterial developed by Professors Ilhan Aksay and Robert Prud’homme in the Princeton University Department of Chemical Engineering.
Described as the “strongest, most conductive material known,” graphene is an emerging force in high performance materials.
Until now, the manufacture of single-sheet graphene on a ton scale has not been commercially feasible. In response to this industry need, Vorbeck has licensed core technology from Princeton University to develop a unique, scalable process for manufacturing graphene in ton quantities.
NASA has used functionalized graphene sheets from Vorbeck Materials — describing the company as “the only known source, based on their exclusive license from Princeton University, able to use proprietary processes to manufacture functionalized graphene materials.”
Recently, BASF and Vorbeck Materials Corporation established a joint research program to develop graphene-based formulations and composite materials. As part of the collaboration, Vorbeck and BASF are developing dispersions of highly conductive graphene for producing electrically conductive coating and compounds for the electronics industry. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced in February 2012 that Vorbeck Materials, a company founded on discoveries made at Princeton University, has been named as one of three winning startup companies in the U.S. Department of Energy's America’s Next Top Energy Innovator Challenge. Get the Full Story Here Vorbeck Materials is a privately held specialty materials company established to manufacture and develop applications around Vor-x™, a novel graphene (carbon) nanomaterial developed by Professors Ilhan Aksay and Robert Prud’homme in the Princeton University Department of Chemical Engineering.
Described as the “strongest, most conductive material known,” graphene is an emerging force in high performance materials.
Until now, the manufacture of single-sheet graphene on a ton scale has not been commercially feasible. In response to this industry need, Vorbeck has licensed core technology from Princeton University to develop a unique, scalable process for manufacturing graphene in ton quantities.
NASA has used functionalized graphene sheets from Vorbeck Materials — describing the company as “the only known source, based on their exclusive license from Princeton University, able to use proprietary processes to manufacture functionalized graphene materials.”
Recently, BASF and Vorbeck Materials Corporation established a joint research program to develop graphene-based formulations and composite materials. As part of the collaboration, Vorbeck and BASF are developing dispersions of highly conductive graphene for producing electrically conductive coating and compounds for the electronics industry. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced in February 2012 that Vorbeck Materials, a company founded on discoveries made at Princeton University, has been named as one of three winning startup companies in the U.S. Department of Energy's America’s Next Top Energy Innovator Challenge. Get the Full Story Here Vorbeck Materials Corporation is based on technologies developed in the Princeton University Department of Chemical Engineering. Materials ILHAN AKSAY The research to develop the technologies behind Vorbeck was supported in part through federal funding from NASA and the National Science Foundation.
Watchstander
watchstander 2013 DOD PennsylvaniaStateUniversity 2011 FL 1 WatchStander, LLC. provides a legal and non-lethal approach to maritime piracy. Developed at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at the Pennsylvania State University and in partnership with the U.S. government, WatchStander’s technology protects cargo vessels and their crews from piracy by using U.S. military technologies.The core technologies used by WatchStander on cargo vessels that have been tested and verified include radar surveillance, automatic behavior recognition, immediate automated defense responses, unmanned countermeasures, and non-lethal defense. WatchStander, LLC. provides a legal and non-lethal approach to maritime piracy. Developed at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at the Pennsylvania State University and in partnership with the U.S. government, WatchStander’s technology protects cargo vessels and their crews from piracy by using U.S. military technologies.The core technologies used by WatchStander on cargo vessels that have been tested and verified include radar surveillance, automatic behavior recognition, immediate automated defense responses, unmanned countermeasures, and non-lethal defense. As piracy has exploded in the Indian Ocean region, WatchStander was formed to apply military technologies developed at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at the Pennsylvania State University to maritime defense more broadly. David Rigsby, who founded and serves as President of WatchStander, has long been affiliated with the ARL at Penn State and was among the first to recognize the value of naval perimeter security technology to maritime anti-piracy defense. He has guided the development of these non-lethal and legal technologies that protect cargo vessels throughout the world. Defense, Safety, & Aerospace The U.S. Navy established the Applied Research Laboratory at Penn State in 1945. As a university center of excellence in naval science and technologies, with pre-eminence in undersea missions and related areas, the ARL provides solutions to problems in national security, economic competitiveness, and quality of life. The research that led to the technologies behind WatchStander was supported by the Naval Sea Systems Command.
Wellness & Prevention Inc.
wellness-prevention-inc 2010 NIH UniversityofMichigan 1998 MI NA University of Michigan professor Victor J. Strecher, PhD is an expert in health behavior and health education. He knew that ubiquitous health brochures did little to help people improve their health or change their behavior. The only way to help, he recognized, was to offer personalized counseling services, a prohibitively expensive solution for the masses. In 1998, using the pioneering research of the Health Media Research Laboratory (HMRL) at the University of Michigan, funded in part by the National Cancer Institute, he founded HealthMedia and developed a methodology and technology that effectively emulates a health coaching session, but without the coach.
HealthMedia, Inc. is the global leader in scalable behavior change interventions with outcomes. HealthMedia’s proven outcomes increase compliance, reduce medical utilization, and increase productivity — boosting profitability for health plans, employers, pharmaceutical companies, and behavioral health organizations. A fusion of their own unique technology and proven behavioral science, HealthMedia delivers individually tailored behavior change interventions for health and wellness, disease management, behavioral health, and medication compliance.
Clients include Kaiser Permanente, UPS, Cleveland Clinic, Johnson & Johnson, GSK, and eight Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations across the United States. HealthMedia partners include APS Healthcare, Corphealth, Health Dialog, Wellsource, and SHPS.
In October 2008, Johnson & Johnson acquired HealthMedia, Inc., as well as the Human Performance Institute, Inc. Shortly thereafter, Johnson & Johnson launched a new company, Wellness & Prevention, Inc. University of Michigan professor Victor J. Strecher, PhD is an expert in health behavior and health education. He knew that ubiquitous health brochures did little to help people improve their health or change their behavior. The only way to help, he recognized, was to offer personalized counseling services, a prohibitively expensive solution for the masses. In 1998, using the pioneering research of the Health Media Research Laboratory (HMRL) at the University of Michigan, funded in part by the National Cancer Institute, he founded HealthMedia and developed a methodology and technology that effectively emulates a health coaching session, but without the coach.
HealthMedia, Inc. is the global leader in scalable behavior change interventions with outcomes. HealthMedia’s proven outcomes increase compliance, reduce medical utilization, and increase productivity — boosting profitability for health plans, employers, pharmaceutical companies, and behavioral health organizations. A fusion of their own unique technology and proven behavioral science, HealthMedia delivers individually tailored behavior change interventions for health and wellness, disease management, behavioral health, and medication compliance.
Clients include Kaiser Permanente, UPS, Cleveland Clinic, Johnson & Johnson, GSK, and eight Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations across the United States. HealthMedia partners include APS Healthcare, Corphealth, Health Dialog, Wellsource, and SHPS.
In October 2008, Johnson & Johnson acquired HealthMedia, Inc., as well as the Human Performance Institute, Inc. Shortly thereafter, Johnson & Johnson launched a new company, Wellness & Prevention, Inc. Founded in 1998, by Dr. Victor Strecher, a leading expert in health behavior and health education at the University of Michigan, HealthMedia’s products are backed by more than 20 years of behavioral science research born out of the Health Media Research Laboratory (HMRL) at the University of Michigan. Biomedical The primary source of funding for Dr. Strecher’s University of Michigan research was the National Institutes of Health through the National Cancer Institute.
WiBotic
wibotic 2021 UniversityofWashington WA 1 Technology & Web
Wisegene
wisegene 2013 NIH UniversityofChicago 2012 IL 1 WiseGene’s mission is to develop, manufacture, and deliver research tools for novel genomic sequencing and detection technology. By working closely with professor Chuan He's laboratory at the University of Chicago, WiseGene will continuously in-license, develop and commercialize novel genomic sequencing reagents and methodology in epigenetics. WiseGene’s mission is to develop, manufacture, and deliver research tools for novel genomic sequencing and detection technology. By working closely with professor Chuan He's laboratory at the University of Chicago, WiseGene will continuously in-license, develop and commercialize novel genomic sequencing reagents and methodology in epigenetics. Wisegene was founded based on groundbreaking genetic research conducted by a team of scientists from the University of Chicago, the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, the University of California, San Diego and Emory University. The research team, led by Dr. Chuan He of the University of Chicago, developed and tested a technique that allows scientists to read DNA, letter by letter, and detect precisely where modifications are found in particular tissues or cell types. The team used the technique to map 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) in DNA from human and mouse embryonic stem cells, revealing new information about their patterns of distribution. These studies have revealed that these DNA modifications play major roles in fundamental life processes such as cell differentiation, cancer and brain function. Biomedical Dr. He’s work at the University of Chicago has been supported since 2005 by numerous grants from the National Institute for General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.
WiTricity Corporation
witricity-corporation 2013 DODDOENSF MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology 2007 MA 1 WiTricity Corp. is working to developing wireless electricity technology that will operate safely and efficiently over distances ranging from centimeters to several meters—and will deliver power ranging from milliwatts to kilowatts.
WiTricity’s vision is to develop a family of wireless electric power components that will enable original equipment manufacturers in a broad range of industries and applications to make their products truly “wireless.” Their goal is to provide wireless electric power delivered over room scale distances, with high efficiency. WiTricity Corp. is working to developing wireless electricity technology that will operate safely and efficiently over distances ranging from centimeters to several meters—and will deliver power ranging from milliwatts to kilowatts.
WiTricity’s vision is to develop a family of wireless electric power components that will enable original equipment manufacturers in a broad range of industries and applications to make their products truly “wireless.” Their goal is to provide wireless electric power delivered over room scale distances, with high efficiency. The technology behind WiTricity was developed when MIT Professor Marin Soljačić set out to find a way to charge his cell phone wirelessly. A team of physicists, led by Soljačić, developed the theoretical basis for a novel method for wireless electric power transfer in 2005, and validated their theories experimentally in 2007. The technology behind WiTricity involves the magnetic fields of two properly designed devices with closely matched resonant frequencies that can then couple into a single continuous magnetic field. Soljačić's team showed how to use this phenomenon to enable the transfer of power from one device to the other at high efficiency and over a distance range that is useful for real-world applications. WiTricity Corp. received its initial venture capital funding in November of 2007 from Stata Ventures and Argonaut Private Equity. Energy & Chemicals Soljačić's research at MIT was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Army Research Office.
Xenogen
xenogen 2010 DODNIH StanfordUniversity 1998 MA NA With a goal to detect and quantify cell growth and migration in living animals, Stanford University investigators Pamela Contag, David Benaron, and Christopher Contag, co-founded Xenogen in 1994. The company became the world leader in “in vivo” optical imaging and was sold to Caliper Life Sciences in 2006.
At the time Xenogen was conceived, there was a general view that optics lacked the sensitivity and reproducibility required for commercial drug discovery. Company founders credit federal funding from the Department of Defense – which came at a critical early phase of their work – for the fact that today nearly every medical center in the United States uses Xenogen’s methods of optical labeling, tracking, and imaging as part of its biomedical research program.
The Xenogen IVIS® systems are the most sensitive available—for both fluorescence and bioluminescence in vivo imaging. IVIS molecular imaging systems are designed to detect optical signals linked to cell growth and disease pathways in order to reveal mechanisms of action, and evaluate the efficacy of drugs by monitoring their effects on disease progression in living animals.
This technology uses optical tags, such as bioluminescence and fluorescence, to detect and track stem cells, cancer cells, pathogens and normal cellular functions in living hosts. The initial demonstration of the power of this technology was shown by the Stanford investigators using engineered microorganisms with genes-encoding bioluminescent enzymes inside a living animal where the light they emitted was observable with a digital camera outside the body. These images demonstrated that the course of infection and the response to therapy could be assessed noninvasively. The new approach had broad applicability, including in the areas of oncology, physiology, stem cell biology, immunology, and of particular relevance to the Department of Defense, regenerative medicine and infectious disease.
In 2006, Xenogen merged into Caliper Life Sciences, Inc., a leading provider of products and services for drug discovery research. PerkinElmer, Inc. later acquired Caliper Life Sciences in 2011. With a goal to detect and quantify cell growth and migration in living animals, Stanford University investigators Pamela Contag, David Benaron, and Christopher Contag, co-founded Xenogen in 1994. The company became the world leader in “in vivo” optical imaging and was sold to Caliper Life Sciences in 2006.
At the time Xenogen was conceived, there was a general view that optics lacked the sensitivity and reproducibility required for commercial drug discovery. Company founders credit federal funding from the Department of Defense – which came at a critical early phase of their work – for the fact that today nearly every medical center in the United States uses Xenogen’s methods of optical labeling, tracking, and imaging as part of its biomedical research program.
The Xenogen IVIS® systems are the most sensitive available—for both fluorescence and bioluminescence in vivo imaging. IVIS molecular imaging systems are designed to detect optical signals linked to cell growth and disease pathways in order to reveal mechanisms of action, and evaluate the efficacy of drugs by monitoring their effects on disease progression in living animals.
This technology uses optical tags, such as bioluminescence and fluorescence, to detect and track stem cells, cancer cells, pathogens and normal cellular functions in living hosts. The initial demonstration of the power of this technology was shown by the Stanford investigators using engineered microorganisms with genes-encoding bioluminescent enzymes inside a living animal where the light they emitted was observable with a digital camera outside the body. These images demonstrated that the course of infection and the response to therapy could be assessed noninvasively. The new approach had broad applicability, including in the areas of oncology, physiology, stem cell biology, immunology, and of particular relevance to the Department of Defense, regenerative medicine and infectious disease.
In 2006, Xenogen merged into Caliper Life Sciences, Inc., a leading provider of products and services for drug discovery research. PerkinElmer, Inc. later acquired Caliper Life Sciences in 2011. The technology behind Xenogen was developed by Pamela Contag in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, David Benaron, Professor of Pediatrics, and Christopher Contag, currently professor of Pediatrics, Radiology and Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University. The Stanford Office of Technology Licensing licensed the invention to Xenogen in 1996. Xenogen went public in 2004 and was acquired by Caliper Life Sciences in 2006. Caliper sells biophotonic real-time in vivo imaging technologies and has extensively sublicensed the Stanford University patents to pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Manufacturing, Research & Industry Development of the technology was initially supported by grants from the Department of Defense through the Office of Naval Research to Stanford University and Xenogen and grants from the National Institutes of Health to Stanford University.
Xerion Advanced Battery Corp.
xerion-advanced-battery-corp 2013 DODDOE UniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign 2010 CO 1 Xerion Battery was founded to develop and commercialize next generation ultra-high power, high energy lithium ion batteries. The company’s unique technology called StructurePore dramatically reduces both battery charge and discharge times compared to rechargeable batteries on the market today. Batteries using StructurePore are able to fully charge cell phones and other electronics in less than a minute. This is accomplished through increased power density, increased electrical capacity and improved battery safety. Xerion Battery was founded to develop and commercialize next generation ultra-high power, high energy lithium ion batteries. The company’s unique technology called StructurePore dramatically reduces both battery charge and discharge times compared to rechargeable batteries on the market today. Batteries using StructurePore are able to fully charge cell phones and other electronics in less than a minute. This is accomplished through increased power density, increased electrical capacity and improved battery safety. StructurePore was developed by Paul Braun, professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his research team. After almost a decade of work, Braun and his team solidified the technology in late 2010. Group members performed research in the fields of materials chemistry, polymers, biomaterials, organic and inorganic self-assembly, electronic materials and photonics. The team developed a three-dimensional nanostructure for battery cathodes that allows for dramatically faster charging and discharging without sacrificing energy storage capacity. This discovery allows for storing a large amount of energy that can be released very quickly. Energy & Chemicals Braun’s research group received funding from the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy.
Zymetis, Inc.
zymetis-inc 2010 NSFDOENOAA UniversityofMaryland 2006 CA NA Zymetis, Inc. is a biotechnology company that develops enzyme technologies for biofuel production. Derived from unique organisms, Zymetis products are designed to achieve lower costs, improved yields and higher manufacturing efficiencies in the conversion of cellulosic biomass to usable sugars. Currently, Zymetis is focused on the production of affordable next-generation transportation fuels. Zymetis was recently named to the 2009 “GoingGreen East” 50 Top Company List.
Zymetis was formed in 2006 to commercialize technologies discovered by Dr. Steve Hutcheson, professor of cell biology and molecular genetics, and Dr. Ron Weiner, Professor Emeritus, at the University of Maryland.
Dr. Hutcheson made the decision to lead the company through its early days and began by licensing several patents and patents-pending from the University. Zymetis participated in the University’s VentureAccelerator spin-out program located in the Technology Advancement Program (TAP) building on the University’s College Park campus. TAP is a leading venture incubator that partners with regional entrepreneurs to build early-stage companies.
At this location, Zymetis has access to dedicated lab facilities for all necessary technology development and a talented pool of recent graduates and student interns seeking to transition to the industrial world. Zymetis has a growing full time staff of research scientists and bio process engineers working to develop and refine the company’s initial product offerings.
In July 2011, AE Biofuels, Inc., a global advanced biofuels company, acquired Zymetis. In November 2011, AE Biofules changed its name to Aemetis, Inc. Zymetis, Inc. is a biotechnology company that develops enzyme technologies for biofuel production. Derived from unique organisms, Zymetis products are designed to achieve lower costs, improved yields and higher manufacturing efficiencies in the conversion of cellulosic biomass to usable sugars. Currently, Zymetis is focused on the production of affordable next-generation transportation fuels. Zymetis was recently named to the 2009 “GoingGreen East” 50 Top Company List.
Zymetis was formed in 2006 to commercialize technologies discovered by Dr. Steve Hutcheson, professor of cell biology and molecular genetics, and Dr. Ron Weiner, Professor Emeritus, at the University of Maryland.
Dr. Hutcheson made the decision to lead the company through its early days and began by licensing several patents and patents-pending from the University. Zymetis participated in the University’s VentureAccelerator spin-out program located in the Technology Advancement Program (TAP) building on the University’s College Park campus. TAP is a leading venture incubator that partners with regional entrepreneurs to build early-stage companies.
At this location, Zymetis has access to dedicated lab facilities for all necessary technology development and a talented pool of recent graduates and student interns seeking to transition to the industrial world. Zymetis has a growing full time staff of research scientists and bio process engineers working to develop and refine the company’s initial product offerings.
In July 2011, AE Biofuels, Inc., a global advanced biofuels company, acquired Zymetis. In November 2011, AE Biofules changed its name to Aemetis, Inc. Zymetis technologies were discovered by Dr. Steve Hutcheson, professor of cell biology and molecular genetics, and Dr. Ron Weiner, Professor Emeritus, at the University of Maryland. Energy & Chemicals DR. STEVE HUTCHESON The research and genome characterization that led to Hutcheson and Weiner discovering the enzyme's ability to breakdown biomass to biofuel was supported by two grants from the National Science Foundation, a National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Sea Grant, and support from the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute. The company has received an additional phase-one Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the Department of Energy. Zymetis also has received funding from the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and equity investment from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
