Milo Sensors

University of California, Santa Barbara

Millions of people all over the world face challenges with alcohol. One of the more traditional solutions people first consider is Alcoholics Anonymous. Through market research, we have learned that more and more non-traditional solutions are being sought out to supplement the recovery journey and we, at Milo Sensors, believe we can provide an option for the supervised or self-monitoring of alcohol consumption. Unlike other existing alcohol monitoring tools such as ankle bracelets, ION™ is designed for the wearer first, with discretion, comfort, and usability at the forefront. Common industries that benefit from similar monitoring devices, such as the criminal justice system or family law, seem to follow only after the recovery support network has failed and act as a punitive measure. In contrast, we aim to help anyone who seeks to improve their general wellness by focusing on their relationship with alcohol and then help rebuild trust with surrounding family members and supporters.

Cayuga Biotech

University of California, Santa Barbara

Cayuga Biotech is a preclinical therapeutics company developing therapies for bleeding disorders. Our lead candidate is a platelet-like drug that accelerates clotting in the presence of injury. Cayuga has already held its pre-IND meeting with the FDA and received guidance on the GLP trials required for IND approval. The Cayuga team is made up of PhD scientists who developed CAY001 during their PhD research. We have two KOLs who are experts in the field of hemostasis and have overseen clinical trials on anticoagulant reversal drugs. Our regulatory strategy is developed by an advisor who spent 23 years at the FDA in CDER. Our manufacturing advisor has overseen 9 drugs reach clinical trials and 4 drugs receive approval. Our business advisors have overseen 4 successful business exits worth over $1 B. Cayuga has raised over $2 MM from DARPA and the Army. We are raising a round to complete the remaining IND-enabling studies, add experienced drug developers to the team, and prepare for the first in man trial.

bioProtonics

University of California, Santa Barbara

[Update (8.2023): SBIR/STTR funding total - $150k, Venture funding total - $2.86M] Many diseases can only be diagnosed properly by looking at sections of the tissue post-mortem or from invasive biopsies. Imaging of subtle textural aspects of tissue is not possible due to low resolution in magnetic resonance (MR) images. bioProtonics has developed a method to measure tissue texture using MR data without the need for rendered images. In many diagnostic workflows, the bioProtonics technique could replace biopsies. Such applications include neurodegenerative disease, liver disease, osteoporosis, cancer, lung disease, prostate disease. (Update 2019 - 2021: $1,049,785 + $782K Seed Funding)

Vine Robot Technologies

University of California, Santa Barbara

Soft robotics shows promise for creating robots which are better able to navigate narrow and variable environments. The vine robot is able to extend its length many thousands of percent its body length with an internal pressurized vessel, which can be manipulated to change the direction of the robot tip. In testing, the vine robot is able to navigate through small passages and can even autonomously navigate towards light source with the addition of a camera.