Discover a new adventure

CardiacTEEM

Brown University

Cardiotoxicity of pharmaceutical drugs, industrial chemicals, and environmental toxicants can be severe, even life threatening, which necessitates a thorough evaluation of human response to chemical compounds. Predicting risks for arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death accurately is critical for defining safety profiles. Currently available approaches have limitations including a focus on single select ion channels, the use of non-human species in vitro and in vivo, and limited direct physiological translation. CardiacTEEM has developed in vitro 3D models of atrial and ventricular tissues from human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes that can be used to evaluate chamber-specific responses without the need for animals. This self-assembled 3D microtissue technology provides a straightforward way to analyze physiologically relevant metrics like action potential patterns. CardiacTEEM is exploring applications in pharmaceutical development as well as environmental chemical toxicity testing.

Reach Neuro

University of Pittsburgh

Stroke is an incredibly pervasive problem that directly affects one quarter of the world’s population. Unfortunately, many of these people are told they will never regain functional use of their arm or hand. With Reach, they will. One of our patients was able to cut food with a fork and knife and feed herself for the first time in 9 years since having her stroke. In contrast to existing assistive tools such as functional electrical stimulation, Reach’s device allows the user full control over complex and naturalistic movements. Advantages of the technology: • Assists movements in all upper limb joints • Restores naturalistic and voluntary movements • Immediate improvements • Assists users in performing tasks of daily living • Eligible for chronic stroke patients even years after their stroke • Uses standard implant device and surgical procedure • Does not require donning and doffing bulky equipment

CynAxis

Yale University

A vast majority of drugs and biologics fail to enter the brain for treatment of brain cancers and neurological diseases. Our discovery yielded key insights into how the immune system naturally overcomes the blood brain barrier to fight infections. We leverage this insight to enable safe and transient drug access to the CNS using a simple intranasal peptide delivery approach.

Cycladex

Northwestern University

(Update: Sept. 2021 - Cycladex has completed construction of a production facility in the US that will use the company's novel gold recovery technology. The company uses a novel, patented chemical process to recover precious metals by cutting leach time from 30 hours to 6 hours on average. The development of the technology was supported by the National Science Foundation SBIR program and from investors in the UK.) Gold mining has been a historically low innovation industry. The industry standard is to use a cyanide process to isolate gold, which is expensive and potentially dangerous. Cycladex has created a method to isolate gold in an inexpensive, environmentally-friendly way.

AnelleO

University of North Carolina

(Update: $862,923K SBIR Phase 2 - 2021) AnelleO is harnessing the advancements in the speed and scale of 3D printing technology for novel solutions in Women’s Health. AnelleO’s Intravaginal Rings (IVRs) offer a unique platform for sustained delivery of therapeutics – a non-invasive, self-administered and retrievable platform that can deliver drugs over a period of weeks or months. AnelleO is a medical device company that is developing a 3D printed intravaginal ring that can be used as a platform for treating a wide range of women's health conditions. Their first product, AnelleO PRO involves the only single administration of progesterone for infertility. Their technology enables controlled drug-release kinetics with up to 100% drug release, as well as rapid manufacturing and custom sizing. The manufacturing method allows for formulation of biologics and drug combinations not possible with traditional technologies.

Pearl Bio

Yale University

Investor: khosla ventures. Pearl Bio is an early-stage venture pioneering design and production of next-generation therapeutics and biomaterials for medical applications and beyond. Biology is constrained to the 20 natural amino acids, limiting the ability to site-specifically modify therapeutic proteins to improve half-life, tissue targeting, or assembly. In contrast, chemical synthesis of therapeutics enables access to greater functional diversity, but template-directed synthesis is challenging. Pearl Bio unites the precision of biology with the unlimited diversity of chemistry in a transformative platform that produces therapeutics and biomaterials with tunable properties for applications in oncology, immunology, and rare disease.

DeckTherapeutics

Columbia University

THDG3 represents a novel, patent protected omega-3 diglyceride emulsion developed by Dr. Deckelbaum’s laboratory at Columbia University. Acute injection of THDG3 emulsion following stroke leads to a marked reduction in brain tissue death (up to 90%, demonstrated in 6 rodent models), with associated preservation and recovery of both short and long term neurofunctional outcomes. Due to the high risk profile and short window of administration, less than 8% of stroke patients receive treatment with t-PA, the current standard of treatment for stroke. DeckTherapeutics is currently developing THDG3 emulsion as a drug candidate for standard emergency treatment for stroke, a global unmet need, with phase 2a trials planned in 2021.

UV-C N95 Sterilization

University of Chicago

Currently there are several solutions under consideration for disinfecting N95 respirators for re-use, with UV-C as the preferred solution because of ease of deployment and widespread applicability. Problematically, present UV-C disinfection solutions are limited by shadowing, which prevents exposure of the masks to the required effective dose of UV irradiation. The inventors utilized UV-C light field modeling and extensive test measurements to develop a proprietary arrangement of lamps for disinfecting. The configuration eliminates shadowing, allowing for full irradiation and disinfecting of the contaminated N95 respirator surface in the shortest amount of time.

Araqev

Purdue University

Araqev uses machine learning to create software solutions for closed-loop, smart control in additive manufacturing. Araqev’s patented machine learning algorithms enable users to design and print new shapes and processes with greater accuracy, resulting in less wasted scrap and machining time.

Aromha

Harvard University

Smell loss is an early indicator of infectious and neurodegenerative disorders. In COVID-19, for example, objective smell loss may occur in >90% of patients. Though molecular (PCR) tests are effective in diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 infection, with moderate sensitivity and high specificity, they typically are costly (>$50), with long turnaround times (up to 5-7 days) and have not been as effective in controlling asymptomatic spread. The Aromha Smell Test complements molecular tests with high sensitivity and negative predictive value and can be scaled quickly to provide an important new tool to prevent community spread of COVID, with an at-home, non-invasive, safe, and cost-effective screening test that provides instantaneous results. This platform technology, developed based on 20 years of olfactory research at Harvard, can also be utilized to provide an early signal and improve care in critical neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Disease, and Traumatic Brain Injury.

BioBina

Columbia University

Effective treatment of abdominal and thoracic cancers requires a more targeted and improved penetration of therapeutics in order to reduce off-target side effects and increase efficacy. BioBina has developed a treatment strategy which utilizes existing radiation therapy with an increased specificity and penetration of the therapeutic to the affected tissue. The technology has been developed for ovarian cancer and has the potential to be extended to a multitude of abdominal and thoracic cancers.

Veramorph

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Veramorph is a specialty pharma company with a differentiated platform oral dosage technology. We are growing a pipeline of unique orally reformulated generic drugs and new molecular entity co-development partnerships to generate revenue from a risk-averse blend of licensing agreements with commercialization partners. Doug, founder and CEO, invented the technology as an MIT postdoc and has 10 years experience in formulations. Acting VP of manufacturing, Colin Minchom, has over 30 years of drug product experience. Leadership is complemented by a team of consultants covering legal, regulatory, and pre-clinical topics and guided by an advisory board of several experienced entrepreneurs. $675K raised (11.2022). (Update - $225,000 NSF SBIR Phase 1.

Photon Therapeutics

Stanford University

Arterial disease is one of the most common causes of death and disability, afflicting more than 15 million Americans. Although therapeutic advances and surgical techniques have decreased mortality, many survivors eventually succumb to death due to ischemia, which is the death of tissue and cells due to the lack of oxygen. Photon Therapeutics uses photosynthetic therapy to reverse nutrient and oxygen imbalance in ischemic tissue, starting with ischemic wound care. Photon Tx consists of a very strong clinical and scientific advisory team with proof-of-concept data and is looking for a CEO/business advisor to develop a biological platform company.

Toragen Biotechnologies

University of California, San Diego

(Raising $5.4M in a Series Seed Round - "we will deploy the proceeds from the round for our Phase I clinical trial with our lead drug candidate." Sept.2022 ) Toragen Biotechnologies is focused on developing, repurposing and commercializing uniquely selective cancer drugs targeting cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV associated cancers include Head and Neck Cancer, Cervical Cancer, and multiple other Genitourinary and Gastrointestinal Cancers. We are developing drugs designed to inhibit HPV oncogenes, the root cause of malignant transformation in these cancers. It is our intent that these drugs will be more selective for malignant cells and better tolerated by patients than traditional cytotoxic and radiation cancer therapy. Our drugs interfere with the ability of the HPV virus to inhibit the immune system and will thus enhance the ability of the immune system to eradicate these cancers and potentially augment the activity of existing immunotherapies for cancer.

Protein Architects

University of California, Davis

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are a $300B market, about $20B in diagnostics and $30B in antiviral therapeutics. Yet antibodies require poorly scaling, expensive mammalian cells, vary with batch, are environmentally unstable, and are subject to escape by viral strain evolution. Protein Architects is developing beta solenoid proteins as “molecular Legos” for applications in self-assembly of nanoparticle based devices and materials. Our polyvalent, environmentally robust viral decoy proteins for antigen diagnostics and therapeutics can be scalably produced in microbial GMP facilities at 1/50 the cost per binder yet bind up to 1000000x stronger than antibodies. As receptor decoys, they align with viral evolution, and modular human design makes immunocompatible therapeutics. We are seeking seed financing and regulatory advising on our in development viral decoy antibody substitutes for SARS-CoV-2 antigen diagnostics and therapeutics. We are positioned to make a difference in this pandemic, and future viral threats.

MCW Gene Therapy

The Medical College of Wisconsin Office of Technology Development (MCW’s “Tech Transfer Office”)seeks an experienced biotechnology leader to start a new company, license gene therapy IP described below, raise the funding needed and to bring one or more products to Phase I clinical testing. The ideal candidate will have experience with the earliest stages of gene therapy (or other complex biologic) product development and testing. They would understand how to develop a plan, raise funding (whether SBIR, Angel, VC), work with investors, build an effective team and engage with CROs.

Pre-Fever Detection of Infection

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Techniques for detecting infection by monitoring physiological states before symptoms become apparent. A machine learning model is used to analyze patient data and help to identify whether a patient was exposed to an infectious chemical agent. This detection could lead to earlier patient care and increase the probability of a positive prognosis.

AquaDrive

Columbia University

The top 5 drugs sold are delivered by injection, 3 are biologics. Due to discoveries in fields like immuno-oncology, more of these high revenue drugs are biologics. Biologic drugs present a big promise, but they are met with a big problem: They are usually macromolecules, a fact that makes their formulations highly viscous and current injection devices require long injection times and larger gauge needles. The net result for patients is pain and discomfort and therefore reduced acceptance and compliance for treatments. AquaDrive (pka Inviscable) is developing a high performance actuator that could drive formulations 7x more viscous than any other technology currently available on the market, reducing the number of injections by half while minimizing device failure due to the robustness of the actuator at the core of the device.

Querium

The platform provides individual lessons that employ The StepWise Virtual Tutor that uses A.I. technology that simulates an expert teacher or tutor and is available 24/7.

synLubricin

Cornell University

Lubrication is critical in biology for tasks such as joint flexing and eye movement, but aging and disease can reduce natural lubrication. Current lubrication solutions either exhibit a short half-life (such as cortisone and hyaluronic acid) or poor long-term bio-compatibility (such as exogenous lubricants like glycerin-mineral oil), leaving a market opportunity to develop a durable, bio-compatible lubricant. synLubricin is a stable, and scalable, long-term bio-lubricant for joints, eyes, and medical devices. synLubricin has been developed in FDA-approved human cell culture systems and is able both to resist cellular adhesion and lubricate biological surfaces, such as cartilage. synLubricin is searching for a co-founder to help develop this venture opportunity.

NanoStem Biotech

Rutgers University

Dr. KiBum Lee of Rutgers University is developing a nanoscaffold material and system that would enable effective stem cell therapy and drug delivery. The innovation promises functional recovery in patients with central nervous system injuries--like spinal cord injuries--for which there are no effective treatments today. Features of the nanoscaffold include 3D biomimicry, stem cell/neuronal differentiation, ECM-protein binding affinity, efficient drug loading/sustained delivery, and MRI-based monitoring capability.

Free Dynamics

Washington University in St. Louis

Our silicon-based quantum sensor can continuously sense and record information without the need for batteries. By interrogating the stored information at a later time instant, the recipient can retroactively monitor the environmental conditions the sensor experienced. Advantages: Continuously logs data from environmental stimuli without external power or batteries / Provides cumulative, time-integrated information for later retrieval / Leverages mature silicon manufacturing to reduce cost / Reduces gap in coverage by augmenting existing periodic, battery-based solutions /

OT Bio

George Washington University

OT Bio aims to apply our patented intranasal oxytocin therapy to treat sleep apnea and protect patients from associated heart disease. The scientific leaders have complementary bench and clinical expertise that has enabled both understanding of oxytocin's mechanisms in the brain and human studies showing improved respiratory and cardiac functions.

PETcoil

Stanford University

PETcoil enables healthcare providers to offer PET/MRI scans with better imaging quality for a fraction of the cost compared to existing solutions. Commercial integrated PET/MRI scanners cost ~$6M + ~$2M for required room renovations, an unaffordable cost for many institutions. PETcoil's patented portable PET insert can be placed into any existing MRI scanner, enabling it to perform simultaneous PET/MRI at 1/8th of the cost compared to integrated systems. A proof-of-concept radiofrequency (RF)-penetrable PET insert has been developed and successfully tested, supported by grants from the NIH, Stanford Bio-X & Biodesign programs, and the Coulter Foundation.

Bone-Rad Therapeutics

University of California, Irvine

Bone-Rad Therapeutics, Inc. is a Delaware corporation whose objective is to develop and market Spine-Rad (TM) Brachytherapy Bone Cement as an innovative, improved, and cost-effective treatment paradigm for the management of cancer tumors in the spine which affect over 230,000 patients per year in the U.S. and a similar number in the E.U. Four patents covering this technology have been issued and exclusively licensed to Bone-Rad Therapeutics. An additional patent is pending. Developed at The University of California Irvine, Spine-Rad Cement delivers internally-targeted radiation therapy directly to the tumor as it simultaneously treats existing or impending vertebral fractures, restoring strength to the bone. Administered in a single procedure, Spine-Rad Cement will eliminate the 10-20 hospital visits typically needed for external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) as well as the significant side effects of EBRT.

Allyx Therapeutics

Yale University

Loss of brain synapses is highly correlated with symptom progression in Alzheimer’s dementia, but there is currently no treatment to slow or halt synapse loss. Allyx’s prion protein antagonists rescue synapses and memory function by interrupting the deleterious signaling triggered by amyloid without removing plaque itself and are effective at reversing deficits after they develop.

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.

Endovascular Retrieval Device

Yale University

Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters are implantable devices that prevent clots from embolizing from the legs to the lungs. Even though the FDA recommends retrieval of the filter when the risk of VTE or bleeding has resolved, IVC filter removal is technically challenging and sometimes impossible because of tilt and scarring. The team has developed and patented a device that can safely retrieve filters in any configuration.

LiMAX Biosciences

Harvard University

Update 10.22 - Limax has raised $2m in funding, which supported the launch of topical and internal hemostat programs. The company is seeking $6m in seed funding to support first human trials, followed by a $12m series A round to support clinical trials and commercial launch. Limax Biosciences has developed a biodegradable adhesive hydrogel for advanced bleeding with strong and rapid adhesion to wet tissue surfaces. According to Limax CEO Ben Freedman, 30% to 50% of surgeries today are associated with bleeding-related complications, costing the health system between $10,000 and $15,000 per case in hospitalization and prolonged hospital stays.Wounds outside and inside the body are common and can be devastating. Wound adhesives have not been able to compete with suturing due to lack of strength and flexibility. LiMAX has developed a gel adhesive using biomimicry which is able to outperform existing medical adhesives in strength and flexibility.

RIGImmune

Yale University

Activating the innate immune system within tumors is a promising new direction in immunotherapy because it can be used against a broad spectrum of tumor subtypes and it ensures that cells throughout the tumor microenvironment become sensitized, resulting in attack and destruction by T cells. RIG-I is a particularly sensitive trigger of innate immune response in tumors, so agonists of this receptor are promising immunotherapy agents. Through a unique class of RIG-I agonists called Stem-Loop RNAs (SLRs), the scientific team is evaluating the efficacy of SLRs as immunotherapy and antiviral agents.

HealthStream

Well known health care IT services/consulting company that provides numerous smart apps to assist in challenges encountered by medical providers. Employs sophisticated software to validate a medical provider's knowledge/skill, ensuring that consistent care is achieved. They are most well known for Jane, a machine learning program that measures clinicians ability and knowledge to create an education plan for work competency.

BiomeSense

University of Chicago

Integrating proprietary technologies, the GutLab, “smart bathroom” technology for continuous patient microbiome tracking & MetaBiome, a cloud-based bioinformatics platform. Novel tools to continuously track, analyze, and store individual microbiome profiles, providing vastly more data than, and at a fraction of the cost of, current practice. Creating the GutLab, a novel “smart bathroom” technology for continuous, at-home microbiome tracking & MetaBiome, a cloud-based bioinformatics platform. This platform is a generational leap over existing measurement tools: (1) much cheaper and more scalable, (2) produces & analyze dense time-series data, unlocking an entire dimension of never-before-accessible biomarkers, and (3) has far higher accuracy & precision, ensuring all data generated can be stored in a single, standardized database – a first for the microbiome field.

AddGraft Therapeutics

University of Chicago

There are over 900k cocaine addicts in the USA alone while worldwide cocaine usage rates have been growing at over 2% a year over the last decade. In the USA this results in over 15k deaths, 505k ER visits and $21B lost annually. Despite all of this, there is currently no FDA approved treatment for cocaine abuse disorder. AddGraft Therapeutics aims to be the first FDA approved treatment for cocaine abuse disorder utilizing our revolutionary gene delivery platform. Our treatment promises to be long lasting, minimally invasive and highly effective at treating the challenging aspects of addiction. AddGraft's technology is a novel skin-based gene delivery platform for treating cocaine abuse. Patients receive an autologous skin graft of genetically modified skin-stem cells which produces a dual molecule solution to effectively break down cocaine, preventing lethal overdose, and to behaviorally prevent frequent use, relapse, and developing of new addictive behaviors.

Rubitection

Carnegie Mellon University

Rubitection is developing a skin health and wellness system to improve assessment and care management of dermatological, plastic surgery, and vascular conditions with an initial application to early bedsores detection. Bedsores are an $11 billion healthcare problem at affects 2.3 million each year killing 60K. If detected early they can be prevented, but low cost early detection tools are not available. Our Rubitect Assessment System (RAS) empowers any caregiver in hospitals, nursing homes, and in home care to detect bedsore early and support care management. Rubitection’s issued patents, and exclusive worldwide license provide barriers to competitors. The RAS’ low risk FDA pathway allows a quick path to a $4.1 billion US bedsore market. Two recurring revenues supports long term sustainability. Within 5 - 6 years of product launch, Rubitection will generate $48 million in sales using a hybrid sales model. Rubitection will exit through acquisition to a wound care company like Hill-Rom, or 3M.

SermAb Biologics

University of Minnesota

Nearly 1.6 million Americans have Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), an autoimmune class of diabetes. Additionally, ~3.2 million Americans develop latent autoimmune diabetes of adults (LADA). For T1D or LADA patients, immunotherapy promises a path to reprogram the immune system such that it no longer attacks and destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. SermAb Biologics is developing a monoclonal antibody therapy against serpinB13. SermAb Biologics focuses on the discovery that tissue regeneration is stimulated by blocking serpinB13 and restoring the activity of its protease target. The second advantage is that our antibody to serpinB13 suppresses inflammation, increases beta-cell proliferation, and delays the onset of diabetes. Thus, by using a single reagent that regulates the balance between serpin inhibitor and protease, we can simultaneously suppress the inflammatory response while promoting regenerative changes in the pancreas and other tissues expressing serpinB13.

QuantHub

Founded in 2018, QuantHub provides an efficient yet rigorous vetting platform for hiring data professionals and a modern, in the flow of work, learning platform focused on both AI skills for analytics teams and data literacy skills for the entire enterprise. QuantHub is a SaaS subscription-based platform written for data scientists by data scientists, providing skill tests, data challenges, and skill development plans completely tailored to the unique characteristics of the advanced analytics space.

WiLO Networks

Columbia University

WiLO Networks bridges the gap between passive RFIDs and high power Long Range (LoRa)/Sigfox to enable precision agriculture, military surveillance, fire mitigation, smart highways, and other IoT applications. Currently, WiLO Networks focus is to provide solutions for precision agriculture. WiLO Networks is building a novel physical layer communication technology based on low-power integrated circuits (ICs), which can be embedded in sensor nodes and gateways at very low cost. This physical layer technology combined with novel network architecture and protocols, as well as intelligent machine learning techniques promises a 10 year lifetime for sensor nodes powered on millimeter-scale batteries. These ultra-low power sensor networks are the key to precision agriculture, monitoring the health of buildings/bridges, and military surveillance. WiLO's solutions can reduce waste to promote sustainability and carbon neutrality.

Clarasim Systems

Stanford University

ClaraSim Systems, Inc. has developed a computer simulated environment in which surgeons can perform surgery on virtual bone using virtual instruments. By combining patient-specific data with a powerful simulation engine, we are able to create 3-D patient models that can be explored and modified in real-time with virtual surgical tools providing both haptic and visual feedback. Our system enhances the surgeon's ability to perform skilled surgery by enabling them to rehearse drilling through accurate representations of the patient's bony and fragile structures. The anatomical insight gained from interacting with the simulation provides guidance during actual surgery leading to better outcomes. While the system enables preoperative rehearsal, it is also used as a teaching tool, giving trainees the opportunity to experience many different cases in a safe and efficient setting. The technological and clinical capabilities of the product stem from over 30 person-years of research conducted by the company founders.

Seven Biosciences

University of California, Davis

Seven Biosciences is a GPCR targeted drug discovery company which engineers and uses cutting-edge technology. Seven’s proprietary technology are fluorescent sensors based on any GPCR, which enables the functional visualization of the conformational change of the receptor in response to the binding of a given compound in real-time. The technology can be used for high throughput screening of compound libraries against GPCR targets, including orphan GPCRs, as well as for profiling the physiologically relevant effects of candidate molecules. Additionally, Seven’s GPCR sensors can be expressed in vivo –enabling the monitoring of compound effects at the site of action in awake behaving animals and in disease models undergoing treatment with unmatched spatial and real-time temporal resolution. ($500K SBIR - NIH & NSF)

CDR3 Therapeutics, Inc.

University of California, Los Angeles

Chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy (CAR-T) has achieved significant success in treating hematological cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, but little success in treating solid tumors due to reduced function and limited persistence from expansion of these cells outside the patient’s body prior to reinfusion. Another factor is that current CAR-T therapy targets the same proteins on cancer cells that are expressed on normal cells, further reducing the efficacy of treatment as well as increasing the risk of cytokine release syndrome (CRS), a severe inflammatory and sometimes fatal complication associated with current FDA-cleared T cell immunotherapies. CDR3 Therapeutics (CDR3) has developed a stem cell-based therapy that overcomes the reduced functionality and persistence limitations of current therapies. Additionally, CDR3 therapies target viral proteins, avoiding the issues associated with targeting cellular proteins. Engrafting CDR3’s therapeutic cells in the patient’s bone marrow provides continuous. .

IMAD Therapeutics

Columbia University

Immuno-Modulators of Alzheimer’s Disease (I.M.A.D.) was founded by Dr. Elizabeth Bradshaw and Dr. Wassim Elyaman from Columbia University’s Department of Neurology. The team is pioneering genetically-driven strategies to treat Alzheimer’s disease by directly targeting susceptibility genes in the CNS innate immune cells, called microglia. Their lead program is a preclinical non-antibody biologic which has been shown to target the CD33 genetic susceptibility signaling pathway in human microglia and clear β-amyloid from the brain of treated mice.

Neufi

Brown University

The field of brain-machine interfaces has advanced significantly over the past two decades, particularly in its successful transition into human clinical trials. However, this progress has largely relied on wired, invasive sensors for the acquisition of neural data. Neufi has leveraged cutting-edge integrated circuit technology and nanofabrication methods to develop a battery-less, ultra-low-power, compact volume “thread” that can be injected under the scalp for chronic tracking of brain rhythms and patterned electrical stimulation. The technology has high spatial and temporal resolution and has potential applications in many areas of neurology and psychiatry.

Innerworld

Vanderbilt University

A virtual therapy world that is designed to respond to the patient and increase their engagement. What it says here in the approach description is exactly the same as what it says in the description. Innerworld has created a virtual therapy world that is designed to respond to the patient and increase their engagement. The platform allows users to explore and work through their challenges, emotions, and behaviors while learning cognitive behavioral therapy based life changing tools.

Gene Activation Product Engine

Yale University

Over 95% of rare disease have no treatment or cure: there are over 7,000 known rare diseases collectively affectiting 30 million Americans. Many of these disease are genetic disorders, in which there can be considerable genetic variation between patients. Current drug development pipeline does not cater to rare mutations, as drug development often takes more than 10 years and over $2B to get a drug to market, making the small patient populations inhibiting. Even if a therapy is developed, genetic variation of the disease means not all patients in the already-small patient population may be able to be treated, limiting their impact and incentive to develop these therapies.

Surgical ai

Harvard University

Operating rooms are often not efficient and are costly to hospitals. Solutions to increasing efficiency neglect to monitor errors in real time which can be stopped and improve efficiency from the time of the incident. This technology pairs artificial intelligence with real time monitoring of operating room procedures to increase efficiency of hospital operating rooms.

ColdQuanta

When atoms are cooled to a few millionths of a degree above absolute zero, they take on quantum properties. Lasers are used to arrange the atoms, hold them in place, run computations on them, and read out the results. Quantum calculations, communications, and sensing are the result. This quantum technology can be used to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems.

RiboRupt Biotech

Yale University

We have applied a unique, robust, and comprehensive image-based assay developed in our laboratory to discover small molecule inhibitors of nucleolar function. Results from pilot screens on FDA-approved drugs reveal 83 unique hits that include known and putative antineoplastic agents.

Velox Biosystems

University of California, Irvine

Velox Biosystems plans to develop and launch a rapid diagnostic product for urinary tract infections (UTI), a problem that affects nearly 50 percent of the population at least once in their lifetime. This decision follows the startup’s completion of a recent clinical feasibility test that yielded impactful clinical data for the company to move forward with the next steps in development. Velox Biosystems has created an ultra sensitive rapid detection system that provides for no or minimal sample processing, high throughput scanning of large sample volumes, with single target sensitivity and unprecedented speeds. Utilizing a digital droplet molecular detection platform, we are developing a point of care diagnostic device to address critical unmet needs in the UTI, liquid biopsy, and sepsis spaces. Total available market of over $1 Billion.

Lkit Therapeutics

Yale University

A Novel Chemical Approach to Target p53 Mutation in Human Cancer. There is currently no treatment that specifically targets p53 mutation, the most common genetic abnormality associated with cancer. Loss of p53 tumor suppressor function provides cells with a proliferative advantage but renders them susceptible to metabolic stress. We have developed potent and selective inhibitors for PIP4K2A and PIP4K2B that regulate cell metabolism and are essential for the growth of p53-deficient tumor.

Tandem Repeat

Tandem Repeat Technologies, Inc. (TR Tech) is the market leader in Sustainable Textiles Manufacturing. TR Tech has created the world’s first programable textile which is 100% sustainable, self-healing, and fully biodegradable. Established in 2018, TR Tech has developed revolutionary technology that combines materials science and biomanufacturing to produce performance composites with tunable properties. The technology is covered under five (5) issued US patents and additional five (5) pending with Squitex. The physical characteristics of Squitex will allow it to be adopted into many products and technologies. It is a platform performance material that is renewable, green, strong, flexible, self-healing, energy efficient and friendly to most of today’s manufacturing processes. The use will only be limited by the creativity of application and the ability to produce the quantity of material to meet market demand.