PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#Arizona--Seven Arizona bioscience startup firms were competitively selected to
participate in the 2017 Flinn Foundation Bioscience Entrepreneurship
Program, which was established to foster entrepreneurship and help
early-stage bioscience companies develop into successful and sustainable
businesses in Arizona.
People are also reading…
The firms—based in Flagstaff, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe and Tucson—will
receive $30,000 each in funding support and program services
administered through a nonprofit partner.
Since 2014, the Flinn Foundation has allocated $645,000 in grants to
Arizona nonprofits to provide funding and services to 22 early-stage
bioscience firms.
“Launching a new company always presents risks and challenges, but the
hurdles are especially great in the life sciences, where regulation and
competition are so complex,” said Jack B. Jewett, President and CEO of
the Flinn Foundation. “These seven firms, which epitomize the ingenuity
of Arizona’s startup community, will receive services and funding at a
vital moment in their development.”
The 2017 winning companies are:
Biosensing Instrument (http://biosensingusa.com/):
Biosensing Instrument is a Tempe-based company that designs
high-sensitivity instruments to analyze molecular interactions based on
Surface Plasmon Resonance, a technique used across the life sciences and
nanotechnology applications.
BMSEED (http://bmseed.com/):
BMSEED, or BioMedical Sustainable Elastic Electronic Devices, is a
Phoenix-based company that develops commercial products based on
stretchable gold films. The company focuses on products for biomedical
applications that require soft and stretchable electronic interfaces
with cells, tissue or skin.
Iron Horse Diagnostics (http://ironhorsedx.com/):
Iron Horse Diagnostics, a Scottsdale-based company, is developing the
first diagnostic test to rapidly determine if a patient has amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The firm is also developing
markers of disease progression to be used during clinical trials and a
test to detect and monitor brain injury and concussion.
Phoenix Interface Technologies (http://phxinterface.com/):
Phoenix Interface Technologies of Tempe has developed a solar-powered
device that serves as a platform to attract and eliminate destructive
disease-causing and crop-damaging insects. The device uses five sensory
outputs to attract specific insects while sparing beneficial ones.
Poba Medical (https://www.facebook.com/pobamedical/):
Poba Medical is a Flagstaff-based medical device company that provides
engineering expertise in balloon design and development, device
assembly, pilot manufacturing, and the production of catheter devices
and intricate balloon assemblies.
Reglagene: Reglagene, a Tucson-based startup, uses a unique
technology known as DNA quadruplex science to regulate genes as part of
the drug-discovery process.
SMART Brain Aging (http://www.smartbrainaging.com/):
SMART Brain Aging is a Phoenix-based health care technology company
delivering research-supported programs, in person and virtually, that
reduce cognitive decline in aging brains.
To qualify for the program, the selected firms must be engaged in the
commercialization of bioscience research and biotechnology and/or the
sale of products in the areas of medical devices and equipment; drugs,
pharmaceuticals and diagnostics; agricultural feedstock and chemicals;
research, testing and medical labs; or bioscience-related
distribution—the industry categories recognized together as the
biosciences in Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap.
A review committee appointed by the Flinn Foundation reviews all written
applications, interviews the finalists, and makes its recommendations to
the foundation.
In addition to receiving funding and services through a nonprofit
partner, company leaders participate for one year as members of
Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee, a group of the state’s
science, health care, business, academia and policy leaders responsible
for overseeing Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap.
The application for the 2018 Flinn Foundation Bioscience
Entrepreneurship Program will be available later this year. To learn
more about the program and past winners, visit www.flinn.org/entrepreneur.
The Flinn Foundation is a privately endowed, philanthropic grantmaking
organization established in 1965 by Dr. Robert S. and Irene P. Flinn to
improve the quality of life in Arizona to benefit future generations. In
addition to advancing the biosciences, the foundation supports the Flinn
Scholarship, a merit-based college scholarship program, arts and
culture, and the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership.
Contacts
Flinn Foundation
Brian Powell, 602-744-6806
Matt
Ellsworth, 602-744-6813