Congratulations to David Weiss, PhD, co-PI of the Heteroresistance AST team, currently participating in the Biolocity Launch program. David Weiss, is the director of Emory’s Antibiotic Resistance Center and his team received a five-year $11 million grant from NIAID to continue their work in studying heteroresistance to treat bacterial infections.
Commercialization
Sanguina Announces Collaboration with AstraZeneca
Congratulations to Biolocity graduate company, Sanquina, on their newly announced collaboration with AstraZeneca on a study to develop a custom version of AnemoCheck Mobile, a smartphone application that provides noninvasive and equipment-free hemoglobin levels for patients with anemia of chronic kidney disease. Learn more about the collaboration here.
The AnemoCheck/Sanguina Team, Dr. Wilbur Lam and Erika Tyburski, received support from the Biolocity program (then the Coulter Translational Program) in 2016. We are excited for their continued success and this new collaboration with AstraZeneca!
“Biolocity enabled us to receive an FDA 510(k) clearance on our first generation product. We couldn’t have done it without the support of Biolocity.”
– Erika Tyburski, AnemoCheck
Guide Therapeutics Acquisition
The Biolocity team is pleased to share that graduate company, Guide Therapeutics, a developer of nonviral drug delivery vehicles for genetic medicines, was acquired by Beam Therapeutics in February of 2021. Details on their merger are available here.
Guide Therapeutics Principle Investigator, Dr. James Dahlman, participated in the Biolocity Launch program in 2019 receiving project management and business mentorship to assist in completing commercialization milestones for his GuideTX technology. We are thrilled about his recent success and company acquisition!
“As a scientist without formal business training, I had no idea how to speak with Venture Capitalists or create an appropriate pitch deck. The Biolocity team helped me learn these valuable skills.”
– James Dahlman, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory School of Medicine
Innovations Selected for Biolocity Launch
Focused Cryo: David Prologo, MD, FSIR, Emory University and Yogi Patel
Five research innovations from Emory University and Georgia Tech selected for Biolocity Launch.
The Biolocity team is excited to announce the faculty-lead innovations selected to participate in the newest cohort of Biolocity Launch! In addition to receiving funding to support commercialization milestones, awardees join a year-long collaboration with consultants and business advisors for project management and longitudinal coaching to accelerate the development of their patient-impacting technologies.
Each year, Biolocity opens an intensive, multi-stage application process that provides applicants with the opportunity to receive pitch coaching, market assessments, and competitive analysis needed for commercial success. Faculty work with entrepreneur advisors to de-risk their technology at each application stage before final acceptance into the program by an oversight committee comprised of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, clinicians, biomedical engineers, and university technology transfer experts.
Below are the select projects included in this year’s cohort:
- Dynamic Sampling Platform: This platform technology aims to provide simple, accurate, and low-cost quality monitoring for cell therapy bioreactors. Principal Investigators: Andrei Fedorov, PhD, Georgia Tech, Edwin Horwitz, MD, Emory University, and Mason Chilmonczyk, PhD, Georgia Tech.
- Focused Cryo: A cryoablation system designed to aid in targeting peripheral nerves in a highly precise manner. The platform has applications in metabolic syndromes, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and chronic pain. Principal Investigators: David Prologo, MD, FSIR, Emory University.
- NanoCliq: A vaccine technology that leverages protein nanoparticle platform to prevent the onset of Leishmaniasis, a fatal disease that currently has no vaccine available. Principal Investigator: M.G. Finn, PhD, Georgia Tech.
- New Therapeutic for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): The development of an LRH-1 agonist drug which increases innate steroid production specifically at the site of inflammation in the gut. Principal Investigators: Nathan Jui, PhD, Emory University, Eric Ortlund, PhD, Emory University, and John Calvert, PhD, Emory University.
- Twice Therapeutics: A two-step method that can deliver long-lasting gene therapies to diseased tissues without re-engineering viruses. Principal Investigators: James Dahlman, PhD, Georgia Tech and Eric Sorscher, MD, Emory University
“We are fortunate in this current climate to continue to be able to provide funding that will assist the commercialization of these promising technologies,” says Manuel Kingsley, interim director of the Biolocity Program. “While research may look different this year, the passion these innovators have for improving healthcare delivery is unwavering as is our team’s commitment to their advancement. We look forward to working with each awardee to support their technology development.”
Funding and commercialization support provided by Biolocity is used to bridge the gap in development between early-stage university research and its path to the market. If you are interested in commercialization guidance for a device, therapeutic, or platform technology with the ability to positively impact human health, schedule a meeting here.
To learn more about Biolocity’s funding and partnership opportunities, visit www.Biolocity.org.
Additional Ventures Partnership For Single Ventricle Heart Defect Research
The Biolocity Team is excited to partner with Additional Ventures to assist in identifying promising research at both Georgia Tech and Emory University that provides solutions for single ventricle heart defects. To learn about this partnership, read more here.