Ten startups were selected as winners of Buffalo Business First’s second annual Inno Fire Awards. Their stories show the passion and diversity of the local startup scene. Learn more about Garwood Medical Devices below; see the other winners here.
Garwood Medical Devices
CEO: Wayne Bacon
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: 665 Northland Ave., Buffalo
What the company does: Developed technology to treat infections on metallic orthopedic implants
Garwood Medical Devices has had a lot going on over the last year.
The company, which has developed BioPrax technology to treat infections on metallic orthopedic implants, is currently in Plug and Play Japan’s Health Program, which is an accelerator that connects participants with Japanese companies who are interested in innovative technologies. The accelerator started in December and runs through this spring.
Garwood was founded in 2014 with technology licensed out of the University at Buffalo and Syracuse University.
The company started last year on two grant-funded projects with a University at Buffalo professor, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, according to CEO Wayne Bacon.
The business was also selected in November 2022 for Johnson & Johnson Innovations’ Innovations for Vets QuickFire Challenge: Lung Cancer & Physical Trauma. As an awardee, Garwood received a $100,000 grant and will get mentorship from Johnson & Johnson company experts.
The startup, which employs about 15, raised nearly $797,000 last year, bringing its total raised to about $15 million.
“We’ve done a tremendous amount of research and development to bring BioPrax through the steps with in vitro and in vivo studies, on our way to human trials,” Bacon said.
