Two Cuyahoga County companies have won nearly $400,000 in Ohio Third Frontier grants to help commercialize medical technologies licensed from institutions such as colleges and universities.
The Ohio Third Frontier Commission on Tuesday approved nearly $1.8 million in grants from its Technology Validation and Start-up Fund for nine organizations to speed their commercialization of medical, scientific and military technologies, the Ohio Department of Development said Tuesday.
The grants cover activities such as market research and product prototyping and are aimed at enabling companies to raise money and get their licensed technologies to the marketplace faster.
"The technologies we're funding today have the opportunity to change lives and exemplify why Ohio is the Heart of Innovation," Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development and chair of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission, said in a Tuesday statement.
In Cuyahoga County, AxoNeural Therapeutics Inc. in Cleveland was awarded a $198,000 grant to commercialize a therapeutic that creates a protective and regenerative environment in the body to stabilize and heal lesions on a patient's spinal cord. Cleveland Clinic is the licensing institute and spun off AxoNeural in 2020, according to the company's website.
And Zafer Therapeutics Inc. in Pepper Pike was awarded $200,000 to commercialize a cell-based therapy that boosts the body's natural anti-inflammatory mechanisms while preserving its protective function. This therapy focuses on preventing end-stage organ failure in patients who have severe autoimmune conditions, such as multiple sclerosis. Case Western Reserve University is the licensing institute.
The Ohio Third Frontier seeks to develop technology and tech-enabled products in advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, biomedical, life sciences, energy, sensors, software and information technology.
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