The latest recipients of state grant funding for innovation commercialization include a Madison company developing a new potential treatment for Covid-19 and a Middleton health tech firm building software that would benefit cancer patients.
Those startups are among seven small businesses in Wisconsin — including two with headquarters in the Milwaukee area — that will receive a total of up to $600,000 from the state's SBIR Advance program, according to a Monday announcement.
The program provides matching grants to companies that receive funding through the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Recipients also receive business consulting support including Lean Startup training and business plan reviews.
The following Phase 1 recipients will each receive a match from the state of up to $75,000:
- Cellular Logistics Inc.: This Madison company is commercializing a biomaterial designed to enable cardiovascular cell therapies to treat patients with heart failure. It received a $320,678 SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health in February 2021.
- Nano RED LLC: Based in Madison, this company is developing nanotechnology that it says can prevent and treat the Covid-19 virus and other emerging pandemic viruses. It received a $246,731 SBIR grant from the National Science Foundation in March 2021.
- ReNeuroGen LLC: This virtual pharmaceutical company based in Elm Grove is developing a systems pharmacology drug candidate that could potentially treat sickle cell disease, multiple sclerosis and brain injuries. It received two Phase 1 SBIR grants from the National Institutes of Health in 2018 totaling $560,280.
- Steam Instruments Inc.: This early-stage Madison startup is developing technologies to improve the mass range, quantum efficiency and spatial resolution of mass spectrometry. It has received two Phase 1 SBIR grants totaling $420,745 from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Energy.
The following Phase 2 recipients will each receive a match from the state of up to $100,000:
- Stem Pharm Inc.: Based in Madison, Stem Pharm creates synthetic biomaterials for disease modeling and drug discovery. It has received four Phase 1 SBIR grants from the National Institutes of Health totaling more than $1 million and a Phase 2 grant of $868,100 in August 2020.
- Voximetry Inc.: This Middleton health tech company makes software benefiting cancer patients treated with radiopharmaceutical therapy, an alternative to chemotherapy. It received a $291,615 Phase 1 SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health and an $883,986 Phase 2 grant in September 2020.
- XLock BioSciences LLC: Based in Muskego, this firm develops engineered proteins that have therapeutic utility, including for the potential treatment of psoriasis. It received an $856,782 Phase 2 SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health in September 2020.
The SBIR Advance program is administered by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and the Wisconsin Center for Technology Commercialization.
