Three bioscience startups participating in the University of Arizona Center for Innovation, along with one of the center’s former companies, will be part of the exclusive Flinn Foundation Bioscience Entrepreneurship Program.
Here is a quick snapshot of the four companies, all based in the Tucson area:
• BioBolt Medical Corp.: This company has developed surgical-stapler technology to allow surgeons to perform procedures with greater speed, efficiency, and precision. The patented deployment system is designed to work for all mesh types, enabling surgeons to utilize biologic meshes more often and improve patient outcomes.
• Macula Vision Systems: This startup is working on technology to fully automate clinical laboratory analysis and AI-based interpretation.
• Metfora: This company is developing a blood test to differentially diagnose four lung diseases from a single blood draw. The diseases include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, and asthma. The startup was spun out through Tech Launch Arizona, UArizona’s commercialization arm.
• Precision Epigenomics Inc.: This molecular diagnostic company that features liquid biopsy tests based on research developed at the University of Arizona, has developed a multi-cancer detection test called Episeek. This approach directly identifies cancer-specific methylation regions within the human genome.
"We are honored to be recognized by the Flinn Foundation for our innovative approach to earlier cancer detection and to have the opportunity to work with the AZ Bioscience Roadmap team. The currently recommended conventional screening methods for cancer underperform and they do not detect most cancer types that are killing people," said Mark Nelson, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Precision Epigenomics, in a statement. "Our goal is to change the way cancers are detected."
The Flinn Foundation program provides access to resources that can help accelerate the startups’ growth, including $30,000 in funding support for up to six startups. Each company will follow a professionally developed plan specific to their needs that over the course of a year will connect them with bioscience, academic and policy leaders.
Winning companies are also given yearlong memberships to Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee and the Arizona Bioindustry Association.
Since its inception, the program has benefited 66 Arizona early-stage bioscience firms and offered nearly $2 million since 2014.
The UArizona Center for Innovation, or UACI, is the university’s startup incubator network, helping ventures in southern Arizona with networking, office space, labs and a 28-point roadmap.
Besides the latest cohort, nine previous UACI startups have participated in the Flinn Foundation program.
