Organization awards funding and announces record-breaking investments during fiscal year 2013
COLUMBIA, Md. (July 22, 2013) – The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) announced today that 14 companies have received a total of $1,109,990 in funding from the organization’s Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF), formally the Maryland Technology Transfer and Commercialization Fund, since Sept. 2012. The funding will be used to advance the companys’ technology and product commercialization efforts. Funds were awarded to startups representing a wide-range of industries including medicine and disease treatment, healthcare, biopharmaceuticals, software development and systems integration. Common Curriculum LLC, Diagnostic Biochips, Inc. and Firejack, Inc. were each awarded $100,000. Authentik Solutions LLC; Brain Sentry LLC; Clear Guide Medical LLC; ConverGene LLC; Cordex Systems LLC; Pregmama LLC; SameGrain, Inc; TimberRock Energy Solutions, Inc. and Vasoptic Medical, Inc. each received $75,000. Magpie Sensing LLC was awarded $74,990 and Weinberg Medical Physics LLC received $60,000 through TEDCO’s TCF program.
Fiscal year 2013 was a record year for TCF, and for TEDCO. The organization received nearly 600 applications for almost $30 million in proof of concept and seed funding, as well as 171 applications for more than $50 million in Maryland stem cell research funding. As an organization, TEDCO interacted with more than 1,200 entrepreneurs and supporters at events, continues to grow its Entrepreneur Resource List and launched an interactive funds selector to better assist start-ups in determining which TEDCO programs may be available to them.
“In the past year, TEDCO has made strides toward becoming more sustainable by adding new sources of income, and has awarded more than $19 million through our various funding programs,” said Rob Rosenbaum, president and executive director of TEDCO. “We strive every day to assist companies in bringing their ideas and products to market and the Technology Commercialization Fund is one of the best examples of how TEDCO accomplishes that mission.”
TCF provides funding to companies that want to develop technology-based products or services in collaboration with the universities and/or federal labs in the State. To be eligible for an award, companies must be collaborating with a federal lab or university, be located in an affiliate incubator company in the State, be involved in either the ACTiVATE® or INNoVATE programs, or participate in TEDCO’s Rural Business Initiative (RBI²). In addition, companies must have fewer than 16 employees, be a university spin-off less than five-years-old or have venture investments under $500,000. All companies must have more than 50 percent of their employees present in the State.
Since the program’s inception, 176 companies have received TCF funding and completed their projects. With an investment of more than $12 million these companies have gone on to receive more than $532 million in downstream funding from angel and venture investors, federal awards and other resources. Companies that have been awarded TCF funding since Sept. 2012 include:
Authentik Solutions LLC, located in Annapolis, was founded to bring to market innovative Biometric Systems that adapt to multiple locations and work sites.
Brain Sentry LLC, located in Bethesda, created a helmet-mounted sensor that detects impacts that could cause a concussion, helping to prevent injury or death.
Clear Guide Medical LLC, located in Baltimore, developed an ultrasound-guided needle intervention guide that can be used in various medical settings from needle biopsy to emergency medicine.
Common Curriculum LLC, located in Baltimore, is an instructional planning collaboration software system that allows teachers to build strong professional learning communities.
ConverGene LLC, located in Gaithersburg, is an early-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering novel cancer drugs that target root regulatory mechanisms within cancer cells.
Cordex Systems LLC, located in Annapolis, has designed, manufactured and clinically tested a new cardiovascular diagnostic device, known as the Cordex EnDys System™.
Diagnostic Biochips, Inc., located in Columbia, is developing a proprietary implantable biosensor technology that allows continuous monitoring of medically important biochemicals.
Firejack, Inc., located in Columbia, is building a new kind of software platform that’s focused on unifying the cloud, web, api and mobile enterprise.
Magpie Sensing LLC, located in Baltimore, is a healthcare analytics company that provides a suite of patent-pending monitoring technologies to improve pharmaceutical cold storage.
Pregmama LLC, located in Gaithersburg, is a female fertility company dedicated to significantly improving the ability of women in their late thirties to conceive healthy, full-term pregnancies.
SameGrain, Inc., located in Baltimore, is a social discovery platform that helps people privately locate, connect to and grow new friendships with people with similar backgrounds, interests and experiences.
TimberRock Energy Solutions, Inc., located in Frederick, is a veteran-owned company unique in its ability to develop and deploy both proprietary hardware and software technologies.
Vasoptic Medical, Inc., located in Columbia, is an early-stage company with a mission to advance healthcare through innovation in medical diagnostics.
Weinberg Medical Physics LLC, located in Bethesda, has built imaging systems used by more than 500,000 people worldwide to detect breast cancer and guide cancer surgery.