Building Companies, Changing Lives


 

Issue 54– May 2017

Alachua-based Company Receives Institute Funding 

 
The Institute has finalized a first-round funding agreement with Amend Surgical, a medical device company with technology developed at the University of Florida. Amend Surgical is focused on enhancing the healing and regenerative capacity of bone grafts, including allograft, xenograft tissues and synthetic materials. The company’s pipeline includes novel, osteoinductive bone extracts, and will expand in the future to include disruptive products based on discovery and development of novel therapeutic additives with tissue-specific regenerative characteristics. 



MYOLYN Receives FDA Clearance of its MyoCycle Device

 
MYOLYN, a medical technology company dedicated to improving health and human performance, announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for two of its cutting-edge technologies, the MyoCycle Home and the MyoCycle Pro. Both devices are stationary cycling systems that use MYOLYN’s patent-pending functional electrical stimulation (FES) technology to empower anyone who has difficulty activating their own muscles. Such systems are also known as FES bikes. Clearance from the FDA marks a major milestone, allowing the company to enter both the professional rehabilitation and the homecare medical device markets. MYOLYN received initial funding from the Institute in 2015.



Vigiliant Biosciences Commences FDA Studies


Vigilant Biosciences, Inc., a leading innovator and developer of solutions that aid in the early detection and intervention of oral/oropharyngeal cancer, announced the launch and first patient enrollment for clinical studies of its OncAlert® point-of-care qualitative assay in support of its registration submission to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The study is designed to validate performance and evaluate implementation of the OncAlert RAPID point-of-care qualitative assay into the standard of care paradigm for patients presenting with increased clinical risk for oral/oropharyngeal cancer, and will enroll up to 1,000 patients with sites located in the United States as well as internationally.



Biscayne NeuroTherapeutics Receives Orphan Drug Designation 


Biscayne Neurotherapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage company developing novel treatments for neurological disorders, announced that lead compound BIS-001 has received an Orphan Drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of Dravet syndrome, a severe form of childhood epilepsy that has no approved therapies. Additionally the company has been cleared to begin a Phase 1b trial of BIS-001 at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia, with enrollment expected to commence in the coming weeks. BIS-001 is in clinical development as a novel treatment for adults with refractory complex partial seizures.


 
Two Institute Companies Receive Awards at the
 Florida Venture Forum Early Stage Capital Conference

 
The Florida Venture Forum and Space Florida announced the winners of the 10th Annual 2017 Florida Early Stage Capital Conference and Space Florida’s Accelerating Innovation prize at the Omni ChampionsGate in Orlando. Two Institute-funded companies took home second and third prizes respectively: Auxadayne, based in Keystone Heights, and Admiral, based in Gainesville. Twenty-two companies were selected to present from a statewide pool of more than 130 applicants, and cash prizes, provided by Space Florida, were awarded to the top three companies.



KynderMed Winner of Innovation Park's 2017 TechGrant Program 
 
The Leon County Research and Development Authority (LCRDA), the entity that governs Innovation Park of Tallahassee, named KynderMed one of the 2017 winners of the Innovation Park TechGrant Program. More than 100 Tallahassee business and community leaders gathered to watch five companies compete in the TechGrant Elevator Pitch Night. KynderMed, who took home first place of $15,000, has developed a sleep mask to help prevent preterm birth in pregnant women. The company will use this grant to support clinical trials. Pictured above are Executive Director of Leon County R&D, Ron Miller and President of KynderMed, Melanie Simmons.



Register Today for eMerge Amercias
 
The eMerge Americas conference is taking place on June 12-13, 2017 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. eMerge Amercias, a global idea exchange focusing on how technology and innovation are disrupting industries, serves as a platform connecting revolutionary startups, cutting-edge ideas, and global industry leaders and investors across North America, Europe and Latin America. More details about the conference and event registration may be viewed here


Save the Date for 2017 BioFlorida Annual Conference

Join BioFlorida for the 2017 Annual Conference being held on October 15-17, 2017 at the Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort and Golf Club. BioFlorida attracts the largest and most prestigious life sciences community in the state, and it is at this Conference that attendees will connect with more than 400 life science professionals from Florida and throughout the country. More details and event registration may be viewed here.

Florida to host the Americas Competitiveness Exchange on
Innovation and Entrepreneurship


Join the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) in coordination with the Organization of American States (OAS) and the U.S. Department of State for the 8th Americas Competitiveness Exchange on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ACE 8) on December 3-9, 2017. Florida host communities include Tallahassee/Leon County, Gainesville/Alachua County, Orlando/Orange County, St. Augustine/St. Johns County and the Space Coast.
 
The six-day ACE 8 tour will bring together representatives from over 27 countries to showcase advanced technology centers, innovation hubs, public-private partnerships and strategic investments. The itinerary will include sites that feature agricultural, advanced manufacturing, aerospace, tourism, magnetics and other industry clusters, as well as  major universities across the state. More details may be viewed here.

About Us

Formed by the Florida Legislature in 2007, the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research is a non-profit organization that works collaboratively with the technology licensing and commercialization offices of Florida’s state universities and private research institutions to leverage a $2.5B+ research base and form investable companies that create clean jobs in new industries that are driving the global economy. The Institute provides company building services, and seed funding through the Florida Technology Seed Capital Fund, to promising Florida startups. Sixty-nine companies have been funded to date, and the Institute’s economic impact through June 30, 2016 was $630 million, with an annual return on investment of 22 times to the State of Florida.