UB CAT announces R&D collaboration awards to eight life sciences companies

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo Center for Advanced Technology in Big Data and Health Sciences (UB CAT) has awarded eight life sciences companies over $495,000 to support collaborative projects with UB faculty experts to accelerate development of innovative health science technologies during the 2024-25 fiscal year.

UB CAT is one of 15 centers across the state funded by Empire State Development's Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR). Each project pairs a faculty researcher with a New York State business, with the goal of driving growth for life and health sciences businesses across the state. Through UB CAT, businesses gain access to matching funds for collaborative product development and proof-of-concept research and development projects in four main areas: drug development, diagnostics, medical devices and health care information technology.

"UB CAT serves as a vital resource for life and health sciences companies focused on developing new technologies and devices," says Per Stromhaug, UB senior associate vice president for economic development. "The path to commercializing biomedical technologies is frequently challenging and expensive. UB CAT addresses this challenge for businesses by offering essential early-stage funding and access to university experts and student talent to aid their R&D efforts."

New to the program this year is Ithaca-based Cornell spinoff TETmedical. The company will collaborate with Rosalind Lai and Elad Levy – faculty members at the Jacob School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB – to develop the first blood test for stroke, which has the potential to revolutionize stroke care by expediting diagnosis and reducing missed cases to improve patient care.

"It has been a pleasure collaborating with Doctors Levy and Lai on this groundbreaking project at UB,” says David Fischell, CEO and co-founder of TETmedical. “Their leadership and the superb reputation of the University at Buffalo Canon Stroke & Vascular Research Center makes it an ideal location to evaluate the first blood test for stroke. Success for this project will also provide jobs and other benefits to New York State, where TETmedical’s facility is located."

Other focus on developing cancer therapies, robotic clot removal catheters, and mRNA vaccines, among other technologies. The companies awarded UB CAT support for the 2024-25 fiscal year include:

Flag Bio

• Flag Bio is a Buffalo-based biotech startup pioneering proprietary mRNA adjuvant technology to enhance the efficacy, safety and affordability of mRNA vaccines.
• Faculty: Norma Nowak, PhD, professor of biochemistry at the Jacobs School
• Project: Looking at systemic activation of the immune system on distribution of mRNA vaccines

Immco Diagnostics, Inc.

• Immco Diagnostics, Inc. is a company and UB licensee specializing in advanced diagnostics for autoimmune diseases.
• Faculty: Julian L. Ambrus, Jr. MD, professor of medicine at the Jacobs School
• Project: Evaluation of novel early markers in Sjögren’s Disease

J.M. Canty

• J.M. Canty is a global company with locations in Buffalo; Dublin, Ireland; and Phuket, Thailand. Canty develops automated smart imaging technologies to solve some of the most difficult problems in manufacturing process control for a variety of industries.
• Faculty: Jun Xia, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering, a joint program of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Jacobs School
• Project: Developing sonocrystallization control systems to improve pharmaceutical production

Neurovascular Diagnostics, Inc.

• Neurovascular Diagnostics, Inc. is a UB spinoff developing a low-cost blood test to screen high-risk patients for unruptured brain aneurysms.
• Faculty: John Kolega, PhD, associate professor of pathology and anatomical sciences at the Jacobs School
• Project: Development of a blood test to identify dangerous brain aneurysms

POP Biotechnologies, Inc.

• POP Biotechnologies, Inc. is a UB spinoff developing cutting-edge vaccine technologies, enabling the creation of powerful new ways to prevent infectious disease and treat cancer.
• Faculty: Jonathan Lovell, PhD, SUNY Empire Innovation Professor of biomedical engineering , a joint program of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Jacobs School
• Project: Developing and validating novel cancer therapies using immunogenic neoepitopes

POP Biotechnologies, Inc.

• POP Biotechnologies, Inc. is a UB spinoff developing cutting-edge vaccine technologies, enabling the creation of powerful new ways to prevent infectious disease and treat cancer.
• Faculty: Jun Qu, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical sciences in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Project: Development and assessment of a novel peptide vaccine against Alzheimer's disease

QAS.AI, Inc.                       

• QAS.AI is a UB spinoff focused on the development and commercialization of predictive AI software to optimize neurovascular treatment by assisting decision-making during surgery.
• Faculty: Swetadri Vasan Setlur Nagesh, PhD, research assistant professor of neurosurgery at the Jacobs School
• Project: Developing bias reduction algorithms to enhance QAS.AI predictive performance

TETmedical, Inc.

• TETmedical Inc.is a Cornell spinoff and clinical-stage platform nanomedicine company focused on in vitro diagnostics that enable insights for high-consequence disease decision-making. TETmedical's first product is a high-sensitivity, 15-minute blood test to prevent missed strokes.
• Faculty: Rosalind Lai, MD, assistant professor, and Elad Levy, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor and the L. Nelson Hopkins Endowed Chair, both of the Department of Neurosurgery in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• Project: Clinical evaluation of the blood test, Neuron Specific Enolase Functional Activity Stroke Test (NSE-FAST) in stroke alert patients presenting at UB

Vicora, Inc.

• Vicora, Inc.is a medical device startup commercializing robotic catheters that remove blood clots from the legs, lungs and brain.
• Faculty: David Zlotnick, MD interventional cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine at the Jacobs School
• Project: Robotic clot removal catheters: simulated use-testing with UB physicians for FDA submission

For more information on the UB CAT program and details on the upcoming application cycle for the next set of funded projects, visit: https://www.buffalo.edu/partnerships/about/programs/ub_cat.html