NCBiotech awards $1.2 million in latest quarter

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center awarded 14 grants and loans totaling $1,287,335 to bioscience companies, universities and non-profit organizations in the first quarter of its fiscal year.

The awards, made in July, August and September, will support life science research, technology commercialization and entrepreneurship throughout North Carolina. The funding will also help companies attract follow-on funding from other sources.

Company loans

Through two loan programs, three life sciences companies received loans totaling $1.2 million to advance their research, product development, and commercial viability.

Ummino of Durham received a $500,000 Strategic Growth Loan to support regulatory approval, pilot production, validation and quality assurance of its novel process for manufacturing human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) at scale. HMOs are simple sugars in breast milk that can help develop the immune system, resist pathogens and improve brain development and function.

Two companies were awarded Small Business Research Loans totaling $700,000:

  • Piximune Therapeutics of Durham received $350,000 to develop a novel class of monoclonal antibodies to treat inherited retinal dystrophies and age-related retinal degenerative conditions.
  • ForagR Medicines of Chapel Hill received $350,000 to support development of a novel drug-discovery platform that leverages in-cell RNA genomics to target undruggable proteins via their messenger RNAs.  

Portfolio companies raise over $44.7 million   

Twenty-three bioscience companies that previously received loans from NCBiotech raised $44.7 million in follow-on funding from other sources in the first quarter, according to research by NCBiotech’s Life Science Intelligence staff.

Nearly half of that total was accounted for by Morrisville-based Lindy Biosciences, which received a $20 million up-front payment from Novartis, which licensed Lindy’s Microglassification platform. The dehydration technology enables suspensions of highly concentrated proteins, allowing higher drug doses in smaller volumes, ultimately reducing the time patients spend taking medication.

Durham-based EpiCypher raised nearly $6.9 million in the quarter, including $3.3 million in venture capital and nearly $3.6 million in research grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Presidential Initiative Award

Duke University received a $40,000 Presidential Initiative Award to expand scientifiq.ai, a web-based platform that generates assessments of science's commercial potential based on published articles and conference proceedings.

Event and meeting grants

Six universities and two non-profit organizations received 10 grants totaling $47,335 to sponsor regional events or national meetings in the life sciences.  

  • East Carolina University received $835 to support the 26th Annual Neuroscience Symposium. This symposium brings together academia, the public and businesses from eastern North Carolina and neighboring counties for presentations on current research and clinical studies spanning the field of neuroscience.
  • North Carolina State University received $3,000 to support the 2024 N.C. Coastal Conference, an event featuring presentations on critical issues affecting coastal communities, economies and ecosystems, covering topics such as watershed dynamics and their impact on coastal waters.
  • NC State received $10,000 to support agInnovation 2024, an event intended to engage industry thought leaders beyond academia, offering fresh perspectives on societal challenges in agricultural innovation.
  • UNC Charlotte received $1,500 to support the 2024 Charlotte Biomedical Symposium. This symposium served as a platform for discussions on the latest advancements in biomedical science, covering topics from molecular biology to clinical applications.
  • UNC Chapel Hill received $3,000 to support the 2024 Triangle Cytoskeleton Meeting. This event provided a platform for scientists to share innovative research on the cytoskeleton -- a critical mediator of cellular mechanics and dynamics involved in numerous physiological processes, including cell organization, migration and proliferation.
  • UNC Wilmington received $3,000 to support the 2024 North Carolina Branch of the American Society for Microbiology Annual Meeting. This meeting fosters ongoing research dialogue in microbiology among scientists from academic and research institutions across the state.
  • UNC Wilmington received $7,000 to support the 2024 Ocean Innovation Conference, an event that convened leaders from academia and industry to explore advancements in the Blue Economy, ocean innovation and strategies for ocean protection.
  • The Science Communicators of North Carolina received $8,000 to support ScienceWriters 2024, an event offering in-person professional development, career networking and science-focused sessions for science journalists from across North America.
  • The North Carolina Global Health Alliance received $3,000 to support the 2024 North Carolina Global Health Conference: Bridging North Carolina with the World. This event featured a blend of speakers, panels, workshops and poster presentations highlighting innovative approaches to global health, encouraging attendees to engage on critical issues across a broad range of topics.
  • Wake Forest University Health Sciences received $8,000 to support the 8th Meeting of the International Fetal Transplantation and Immunology Society. This event, organized by the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, highlighted the latest research and clinical advancements in fetal transplantation, immunology and related fields, gathering experts from around the world to discuss topics such as prenatal diagnosis, cell and gene therapy, fetal imaging, tissue engineering and the ethical considerations of in utero therapies.
Barry Teater, NCBiotech writer
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