| Oregon Technology Companies Closer to Commercialization with Business Oregon Funding
Today, Business Oregon announced six recipients of targeted grants to support companies with proven innovative technologies that are close to commercialization, or ready to scale their production. The Enhanced Innovation Grant program was created for companies that have received previous support from the Oregon Innovation Council, and made progress towards releasing their products since that assistance.
“Business Oregon and the Oregon Innovation Council wanted to support the continued growth of these companies during the current economic crisis,” said Business Oregon Innovation and Entrepreneurship Manager Kate Sinner. “Support from this program has a huge impact for these businesses as they take the next step in developing their innovative technologies.”
The grant announcement was released May 6 and closed May 20. Business Oregon received 66 proposals, and after several stages of review including two review committees, six proposals rose to the top to receive $250,448 in funding.
| Company |
Location |
Award |
Sector |
| Ampere Scientific |
Albany |
$49,992 |
Advanced Manufacturing |
| Gadusol |
Corvallis |
$34,856 |
Bioscience |
| Hemex Health |
Portland |
$50,000 |
Medical Device |
| HTI |
Portland |
$15,600 |
High Tech |
| NeuraMedica |
Oregon City |
$50,000 |
Bioscience |
| Quantiport |
Portland |
$50,000 |
Medical Device |
Below are descriptions of the technology each business is pursuing with these grant funds.
Ampere Scientific has developed VARmetricTM, an advanced, noninvasive measurement system for Vacuum Arc Remelting (VAR) furnaces that better identifies defects in metal processing during production of airplane engines. Enhanced Innovation Grant funds will be used to perform testing and validation for the European market.
Gadusol Laboratories is developing UVB-blocking gadusol, a natural compound produced by marine organisms, as replacement for current UVB chemical and mineral filters. Enhanced Innovation Grant funds will be used complete initial safety and efficacy tests of gadusol as a SPF booster and test lab-scale production process at pilot scale.
Hemex Health is a medical diagnostic device company making tests for malaria and sickle cell disease. Enhanced Innovation Grant funds will be used for developing and validating a rapid test to detect COVID-related infection that targets viral proteins.
HTI is developing digital imaging technologies using machine learning to process high-resolution 3D structural models of molecular images captured by cryo-electron microscopes (cryo-EM). Enhanced Innovation Grant funds will be used to integrate their CryoDiscovery prototype with commercial grade software commonly used in cryo-EM workflows.
NeuraMedica is a medical device company developing a new bio-absorbable surgical clip for the closure of the dura mater, the membrane that covers and protects the brain and spinal cord. Enhanced Innovation Grant funds will be used for human validation testing.
Quantiport is developing a medical device that provides blood volume measurement quickly for critical care situations. Enhanced Innovation Grant funds will be used for further product development, patent protection, and FDA pre-submission preparation.
These awards are all contingent on successful contract negotiation between Business Oregon and the grant recipients. |
