Date: Mar 25, 2011 Source: bizjournals (
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The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development announced Thursday that 14 high-tech companies in the state will receive more than $4.22 million in state funds as part of Kentucky's SBIR-STTR Matching Funds program.
The program matches federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grants awarded to Kentucky companies or companies willing to relocate to Kentucky. The awards supplement more than $8.7 million in federal funding that has been awarded to the Kentucky firms by federal agencies, according to a news release.
"Kentucky's unique matching awards program is the envy of the nation as it helps support our high-tech firms and create hundreds of new high-tech jobs across the commonwealth," Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said in the release. "The Kentucky companies receiving our matching state funds have already had their research reviewed by federal experts and were found to have very promising technologies with excellent opportunities for commercialization."
To date, the state's SBIR-STTR Matching Funds program has provided 106 awards to 57 Kentucky high-tech companies. The combined $24.7 million in state investments have leveraged more than $42 million in federal funds and have helped bring 12 high-tech, startup businesses to Kentucky.
The following firms were awarded matching funds in the most recent round of grants:
• CustomKYnetics Inc., of Versailles, Ky., received matching funds of $147,783 to support development of an electrical-stimulation device for use by people undergoing orthopedic rehabilitation and those with neuromotor disorders resulting from spinal cord injury or stroke.
• MC3 Inc., of Ann Arbor, Mich., will establish operations in Kentucky under the name Exatherm. The company will receive matching funds of $500,000 to support development of a medical device that can apply heat to localized areas on patients to treat lung, colon, pancreatic and other forms of cancer.
• InfoBeyond Technology LLC, of Louisville, received matching funds of $99,000 to help develop a means of increasing the network capacity of airborne fighter systems by 10 percent by incorporating mathematical algorithms into the software used in airborne networks, without the need for hardware updates.
• NuForm Materials LLC, of Sadieville, Ky., received matching funds of $149,996 to support development of polyurethane foam insulating materials containing ceramics derived from coal ash. The company uses its patented process to recycle coal ash into ceramic materials that can reduce the need for expensive polymers in composite materials, while also improving the foam's performance in automotive and aerospace applications.
• Paratechs Corp., of Lexington, received matching funds of $111,002 to support development of a device to facilitate a nonsurgical, assisted reproductive procedure for laboratory animals.
• SureGene LLC, of Louisville, received matching funds of $365,579 to support development of a multi-gene genetic test, called the AssureGene Array, to predict how effective treatments will be in specific patients being treated for neuropsychiatric illnesses, such as schizophrenia.
• Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, received matching funds of $499,936 to support development of a method of removing the genome of laboratory rats to facilitate use by researchers to mimic human diseases in the animals.
• Advanced Energy Materials LLC, of Louisville, received matching funds of $150,000 to support developing nanomaterials for use in the anodes of automotive batteries and large-scale lithium ion batteries, as well as in solar cells and other photocatalyst applications.
• Alcomed Inc., of Lexington, received matching funds of $150,000 to support developing a nasally delivered pharmaceutical for the emergency treatment by medical personnel of patients experiencing an opioid overdose.
• Bexion Pharmaceuticals LLC, of Covington, Ky., received matching funds of $500,000 to support development of a treatment to target and eliminate an aggressive type of brain tumor in humans.
• Alkymos Inc., of Lexington, received matching funds of $500,000 to support development of a method to prevent aluminum contamination in the intravenous fluid used to feed infants born prematurely.
• Global Quality Corp., of Cincinnati, is relocating to Northern Kentucky to receive matching funds of $364,990 to support development of a software-based warning system to alert personnel when there is contamination in drinking water.
• Louisville Biosciences Inc., of Louisville, received matching funds of $249,913 to support development of a diagnostic test to help detect as many as six autoimmune diseases, including lupis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, scleroderma, polymyositis and Lyme disease.
• Scout Diagnostics LLC, of Lexington, received matching funds of $435,600 to support development of a laboratory test to detect and confirm Alzheimer's disease in early stages of the disease.
