Life Science Washington Institute (LSWI), in partnership with the Washington State Department of Commerce, announced the completion of the second and final year of the SBIR/STTR Matching Fund and Washington Competes awards. Funded through the redeployment of returned Life Sciences Discovery Fund dollars, this initiative awarded $500,000 to 20 early-stage companies across Washington state. The SBIR/STTR Matching Fund and the Washington Competes grant honorees represent promising early-stage startups in Washington state that are focused on developing innovative healthcare solutions that improve lives.
“We’re excited to support this robust group of startups from across the state and grateful to the work they are doing to bring life-changing innovations to market,” said Marc Cummings, Interim Executive Director, Life Science Washington Institute. “This year, we saw a significant uptick in applicants, highlighting the powerful impact of Commerce’s support. Life Science Washington Institute offers additional technical support and resources to all applicants and awardees as they navigate these critical stages of growth.”
These $25,000 grants, along with technical support from LSWI, are propelling Washington-based life science startups’ growth and, ultimately, will transform patient lives with new treatments, medical devices, and more rapid, accessible diagnostics tests. Last year, these programs empowered awardees with the necessary resources to significantly scale their companies and expand Washington state’s capacity to cultivate its rich pool of homegrown life science talent.
Among 2023’s SBIR/STRR Matching Fund Awardees was GMJ Technologies, Inc., the developer of CeMAX UVTM, a capillary electrophoresis separation system to address challenges in protein characterization and reduce cost of development for customers. The grant allowed the company to achieve critical milestones resulting in an additional $2.8M in SBIR funding. Last year’s Washington Competes Awardees included Plurexa, which leveraged the grant to test a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of polycystic kidney disease. Plurexa utilized computational models, biochemical assays, and human mini-kidneys to demonstrate a new lead compound with the ability to contract tubular structures and prevent cyst formation.
