Applied Research and Development Awards Announced

The Center for Biotechnology has announced the recipients of the 2016-2017 Applied Research & Development (ARAD) awards. The ARAD Program is designed to help bridge the gap between the early-stage technology discovery and development capabilities of the academic community and the later-stage commercial development interests of the bioscience industry.

The program currently provides matching funds on a competitive basis to support collaborations between Stony Brook University faculty and NY State corporate partners in all areas of medical biotechnology. The primary interest is in supporting development of technologies that will help companies hit commercially relevant milestones, and that have the potential to positively impact the New York State economy. The projects funded include:

  • ICU Temporary Pacemaker – Dr. Wei Lin and Avery Biomedical Device, Inc.
  • Novel Synergistic and Pleiotropic Skin Brightening Agents – Dr. Sanford Simon and Biocogent, LLC
  • Continued In vivo Testing of Vaccine Candidates – Dr. Eckard Wimmer and Cogadenix, Inc.
  • Advanced Fistula-in-Ano Treatment Device – Dr. Tom Zimmerman and Pepper5, Inc.
  • Development of Nanoemulsion-PUFA-taxoids as Tumor-Targeted Chemotherapeutics – Dr. Iwao Ojima and TargaGenix, Inc.
  • Initial Pre-Clinical Safety Assessment of TRB-N0224 – Dr. Lorne Golub and Traverse Biosciences, Inc.
  • Evaluation of a Continuous Visible Light Disinfection System’s Ability to Reduce Bioburden and Subsequently the Incidence of Infections and Colonizations in an Active Patient Area – Dr. Annie Rohan and Vital Vio, Inc.

More information about the Applied Research & Development (ARAD) program, as well as all Center for Biotechnology Technology Development programs can be found here.

Center for Biotechnology Redesignated by New York State: ‘Unique Time of Change and Growth’

Independently documented economic impact: $1.2 Billion

Jobs created: 1,125

New corporate revenues: $812 Million

Supported additional funding: $238 Million

Center for Biotechnology documented economic impact over recent fifteen-year period

Perhaps it is numbers like these which best illustrate the success CFB has had on the biotechnology industry and economy.

And perhaps they contributed to the redesignation of the CFB as a Center for Advanced Technology for ten years by the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) as a Center for Advanced Technology (CAT).

The New York State redesignation recognizes the impact of the CFB over 30 years driving innovation toward commercial goals and resulting in accelerated product development cycles “from bench to boardroom to bedside.” It recognizes the key role played by the CFB in facilitating a regional bioscience innovation ecosystem, collaborating with Stony Brook University, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

The redesignation by New York State validates all of the work we have done over the last 10-year period to create the foundation for exponential growth. We would not have secured the National Institutes of Health REACH award without it, says Clint Rubin, Director of the Center for Biotechnology.”The REACH designation represents an $8.1M investment in technology development, commercialization, and new company formation. Visionary’s like New York State Senator Kenneth La Valle deserve the credit. They recognized thirty years ago that universities represented a largely untapped pool of innovation and economic potential.

Strikingly, it validates and provides the foundation for the new Long Island Bioscience Hub (LIBH), a CFB-led initiative to formally bring these institutions together to foster technology development, commercialization, and new company formation. The LIBH is a bold step made possible by a partnership with the National Institute of Health REACH initiative (Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub). The NIH award places the CFB in the national spotlight along with other elite institutions. (Read more on the NIH REACH award here)

“This redesignation occurs in an interesting and changing environment, where varying elements in the regional, state, and national biotech ecosystem are aligning. There is a confluence of events and issues that are creating a unique opportunity to build the biotech economy in the region and across the State.” Commented Diane Fabel, Director of Operations, CFB. “We have learned a lot about the process of moving academic innovation into the commercial sector over time. And there have been such tremendous scientific advances recently that represent new commercial opportunities and life saving technologies. There is still much to learn and do, and it is an incredibly exciting time to be doing it.