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Vitatex Awarded NCI Contract

Vitatex, a Stony Brook-based biotechnology company located in the Long Island High Technology Incubator, has announced that it was awarded an SBIR Phase I/II Fast Track contract in September 2015 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for its Vita-Cap™ CTC Capture and Preservation tubes. A modification to exercise the option for a two-year SBIR Phase II of the contract was executed on June 8, 2016.

Vitatex Inc. provides proprietary invasive circulating tumor cell (iCTC) enrichment technology and products to develop revolutionary cancer genetic and cell tests. These “liquid biopsies” focus on next generation sequencing (NGS) detection, gene expression profiling and flow cytometry and have recently been adopted by the clinical laboratory community to characterize cancer cells and/or their RNA/DNA in blood samples non-invasively and serially, and to acquire genetic alternations and drug resistance information, which have the potential to replace tests run on surgical biopsies.

Clinical metastasis of solid tumors is linked to blood-borne dissemination of viable tumor cells in the circulation and clinical instrumentation is now available to isolate, enumerate, culture, generate metastatic mouse models and perform molecular analyses on these circulating tumor cells (CTCs). However, CTCs are fragile and tend to degrade within a few days when collected in standard blood collection tubes.

“The functional CTC preparation tube is designed to collect, enrich and preserve the viability/functionality of cancer cells in blood all within a closed system” said Wen-Tien Chen, PhD., Chief Scientific Officer of Vitatex. “The goal is to define conditions of Vitatex CTC preparation tubes for capturing and preserving cancer cells in the blood of patients with breast, ovarian and other types for up to 96 hours of transit.”

Specific terms of the contract were not disclosed.

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Applications are now open for the 12th BioREACH Award Program from the Center for Biotechnology, which provides $50,000 in translational research funding for Stony Brook faculty and postdoctoral researchers to generate the evidence needed to advance promising innovations to the next stage of development.

BioREACH funds milestone-driven studies and welcomes biomedical innovations as well as platforms, tools, computational technologies, and other enabling technologies with the potential to contribute to solutions addressing unmet needs in health.

Application deadline: October 29, 2026, 5:00pm ET

For info sessions, eligibility and deadlines visit our REACH Website and FAQ.

The Center for Biotechnology (CfB) has helped advance some of Stony Brook University’s most impactful biomedical innovations, among them the yeast two-hybrid system, Xiaflex®, ReoPro®, Oracea®, and 3D virtual colonoscopy. The CfB has supported more than 475 faculty-led translational research projects and contributed to 306 license agreements generating $51 million in royalty returns to the University.

Questions? Reach out to our program contacts or sign up for office hours:

Dee Dao, PhD, Associate Director, dee.dao@stonybrook.edu
Office Hours: Monday–Friday, 2–3:30 PM | Sign up Here

Zelda Mendelowitz, PhD, Venture Associate, zelda.mendelowitz@stonybrook.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 8–11 AM | Sign up Here

[post_title] => BioREACH: Translational Research Funding Opportunity [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => bioreach-translational-research-funding-opportunity [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2026-09-04 11:55:36 [post_modified_gmt] => 2026-09-04 15:55:36 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://centerforbiotechnology.org/?p=5065 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [1] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 4354 [post_author] => 4 [post_date] => 2024-01-10 11:27:17 [post_date_gmt] => 2024-01-10 16:27:17 [post_content] =>

Stony Brook University’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is administering a program to provide matching funds for laboratory equipment to successful Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant recipients throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

The Program is funded by an incentive package offered by New York State’s Empire State Development Agency to the Stony Brook University Research Foundation and agreed upon in a contract signed May 2, 2014. These matching grants will reimburse up to 20% of the cost for eligible laboratory equipment purchased by SBIR winning companies up to a maximum of $50,000.

If your Long Island-based company has been awarded a SBIR and/or STTR award after May 2, 2014, which identifies your company as active in the federal grant arena, your company may be eligible for this matching grant.
The current time limit of opportunity to apply to the Stony Brook SBDC is April 30, 2025. If all the funds are not expended by that time, the April 2025 date may be extended. Therefore, future SBIR awards, including those currently applied for, may also be eligible for the matching funds.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact 631-632-9084 for an appointment. If you have questions about the matching grant prior to making an appointment, please email martha.stansbury@stonybrook.edu.

[post_title] => Lab Equipment Matching Funds Grant for SBIR/STTR Recipients [post_excerpt] => Matching grants to reimburse up to 20% of the cost for eligible laboratory equipment purchased by Long Island SBIR winning companies (up $50,000) available. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => lab-equipment-matching-funds-2024 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-08-22 11:39:34 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-08-22 15:39:34 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://centerforbiotechnology.org/?p=4354 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 3248 [post_author] => 3 [post_date] => 2019-01-28 12:55:22 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-01-28 12:55:22 [post_content] => The latest CFB Newsletter has been released - Catch up on client financings, newcos, expansions, and other happenings here. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for the latest Center news. [post_title] => Winter 2019 Newsletter [post_excerpt] => The latest CFB Newsletter has been released - Catch up on client financings, newcos, expansions, and other happenings. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => winter-2019-newsletter [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-05-01 12:57:58 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-05-01 12:57:58 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://centerforbiotechnology.org/?p=3248 [menu_order] => 103 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [3] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 2237 [post_author] => 3 [post_date] => 2016-06-07 15:14:28 [post_date_gmt] => 2016-06-07 15:14:28 [post_content] => Traverse Biosciences has announced that it has secured $500,000 in convertible debt financing to support operations and advance product development efforts. The seed financing was led by Excell Partners, with matching funds from a number of individual accredited angel investors. The Research Foundation for the State of New York (RF/SUNY) also participated in the financing, as part of an exclusive license and option agreement executed last year that gave Traverse Biosciences access to the relevant intellectual property for use in animal and human health. Traverse Biosciences, which began when CEO Joseph Scaduto was serving as a BioEntrepreneur-in-Residence for the Center for Biotechnology, is working to commercialize its proprietary library of Stony Brook University invented chemically-modified curcumins for the treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions and cancers affecting humans and animals. Read more about Traverse and the recent financing:     [post_title] => Traverse Biosciences Secures $500k Seed Financing [post_excerpt] => Traverse Biosciences announced that it has secured $500,000 in convertible debt financing to support operations and advance product development efforts. The seed financing was led by Excell Partners, with matching funds from a number of individual accredited angel investors. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => traverse-biosciences-secures-500k-seed-financing [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2016-06-07 15:14:28 [post_modified_gmt] => 2016-06-07 15:14:28 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://centerforbiotechnology.org/?p=2237 [menu_order] => 177 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) ) [post_count] => 4 [current_post] => -1 [before_loop] => 1 [in_the_loop] => [post] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5065 [post_author] => 4 [post_date] => 2026-09-01 14:03:32 [post_date_gmt] => 2026-09-01 18:03:32 [post_content] =>

Applications are now open for the 12th BioREACH Award Program from the Center for Biotechnology, which provides $50,000 in translational research funding for Stony Brook faculty and postdoctoral researchers to generate the evidence needed to advance promising innovations to the next stage of development.

BioREACH funds milestone-driven studies and welcomes biomedical innovations as well as platforms, tools, computational technologies, and other enabling technologies with the potential to contribute to solutions addressing unmet needs in health.

Application deadline: October 29, 2026, 5:00pm ET

For info sessions, eligibility and deadlines visit our REACH Website and FAQ.

The Center for Biotechnology (CfB) has helped advance some of Stony Brook University’s most impactful biomedical innovations, among them the yeast two-hybrid system, Xiaflex®, ReoPro®, Oracea®, and 3D virtual colonoscopy. The CfB has supported more than 475 faculty-led translational research projects and contributed to 306 license agreements generating $51 million in royalty returns to the University.

Questions? Reach out to our program contacts or sign up for office hours:

Dee Dao, PhD, Associate Director, dee.dao@stonybrook.edu
Office Hours: Monday–Friday, 2–3:30 PM | Sign up Here

Zelda Mendelowitz, PhD, Venture Associate, zelda.mendelowitz@stonybrook.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 8–11 AM | Sign up Here

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