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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] => 2552 [post_author] => 3 [post_date] => 2017-01-09 15:31:38 [post_date_gmt] => 2017-01-09 15:31:38 [post_content] => Sincerest congratulations to our clients who are being recognized among Stony Brook University's 40 under 40 for 2016.  Since earning their Stony Brook degree, they have gone on to pursue their passions, help others and lead positive change. J. Robert Coleman ’08, PhD Molecular Genetics and Microbiology - Chief Operating Officer, Codagenix, Inc Katarzyna M. Sawicka ’04, ’05, ’14, BS Engineering Chemistry, MS Chemistry, PhD Biomedical Engineering - Founder and President, ImmunoMatrix Joseph Scaduto ’08, MBA Business Administration - Founder and CEO, Traverse Biosciences Inc.
libn40-40Additionally, warmest wishes of continued success to Stony Brook's Director of Government Relations, Lauren Brookmeyer, who was recently named a Long Island Business News "40 under 40 Class of 2017" honoree.   [post_title] => Congratulations 40 under 40 Winners! [post_excerpt] => Three Center for Biotech clients are among the talented individuals recognized as Stony Brook University 's 2016 "40 under 40". [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => congratulations-40-under-40-winners [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2017-01-09 15:31:38 [post_modified_gmt] => 2017-01-09 15:31:38 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://centerforbiotechnology.org/?p=2552 [menu_order] => 155 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 2383 [post_author] => 4 [post_date] => 2016-08-08 19:29:30 [post_date_gmt] => 2016-08-08 19:29:30 [post_content] => Check out the newly designed Center for Biotechnology newsletter! Catch up on client financings, newcos, expansions, and other happenings. And if you're not already...be sure to follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for the latest Center news. [post_title] => Summer 2016 Newsletter [post_excerpt] => The Center for Biotechnology is thrilled to present our newly designed newsletter. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => summer-2016-newsletter [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2017-01-09 15:09:13 [post_modified_gmt] => 2017-01-09 15:09:13 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://centerforbiotechnology.org/?p=2383 [menu_order] => 166 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [3] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 2801 [post_author] => 3 [post_date] => 2017-09-05 13:19:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2017-09-05 13:19:00 [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] => Summer 2017 Newsletter [post_excerpt] => The latest CFB Newsletter has been released - Highlights include major client funding and contracts, the expansion of the LIBH pipeline, and CFB leadership appearing before congress to promote comprehensive, early technology development programs. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => summer-2017-newsletter [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2017-09-05 13:19:00 [post_modified_gmt] => 2017-09-05 13:19:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://centerforbiotechnology.org/?p=2801 [menu_order] => 139 [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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Summer 2016 Newsletter

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