Life Science Washington Institute (LSWI), in partnership with The Washington State Department of Commerce, awarded $500,000 in grants to 20 organizations across Washington state. The grants support a diverse group of entrepreneurs by prioritizing entrepreneurs and companies located outside of King County as well as women-led and/or socially or economically disadvantaged companies throughout the state. Made possible by redeploying money returned to the state’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund, the SBIR/STTR Matching Fund and the Washington Competes grant programs support early-stage companies focused on developing healthcare solutions that improve lives.
“Life Science Washington Institute is proud to announce the grant recipients as part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the next generation of life sciences innovators,” said Richard Giersch, Executive Director, Life Science Washington Institute. “In addition to the funding, the Life Science Washington Institute will offer technical assistance to all of the applicants and award recipients as they work to improve the health of Washington residents.”
These grants, each $25,000, will help propel Washington-based life science startups’ growth and, ultimately, transform patient lives with new medications, medical devices and more rapid, accessible diagnostics tests.
“As a top life science hub, sufficient funding is essential to the success of Washington-based biotech companies,” said Alison Beason, Director/Sector Lead, Life Science & Global Health, Washington State Department of Commerce. “By partnering with LSWI, this funding provides continuous support to advance innovations by early-stage startups, that have potential to improve health outcomes.”
SBIR/STTR Matching Fund Awardees
The $25,000 SBIR/STTR Matching Fund Grant, which is awarded to companies that currently have a Phase 1 SBIR/STTR grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will be used to support awardees’ ongoing research. Seven out of the 10 awardees meet one or several prioritized criteria, which include companies that are located outside of King County, women-led and/or socially or economically disadvantaged.Companies funded include women-led, Snohomish-based Remmie Health, which is focused on improving the in-home analysis of ear-nose-throat infections through remote diagnosis and recovery, reducing the need for parents to take their children to a doctor’s office to get diagnosed.
“We continue to represent our end-users and advocate for health equity, especially for the under-served communities, often in rural locations, developing countries, or simply busy parents needing support taking care of their children and elderly family members,” said Jane Zhang, Founder and CEO, Remmie Health Inc. “The funds will allow us to fine-tune the pilot efforts towards a larger scale rollout for diverting in-person visits to telehealth, for families with young children with chronic ear infections or needing post-ear tube surgery follow-ups in a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Washington state.”
Full list of SBIR/STTR Matching Fund Awardees:
- AVM Biotechnology, Inc. (Seattle)
- Glannaventa, Inc. (Bainbridge Island)
- GMJ Technologies, Inc. (Seattle)
- Histone Therapeutics Corp. (Seattle)
- Orthopedic Wellness Laboratories, Inc. (Woodinville)
- Photon Biosciences, LLC. (Spokane Valley)
- Plurexa, LLC. (Seattle)
- Remmie Health Inc. (Bothell)
- TopoGene Inc. (Seattle)
- Virtici LLC. (Seattle)