Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS): Impact

Astek Diagnostics

One-Hour UTI Detection & Antibiotic Sensitivity Indication · Baltimore, MD

Astek is developing a point-of-care test that determines, within an hour, whether a patient has a urinary tract infection and which antibiotics will work. The stakes: 8.1 million UTI-caused U.S. hospital visits last year, 47 percent treated with inappropriate antibiotics, 25 percent of sepsis cases caused by UTIs, and $1.6 billion in mistreatment costs. CEO Mustafa Al-Adhami (UMBC M.S. '15, Ph.D. '20) licensed the testing technology from UMBC, where he is an inventor on the patent. Astek's four MIPS projects include two phases of one-hour antibiotic sensitivity testing and AI-driven microfluidic design; the company's Jiddu Platform aims beyond urine at cerebrospinal fluid, wound effluent, and blood.

Funding

$5.3M investment + $2.3M non-dilutive (NSF, FDA, NIH)

Programs

MIPS I-Corps Maryland Momentum Fund

Astek Diagnostics team members working together in their office.

“When we started, we could not afford our own lab space in Baltimore City. With the help of MIPS, we were able to have access to a partner's lab. That was really a game-changer. Without that, we would not have been able to verify our technology and we would not be here today.”

— Mustafa Al-Adhami, CEO, Astek

Medcura researchers in lab coats and safety gear testing a product in the lab.

WATCH: MEDCURA

“Gel-e [now Medcura] simply would not be alive and thriving without the support of MIPS. Our 2008 MIPS grant was the first substantial research grant that we received.”

— Matthew Dowling, Chief Scientific Officer and Director, Medcura

Medcura

Hemostatic Products That Safely Control Bleeding · Riverdale, MD

Medcura is a commercial-stage medical device company whose platform combines safe, inert ingredients with patented chemistries to control bleeding across surgical, medical, and consumer uses. Its LifeGel™ (surgical bleeding in spine surgery) and LifeFoam™ (traumatic wounds) both hold FDA Breakthrough Device Designations; the company also holds five FDA clearances, 28 issued patents, and 10+ peer-reviewed articles. The technology, a modification of chitosan (a nontoxic biopolymer from crustacean shells), was invented by co-founder Matthew Dowling, Ph.D. '10, who began the research as a Clark School bioengineering student in Professor Srinivasa Raghavan's lab. Dowling is now chief scientific officer. Medcura has engaged in six MIPS projects, including one phase two.

Funding

$49.75M

Employees

Programs

MIPS Mtech Ventures Dingman Center Discovery District

Sonavex

Simplifying Hemodialysis Care Through Ultrasound · Baltimore, MD

Sonavex, a Johns Hopkins spinout, makes ultrasound technologies that let any care team member (not just trained ultrasonographers) monitor whether a dialysis patient's arteriovenous fistula has matured, directly in the dialysis clinic. That matters because the alternative, central venous catheters, carries a high risk of dangerous bloodstream infections, and fewer than 33 percent of patients comply with separate vascular-lab visits. Its patented EchoMark & EchoSure system pairs a bioresorbable, ultrasound-visible implant with an AI-enhanced ultrasound device that reads the fistula's flow rate, diameter, and depth. The company is running a clinical trial on EchoMark and working toward a new FDA clearance.

Funding

$34M in equity and grants, including a $90,000 MIPS grant (2016)

Programs

MIPS I-Corps

Close-up of a hand holding a small Sonavex medical device.

“We would not have been able to afford the work done through MIPS with an outside lab. We would not have had the cash without the MIPS grant. It was a pivotal study leading to our FDA submission.”

— David Narrow, CEO, Sonavex

Liatris

High-Performance Insulation · Rockville, MD

Liatris is commercializing building insulation that is non-flammable, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and easy to install: a proprietary nanocomposite of readily available inorganic materials that drops in where foam goes today, with the non-combustibility of mineral wool and a path to the industry's lowest installed costs. The company has engaged in five MIPS projects, including one phase two, from low-cost nanopore foam to machine-learning-enhanced aerogel and AI-designed ultra-durable insulation film.

Funding

$6.1M

Employees

Programs

MIPS I-Corps

N5 Sensors

Environmental Hazard Detection · Rockville, MD

N5's wildfire detection platform, N5Shield™, networks small, solar- and battery-powered IoT sensors that detect and track fires in real time (no cellular service required), feeding cloud AI, a dashboard, and live alerts. It also detects hazardous air quality and gases from nitrogen dioxide and ozone to ammonia, chlorine, and hydrogen. Installed across 15 U.S. states and four Canadian territories, it protects 1 million acres and has issued 185 fire alerts and 1,588 air-quality warnings. Founder and CEO Abhishek Motayed developed the technology jointly with NIST while a research faculty member at UMD's IREAP, then licensed it from the university. N5's seven MIPS projects include three two-phase efforts, from chip-scale chemical sensors to ML-driven sensor arrays.

Employees

31, across two Rockville locations

Programs

MIPS I-Corps CBSCF

WATCH: N5 SENSORS

Impact

Synagis

HughesNet

Astek Diagnostics

Medcura

Sonavex

Liatris

N5 Sensors