September 28, 2009

Purdue's Emerging Innovations Fund invests in two startup companies

FAST Diagnostics of Indianapolis will receive $200,000 and Matrix-Bio Inc. of the Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette will receive $150,000 from the Emerging Innovations Fund. The fund, established in 2008 as a partnership between the Purdue Research Foundation and Purdue University, was created to fast-track the development of new technologies.

"Matrix-Bio and FAST Diagnostics were just two of 30 startups that applied for funding through the Emerging Innovations Fund, and the final selection was very competitive," said Joseph B. Hornett, senior vice president, treasurer and COO for the Purdue Research Foundation. "What the funding means for these two companies is that they can expedite their discoveries and deliver them to the market sooner."

Officials at FAST Diagnostics have created a device that quantitatively measures the rate by which the kidneys filter waste products from the blood. This rate is the primary indicator of kidney injury, kidney disease progression and recovery. Purdue University researchers are working with company officials to complete studies on the device.

"Diagnostics development in renal care, where kidney health is addressed, significantly lags other areas of medicine," said CEO Joe Muldoon. "There currently are no practical diagnostics capable of accurately and sensitively quantifying the severity of a patient's renal condition in the early stages of kidney failure. Our device can help them measure the level of the kidney failure, and doctors can use that information to determine the best treatment method for patients."

Matrix-Bio is developing a simple blood test to detect breast cancer in its earliest stages and to monitor for recurrence. The company is beginning its first clinical trials with two groups in Fort Wayne, Ind.: the Women's Health Advantage, led by Dr. Todd Rumsey, and the Lutheran Health Network, which will recruit patients.

"Mammography, the gold standard, is performed on almost 50 million women in the United States annually. However, mammography typically has a false positive rate of 8 to 12 percent, leading to many follow-up tests, including 2 million biopsies, 80 percent of which are negative," said Dan Raftery, founder and CSO. "The blood test we are developing will determine if a patient has early stages of breast cancer with better accuracy. Having an earlier diagnosis means earlier treatment and, in many cases, a better prognosis."

Julie Goonewardene, director of business development for the Purdue Research Foundation, oversees the Emerging Innovation Fund. The Emerging Innovation Fund's advisers include officials from the Purdue Research Foundation and Purdue University's Discovery Park. Other fund advisers include Purdue trustees and alumni Michael J. Birck, chairman and co-founder of Tellabs Inc. in Naperville, Ill., and William Oesterle, co-founder and CEO of Angie's List in Indianapolis. Jeff Warren, president of Aeronautica Windpower in Plymouth, Mass., also serves as an adviser for the fund.

About the Emerging Innovations Fund

In 2008 Purdue Research Foundation introduced the Emerging Innovations Fund, an integrated approach to research innovation, development and commercialization. A partnership between the Purdue Research Foundation and Discovery Park at Purdue University, the Emerging Innovations Fund is a self-sustaining, initiative that brings together money, people and ideas to accelerate the commercialization of early-stage technologies in the Purdue community.

To the Purdue Research Park, https://www.purdueresearchpark.com

Purdue Research Park contacts:
Steve Martin, 765-588-3342, sgmartin@prf.org

Cynthia Sequin, 765-588-3340, casequin@prf.org

Sources:
Joseph Hornett, 765-588-1039, jbhornett@prf.org

Julie Goonewardene, 765-409-4354, jkgoonewardene@prf.org

Joe Muldoon, jmuldoon@fastdiagnostics.com

Dan Raftery, 765-494-6070, raftery@matrixbiollc.com