FRANKFORT, Ky. – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that eight innovative and high-tech Kentucky companies will receive a total of $862,479 in state matching grants to support high-paying jobs and further grow the state’s technology sector.
The grants are part of the commonwealth’s nationally recognized Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Matching Funds Program. The funds will match, in part, $6.6 million in federal grants that the businesses will collectively receive.
“Investing in innovative companies now creates high-wage jobs of the future for Kentuckians all across the state and I am proud of the work Team Kentucky is doing to support that ongoing growth,” said Gov. Beshear. “Congratulations to these eight companies on their awards. I am looking forward to celebrating your success for many years to come.”
The eight Kentucky-based businesses awarded matching funds are using technology to advance multiple fields, from improved sleep apnea testing to radiation therapy treatments and invasive Asian carp solutions. Recipient companies include.
CreoSalus Inc. (Louisville):
Serious challenges remain for glioblastoma (GBM) patients despite the advances in cancer therapy. Improved GBM therapy as a critical unmet need requires new intervention capabilities. The Creosalus project aims to improve GBM patients’ lives through increased therapeutic coverage of GBM tumors using an innovative convection-enhanced delivery catheter.
EndoNavis LLC (Louisville):
Upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding from variceal hemorrhaging marks a major turning point in the life of a patient with cirrhosis. EndoNavis is focusing on applying single-use, disposable, low-profile endoscopes for novel clinical applications in the GI space. Their pioneering technology provides the backbone of a novel approach to the treatment of variceal hemorrhaging.
Fibonacci LLC (Murray):
Fibonacci (dba HempWood) manufactures engineered hemp-fiber wood products in Murray. HempWood’s oriented hemp board leverages the natural benefits of hemp while introducing advanced processing techniques to enhance performance and versatility. These wood products are a durable, lower-emitting alternative to conventional hardwoods for interior applications.
PGXL Technologies LLC (Louisville):
PGXL Technologies and the University of Louisville Research Foundation are developing a rapid, simple-to-use and cost-effective urine collection kit for the detection of obstructive sleep apnea in children, which will support diagnosis, patient monitoring and screening. Common tests are reliable but limited by high cost and require an overnight sleep study at a clinic, making a simple, noninvasive urine test beneficial.
Santerre LLC (Paducah):
Invasive Asian carp have a significant, detrimental impact on the waterways in the central United States. Western Kentucky has been particularly impacted, with adverse ecological and economic consequences. Santerre converts invasive Asian carp into fertilizer for use in organic production through an innovative process that reduces the energy demands required to produce conventional synthetic fertilizers and overcomes the time and space requirements of compost, its closest natural alternative.
Thermisoln LLC (Lexington):
Thermisoln is developing a new post-combustion CO2 capture technology that could significantly improve the energy efficiency of carbon capture from a coal-fired power plant. This goal could be accomplished by leveraging a novel amine-absorption solvent with deep regenerative properties. The technology could also upcycle gypsum waste into value-added limestone sorbents for flue gas desulfurization applications.
Wild Dog Physics LLC (Lexington):
Health-care disparities in the United States result in large segments of the population without access to radiation therapy. Wild Dog Physics proposes to design and test a new-generation quality assurance device that addresses these unmet medical needs. When successful, this important innovation will help bring accurate, state-of-the-art radiation therapy treatments to patients who might otherwise not have access.
ZDC Tech Ltd. Co. (Lexington):
Commercial polymer humidity sensors drift after only one month of exposure to harsh conditions, potentially increasing the risk of food contamination. The food industry lacks a method for testing and recalibrating humidity sensors under high-temperature food-processing conditions. ZDC Tech is creating a novel high-temperature humidity sensor for industrial food applications in harsh environments at high temperatures up to 300-degrees Celsius.
Kentucky’s SBIR/STTR program, overseen by KY Innovation, provides critical nondilutive capital for promising early stage tech companies by matching all or part of federal SBIR/STTR awards received by Kentucky-based businesses or companies committed to relocating to the state.
“The SBIR/STTR program has been extremely enabling for us,” said Charley Gary, CEO of Adelphi Technologies. “Besides the development funding, the presence of a state match has enhanced our federal proposals and most importantly, the chance for us to focus on market driven applications has greatly enhanced our commercialization prospects.”
To date, Kentucky SBIR/STTR-awarded companies have leveraged the state’s matching program to receive $7.50 in federal or private capital for every $1 in state funds. These businesses also have created more than 781 well-paying jobs, 91% of which have annual salaries over $50,000. Match recipients have 243 patents and generated more than $145 million in sales and licensing revenue. Kentucky has made 353 match awards to 161 unique companies since the program’s inception, leveraging $179.77 million in federal funding coming into the state.
“Kentucky sets itself apart with its commitment to retaining and attracting promising science and technology startups at a critical stage of development,” said David Brock, executive director of KY Innovation. “The results are more high-tech startups, more high-skill and high-wage jobs, and more funding that allows those companies, and our innovation-based economy, to grow. We are looking forward to watching these companies develop groundbreaking technologies across Kentucky and stand ready to help them grow and thrive here in the future.”
More information on Kentucky’s SBIR/STTR Matching Funds Program and awarded companies awarded is available at kyinnovation.com/sbir.
The SBIR/STTR-awarded companies investment and job creation build on the best six-year period for economic growth in state history.
