Fargo Area Companies Receive $6 Million in State Grants Promoting Bioscience Sector Growth

North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring announced that 25 bioscience industry grants (BIG) have been awarded totaling $8.4 million to foster the growth of the bioscience industry in North Dakota.

“Advances in bioscience have already transformed many sectors including agriculture and medicine,” Goehring said. “These grants will help North Dakota stay on the forefront of bioscience innovation.”

Seventeen Fargo Area organizations are receiving grants totaling more than $6 Million. 

TheraTec, one of Fargo area’s newest health tech companies, will receive $100,000 for software improvements and manufacturing development. The company provides remote patient monitoring using wearable sensor technology.

“Getting a business off the ground is always difficult with state governments at times throwing up roadblocks to small businesses. In North Dakota, with programs like the Bioscience Innovation Grant, the state sets an example for the rest of the country. North Dakota is showing how it’s supposed to be done,” said Tony Hyk, CEO, TheraTec.

Additional grants:

• Agathos Biologics – $300,000 to develop medicines and services that utilize and expand access to other genetic material that can significantly impact patients with unmet medical needs
• BRAINTX Inc. – $310,000 for the development of new classes of medicines to treat neuronal health
• Checkable Medical LLC – $232,300 for app-based information and content; and testing of an at-home rapid strep test
• CorVent Medical Inc. –$750,000 for development, Federal Drug Administration section 510(k) clearance and manufacturing of the RESPOND II Ventilator
• Cotasys Inc. – $125,000 for development of an end-to-end transportation solution
• FamGenix – $240,000 to establish an integrated digital platform to collect family history such as hereditary data and information
• Genovac Antibody Discovery LLC – $642,667 to support the development of efficient testing of engineered antibodies for research tools, diagnostic agents and human therapeutics
• Imricor Medical Systems – $1,158,000 for the final steps in commercialization of a new technology for cardiac ablation procedures in the United States
• Lincoln Therapeutics – $136,000 for further development of intranasal ketamine as a safer, fast acting, non-addicting analgesic to improve pain management with a military application for battlefield
• National Agricultural Genotyping Center – $109,065 to develop a commercialized test to strengthen quality assurance programs and variety preservation of durum
• PEACENQUIET Inc. – $250,000 for the development and commercialization of a tinnitus treatment solution
• Poiesis Medical – $480,000 for catheter development and manufacturing in North Dakota
• TailWind MedTech Inc. – $750,000 to develop technologies and test the feasibility of a chemically energized blood and fluid warmer
• Thrixen LLC – $180,000 for development of rapid multiplex pathogen testing kits for military medicine
• TWL Pharma Pac LLC – $110,000 to establish a pharmaceutical packaging manufacturing facility
• WalkWise Inc. – $175,000 for validation, integration and commercialization of patented mobility technology

“As we continue to support growth within the bioscience sector in the Greater FM Region, it’s important to note the critical role of Commissioner Goehring and the ND Department of Ag in providing competitive industry leading resources like the BIG grant ,” said Joe Raso, GFMEDC President & CEO, “We look forward to continuing to work with the state on these exciting opportunities to support our region’s growing list of bioscience companies.”

Grant applications were reviewed and scored by a committee made up of Goehring, a representative from the bioscience association of North Dakota and a representative from the North Dakota Department of Commerce.