WCBA, Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator Program, Announces 2024 Cohort of Life Science Startups
WHITE PLAINS, NY, UNITED STATES, December 14, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- White Plains, NY (PRWEB) December 14, 2023 -- WCBA the Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator, announced today the fourth cohort of emerging biosciences ventures invited to participate in the annual program. Twelve ventures will participate in the 6.5 months-long program that provides the founders with business education to develop fundable business plans and a professional network. All startups receive an entrepreneur coach, access to active business professionals and preparation to pitch to investors.
The selected startups were chosen following an extensive screening process. Expert scientists, active investors and business strategists rated the ventures based on metrics such as the strength of the team, uniqueness of insights into the problems they are solving, and their capacity to revolutionize the life sciences industry.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer said: “The Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator continues to attract a dynamic group of entrepreneurs who are pioneering innovations in diverse subsets of the life sciences industry. We are excited to welcome the newest cohort and proud to play a role in each of their growth journeys.”
Deborah Novick, Westchester County Office of Economic Development added, “From medical devices and apps to novel therapies, ventures supported by The Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator play a pivotal role in expanding and diversifying our local ecosystem, with the ultimate goal of improving human health. The participants selected for this cohort are creative, innovative and we are delighted to welcome them into the program.”
The 2024 WCBA cohort participants and ventures include:
• Anita Lee, RPh, MPH (Independent) - Digital Twin for Humans uses conversational and generative AI to assess, identify, and address health and social service needs throughout a person’s lifetime.
• Ariel Yusupov, MS (New York Medical College) – Our gene therapy, currently focused on prostate cancer, utilizes over-expressing factors in cancer to drive a multi-modal attack, designed to prevent resistance and more aggressive disease.
• Daniel Gareau, PhD, MCR (Rockefeller University) – SurgiVance’s diagnostic medical device will serve as a “histopathology lab in a box” to meet needs in pathology markets, including specialty surgery, driving better cancer care.
• Evris Gavathiotis, PhD (Albert Einstein College of Medicine) - Our technology encompasses a novel small molecule therapeutic strategy that exhibits broad efficacy in diverse cancers, aiming to advance to clinical stage.
• Glen Prusky, M.Sc., PhD (Burke Neurological Institute/Weill Cornell Medicine) – Gaze Engine Inc. is perfecting an efficient methodology to measure the visual contrast sensitivity function, which promises to replace visual acuity measures as the standard for routine vision assessment.
• Hourinaz Behesti, PhD (Rockefeller University) - Hebbian Bio is building a personalized technology platform to develop first-in-class therapeutics for patients with currently untreatable neurodevelopmental/psychiatric disorders.
• Ilya Popov, MBA (Independent) - ComeBack Mobility has developed a Smart Crutch Tips IoT device and mobile apps that let patients know how to apply the right amount of force to the recovering limb and remote therapeutic monitoring service for providers. It reduces the number of revision surgeries, expediting recovery for 8 weeks and improving healing with additional revenue for practices.
• Katia Rojas, MSc., PhD, PMP (Independent) - Suabix is a groundbreaking AI-driven platform that empowers MedTech product developers with crucial guidance and capabilities to develop safe and user-friendly healthcare products.
• Kirsten Hund Blair, MBA, MPA and Kevin McClarren, BSBA (Independent) - Lambent Data’s collaborative and HIPAA-compliant software, including data analytics and AI, equips healthcare/social service providers and empowers patients/clients, to improve outcomes in health and Social Drivers of Health and reduce healthcare costs.
• Michael Beaton, BA (Independent) - A mobile app that provides point of need diagnostics for sexually transmitted infections. Using Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) as indicators of infection status and Zero-Knowledge proof algorithms to protect patient privacy.
• Robin Ji, PhD and Elisa Konofagou, PhD (Columbia University) - Delsona Therapeutics is a portable focused ultrasound system for non-invasive and targeted treatment of neurological diseases.
• Zach Sawaged, MS (Independent) - Concordare is a suite of web-application tools that have an exclusive ability to read and write a novel digital clinical trial protocol called a CPTM.
Members of last year’s cohort have since accomplished a number of important milestones. Chris Buser, founder of BioCubic, a Nanoscale tissue imaging data company has started generating sales. Chitra Dorai, founder of Amicus Brain Innovations, has been selected as a semi-finalist Discovery Award winner in the #LongitudePrize on Dementia. Victor Varnado, founder of Databinder, received an NSF SBIR award as a first-time applicant. KRIASH founder, Neetika Ashwani won the Columbia Venture Competition Millard Chan Technology Challenge for a wearable device to reduce neonatal morbidity and mortality. Aligneage Fertility, led by Justine Witzke, opened their first boutique fertility clinic.
For more information on these ventures and their successes, read the Impact Report for WCBA 2023.WCBA is supported by Westchester County Office of Economic Development, and corporate supporters: Pfizer, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, MosesSinger, JP Morgan Chase, KMPG, C3 Medical Device Consulting, Atostek, and White Plains Hospital.
About Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator
Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator (WCBA) is a competitive-entry, six-month-long program that helps grow emerging bioscience ventures by providing scientist and engineer inventors entrepreneurship education and business networking to access global funders and prospective team members. WCBA supports the development of Westchester as a hub of bioscience invention and commercialization by harnessing the creativity and ambition present in the academic institutions, spinouts from established companies and serial entrepreneurs. WCBA 41 alum ventures have raised $21.7M, added 31 employees, sold $4.5M and been awarded 5 competitive national SBIR grants.
FirstXFounder helps build emergent biosciences ventures founding the ELabNYC program for NYCEDC in 2012, the ABCT program for CTNext in 2017 and the Westchester County program in 2019. 155 ELabNYC alum ventures have raised $800M and created 255 jobs; 58 ABCT alumni ventures collectively raised $131M and created 161 jobs; and 41 WCBA alumni ventures have raised $21.7M and created 31 jobs.
For more information, visit www.wcbaccelerator.com
Media Contact Doris Alcivar doris@firstxfounder.com
SOURCE WCBA
The selected startups were chosen following an extensive screening process. Expert scientists, active investors and business strategists rated the ventures based on metrics such as the strength of the team, uniqueness of insights into the problems they are solving, and their capacity to revolutionize the life sciences industry.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer said: “The Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator continues to attract a dynamic group of entrepreneurs who are pioneering innovations in diverse subsets of the life sciences industry. We are excited to welcome the newest cohort and proud to play a role in each of their growth journeys.”
Deborah Novick, Westchester County Office of Economic Development added, “From medical devices and apps to novel therapies, ventures supported by The Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator play a pivotal role in expanding and diversifying our local ecosystem, with the ultimate goal of improving human health. The participants selected for this cohort are creative, innovative and we are delighted to welcome them into the program.”
The 2024 WCBA cohort participants and ventures include:
• Anita Lee, RPh, MPH (Independent) - Digital Twin for Humans uses conversational and generative AI to assess, identify, and address health and social service needs throughout a person’s lifetime.
• Ariel Yusupov, MS (New York Medical College) – Our gene therapy, currently focused on prostate cancer, utilizes over-expressing factors in cancer to drive a multi-modal attack, designed to prevent resistance and more aggressive disease.
• Daniel Gareau, PhD, MCR (Rockefeller University) – SurgiVance’s diagnostic medical device will serve as a “histopathology lab in a box” to meet needs in pathology markets, including specialty surgery, driving better cancer care.
• Evris Gavathiotis, PhD (Albert Einstein College of Medicine) - Our technology encompasses a novel small molecule therapeutic strategy that exhibits broad efficacy in diverse cancers, aiming to advance to clinical stage.
• Glen Prusky, M.Sc., PhD (Burke Neurological Institute/Weill Cornell Medicine) – Gaze Engine Inc. is perfecting an efficient methodology to measure the visual contrast sensitivity function, which promises to replace visual acuity measures as the standard for routine vision assessment.
• Hourinaz Behesti, PhD (Rockefeller University) - Hebbian Bio is building a personalized technology platform to develop first-in-class therapeutics for patients with currently untreatable neurodevelopmental/psychiatric disorders.
• Ilya Popov, MBA (Independent) - ComeBack Mobility has developed a Smart Crutch Tips IoT device and mobile apps that let patients know how to apply the right amount of force to the recovering limb and remote therapeutic monitoring service for providers. It reduces the number of revision surgeries, expediting recovery for 8 weeks and improving healing with additional revenue for practices.
• Katia Rojas, MSc., PhD, PMP (Independent) - Suabix is a groundbreaking AI-driven platform that empowers MedTech product developers with crucial guidance and capabilities to develop safe and user-friendly healthcare products.
• Kirsten Hund Blair, MBA, MPA and Kevin McClarren, BSBA (Independent) - Lambent Data’s collaborative and HIPAA-compliant software, including data analytics and AI, equips healthcare/social service providers and empowers patients/clients, to improve outcomes in health and Social Drivers of Health and reduce healthcare costs.
• Michael Beaton, BA (Independent) - A mobile app that provides point of need diagnostics for sexually transmitted infections. Using Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) as indicators of infection status and Zero-Knowledge proof algorithms to protect patient privacy.
• Robin Ji, PhD and Elisa Konofagou, PhD (Columbia University) - Delsona Therapeutics is a portable focused ultrasound system for non-invasive and targeted treatment of neurological diseases.
• Zach Sawaged, MS (Independent) - Concordare is a suite of web-application tools that have an exclusive ability to read and write a novel digital clinical trial protocol called a CPTM.
Members of last year’s cohort have since accomplished a number of important milestones. Chris Buser, founder of BioCubic, a Nanoscale tissue imaging data company has started generating sales. Chitra Dorai, founder of Amicus Brain Innovations, has been selected as a semi-finalist Discovery Award winner in the #LongitudePrize on Dementia. Victor Varnado, founder of Databinder, received an NSF SBIR award as a first-time applicant. KRIASH founder, Neetika Ashwani won the Columbia Venture Competition Millard Chan Technology Challenge for a wearable device to reduce neonatal morbidity and mortality. Aligneage Fertility, led by Justine Witzke, opened their first boutique fertility clinic.
For more information on these ventures and their successes, read the Impact Report for WCBA 2023.WCBA is supported by Westchester County Office of Economic Development, and corporate supporters: Pfizer, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, MosesSinger, JP Morgan Chase, KMPG, C3 Medical Device Consulting, Atostek, and White Plains Hospital.
About Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator
Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator (WCBA) is a competitive-entry, six-month-long program that helps grow emerging bioscience ventures by providing scientist and engineer inventors entrepreneurship education and business networking to access global funders and prospective team members. WCBA supports the development of Westchester as a hub of bioscience invention and commercialization by harnessing the creativity and ambition present in the academic institutions, spinouts from established companies and serial entrepreneurs. WCBA 41 alum ventures have raised $21.7M, added 31 employees, sold $4.5M and been awarded 5 competitive national SBIR grants.
FirstXFounder helps build emergent biosciences ventures founding the ELabNYC program for NYCEDC in 2012, the ABCT program for CTNext in 2017 and the Westchester County program in 2019. 155 ELabNYC alum ventures have raised $800M and created 255 jobs; 58 ABCT alumni ventures collectively raised $131M and created 161 jobs; and 41 WCBA alumni ventures have raised $21.7M and created 31 jobs.
For more information, visit www.wcbaccelerator.com
Media Contact Doris Alcivar doris@firstxfounder.com
SOURCE WCBA
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