The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) www.masslifesciences.com, an investment agency supporting life sciences innovation, research, development, and commercialization is charged with running a ten year $1 billion state-funded investment initiative.
MLSC has awarded three grants through the agency’s Universal Partnerships (UP) Program which enables Massachusetts companies to partner with colleagues around the world to address health challenges.
The grants were awarded to Barrett Technology www.barrett.com for a collaboration with SenseGraphics http://sensegrapics.com in Sweden, CamMed www.myevopump.com for a collaboration with Dongguan Xindingyuan Jidian Equipment Company in China, and Felicitex Therapeutics www.felicitex.com for a collaboration with Selvita S.A www.selvita.com/pl in Poland.
Barrett Technology of Newton awarded $200,000 is developing an interactive rehabilitation robot for use with survivors of stroke and other neurological disorders. The device will allow for the capture and recording of performance data to access ongoing treatment. The collaboration with SenseGraphics will help develop haptic simulation software to use with the robotic hardware.
CamMed a company from west Newton was awarded $175,000 to create a patch-like device that incorporates a micro pump as a means to deliver drugs with initial focus on delivering insulin to diabetic patients. The collaborator is Dongguan Xindingyuan Jidian Equipment Company, a small manufacturing company in China.
Felicitex Therapeutics also of Newton received a grant for $200,000 to develop anti-cancer drugs to target a newly recognized quiescent cancer cell. These cells are resistant to conventional anti- cancer therapies and are believed to be the source of surviving tumor material, particularly in pancreatic, ovarian, and breast cancers.
In addition, the company seeks to specifically target these cells using a novel tyrosine kinase inhibitor, for which they have an initial candidate. The company has established a collaboration with Selvita S.A, a company from Poland that will synthesize a number of variants that will then be tested for optimal activity.