GreenMark Wins $100,000 in Funding at Accelerate Michigan
DETROIT, Nov. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- GreenMark Biomedical Inc. today announced it was awarded the $100,000 Second Prize at the 2018 Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition (AMIC), which includes an investment from Invest Michigan and ID Ventures as well as a $25,000 grant. AMIC supports Michigan's entrepreneurial ecosystem by inviting entrepreneurs to showcase their companies to angel and venture capital investors while building connections with fellow entrepreneurs and business acceleration resources. GreenMark was among the 24 semi-finalists selected from 300 applicants. As an opportunity to make sector-relevant investor connections, each semi-finalist company was paired in eight separate investor meetings and participated in two 30-minute official pitch sessions, with local VCs as judges choosing the top six ventures to move on to the finals' presentations.
"The innovation that we've seen at this year's pitch competition is a testament to the extraordinary talent in Michigan and GreenMark's award is an acknowledgment of their original approach to addressing issues in dentistry that affect millions of people throughout the world," said Martin Dober, senior VP and managing director of ID Ventures. According to GreenMark's Chairman and CEO Steven Bloembergen, Ph.D., "Keeping a new venture funded while advancing the business is always a challenge, but we've been impressed by the many entrepreneurial resources that have taken root in Michigan. We have taken full advantage of these, including this well-organized event, and I would be remiss not to acknowledge all the resources and strong support from local mentors in the state of Michigan."
In addition to the $100,000 AMIC award, GreenMark has benefited from state funding, including two MCRN Small Company Innovation Program grants, supporting a key collaboration with the University of Michigan (U of M) School of Dentistry, as well as a Business Accelerator Fund grant from the Michigan Small Business Development Corporation that facilitated engagement of a professional regulatory firm. In addition, a Small Business Innovative Research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for its dental diagnostic, along with its collaborators at U of M, helped the company secure a Seed Round with three investment groups, all based in Michigan. GreenMark and its U of M collaborators also received a second NIH grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), through the Michigan-Pittsburgh-Wyss Regenerative Medicine (MPWRM) Resource Center. This grant will assist GreenMark in its development of a non-invasive treatment product aimed at preventing fully developed cavities.
About GreenMark Biomedical Inc.
GreenMark is a minimally invasive healthcare company founded in 2016, developing technologies that involve small biopolymer particles produced from food-grade starch. These particles make an ideal carrier for medical and dental applications, given human enzymes in our body and saliva degrade starch. Dental Caries (tooth decay) is a disease that impacts 96 percent of Americans and is the most prevalent chronic disease in the world. Using its unique platform, GreenMark is developing and commercializing a method to identify the disease in its early stages and to treat it without using the dental drill. The company's diagnostic product is to be used by dental professionals as part of the routine dental exam to better detect, assess and monitor non-invasive treatment of Dental Caries. The diagnostic product contains fluorescently labeled starch particles that target active cavities and illuminate them using a standard curing light found in every dental practice. At early stages (before cavitation), non-surgical management options can be used, resulting in less discomfort and improved long-term oral health outcomes for patients.
GreenMark's team has also demonstrated the ability to load the essential minerals, depleted as a result of tooth decay, directly inside the small starch particles. While current fluoride products merely seal the enamel surface without restoring the dominant subsurface lesion, GreenMark's treatment is designed to target the enamel subsurface, and it is being further developed as part of one of its NIH grants.
GreenMark Biomedical Inc. has an office located at 325 E. Grand River Avenue, Suite 314, East Lansing, MI 48823, and lab facilities at 1600 Huron Parkway, Building 520, 2nd Floor, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Contact: info@greenmark.bio or (517) 896-3665. See www.greenmark.bio.
About Accelerate Michigan Business Competition
Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition (AMIC), a program of ID Ventures, is a competition that supports Michigan's entrepreneurial ecosystem by offering entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase their companies to investors while building connections with entrepreneurs, business acceleration resources and experts in their sector during carefully curated individual meetings. AMIC supports entrepreneurs who are taking risks and driving innovation in high-tech industries. The competition features the best and brightest seed-stage businesses and introduces them to angel and venture capital firms while awarding up to $1 million in cash and prizes. Since inception, the growing startup companies have hired over 1,000 people and attracted more than $550 million in additional investment. For more information, visit www.acceleratemichigan.org.
About Invest Michigan
Invest Michigan manages an investment fund that finances technology-based companies at early stages of product commercialization. Launched in mid-2014 through the support of the Michigan Strategic Fund, Invest Michigan has completed 92 investments in 49 companies across the state of Michigan. For more information, please visit www.investmichigan.org.
About ID Ventures
ID Ventures, the venture team of Invest Detroit, supports promising Michigan-based high-tech startups through investment capital and programs that strengthen the startup ecosystem. As a collaborative investor and community partner, our approach is to provide inclusive access to resources for Michigan entrepreneurs with high-growth potential. See www.investdetroit.vc.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of NIH, is the nation's leading funder of research on oral, dental and craniofacial health. To learn more about NIDCR, please visit http://www.nidcr.nih.gov.
About MPWRM Resource Center: The translation of innovative tissue engineering/regenerative medicine technologies requires a new approach to bringing dental, oral and craniofacial technologies to clinical practice. To meet this need, an integrated multidisciplinary resource center has been established as a partnership between University of Michigan, University of Pittsburgh/McGowan Institute and Harvard University/Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. This NIH/NIDCR-funded center, through cooperative agreement U24-DE026915 and named the Michigan-Pittsburgh-Wyss Regenerative Medicine (MPWRM) Resource Center, supports regenerative medicine of dental, oral and craniofacial complex, and consists of leaders with clinical, basic science, engineering and business expertise. Its Interdisciplinary Translational Project (ITP) programs and resource infrastructure support navigation through the regulatory process and pre-clinical studies. The goal of the ITP programs is to translate innovations which address the ongoing clinical need to restore or create healthy functional dental, oral and craniofacial tissues to commercial reality. See https://doctrc.pitt.edu/funded-projects/.
Related Links
GreenMark Biotechnologies Inc. Website
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SOURCE GreenMark Biomedical Inc.
