HOUSTON, Jan. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The U.S.
Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that Raptamer
Discovery Group is one of only 38 companies, seven organizations
and 14 individuals in the country to receive the prestigious
Tibbetts Award for their accomplishments in creating cutting-edge
technologies. The Tibbetts Award, named after Roland Tibbetts, the founder of the Small
Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, honors these awardees
for the exceptional successes they have achieved through SBA's SBIR
and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.
"I am incredibly proud that Houston's technology ecosystem assists in the
conception and development of innovative businesses such as
Raptamer Discovery Group. It is with great honor and privilege that
we recognize their accomplishment, and continue to support their
efforts," said Tim Jeffcoat,
District Director in Houston of
the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Raptamer Discovery Group, previously called AM Biotechnologies,
leverages innovative and proprietary technology to generate
Raptamers, which are next-generation DNA aptamers that have unique
chemical properties to achieve higher-affinity binding and greater
specificity compared to standard aptamers. The Raptamer technology,
first developed by Dr. David
Gorenstein's laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch and acquired by
Fannin Innovation Studio in 2019, has commercial applications in
therapeutics, and research and clinical diagnostics. To date,
Raptamer Discovery Group has developed Raptamers for more than 60
global customers.
"We are delighted to have received this award for Raptamer
Discovery Group which, along with the Tibbetts Award that Fannin
Innovation Studio received in 2016, provides further scientific and
business validation of our model and vision," said Dr. Atul Varadhachary, Managing Partner at Fannin
Innovation Studio. "We are excited by the research and clinical
utility of the Raptamer technology, and its broad application
across therapeutics and diagnostics including biomarker discovery
in several diseases, for which we currently have an SBIR
grant."
The SBIR/STTR program funding has been instrumental in Raptamer
Discovery Group's technical and commercial success. The funding has
led to numerous innovations, including 12 patents, and has enabled
the team to develop the innovative technology into a
revenue-generating company with a 14-year history. The company's
commercial success has also allowed it to expand into two new lab
spaces and create over 16 full-time jobs – all milestones that
would have been unachievable without SBIR/STTR funding.
"Commercialization of this novel technology, which combines the
rapid generation of multiple lead compounds with affordable
scalability, is a great demonstration of how the government,
academia, and small businesses can come together to launch
innovative products," added Dr. David
Gorenstein, founder of the Raptamer technology.
About Raptamer Discovery Group
AM Biotechnologies, LLC (dba Raptamer Discovery Group) has
developed Raptamers for more than 60 global customers, has received
over $6 million in investment, and
$7.5 million of non-dilutive funding
from agencies, including: the National Aeronautics and Space Agency
(NASA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The company has also
secured funding from organizations such as the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation, which funded the company in an effort to help
target malaria in resource-limited countries. For more information,
visit http://www.raptamer.com, or email us at
contact@raptamer.com.
About Fannin Innovation Studio
Houston-based Fannin Innovation
Studio is an early-stage life sciences development group focused
exclusively on commercializing biotech and medtech technologies.
Fannin creates and manages
startups to develop internal and in-licensed programs. To further
bridge the commercialization gap, Fannin's fellowship and internship programs
provide aspiring entrepreneurs with hands-on development experience
with its portfolio companies. Fannin was a recipient of the Tibbetts award
in 2016 and is a 3-time SBA Growth Accelerator Award winner. For
more information, visit http://www.fanninInnovation.com, or email
us at innovate@fannininnovation.com
For More Information:
Raptamer Discovery Group
Contact@raptamer.com
713.966.5844
Media Contact
Serena Miggins, Fannin Innovation
Studio, +1 7139665844, innovate@fannininnovation.com
Twitter
SOURCE Raptamer Discovery Group