One company is reprogramming immune cells to fight HPV. Another is using AI to help
hospitals track patient medications in real time, cutting down on avoidable
readmissions. A third is building a device that preserves breastmilk while also checking
its nutritional quality.
And to think, Scarlet TCR, DrRx.ai and PumpKin Baby are only three of the 16
companies that will make up the first cohort at the New Jersey Innovation Hub, powered
by Portal Innovations venture. It’s a cohort that shows the depth of research taking
place at one of the key pillars of HELIX, the life sciences ecosystem being built in New
Brunswick.
The three are joined by 13 other founding members, spanning biotech, therapeutics,
health care AI and life sciences services.
BioNJ, New Jersey’s life sciences trade association which will have an office there, also is a founding member.
Here is a list of the 16 companies, which will be formally introduced on Tuesday, BINJE
has learned:
- Commoner AI: It focuses on workflow automation for companies of all sizes and scale;
- DrRx.ai: AI platform giving health systems real-time visibility into patient
medications across care transitions; - Favorite Pharma: Precision medicine oncology therapies, including pancreatic
and colorectal cancers; - Guidant Therapeutics: Next-generation immune therapies for cancer;
- Larada Therapeutics: Treatments for rare ocular diseases with no currently
approved therapies; - LeagueMed, LLC: Investment platform connecting health care professionals to
MedTech and health IT opportunities; - Materium Technologies: Sustainable, high-performance nanocomposite films
using machine learning; - PFA Solve: PFAS detection, capture and destruction technology;
- PharmaMedic, LLC: Medical, regulatory and product development consulting for pharma and biotech companies;
- Phase 1 Solutions: Hands-on drug development support for early-phase clinical trials;
- PumpKin Baby: A breastmilk preservative device that also assesses nutritional quality of frozen human milk;
- Sampled: Helping organizations unlock the value of biological samples and data for research;
- Scarlet TCR: Engineered T cell therapy targeting HPV;
- TangGene: Tissue-specific CD8 regulatory T cell therapies for autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis;
- Thrive Genetics: Genomics-based addiction care, including earlier risk detection and personalized treatment;
- Ubuntu Research: Clinical strategy, trial design and operational support for early-stage biotechs.
The nearly 30,000-square-foot hub is located inside HELIX, the sprawling health and life
sciences district in New Brunswick. The Hub is designed to support early-stage
biotechnology, life sciences, health care and technology companies like those in the
cohort.
Members get access to private and shared lab space, equipment, offices, conference
rooms and Portal’s national network of founders, pharmaceutical partners and research
institutions — it’s the kind of infrastructure that’s typically out of reach for companies this
early in their life.
The cohort, which will work under the direction of Sangeetha Ramsagar, the inaugural
executive director, also is the largest founding cohort Portal Innovations has launched
anywhere in its national network.
John Flavin, the founder of Portal, has said the potential in New Jersey is great.
BioNJ has long felt that way. And as a foundational member, it will serve as a vital link
within the NJIH ecosystem, facilitating collaboration between early-stage startups,
global biopharma giants, academic researchers and venture capitalists.
The hub is the product of a broad public-private partnership that includes the state of
New Jersey, Rutgers University, the N.J. Economic Development Authority,
RWJBarnabas Health, Hackensack Meridian Health, Portal Innovations, the New
Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO) and Johnson & Johnson, alongside the
broader HELIX ecosystem.
The research pedigree behind many of the founding companies helps explain why New
Brunswick made sense as a location.
Several trace their origins directly to work done at New Jersey’s research universities,
including Rutgers, Princeton and the NJIT, meaning the hub isn’t just importing
companies, it’s capturing science that started in the state to begin with.
Not every founding member has New Jersey roots, though.
Two (PharmaMedic and Materium Technologies) came from considerably farther away.
PharmaMedic arrived from overseas, while Materium relocated from California, both
landing in New Brunswick through Middlesex County’s international marketing efforts.
Additional companies are expected to join the hub in the coming months.
