Texas governor Rick Perry announced earlier this week that the state is investing $9.2 million in three medical device companies (spun out from InCube Labs) to develop and commercialize treatments for iron-deficiency anemia, epilepsy, and atrial fibrillation. The companies are moving from California (doubtful that the state had much money to throw at these start-ups anyway).
 
“Texas continues to be a leader in jobs, innovation and technological development, thanks in part to investments through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, which have attracted top researchers and cutting-edge companies to the state,” Perry said. “InCube’s three spin-out companies have the potential to develop groundbreaking treatments for some of the most common and most challenging medical conditions we are faced with today.”
 
The awards went to the following companies:
 
 
• Corhythm Inc. ($3.1 million): for the development of an implantable treatment that detects early onset of atrial fibrillation and chronic heart failure. The device uses recent advances in semiconductor technology and materials science to provide pacing and defibrillation, delivering targeted drugs when an atrial fibrillation is detected.
• Fe3 Medical Inc. ($2.8 million): for the commercialization of a drug-delivery technology that enables the safe, nontoxic transport of approximately 10 mg of iron across the skin for those who suffer with iron-deficiency anemia.
• Neurolink Inc. ($3.2 million): for the development of an implantable device that predicts seizures and treats the underlying disease through intracranial drug delivery.
—Lawrence Lloyd