Company Stories F

Faeth Therapeutics .... Falkonry ..... Fallbrook Technologies ... Famigo ... Faraday Pharmaceuticals .... Farodox Energy Storage ... FarSounder ... Far-Tech .... FastCAP Systems ... Fate Therapeutics ... Fathom .... Fe3 Medical ...... FEI ... Femasys ..... Femta Pharmaceuticals ... Ferrate Treatment Technologies ..... Ferric Contrast ..... FerroKin BioSciences ... Fervo Energy .... Feuz Manufacturing ... FGC Plasma Solutions ..... Fiberight .... Fiber Materials ... Fiber&Sensor  Fibersense ... Fiberstar Bio-Ingredient Technologies .... Fibertek .... Fibrocell Science ... FibroGen ... FIGUR8 .... Filter Sensing Technologies ... Finally Light Bulb ..... Finch Therapeutics Group ..... FineLine Prototyping .... Finisar ... Fire Alarm Specialty Design ... Firefly BioWorks ... Firefly Energy .... Firefly LED ... First Solar ... Fisker Automotive ... Five Prime Therapeutics ..... Flex Biomedical ... Flexion Therapeutics .... Flex Pharma .... Flextronics America ... Flexus Biosciences .... FLIR Systems ... FloDesign Wind Turbine ... FlowCardia ... FlowMedica ... FlowMetric .... FlowMetrix ... FluGen ... Fluidigm ... Fluid Innovation Group ... Fluidnet ... FluoroPharma ... Fog Pharma ..... Foghorn Therapeutics ..... FokusLabs ..... Follica ... FoldRx Pharmaceuticals ... Footnote ... Foresight Biotherapeutics .... Forest Devices ..... Forge Therapeutics ..... F-Origin ... Forma Therapeutics ... Formlabs .... For-Robin .... ForSight Vision5 ... Fortify ..... Fortis Therapeutics ..... Forty Seven ..... Forum Pharmaceuticals ..... Forus Health .... Forward Slope ... Foster-Miller... Foundation Medicine ... Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center .... Fractal Antenna Systems ... Fractyl Labs ..... Freedom Meditech ... Free Form Fibers ... Free Flow Power ...Frequency Therapeutics ..... Froedtert Health .... Frontier NanoSystems .... Frontier Technology ..... Front Range Biosciences .... FRX Polymers ... FTL Solar ... FuelCell Energy ... Fuel Tech ... Fulcrum Therapeutics ..... Fulgent Therapeutics ..... Full Spectrum Genetics .... Furiex .... Fused Innocation ... Fusion Coolant Systems ...  Future Technologies

Faeth Therapeutics (San Francisco, CA)

Faeth Therapeutics (San Francisco, CA; no SBIR) raised $20 million in a seed round. founded to translate breakthrough discoveries, made by world-leading cancer research laboratories into clinical practice. The startup is converging precision therapeutics, software, and nutrition to treat cancer. Precise nutritional interventions are delivered to the patient at home, with AI-guided software [Emma Betuel, TechCrunch, Jan 26, 22]

Falkonry

The U.S. Air Force has tentatively selected over 500 companies for contracts worth $550M combined as part of an initiative launched with its AFWERX innovation arm and [SBIR]. The service said the AFVentures effort includes a strategic financing initiative where the firms will get a total of over $200M in government funding as well as $350M in private funds. [Brenda Marie Rivers, govconwire, Mar 16, 20]  almost half going to the following 21 companies: Aerial Applications, Analytical Space ($3M prior SBIR), Anduril (one prior SBIR) , Applied Minds ($8M prior SBIR), Elroy Air, Sentient ($3.2M prior SBIR) , Icon, Enview ($700K prior SBIR), Edgybees ($700K prior SBIR) , Falkonry (one prior SBIR), Swarm Technologies ($1M prior SBIR) , Orbital Insight (one prior SBIR), Orbital Sidekick ($800K prior SBIR), Virtualitics (one prior SBIR) , Wickr (one prior SBIR), Tectus Corp (one prior SBIR), Valulytics, Shift.org, Pison ($1M prior SBIR), Revacomm. One other company hasn’t been named yet. These “big bet” companies are slated to receive four-year, fixed-price contracts worth a combined $550+ million through AFVentures’ Strategic Financing (STRATFI) program. This amount includes $100+ million in SBIR funds, $100+ million in Air Force funding and $350+ million in private investment. Roper said he believes future rounds of funding will be bigger. [AF Press release , Mar 13, 20]

Fallbrook Technologies (San Diego, CA)

Fallbrook Technologies (Cedar Park, TX; no SBIR, founded 2004, 100 employees) that has developed a more fuel-efficient transmission system for cars and trucks has received $8.3 million for expansion. part of a $20 million round the company is in the process of raising. ...  flagship product is its “NuVinci” continuously variable transmission, which it says is a greener ... holds 600 patents, has signed deals with three major manufacturers   [Lori Hawkins, Austin American Statesman, Jul 19, 14]

Fallbrook Technologies (San Diego, CA; no SBIR) has raised another $6 million in venture capital, according to an amended IPO registration form the company filed with government regulators Friday. Fallbrook, which is developing an innovative continuously variable transmission (CVT) for a variety of applications, originally filed for an IPO in February ...  launched the first version of its NuVinci transmission for bicycles in 2007 ... With the most recent Series E venture investment, entities associated with Rabobank of The Netherlands, have a 24.6 percent stake ... cleantech venture firm NGEN Partners increased its ownership to 24.2 percent. Both groups provided $2 million in additional venture funding, as did a third, unidentified venture investor. The company says it has raised a total of $62 million to develop its core CVT technology and develop products for various markets, and has a combined total of 365 patents and patent filings [Bruce Bigelow, signonsandiego.com, Sep 18, 10]

Famigo (Texas)

When startup FireFly LED Lighting (Austin, TX; no SBIR) was accepted into the Austin Technology Incubator two years ago, its LED bulbs were still prototypes.  Since then, the company has launched its product line, signed customers including Kerbey Lane Cafe and the University of Texas and received $3.4 million from backers including the Central Texas Angel Network and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.....  Since its founding in 1989 by legendary business leader George Kozmetsky, ATI has worked with more than 200 startups, helping them raise nearly $1 billion in investment capital.  [Lori Hawkins, Austin American Statesman, Jan 26, 12]  Graduates: Agile Planet,  Atomometrics, Axelo, Calxeda, Dorsan Biofuels, Famigo, GameSalad, Ideal Power Converters, Itzbig, Nitero, Notice Technologies, Open Algae, Qcue, RFMicron, RRE Solar,  Savara Pharmaceuticals, Spredfast, Terapio ($500K  SBIR), Unwired Nation, WiMax.com. 

Farodox Energy Storage

Nanohmics (Austin, TX; $16M SBIR)  was among 44 companies nationwide recognized for success in commercializing science and technology innovations with the help of [SBIR] Nanohmics President and co-founder Mike Mayo was at the White House last week to receive the Tibbetts Award, which recognizes companies that have achieve excellence using SBIR. ... founded in 2002, created two new companies to commercialize unique technologies. ... The SBIR program "allowed three first-time entrepreneurs to take the risk of creating a new venture," Mayo said. So far, he said, that has led to the creation of 30 jobs in the Austin area.  Faradox Energy Storage develops high-performance capacitors that can operate in high temperatures. GlideLine Systems develops parachute navigation systems for military special forces personnel.  [Austin American Statesman, Feb 22, 11] Believe what you will about what the Tibbetts Award actually recognizes.  Roland Tibbetts had an interesting idea of an SBIR for NSF which had never funded much small for profit business. But by the time the politicians and the federal agencies captured SBIR for their purposes, the idea had been mangled by self-serving federal management. Nearly thirty years later, it still cannot show any net economic gain over what would have happened if the federal agencies just spent their R&D unmolested by such social programs. Nevertheless, the SBIR advocates hold the principle that anecdote is the singular of data, and if you accept the anecdotes, the whole data must be a mere multiple of them. 

The Texas Emerging Technology Fund is pumping more money into Central Texas technology startups.  Six more Austin companies have won grants totaling $5.3 million.  Among the six new grant winners is year-old NanoMedical Systems (no SBIR) which will use its $3.5 million to develop a tiny implantable capsule that delivers drugs a few molecules at a time, with the dosage controlled precisely for each patient. The company is completing a prototype using $4 million from a private investor, said co-founder and chief executive Randy Goodall. The grant will help fund it through the complex and time-consuming process of seeking Food and Drug Administration approval, Goodall said. ...... Farodox Energy Storage  (no SBIR), which has developed a new fabrication process for high-performance electrical capacitors, $250,000; ...  Ironbridge Technologies (no SBIR), which is developing self-heating food packaging technology, $250,000;  ... Merkatum (no SBIR), which is developing fingerprint and facial recognition identity technologies, $250,000;   .....  Stellarray (no SBIR), which is commercializing flat-panel radiation source technology, $750,000; ...  Sunrise Ridge Algae (no SBIR), which is commercializing technology to turn algae into a renewable energy source. [Lori Hawkins, Austin  American-Statesman, Nov 17, 08]

FarSounder (Warwick, RI)

FarSounder (Warwick, RI; one SBIR) also got a $2M NIST grant to develop a navigation sonar system.

Far-Tech(San Diego,CA)

The rest of DOE,'s Phase II list also shows a preference for SBIR experience: Euclid Labs (Solon, OH; $18M SBIR since 2004, all DOE including one $10M award), four new Phase IIs; Radiabeam Technologies (Santa Monica, CA, $10M SBIR since 2005  SBIR) three awards; Tech-x (Boulder, CO; something over $50M SBIR since 1994) three new awards Muons (Batavia, IL;  $13M since 2002 SBIR, all DOE) three awards; Far-Tech (San Diego, CA;$9+M SBIR since 2003) two awards; Ridgetop Group (Tucson, AZ; $10M SBIR since 2002) two awards;  Calabazas Creek Research (San Mateo, CA; $26M since 1994) two awards; Niowave (Lansing, MI;  $5M since 2007 SBIR) two awards; Mesa Photonics  (Santa Fe, NM;  $0.8M since 2008 SBIR) two awards; Green Mountain Radio Research ( Colchester, VT;  $5.7M SBIR)  two awards.  Of 104 awards, 33 went to multiple winners who already had collected $378M SBIR from the federal government.  Is DOE over-emphasizing contractor competence at the expense of companies and technologies with brighter futures?  No one knows becasue Congress shows little interest in the question, and the agency has a bias toward making itself smarter.  

FastCAP Systems (Cambridge,MA)

several Massachusetts projects will receive a total of $33.2 million in federal funding for energy research.  1366 Technologies (Lexington) $4 million; , Agrivida (Medford; $300K SBIR) $4.6 million for efforts to cut the costs of cellulosic biofuels and chemicals; MIT $7 million on all-liquid metal grid-scale batteries; FastCAP Systems (Cambridge) $5.3 million to reduce the cost of hybrid and electric vehicles and of grid-scale storage; FloDesign Wind Turbine (Wilbraham) on new high efficiency shrouded wind turbines that could reduce noise and safety concerns $8.3 million ; Sun Catalytix (Cambridge) $4 million for a novel catalyst to enhance the efficiency of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. [Boston Globe, Oct 27, 09]

Fe3 Medical (San Antonio, TX)

Fe3 Medical (San Antionio, TX; no SBIR) announced the close of its [$11M] Series B financing for clinical trials and regulatory submissions required to obtain CE Mark and FDA approval for the transdermal patch. [company press release, Apr 10, 19] moving forward with its wearable patch that uses electrical current to deliver iron directly through the skin to treat one of the world’s most common deficiencies. [Conor Hale, Fierce Biotech, Apr 11, 19]

Fe3 Medical  (San Antonio, TX; no SBIR) which is developing a skin patch that can deliver iron to an anemia patient’s bloodstream via electric current, received an additional $3.5 million in a Series B funding round [from] the state of Texas ...  has now raised a total of $14.5 million.   [Angela Shaw, xconomy.com, Aug 9, 16]

Fe3 Medical (San Antonio, TX; no SBIR) announced the close of its Series B financing [with $11M] ...  is an early stage company developing a novel transdermal therapy for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia. The approach and technology for Fe3 was developed at InCube Labs, a multi-disciplinary life sciences R&D lab focused on developing breakthrough medical innovations.  [company press release, Mar 2, 16]

FEI (Hillsboro, OR)

Shareholders of  FEI  (Hillsboro, OR; $300K SBIR) “overwhelmingly” approved the company’s proposed [$4.2B] acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific.  [Malia Spencer, Portland Business Journal, Aug 30, 16]

FEI (Hillsboro, OR; $350K SBIR,more than 3,000 employees globally ) up 14% [May 27, 16]  Leading scientific-instrument company Thermo Fisher Scientific announced  it will buy FEI [designs electron microscopes used to study proteins] for about $4.2 billion in cash. [Rachel Lerman, Seattle Times, May 27, 16]

FEI (Hillsboro, OR; $300K SBIR) is buying DCG Systems (Fremont, CA; no SBIR) in an all-cash $160 million deal. ... DCG makes failure analysis tools and other products for semiconductor and electronics manufacturers.   [Malia Spencer, Portland Business Journal, Oct 27, 15]

FEI up 10% [Jul 31,15]

FEI (Hillsboro, OR; $300K SBIR) raised its dividend by 10% [Jun 5, 15]

For FEI (Hillsboro, OR; $300K SBIR) microscope manufacturer of high-powered microscopes, the life sciences is one of its fastest growing markets.  Oregon Health & Science University's Living Lab for Cell Biology is one driver behind that growth. FEI recently added a new, high-powered light microscope to the lab.  ...  The FEI CorrSight instrument, valued at around $1 million, enables researchers to observe live cell dynamics, using visible light microscopy and fixing the cells for follow up with an FEI electron microscope.  ...  There are bigger players than FEI in light microscopy, but it's the largest electron microscope maker, [VP] Williams said.    [Elizabeth Hayes, Portland Business Journal, Dec 15, 14] 

FEI (Hillsboro, OR; $300K SBIR, two decades ago) has opened a 300,000 square foot tech center in Brno, Czech Republic.  The massive facility took 18 months to build and cost about $38 million. The facility will employ 600 people and produce about 60 percent of the company’s electron microscopes. ....  Earlier this year the company revealed it will close some facilities as well as consolidating operations in the Czech Republic.   [Malia Spencer, Portland Business Journal, Sep 18, 14]  Is that good news or bad news for the SBIR idea of seeding new tech for future American jobs as the politicians and lobbyists advocate?  Even the profits and the tax on the profits will stay overseas.

FEI down 12% [Jul 31, 14]

FEI (Hillsboro, OR; $200K SBIR) doubled its dividend

FEI upped its dividend by half [Jun 6, 13]

FEI up 21%  [Aug 3, 12]

FEIup 14% [Oct 28, 11]

FEI  down 10% [Oct 3,11]

FEI up 16% [Feb 4, 11]

FEI up 10% [Nov 3, 10]

FEI (Hillsboro, OR; $300K SBIR) up 5% authorized a buyback program of four million shares, citing its strong cash flow and positive outlook. [Wall Street Journal, Sep 21, 10]

FEI  said that its fourth-quarter bookings beat its forecast by more than 13 percent.  [The Oregonian, Jan 6, 09]

The vanguard of Oregon's nanotechnology industry was the state's best-performing stock in the first quarter. Shares of FEI Co. leapt 37% as it shocked investors with unexpectedly strong sales and a profit surge. [Oregonian, Apr 1, 07]

FEI lost 14% after reporting a fourth-quarter loss and saying it ended merger talks with Germany's Carl Zeiss.  FEI had one Navy SBIR Phase 2 in 1993 five years after the Phase 1. Note: the SBIR law imposes no time limit on Phase 2.

Femasys (Suwanee, GA)

Femasys (Suwanee, GA; no SBIR) raised a $10.2 million Series B financing round ...  developed a non-surgical female sterilization device (FemBlo Permanent Contraceptive System) that allows physicians to deliver a biomaterial through a catheter based system to permanently block the fallopian tubes allowing for a reduction in risks and costs by eliminating the use of anesthesia and permanent implants.  [Phil Hudson, Atlanta Business Chronicle, May 1, 15]

Femta Pharmaceuticals (San Diego, CA)

Femta Pharmaceuticals (San Diego, CA; no SBIR)  raised $2.2 million in equity and options financing ... to develop antibody drugs with super-high affinity, meaning they bind tightly to their chosen target on cells, and can be effective at tiny doses  [Luke Timmerman, signonsandiego, com, Jul 15, 10]

Ferrate Treatment Technologies (Orlando, FL)

Ferrate Treatment Technologies (Orlando, FL ; one SBIR) plans to use a chemically unusual form of iron to clean water up, not make it dirty. ... A machine small enough to be carried around in a pickup truck, Mr Daly claims, could generate enough ferrates to purify 75m litres (20m American gallons) of water a day. The system is now being tested at two plants in Florida.  [The Economist, Jan 20, 11]

Ferric Contrast (Hamburg, NY)

Ferric Contrast (Hamburg, NY; no SBIR, founded 2017, two employees) (spinout from SUNY Buffalo) received a NSF STTR to develop an iron-based MRI contrast agent as an alternative to gadolinium-based media. [auntminnie.com, Feb 7, 18]

FerroKin BioSciences (San Francisco,CA)

Clarus Ventures, which has backed some big Bay Area biotech M&A winners over the past year, is raising $375 million for a third fund, part of a $2 billion or more surge in life sciences VC funds over the past year.   ....  It invested in the East Bay's FerroKin BioSciences ($100K SBIR) which Shire bought in 2012 for up to $325 million, Redwood City  respiratory disease drug developer Pearl Therapeutics  (Redwood City, no SBIR), which AstraZeneca bought in June for $1 billion, and eye drug maker SARcode Bioscience (no SBIR) purchased a year ago by Shire for at least $160 million. It also has put money into up-and-comers like cancer drug developer Cleave Biosciences (Burlingame, no SBIR).  [Ron Leuty, San Francisco Business Times, Feb 7, 14] 

A new hardware startup accelerator has launched in Sunnyvale [CA], offering $1 million in funding and services to companies it accepts.  The SKTA Innovation Center is an offshoot of the U.S. wing of Korea's biggest wireless operator, SK Telecom.  It plans to match up entrepreneurs who are working on IT infrastructure technologies and products with strategic partners, including SK Telecom itself.  [Cromwell Schubarth, Silicon Valley Business Journal, Feb 21, 14]  Looking for a perfect

[Irish drug developer] Shire agreed to acquire FerroKin BioSciences (San Francisco, CA; one 2010 SBIR) for an upfront payment of $100 million plus potential milestone payments of up to $225 million, depending upon development, regulatory and net sales targets.  .... developing a new drug candidate, now known as FBS0701, that is a once-daily oral capsule for the treatment of iron overload due to chronic blood transfusions in adults and children.    [John George, Philadelphia Business Journal, Mar 16, 12]  I had a close relative die recently from complications of undetected excess iron accumulation. 

Fervo Energy (San Francisco, CA)

Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) aims to invest $1 billion into radical energy startups capable of drastically cutting global emissions. The investees: QuantumScape (San Jose, CA; no SBIR, founded 2010, total funding $100M) building an all-solid-state battery; Commonwealth Fusion Systems (Cambridge, MA; no SBIR, founded 2017, total funding $65M) nuclear-fusion reactor that uses high-temperature superconductors and aims to be the first fusion system to produce net-positive energy ; Pivot Bio (Emeryville, CA; one SBIR, founded 2010, total funding $17M) microbial solution that can replace nitrogen fertilizers; CarbonCure (Canada, founded 2007, total funding $9M) trapping carbon dioxide in concrete blocks, while endowing them with greater strength than conventional concrete; Fervo Energy (San Francisco, CA; no SBIR) rethinking geothermal power with the help of modern computational models and horizontal-drilling; DMC Biotechnologies (Boulder, CO; $900K SBIR, founded 2017, total funding $2M) tailoring microbes to produce high-value chemicals, including biofuels; Zero Mass Water (Scottsdale, AZ; founded 2014, no SBIR) specialized panels that use solar power and batteries to pull water from the air. [Akshat Rathi, Quartz, Sep 26, 18]

Feuz Manufacturing (Rotterdam NY)

GE is suing a former supplier from  for allegedly stealing trade secrets ... Feuz Manufacturing (Rotterdam NY; no SBIR), made parts that GE Energy used in the manufacturing of gas turbines, including pins, rotors and other turbine parts.  GE claims that Feuz used GE's engineering designs to make parts that it sold to GE competitors. [Albany Times-Union, Sep 29]

FGC Plasma Solutions (Argonne, IL)

“NASA iTech is an innovation incubator that brings together the right people to the right place and time, giving entrepreneurs an opportunity to present their technologies as a future commercial market product solution for both Earth and NASA,” said Kira Blackwell, program executive for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters.  Blackwell, also said the top 18 companies that have previously participated in NASA iTech have reported raising more than $50 million in private investments over the last 12 months.  The top ten competitors for the grand prize:  BioVirtua (San Francisco, CA; no SBIR)  Humanizing Telehealth in Four Dimensions;  FGC Plasma Solutions (Argonne, IL; no SBIR) Novel Fuel Injectors to Enable Clean, Compact Propulsion ; Germfalcon (Los Angeles, CA; no SBIR)  Germicidal UVC Emitting Robot for Commercial Aircraft; H2 Energy Now (Boalsburg,PA; no SBIR)  New Technology for H2 Generation from Water in Space by Use of Electromagnetic Waves;  Hyperloop Tansportation Technologies (Los Angeles, CA; no SBIR, 500-1000 employees) Augmented Voyage;  iFirst Medical Technologies (Honolulu, HI; no SBIR, founded 2016) The iFirst Analyzer: Handheld Laboratory-grade Diagnostics Platform for Extreme Environments;  Million Concepts (Lemont, PA; no SBIR) The Arisian Lens: A Novel Solution for Low-cost, Lightweight Microscopy;  New Frontier Aerospace (Livermore, CA; no SBIR, founded 2015) Affordable, Powered​ ​Recovery​ ​for​ ​Small​ ​Launch​ ​Vehicles;  Rice Technology (Milwaukee, WI; no SBIR) Smart Real-Time Multipurpose Sensor - Dissolved and Suspended Solids, Bacteria, Phosphorus and Viruses;  Somatic Labs (Phoenix, AZ; no SBIR, founded 2015) Tactile Interfaces for Augmented Reality to Enhance Communication.

Fiber &Sensor Technologies (Blacksburg, VA)

Though Murphy had flunked out of Virginia Western Community College three times when he first started working with glass and light, he was smart. He had a knack for making things work better and was notorious for juicing up motorcycles he raced with friends. A would-be electrical engineer who skipped his own studies, Murphy was known as a slacker who would shout out answers to complicated math problems as he wandered the halls of his high school, from which he graduated third from the bottom in class of 430. [Nicholas Johnston, Washington Post, Dec 16,02]Not an auspicious start for an entrepreneur, or is it notice that the education system lacks something? This Murphy founded Luna Innovations (Blacksburg, VA) to mine technology from Va Tech. It started in 1990 as Fiber & Sensor Technologies which submitted lots of SBIR proposals to embed optical fibers in almost anything, winning at least 22 Phase 2s and another 15 or so recent Phase 1s which are candidates for Phase 2. .Why not?  Feeding 100 employees is no small task. He also has five commercial companies funded privately with another 50 employees. Murphy paid hsi dues to the academics by eventually getting an MEE from Virginia Tech. Whether his tech transfer entrepreneuring returns much to Tech remains to be seen, but it at least makes a good human interest story. Like most TT stories, the emotional outweigs the economic.

Fiberight (Halethorpe, MD)

Fifteen university research teams from Maryland will receive a total of $4.1 million to work with local companies to turn their research into products that could one day be sold on the commercial market.  .... MIPS will contribute $1.8 million and private companies will contribute $2.8 million. The companies:  A&G Pharmaceutical (Columbia, MD; no SBIR),  Rehabtics LLC (Baltimore, MD; no SBIR)  High Impact Environmental (Church Hill, MD; no SBIR),  Birich Technologies (Towson, MD; no SBIR), Earth Networks (Germantown, MD; no SBIR), Fiberight (Halethorpe, MD; no SBIR), CoolCAD Electronics (College Park,MD $1.6M SBIR), XChanger Companies (Annapolis, MD; no SBIR), Remedium Technologies (College Park, MD; no SBIR), Pothole Pros LLC (Waldorf, MD; no SBIR), Hoopers Island Oyster Aquaculture (Fishers Creek, MD; no SBIR),  Metompkin Seafood (Crisfield, MD; no SBIR) GreatGrow Maryland LLC (Rock Hall, MD; no  SBIR), vCalc (Hagerstown, MD;  SBIR), Shore Thing Shellfish (Tall Timbers, MD; no SBIR). ($114,094)  [Sarah Gantz,  Baltimore Business Journal, Feb 26, 14] 

Fiber Materials (Biddeford, ME)

former president of Fiber Materials (Biddeford, ME; $13M SBIR) agreed to plead guilty to federal charges arising from a bribery scheme ....  accused of orchestrating a conspiracy that involved two officials at the Army Space and Missile Defense Command. He faces up to 20 years in prison. ... Prosecutors say [he] and the officials agreed to split and personally use money earmarked for missile defense contracts. [They] have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. .... Most of the material delivered by [sub-contractor] was worthless, a fact that [the Army officials] covered up while continuing to funnel earmarked money to [his] sham companies in return for a share of the gains  [AP, Jan 24]  Fiber had a very nice business in ICBM nose cones until the Cold War stopped.

Earmarks Too Tempting.  Two former missile-command officials pleaded guilty early this year in federal court to public-corruption and conspiracy charges. Their plea agreements detail a conspiracy in which politically connected defense contractors that lobbied for congressional funding, called earmarks, bribed the officials to steer the funds to sham subcontractors.... The Army Space and Missile Defense Command (the Army's Star Wars component) awards some $500 million a year in research work. In some years as much as one-third of the funds is directed by members of Congress through earmarks or other means to contractors in this military boomtown.   Two SBIR firms have been named in news reports of the ongoing probe: Vicus Technologies (Kennebunk, ME; $2M SBIR), and Fiber Materials (Biddeford, ME; $13M SBIR)  [John Wilke, Wall Street Journal, Apr 14]

Intermat (Biddeford, ME; $400K SBIR) landed a $12M contract for materials science R&D for the U.S. Navy. [Mass High Tech, Jan 23, 08]  The company is a subsidiary of nosecone materials expert Fiber Materials (17 Phase 2 SBIRs and counting)whose prospects were substantially dimmed by the standown of US ICBMs after the Cold War. 

Fibersense (Canton, MA)

Fibersense had three SBIR Phase 1s to engineer GPS navigation units for missiles, was bought by Northrop Grumman for $44M. (Jan 03)

Fiberstar Bio-Ingredient Technologies (Eau Claire, WI)

Seven [Wisconsin] companies each will receive a $75,000 grant under a new program aimed at helping them commercialize their products. The first-ever grants are being distributed by a program called SBIR Advance. ... with $1 million from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and administered by the UW-Extension Center for Technology Commercialization.   All of the companies have already received [SBIR or STTR]. But they aren't able to use those funds for activities like patent work and customer development and validation. receiving the grants are: C-Motive Technologies (Madison, WI; one SBIR)  Isthmus Biosciences (Madison, WI; one SBIR); Nutrient Recovery and Upcycling LLC (Madison, WI; one SBIR);  Pan Genome Systems (Madison, WI; one SBIR);  V-Glass LLC  (Milwaukee, WI; one SBIR); Fiberstar Bio-Ingredient Technologies (Eau Claire,WI; one SBIR);  Medical Cyberworlds (Verona, WI; $600K SBIR).  [Kathleen Gallagher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Sep 25, 14]

Fibertek

Future Army contracts. The Army revealed a new roster of industry partners under a potential $37.4B contract that covers knowledge-based professional engineering support services to command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance programs. SBIR companies: Artel (now big, $300K); Dynetics (now big, 31 awards); Macaulay-Brown (now big, 23 awards); NetCentric (now big, $900K); Scientific Research (Now big, $16M); Array Information Technology (one SBIR); Bennett Aerospace (21 SBIR awards); Envistacom (one SBIR); Fibertek (127 SBIRs); Future Technologies ($1M); Fulcrum ($1.2M); LinQuest ($1M); Manufacturing Techniques (One SBIR); Navmar Applied Sciences (68 awards); Peerless Technologies ($2.6M); Research Innovations (one SBIR); Sonalysts (128 awards); SURVICE Engineering (50 awards); Truestone (one SBIR).[GovConWire, Oct 19, 18]

Fibrocell Science (Exton, PA)

Fibrocell Science (Exton, PA; no SBIR), focused on transformational autologous cell-based therapies for skin and connective tissue diseases, announced the completion of a collaboration agreement with Castle Creek Pharmaceuticals (Parsippany, NJ, no SBIR) to develop and commercialize Fibrocell’s lead gene therapy candidate, FCX-007, for the treatment of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), a rare, life-threatening genetic disorder diagnosed at infancy with no cure or treatment approved by [FDA].  .... Castle Creek  will receive an exclusive license to commercialize FCX-007 in the United States. Castle Creek Pwill be responsible for all development and manufacturing expenses up to $20 million prior to the initial Biologics License Application (BLA) filing with the FDA. .... Fibrocell will receive an upfront payment of $7.5 million, $2.5 million for the first patient enrolled in the Phase 3 clinical trial and $30 million upon BLA approval and commercial readiness. Fibrocell is also eligible to receive up to $75 million in sales milestones, consisting of $25 million when FCX-007 achieves $250 million in cumulative net sales and an additional $50 million upon attaining $750 million in cumulative net sales. In addition, Castle Creek Pharmaceuticals will pay Fibrocell a 30% share of the gross profits from FCX-007 sales.  [Fibrocell press release, Apr 15, 19]

Fibrocell Science (Exton, PA; no SBIR, founded 1995), a gene therapy company focused on transformational autologous cell-based therapies for skin and connective tissue diseases, announced the closing of the public [stock] offering [for] approximately $10.5 million [company press release, Dec 12, 17] had 1:3 reverse stock split earlier in 2017, total funding $115M [crunchbase]

Fibrocell Science  (Exton, PA; no SBIR) said  it has eliminated 24 positions — half its total workforce — and “actively” seeking a buyer for azficel-T, an experimental treatment for vocal cord scarring.  [John George, Philadelphia Business Journal, Jun 30, 16]..   announced significant cost savings are expected from the wind-down of its azficel-T operations and that the Company is focusing its efforts and resources on its gene therapy portfolio of product candidates that are developed in conjunction with Intrexon Corporation—FCX-007 for the treatment of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), FCX-013 for the treatment of linear scleroderma, and genetically-modified fibroblasts for the treatment of arthritis and related conditions.   [company press release, Jun 29, 16]

Fibrocell Science (Exton, PA; no SBIR) an autologous cell and gene therapy company translating personalized biologics into medical breakthroughs, and Intrexon (Germantown, PA; no SBIR) , a leader in synthetic biology, today announced an Exclusive Channel Collaboration (ECC) for the development of genetically-modified fibroblasts to treat chronic inflammatory and degenerative diseases of the joint, including arthritis and related conditions.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, arthritis—characterized by joint inflammation, pain, and decreased range of motion—is the United States’ most common cause of disability affecting more than 52 million adults as well as 300,000 children at a cost exceeding $120 billion. [joint companies press release, Jan 4, 16]

Fibrocell Sciences (Exton, PA; no SBIR) closed a $15 million stock offering for its continued development of new therapies to treat skin disorders.   ...Earlier this week, Fibrocell (NASDAQ: FCSC) and its product development partner Intrexon (Germantown, MD; no SBIR) submitted a investigational new drug application with the Food and Drug administration seeking to approval to begin human testing of FCX-007.  [John George, Philadelphia Business Journal, Jul 22, 15]

Fibrocell Science (Exton, PA; no SBIR, 72 employees) raised $42.1 million in net proceeds through a previously announced public stock offering ...   to fund clinical testing of additional uses for its azficel-T therapy, now approved as a treatment of wrinkles, such as treating burn scars, vocal cord scars and acne scars.   [John George, Philadephia Business Journal, Oct 1, 13]

Fibrocell Science (Exton, PA; no SBIR) said  it plans to begin a phase-II clinical trial to assess the potential of azficel-T for treating restrictive burn scars during the first quarter of 2013.[John George Philadelphia Business Journal, Dec 17, 12]

Fibrocell Science (formerly Isolagen, Exton, PA; no SBIR) signed an agreement to establish a joint venture with Hefei Meifu Bio-Tech Ltd. Co. of China to market Fibrocell’s cellular therapy products in Asia, except for Japan.  [John George, Philadelphia Business Journal, Nov 3, 10]  Hefei is twice the size of Houston and who every heard of it? 

Fibrocell Science (Exton, PA; no SBIR) entered into a $3.8 million securities purchase agreement with unidentified accredited investors. .... developing regenerative cell therapy treatments for aesthetic, medical and scientific applications. [John George, Philadelphia Business Journal, Mar 3, 10]

FibroGen (South San Francisco, CA)

Pamrevlumab flunked a second phase 3 Duchenne muscular dystrophy trial in quick succession to send FibroGen (So San Francisco, CA; $1.3M SBIR) deeper into the mire. [Nick Paul Taylor, Fierce Biotech, Aug 28, 2023]

FibroGen is laying off 104 employees after a trio of recent trial failures while ImmuneID is restructuring to fund its upcoming clinical development. [Max Bayer, Fierce Biotech, Jul 19, 2023]

Fibrogen (San Francisco, CA; eight SBIRs) down 83% [Jun 26, 2023] Based on the results of ZEPHYRUS-1, ZEPHYRUS-2, the second Phase 3 clinical trial, will be discontinued. [company press releasae, Jun 26, 2023]

Fibrogen (San Francisco, CA; eight SBIRs) announced topline data from the Phase 3 LELANTOS-1 placebo-controlled trial of pamrevlumab for the treatment of non-ambulatory patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) on background corticosteroids. The study did not meet the primary endpoint of Performance of the Upper Limb 2.0 (PUL 2.0) score at week 52 compared to baseline. [company press release, Jun 7, 2023]

FibroGen (SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA; $1.1M SBIR) up 26% [May 10, 22]

FibroGen down 42% [Jul 16, 21] announced that [FDA] voted to recommend not approving roxadustat, an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase (HIF-PH) inhibitor, for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adult patients. [company press release, Jul 15, 21]

Fibrogen (South San Francisco, CA; $1.3M SBIR) down 43% [Apr 7, 21]

FibroGen (South San Francisco, CA; $1.3M SBIR) down 25% [Mar 2, 21] FibroGen and partner, AstraZeneca announced that the Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee of [FDA] will hold an advisory committee (AdCom) meeting to review the new drug application for roxadustat in the U.S. [company press release, Mar 1, 21]

Fibrogen down 20% [May 10, 19]

FibroGen (San Francisco, CA; no SBIR) and partners AstraZeneca and Astellas Pharma have reported that their experimental drug, roxadustat, has succeeded in five more Phase 3 trials, which bolster its chances of approvals in the U.S. and Europe—if it proves safe when a key analysis is done next year. [Ben Fidler, xconomy.com, Dec 20, 18]

FibroGen up 10% [Jan 25,18]

FibroGen down 11% [Nov 9, 17]

Fibrogen down 12% [Aug 9, 17]

FibroGen (South San Francisco, CA; $1.3M SBIR) up 48% [Aug 8, 17] announced positive topline results from the company's Phase 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study and two combination safety sub-studies of pamrevlumab in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Pamrevlumab is a proprietary, first-in-class, anti-connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) antibody being evaluated in fibrotic disease and cancer.  [company press release, Aug 7, 17]

FibroGen (San Francisco, CA; $1.8M SBIR) up 14% [Apr 6, 17] announced that the company has priced an underwritten follow-on offering, which is expected to raise gross proceeds of approximately $120 million.  [company press release, Apr 6, 17]

Akebia Therapeutics (Cambridge, MA; no SBIR) won a patent suit against rival Fibrogen in Europe related to drugs the two companies are developing for anemia. CEO John Butler said in a statement that the company will now look for a partner in Europe for its prospective anemia drug, vadadustat, to complement the $350 million deal it has already signed with Mitsubishi Tanabe in various Asian countries. [Ben Fidler, xconomy.com, Mar 10, 16]

Fibrogen down 11% [Mar 15,16]

Fibrogen up 14% [Feb 11, 16]

FibroGen (S San Francisco, CA; $1.1M SBIR) up 16% [Oct 19,15]

FibroGen (San Francisco CA; $1.2M SBIR) up 13% [Sep 8, 15]

Fibrogen (S San Francisco, CA; $1.3M SBIR) up 12% [Jun 8, 15]

Fibrogen up 10% [Dec 5, 14]

FibroGen (S San Francisco, CA; $1.2M SBIR)  up 22% [Nov 14, 14]

Drug developer FibroGen (San Francisco, CA; $1.3M SBIR), one of the anchors of San Francisco's Mission Bay biotech enclave, wants to raise $125 million in an initial public offering. ... to commercialize a range of experimental drugs in its portfolio, but the FibroGen story for investors may revolve around streams of revenue it expects from licensing and collaboration deals with Astellas Pharma Inc. and AstraZeneca.    [Ron Leuty, San Francisco Business Times, Oct 1, 14]

Drug developer FibroGen (South San Francisco, CA; $1.3M SBIR over  decade) one of the anchors of San Francisco's Mission Bay biotech enclave, wants to raise $125 million in an [IPO]  ... to commercialize a range of experimental drugs in its portfolio [Ron Leuty, San Francisco Business Times, Oct 1, 14] 

Presage Biosciences (Seattle, WA; no SBIR) has been named one of FierceBiotech ’s “Fierce 15” of 2013.  ... a spinoff company of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center  .... patented a novel method for simultaneously analyzing multiple cancer drug candidates and drug combinations within a single tumor while that tumor is still in a patient.  .... FierceBiotech evaluates hundreds of private companies from around the world each year before selecting the 15 it considers the most innovative, creative and promising.   The other Fierce 14 are:   Acetylon Pharmaceuticals;   AnaptysBio;  CytomX  (Santa Barbara, CA; $500K SBIR); FibroGen  (South San Francisco, CA; $1.3M SBIR);  Immunocore; Jounce Therapeutics;  Kala Pharmaceuticals;  MacroGenics  (Rockville, MD; $2.6M SBIR) ; Moderna Therapeutics; Nimbus Discovery; Scioderm; Ultragenyx;  UniQure; and Visterra.  [Valerie Bauman,  Puget Sound Business Journal , Sep 24] 

AstraZeneca took a further step to bolster its new drug pipeline on Wednesday by striking a deal with private biotech firm FibroGen (South San Francisco, CA; $1.3M SBIR) potentially worth more than $815 million for rights to an experimental anaemia drug. Britain's second biggest drugmaker will pay $350 million upfront and in subsequent non-contingent payments, plus future development-related milestone payments of up to $465 million, for rights to FG-4592 in the United States, China and certain other markets. [Reuters, Jul 30, 13]

San Francisco hopes to develop the commercial zone around UCSF's Mission Bay campus with help from biotech firm FibroGen (South San Francisco, CA; $1.3M SBIR), which is participating in an incubator to help medical startups become companies.....  moved to San Francisco last year and now has 250 employees, has devoted some unused space at its Mission Bay headquarters to the incubator, which has signed up five startups and has room for more, company officials said  [Tom Abate, San Francisco Chronicle, Jul 15, 09]

FIGUR8 (Boston, MA)

MIT spinout FIGUR8 (Boston, MA; $200K SBIR) closes $25M round to analyze musculoskeletal health with AI [Hannah Green, BostonInno, August 10, 2023]

Filter Sensing Technologies (Cambridge, MA)

Filter Sensing Technologies (Cambridge, MA; one SBIR) is among four organizations sharing $8.4 million in U.S. Department of Energy grants intended to improve the efficiency of motor vehicle engines and powertrain systems. ...  will receive $2 million to develop low-cost sensors and controls that can reduce the overall cost and complexity of engine and emission control systems, while providing performance benefits. [James Connolly, Mass High Tech, Sep 27, 11]

Finally Light Bulb (Boston, MA)

Finally Light Bulb (Boston, MA; no SBIR, founded 2010) that sells a new type of light bulb based on technology invented by Nikola Tesla, announced  it has raised a $50 million Series D round, bringing its total funding to $93 million. .... Finally Light’s signature bulb is different from the average light bulb because its core is made of copper instead of tungsten. [Lucia Maffei, Boston Inno, Mar 30, 18] total funding $93M [crunchbase.com]

FineLine Prototyping (Raleigh, NC)

FineLine Prototyping  (Raleigh, NC; no SBIR) that performs additive manufacturing, otherwise known as 3-D printing, has been acquired by Proto Labs (Maple Plain, MN; no SBIR, founded 1999) for $38 million.   ....  Proto Labs focuses on "quick-turn" manufacturing of custom parts using computer numerical control (CNC) machining and injection molding. [Jesse Burkhart, Triangle Business Journal, Apr 23, 14]

Finisar (Sunnyvale, CA)

Finisar (Sunnyvale CA; one SBIR in 1994, market cap $2.2B) up 23% [Dec 13, 17] Apple is awarding one of its key suppliers [Finisar] $390 million as part of its effort to fund U.S. technology manufacturers, the tech giant said  ... second-largest supplier of a laser technology for the iPhone X’s facial-recognition capabilities, to speed up production and boost its research-and-development efforts, Apple said. [Cara Lombardo, Wall Street Journal, Dec 13, 17]

Finisar (one SBIR) up 10% [May 22, 17]

Finisar (Menlo Park, CA; one SBIR) down 23% [Mar 10, 17]

Finisar (Menlo Park, CA; one SBIR) up 17% [Mar 11, 16] reported third-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street analysts’ estimates and gave an upbeat outlook for its current, fiscal fourth quarter. Better-than-expected demand from China was cited  [Rex Crum, San Jose Mercury News, Mar 11, 16]

Finisar up 22% [Dec 11, 15]

Finisar down 18% [Sep 11, 15]

Finisar down 22% [Jun 13, 14]

Finisar (Menlo Park, CA; one SBIR) up 15% [Aug 7, 13]

Finisar (Sunnyvale, CA; one SBIR)  up 10% [Jun 19, 13] network equipment maker  reported a quarterly profit that beat analysts' expectations as demand for its fiber optic products rose.  [Reuters, Jun 19]

Finisar (Menlo Park, CA; one SBIR two decades ago) down 10% [Jan 18, 13]

Finisar  (Sunnyvale, CA; one SBIR) said it plans to offer $75 million of convertible senior notes.  [Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, Oct 7, 09]

Fire Alarm Specialty Design (Windham, CT)

[The] company that makes a Bluetooth-enabled meat thermometer has received a $100,000 grant a $250,000 loan from the state in the latest round of Small Business Express aid packages  iDevices (Avon, CT; no SBIR), launched the iGrill meat thermometer [that] can communicate with an iPhone or iPad through a wireless Bluetooth connection, and let its user know when the meat is ready.  ....  Grow Home Organics (Guilford, CT;  no SBIR) which makes products for outdoor kitchens and gardens, is receiving a matching grant of $83,800, ... Connecticut Valley Bindery (New Britain, CT; no SBIR) is receiving a matching grant of $50,000. ....Wethersfield Offset (Rocky Hill, CT;  noSBIR), a commercial printer, is receiving a matching grant of $55,721 ... Fire Alarm Specialty Design (Windham, CT;  SBIR) which designs fire and security alarm systems for healthcare, educational, municipal, commercial, and industrial uses, is receiving a $100,000 matching grant and a loan of $100,000. [Hartford Courant, Jul 11, 12]  Even though states complain of financial distress, they continue to put public money into private enterprise with little hope of economic return to preserve jobs. It's all politics. So what happens next year when the grants expire and such investment is still uneconomic for private investment?

Firefly BioWorks (Cambridge, MA)

Firefly BioWorks(Cambridge, MA; no SBIR)  biotech startup, has taken in $1.99 million in a new funding round that saw participation by 18 unnamed backers, company officials confirmed  ...  follows closely on the heels of a $2 million [NIH] SBIR    .... to have its biomarker platform move into beta testing, primarily in research labs. “Our long-term plan is to be a diagnostics company, but for the moment we are focusing exclusively on the research market because we need to demonstrate the robustness of the platform,” he said   [Rodney Brown, Mass High Tech, Oct 21, 11]

Life sciences startup Firefly BioWorks (Cambridge, MA; no previous SBIR). has landed a $2 million [SBIR] contract from the National Cancer Institute to validate its microRNA assay technology and expand production capacity.[Mass High Tech, Aug 7, 11]

Firefly Energy

Big Yellow Batteries.  Firefly Energy [Barbara Rose, Chicago Tribune, Oct 14]

Firefly LED (Austin, TX)

When startup FireFly LED Lighting (Austin, TX; no SBIR) was accepted into the Austin Technology Incubator two years ago, its LED bulbs were still prototypes.  Since then, the company has launched its product line, signed customers including Kerbey Lane Cafe and the University of Texas and received $3.4 million from backers including the Central Texas Angel Network and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.....  Since its founding in 1989 by legendary business leader George Kozmetsky, ATI has worked with more than 200 startups, helping them raise nearly $1 billion in investment capital.  [Lori Hawkins, Austin American Statesman, Jan 26, 12]  Graduates: Agile Planet,  Atomometrics, Axelo, Calxeda, Dorsan Biofuels, Famigo, GameSalad, Ideal Power Converters, Itzbig, Nitero, Notice Technologies, Open Algae, Qcue, RFMicron, RRE Solar,  Savara Pharmaceuticals, Spredfast, Terapio ($500K  SBIR), Unwired Nation, WiMax.com. 

FireFly LED (Austin, TX; no SBIR) startup that makes LED light bulbs, will receive a $3 million grant from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.  ...  housed in the Austin Technology Incubator, says its bulbs use less energy, generate less heat and last longer than traditional lighting.  ...  is working with the University of Texas on commercializing the product.   ...   last year raised $300,000 in seed money from angel investors [Austin American Statesman, Feb 10, 11]

Fisker Automotive

Uncle VC. DOE had a bolder idea ...  Fisker Automotive, a two-year-old business that has yet to sell a car, won loans from the federal government totaling $528 million. Fisker had joined a flock of other businesses seeking cash from the biggest venture capitalist of all, the U.S. government. The DOE hopes to lend or give out more than $40 billion to businesses working on "clean technology," ...  In the first nine months of 2009, the DOE doled out $13 billion in loans and grants to such firms. By contrast, v

Five Prime Thera down 10% [Jan 24,18]

enture-capital firms .. poured just $2.68 billion into the sector in that time, according to data tracker Cleantech Group. ... The result is an intertwining of public and private-sector interests in an arena where politics is never far from the surface.  [Neil King, Wall Street Journal, Dec 15]  Government's track record as a VC doesn't suggest much hope for success in picking economic "winners". Its two-plus decades of SBIR deliberately shuns any economic evaluation, and the $500+ million to the start-up auto company is to re-open a big Delaware (home of the VPOTUS) auto assembly factory amid a world over-capacity for auto production.

Flex Biomedical (Madison, WI)

Flex Biomedical  (Madison, WI; one SBIR) that is developing treatments for orthopedic diseases said Wednesday that it has raised $866,000 of outside funding. ....  to further develop its lead product, said Sal Braico, chief executive officer. Called Flex Polymer, the product is a synthetic, injectable substance with the potential to relieve pain and protect cartilage from further degradation  [Kathleen Gallagher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jan 26]

At least 14 [Wisconsin] biotech companies have received more than $3 million in grants ($240K each) from the Internal Revenue Service as part of a federal program to spur job growth at smaller firms and advance the country's life sciences prowess, according to a BioForward survey. ....  More than 5,600 companies applied for the grants and at least 4,000 companies were expected to receive them, according to BIO, the national trade organization for the biotech industry. .... The Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project was part of health care reform legislation passed earlier this year. The program provides grants or tax credits to companies of fewer than 250 employees to help create and sustain high-paying jobs and to advance the nation's competitiveness in life sciences. [Kathleen Gallagher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Nov 2] Flex Biomed (Madison, WI; one SBIR) ;  NanoMedex Pharmaceuticals (no SBIR); FluGen (no SBIR).  BTW, BIO is the political champion of VC in SBIR awards, a barrier to House-Senate agreement on SBIR re-authorization, which will be up in the air again as the House committees change leadership.

Aldevon (Fargo, ND; no SBIR), maker of DNA and protein products is putting a research and sales operation in [Wisconsin] ....  founded by two ND State U graduates, has more than 70 employees, and provides products and services to pharmaceutical companies and diagnostic test-makers.  ... also welcomed to Wisconsin: RJA Dispersions (no SBIR), VitalMedix (no SBIR) and Rapid Diagnostek (no SBIR), from Minnesota;Flex Biomedical (one SBIR) and Exact Sciences (no SBIR), from Massachusetts; NanoMedex ($1M SBIR), from Florida; and Inviragen ($2M SBIR) from Colorado. Biotechnology is the fastest-growing segment of the Wisconsin economy, with an annualized growth rate of nearly 7%, [Gov] Doyle said in a statement. The sector has 400 companies in the state with 34,000 employees.

Six start-ups will be recognized for making strides to commercialization at a biotech industry summit in October. ... part of a one-day Biotechnology Vision Summit 2009 that is being run by BioForward, an organization that represents Wisconsin's biotech industry. AquaMost LLC (Madison, WI; one SBIR) , Echometrix  (Madison, WI; no SBIR), Flex Biomedical Inc(Madison, WI; one SBIR), Semba Biosciences (Madison, WI; no SBIR),  Invivosciences LLC (Wauwatosa, WI; no SBIR), and Rapid Diagnostek Inc  (Hudson, WI; no SBIR).  [Kathleen Gallagher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sep 22, 09]

Flex Biomedical (Madison, WI; one SBIR)  developing treatments and diagnostics for orthopedic diseases, said that it has raised $985,000, including a $150,000 loan from the state's Technology Venture Fund, and that it is moving its operations from Boston to Madison. [Guy Boulton, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Aug 12, 09]

Flextronics America

Two technology companies are promising millions in investment and hundreds of new jobs in Central Texas, in exchange for state tax breaks.  The Austin City Council is set to vote on designating Flextronics America (no SBIR) and Spansion (no SBIR) as Enterprise Zone Projects under the Texas Enterprise Zone Act. That designation would allow the companies to get refunds on their state sales and use taxes.  [Austin American Statesman, May 15, 14]

Flexus Biosciences (San Carlos, CA)

Flexus Biosciences (San Carlos, CA; no time for SBIR) just went from inception in 2013 to a $1.25 billion sale agreement this week in less than two years. ...  [A] chance meeting of former colleagues led to a series of coffee meetings that later turned into a $12 million Series A investment by Kleiner Perkins on Halloween night in 2013.  ...  By the time that Flexus raised another $26 million in Series B funding this past December, its staff had grown to 31 people ... So how did Flexus get to the point that Bristol-Myers Squibb was willing to pay $800 million in upfront money and promise up to $450 million more in milestone payments? "It was a convergence of factors that had to do with good science, good execution and good luck," Rosen told me. [Cromwell Schubarth, Silicon Valley Business Journal, Feb 24, 15] Big pharma is paying big these days for new products with a future.

Bristol-Myers Squibb is acquiring closely held Flexus Biosciences (San Carlos, CA; no SBIR) in a deal valued at up to $1.25 billion [$800 million up front and up to $450 million in milestone payments] , representing an extraordinarily fast return for investors in the 2-year-old [immune oncology business that has raised just $38 million in total funding].   [Marlize van Romburgh, San Francisco Business Times, Feb 23, 15]

Flodesign Wind Turbine (Wilbraham, Ma)

FloDesign Sonics (Wilbraham, MA; $1.2M SBIR) announced a $10 million Series A ...  “to further develop their core acoustic separation technology platform and fund commercialization efforts in the bioprocessing market application.”  .... an acoustic platform based on the work of Dr. Bart Lipkens, a professor a Western New England University, that enables the use of acoustics in applications for filtration, separation, and purifcation, which, as Kowalski said, “are massive, massive industries and markets.”  [Dennis Keohane, betaboston.com, Apr 18, 14]

The first round of grants awarded under the Massachusetts-Israel Innovation Partnership, MIIP, were announced ... A total of at least $1.3 million ... SBH Sciences (Natick, MA;  no SBIR) and Improdia (Israel) will work together toward the development and manufacture of a chronic inflammation-dependent immunosuppression prognostic kit. $400K .... Automated Medical Instruments (Needham, MA;  no SBIR) will work with STI Lasers (Israel). They will develop new technology involving radio frequency energy to perform circumferential ablation of the pulmonary veins. $230K ...  Lantheus (North Billerica); no SBIR and Check-Cap (Israel) will work on a novel 3-D imaging capsule that can be used to screen for polyps and lesions associated with colorectal cancer.$600K ... FloDesign Sonics (Wilbraham, MA;  no SBIR) and Transbiodiesel (Israel) have been selected as the clean energy award winners. Their joint project will use FloDesign’s acoustic molecule separation technology to separate oil that can be used to create fuel from Transbiodiesel’s oil-generating algae. $75K. [DC Denison, Mass High Tech, Jun 19, 12]

Using features from jet engines, FloDesign Wind Turbine (Wilbraham, MA; one SBIR on gun muzzle flash suppression) created a compact prototype three times more efficient at turning wind into electricity than today's three-bladed windmills. ...  also received funding from the U.S. Energy Dept., hopes to raise an additional $25 million later this year.  [Business Week, Oct 29]

Several massachusetts projects will receive a total of $33.2 million in federal funding for energy research. 1366 Technologies (Lexington) $4 million; , Agrivida (Medford; $300K SBIR) $4.6 million for efforts to cut the costs of cellulosic biofuels and chemicals; MIT $7 million on all-liquid metal grid-scale batteries; FastCAP Systems (Cambridge) $5.3 million to reduce the cost of hybrid and electric vehicles and of grid-scale storage; FloDesign Wind Turbine (Wilbraham) on new high efficiency shrouded wind turbines that could reduce noise and safety concerns $8.3 million ; Sun Catalytix (Cambridge) $4 million for a novel catalyst to enhance the efficiency of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. [Boston Globe, Oct 27, 09]

FlowCardia

FlowCardia, a medical-device maker building catheter systems that bore holes in blood clots, raised $30 million in a third funding round; [Matt Marshall, Venture Beat, Sep 5, 07]

FlowMedica (Fremont,CA)

AngioDynamics (Queensbury, NY; no SBIR) a medical device manufacturer paid $1.75 million for the assets of a similar, smaller company in California.  ... the assets of FlowMedica (Fremont,CA; no SBIR),  backed by venture capitalists. FlowMedica, founded in 2002, is developing ways to deliver drugs to kidneys to keep the organs functioning after certain medical procedures.  [The Business review (Albany), Jan 13, 09]

FlowMetric (Bucks County, PA)

The Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center of Bucks County is getting some federal government money to expand yet again.  ... serves as an incubator for early-stage life sciences companies. The grant will support the addition of 15 laboratories at the site, which is expected to result in the creation of 90 new jobs.  ...  Nearly 300 people currently work at biotech center.  ...   Five for-profit life sciences companies — Flow Metric,  Novira Therapeutics, Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center  ($600K SBIR), Synergy Pharmaceuticals ($900K SBIR) , and Cross Current — have committed to leasing the new space being created at the center.   [John George, Philadelphia Business Journal, Oct 10, 14] 

FlowMetrix (Maynard, MA)

Flow Metrix (Maynard MA)  is being bought by Itron for its advanced leak detection systems for underground pipelines of which the US has 900,000 miles of buried water pipe that lose about 10% of their treated water through pipeline leaks.  [Itron Press release, Aug 16, 06]  Flow had two Phase 2 SBIRs from NSF. Sale price a secret.

FluGen (Madison, WI)

FluGen (Madison, WI; $4.4M SBIR) is developing M2SR, an influenza vaccine that is currently in human trials. FluGen Inc specializes in the fusion on intradermal delivery and vaccine biology. They are committed to forging a new and more effective weapon in the fight against influenza. [Wisconsin Inno, Sep 25, 20]

FluGen (Madison, WI; $4.3M SBIR) raised $8.18M in debt funding from a total of 47 undisclosed investors, according to an SEC filing. ... currently working with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and India-based Bharat Biotech to develop and test a vaccine for Covid-19. [WiscInno, May 14,20]

biopharmaceutical startup FluGen (Madison, WI; $3.5M SBIR), founded by Gabriele Neumann, Paul Radspinner and Yoshihiro Kawaoka, is working with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and India-based Bharat Biotech to develop and test a vaccine for COVID-19. Called CoroFlu, the vaccine is based on FluGen’s flu vaccine candidate known as M2SR, which is currently being tested in human clinical trials. To tailor the vaccine to treat coronavirus, FluGen scientists are inserting gene sequences from SARS-CoV-2 into M2SR so that the new vaccine will induce immunity against the coronavirus. [Katherine Davis, WiscInno, Apr 7, 20]

FluGen (Madison, WI; $1.7M SBIR, founded ) startup that is making a universal flu vaccine, has received $5.6M in debt financing, according to federal documents [to] manufacture more vaccines to study in a trial next summer. [Jim Dallke, WisconsinInno, Nov 28, 18]

FluGen (Madison, WI; $1.8M SBIR, founded 2007), developing a universal flu vaccine, raised $5.58M, according to [SEC] filing. [WisconsinInno, Nov 15. 18] prior funding $40M [crunchbase.com]

FluGen  (Madison, WI; no SBIR), an early-stage company developing vaccine candidates designed to protect against multiple types of influenza, has raised $5.5 million in debt financing.  ...  as now raised more than $27 million from investors since launching in 2007.  [Jeff Buchanan, xconomy.com, Aug 2, 17]

FluGen (Madison, WI; no SBIR) raised another $2 million from investors to support current and planned clinical trials of an experimental universal influenza vaccine that the startup is developing. ...  has now raised a total of about $22 million from investors, [CEO Paul] Radspinner says.  [Jeff Buchanan, xconomy.com, Apr 11, 17]

FluGen (Madison, WI; no SBIR) biotechnology developing flu vaccines, said it $12 million in a funding round led by some of the state's largest investors. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Aug 25, 15]

FluGen (Madison, WI; no SBIR), a vaccine and delivery product company, has received commitments from investors of $3.2 million, nearly all of the $3.9 million it is aiming to raise, according to its [SEC] filing. FluGen presented data earlier this year from animal studies suggesting a vaccine it has in development could be taken every three to five years and protect against a wide range of flu viruses. The company raised $7.8 million in 2011 [Kathleen Gallagher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jun 9, 14]

FluGen (Madison, WI; no SBIR) landed $7.8 million that should help bring one of its leading technologies into human clinical trials this year.  ....   to fund a Phase I clinical trial for its vaccine delivery device, a poker chip-sized, micro-needle skin patch the company says is more effective and less painful than standard needle injections.  [Kathleen Gallagher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Feb 21, 11]

At least 14 [Wisconsin] biotech companies have received more than $3 million in grants ($240K each) from the Internal Revenue Service as part of a federal program to spur job growth at smaller firms and advance the country's life sciences prowess, according to a BioForward survey. ....  More than 5,600 companies applied for the grants and at least 4,000 companies were expected to receive them, according to BIO, the national trade organization for the biotech industry. .... The Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project was part of health care reform legislation passed earlier this year. The program provides grants or tax credits to companies of fewer than 250 employees to help create and sustain high-paying jobs and to advance the nation's competitiveness in life sciences. [Kathleen Gallagher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Nov 2] Flex Biomed (Madison, WI; one SBIR) ;  NanoMedex Pharmaceuticals (no SBIR); FluGen (no SBIR).  BTW, BIO is the political champion of VC in SBIR awards, a barrier to House-Senate agreement on SBIR re-authorization, which will be up in the air again as the House committees change leadership.

FluGen (Madison, WI; no SBIR) has gotten rights from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation to further develop a new class of antiviral drugs with the potential to stop viruses after a patient has been infected [Kathleen Gallagher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jun 8, 10]    Last month, FluGen announced that its CHO-cell (Chinese hamster ovary<) system had, indeed, generated the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus without using eggs. The 10-employee company is ramping up its capability to type and bank cells next year in advance of seeking a clinical trial for its cell-based system, licensed last year to the company last year by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation(WARF). [Lynn Welch, Wisconsin Tech Network News, Nov 16, 09]

Fluidic Energy (Scottsdale, AZ)

 Zinc-air batteries, which use zinc metal as the anode and an alkaline paste as the electrolyte, are simple, inexpensive, nontoxic, and long-­lasting. But engineers haven't been able to figure out how to recharge them. Cody Friesen, an associate professor of materials science at Arizona State University, solved the problem by using a porous electrode and a liquid solution of zinc ions and additives as the electrolyte. He cofounded Fluidic Energy (Scottsdale, AZ; no SBIR) in 2007 to commercialize the design, and outside testing of its commercial prototype is planned for late fall.  [Neil Savage, MIT Tech Review, Sep/Oct09]

Fluidigm (South San Francisco, Ca)

Fluidigm up 18% [May 11, 21]

Fluidigm down 21% [Feb 11, 21]

Fluidigm down 27% [Aug 27, 20]

Fluidigm (South San Francisco, CA; $2M SBIR) up 30% [Aug 26, 20] announced that it has received [FDA] Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Advanta Dx SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay, an extraction-free saliva-based test to detect nucleic acid from the SARS‑CoV‑2 virus. The Covid-19 test is designed to be run on the company’s Biomark HD microfluidics platform. [company press release, Aug 25, 20]

Fluidigm (South San Francisco, CA; $2.4M SBIR) up 21% [Jul 31, 20] announced execution of a letter contract with the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, for a proposed project under the agency's Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program. The project, with a total proposed budget of up to $37 million, contemplates expanding production capacity and throughput capabilities for COVID-19 testing with Fluidigm(R) microfluidics technology. [company press release, Jul 31, 20]

Fluidigm up 20% [Jul 15, 20]

Fluidigm up 28% [Jul 8, 20]

Fluidigm up 16% [May 11, 20]

Fluidigm up 18% [May 7, 20]

Fluidign down 34% [Aug 2,19] announced financial results for the second quarter [company press release, Aug 1, 19]

Fluidigm up 11%  [Jun 20, 18]

Fluidigm up 11% [Feb 15, 18]

Fluidigm up 11% [Feb 13, 18]

Fluidigm up 14% [Feb 9,18]

Fluidigm down 15% [Nov 13, 17]

Fluidigm up 13% [Oct 20, 17]

Fluidigm up 15% [Aug 25, 17]

Fluidigm up 14% [Aug 8, 17]

Fluidigm down 11% [Jun 7,17]

Fluidigm down 10% [May 23,17]

Fluidigm up 18% [May 5, 17]

Fluidigm up 12% [Nov 8, 16]

Fluidigm  down 10% [Oct 21, 16]

Fluidigm up 12% [Oct 20, 16]

Fluidigm down 34% [Oct 13, 16] as instrument revenue fell short of expectations [company press release]

Fluidigm down 14% [Aug 5, 16]

Fluidigm down 16% [Feb 8, 16]

Fluidigm down 16% [Jan 20, 16]

Fluidigm down 14% [Jan 19, 16]

Fluidigm  up 46% [Oct 30, 15]

Fluidigm down 10% [Sep 25, 15]

Fluidigm down 36% [Aug 7, 15] on a bigger quarterly loss

Fluidigm down 28% [May 8, 15]

Fluidigm  up 10% [Jan 20, 15]

Fluidigm down 16% [May 6, 14]

Fluidigm  (SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA; $1.1M SBIR) down 11% [Apr 4, 14]

Fluidigm (South San Francisco, CA: $1.1M SBIR) will buy DVS Sciences (Sunnyvale, CA; no SBIR)  in a cash and stock deal worth about $207.5 million. ...makes similar laboratory research equipment that Fluidigm said is "directly in-line with our strategy."  [Steven E.F. Brown, San Francisco Business Times, Jan 29, 14] 

Fluidigm  up 12% [Jan 30, 14]

Fluidigm up 14% [Dec 18, 13]

Fluidigm up 24% [Oct 31, 13]

Fluidigm up 10% [Aug 2, 13]

Fluidigm up 12% [May 2, 13]

Fluidigm (South San Francisco, CA; $1.1M SBIR) hopes to raise $52.2 million in an offering  .....  for research and development and working capital, to commercialize products and for other general corporate purposes, it said. [Ron Leuty, San Francisco Business Times, Aug 16, 12]

Fluidigm (South San Francisco, CA) priced its IPO of up to $77.6 million  .... makes and develops microfluidic systems used in life sciences and agricultural biotech

Fluidigm (South San Francisco, CA; $1.1M SBIR), which makes equipment to control fluids in small volumes for applications such as genetic analysis, plans to raise up to $86.3 million in its [IPO] ...  company said it has sold systems to over 200 customers in over 20 countries worldwide. It had $25.4 million in revenue in 2009 and customers include Genentech, which is now part of Swiss drug developer Roche, and Novartis.   [AP, Dec 7, 10]

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state stem cell agency, has awarded $1B so far in research money.  SBIR companies got $10M of it.  Bio Time (Berkeley, CA; $300K SBIR)  $4.7M;   Vistagen Therapeutics (Burlingame, CA; $600K SBIR)  $970K; Gamma Medica Ideas  (Northridge, CA; $2.8M SBIR) $950K; Vala Sciences (San Diego, CA; $3M SBIR)  $900K; Invitrogen (Carlsbad, CA; $4M SBIR) $870K SBIR;  Fluidigm (South San Francisco, CA: $1.2M SBIR) [CIRM press release, Oct 28]  

Fluid Innovation Group

Austin startup Fluid Innovation (no SBIR) is making a game out of the arduous task of software commercialization.  VirtualVentures.com combines aspects of fantasy football and social networking, letting players become venture capitalists who make virtual investments. ...  has five employees and an offshore development team in Brazil, is backed by $1M from private investors. [Lori Hawkins, Austin American Statesman, Sep 24]

Fluid Innovation Group has completed a software commercialization deal with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.  Founded in 2005, Fluid Innovation works with businesses and institutions to transform their software into commercial products. [Austin American-Statesman, Jan 29, 07]

Fluidnet (Amesbury, MA)

Fluidnet(Amesbury, MA; no SBIR) reports in a federal document the company has raised $19.8 million of planned $25 million financing round.  ... waiting on [FDA] approval on its improved design for intraveneous fluid pumps used in hospitals. According to the company, the devices will reduce costs and improve the safety of patient care in hospitals.   [Rodney Brown, Mass High Tech, Aug 12, 11]

FluoroPharma (Boston, MA)

FluoroPharma Medical (Boston, MA; no SBIR), a PET imaging product developer in Boston, has raised $2.36 million of a planned $6 million financing ... products are designed to detect acute and chronic coronary artery disease and Alzheimer’s disease. It currently has clinical trials underway for two products aimed at myocardial cell activity and inflamed plaques within the coronary arteries.  [Michelle Lang, Mass High Tech, Jul 8,11]

FluoroPharma (Boston, MA; no SBIR) , developing molecular imaging agents for the Positron Emission Tomography market, said it has been issued a patent covering methods of imaging cardiovascular plaque formation.  [Chris Reidy, Boston Globe, Jan 27, 09]

Fluxion Biosciences (Alameda, CA)

Cell Microsystems (Durham, NC; $13M SBIR) announce the acquisition of Fluxion Biosciences (Alameda,CA; $4M SBIR), a leader in automated patch clamp technology and cell-based assay tools. This acquisition complements the Company’s platforms and applications based on the CellRaft technology [company press release, Aug 23, 2023] ... and announce the placement of their CellRaft AIR System at MBC BioLabs (San Carlos, CA; no SBIR), a premier life science incubator [company press release, Aug 3, 2023]

Fog Pharma

FogPharma (Cambridge, MA; no SBIR, founded 2016) announced the closing of a $66 million Series B financing.  ... R&D strategy is unique in that it pairs a broadly-enabling new drug class, designed to access the cell interior, with a massively parallelized engine to discover – rapidly and on-demand – drugs that engage the most intractable of disease targets. FogPharma's drug discovery engine has been configured to deliver multiple new medicines in rapid succession, with clinical entry for the first product, a first-in-class beta-catenin antagonist, by the end of 2019, followed by a steady stream of first-in-class clinical product candidates addressing other intractable targets. ....  total funding to-date to $77 million.   [company press release, May 16, 18]

startup Fog Pharma hasn’t made any formal announcements yet, but Harvard prof and serial entrepreneur Greg Verdine gave some insight into the startup’s plans last week. The company, he said, is developing a new class of molecules called “cell penetrating mini proteins,” which combine attributes of small molecules and biologics. Small molecules are synthetic chemicals that are slight enough to slip into cells and to reach targets inside of them, but they are not able to bind to all of those targets.  [Ben Fidler, xconomy.com, Apr 13, 16]

FokusLabs (Wake Forest, NC)

NC IDEA has awarded more than $200,000 in grants to five North Carolina startups.  Three of them are: FokusLabs (Wake Forest, NC; no SBIR) has developed an intervention tool designed to remind individuals with autism and ADHD to get back on task when their attention wanders.  NIRvana Sciences (Durham, NC; no SBIR) is focused on novel fluorescent dyes developed at N.C. State University for use with medical diagnostic and imaging tests.   Panacea Solutions (Research Triangle Park, NC; no SBIR)  is using robotic technology to create low-cost, 30-day supply nutritional packets that are personalized for an individual’s needs.   [David Ranii, Raleigh News & Observer, Dec 10, 13]

FoldRx Pharmaceuticals

Pfizer says it will buy  FoldRx Pharmaceuticals (Cambridge, MA; no SBIR) for an undisclosed amount, expanding its pipeline of potential products. .... developing potential treatments for diseases caused by protein misfolding, which is increasingly recognized as an underlying cause in many chronic degenerative diseases.[AP, Sep 1, 10]

FoldRx Pharmaceuticals (Cambridge, MA; no SBIR), a small molecule therapeutics firm ... completed a $29 million funding round that it said would support the development and commercialization of tafamidis, its treatment for a genetic and potentially fatal neurodegenerative disease called TTR amyloid polyneuropathy.  [Michelle Lang, Mass High Tech, Jun 15, 10]

EnVivo Pharmaceuticals (Redwood City, CA; one SBIR) and FoldRx Pharmaceuticals (no SBIR) will share with four other companies a $2.1 million grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF). [Mass High Tech, Jan 26, 10]

Follica (Boston, MA)

Follica (Boston, MA; no SBIR) announced a $5.5M financing to develop a novel therapy for androgenetic alopecia - male and female pattern hair loss caused by androgens in genetically susceptible men and women - and other hair follicle disorders [Boston Globe, Jan 5, 08] Not to be confused with internet hair products retailer Folica.

Footnote (Linden, UT)

A tiny company is out to digitize the world, one historical document and photograph after another. And in so doing, Footnote Inc (Linden UT; no SBIR) hopes to accomplish a couple of things - bring easy Internet access to millions of documents and tap a bunch of niche populations willing to pay for that access.  In January, Footnote Inc. signed a deal with the National Archives and Records Administration, the small agency that cares for billions of documents generated by the federal government since its inception. Footnote agreed to produce digital copies for the National Archives for free in exchange for allowing it to make the images available for a charge on www.footnote.com. ...  Footnote is but the latest incarnation of the company that began as Automated Solutions, cofounded in 1994 by David Norton but which was foundering by the end of the 1990s. Norton also was one of the founders of Iomega, a computer storage company. [Tom Harvey, Salt Lake Tribune, Sep 11]

Foresight Biotherapeutics (NYC, NY)

Shire Pharmaceuticals (Ireland) plans to spend $300 million to buy Foresight Biotherapeutics (NYC, NY;  no SBIR) biotech developing an eyedrop designed to cure all causes of pinkeye.  ...  Shire has most of its executives and its largest concentration of employees in Lexington, MA.  .... Foresight, which has its offices in Midtown at 50 W. 57th St., has gotten $17 million so far in funding since it was founded in 2008  [ Don Seiffert, Boston Business Journal, Aug 3, 15]

Forest Devices (Pittsburgh, PA)

Forest Devices (Pittsburgh, PA;  no SBIR, founded 2015), a clinical-stage medical device company that is developing the first portable stroke screening technology, announced it has successfully closed a seed round of $2.3 million led by the Grand Order of Successful Entrepreneurs (GOOSE) Society of Texas and other individual investors. ... to carry out a large multi-site clinical trial, further research and development, and business development. [company press release, Jan 11, 18]

F-Origin (Morrisville, NC)

A developer of touch-screen technology plans to use $5 million in recently raised venture capital to release its first products next year. F-Origin  (Morrisville, NC; no SBIR), currently at 10 employees, expects to expand to 70 full-time workers over four years if its products take off. The company designs touch screens called "AnyTouch" that are activated by contact from an any object, such as finger, pen or piece of clothing. The screens are being designed for GPS systems, electronic books and cell phones.  [Raleigh News & Observer, Jun 24]

Formlabs (Somerville, MA)

Big funding round being announced this morning by Formlabs (Somerville, MA; no SBIR, founded in 2011 by a trio of engineers and researchers from MIT's Media Lab) startup that ran a wildly-successful Kickstarter campaign last fall for a new 3D printer— and was promptly sued for patent infringement by 3D Systems (no SBIR), the industry's biggest player. After collecting almost $3 million in pre-orders for its Form1 printer on Kickstarter, Formlabs is banking $19 million in new funding from investors  [Scott Kirsner, Boston Globe, Oct 24, 13]

For-Robin (Buffalo, NY)

For-Robin (Buffalo, NY; no SBIR, founded 2012) A University at Buffalo spinoff company has received a $2 million [NIH STTR] grant to support the development of a treatment for various types of cancer, particularly breast cancer. [Dan Miner, Buffalo Business First, May 4, 15]

ForSight Vision5 (Menlo Park, CA)

ForSight Vision5 (Menlo Park, CA; no SBIR) has raised $15 million [Series C] in new funding for technology that could replace eye drops in treating glaucoma, dry eye and allergies. [Cromwell Schubarth,  Silicon Valley Business Journal, Apr 17, 14]

Fortify (Boston, MA)

Intelligence community venture capital firm In-Q-Tel has made an investment in Fortify (Boston, MA; $1.2M SBIR) to help further develop its 3D printing technology for use in electronics design and production. [Mary-Louise Hoffman, govconwire.com, Apr 28, 22]

Forty Seven (Menlo Park, CA)

Forty Seven (Stanford spin-off, Menlo Park, CA; no SBIR, founded 2015), a clinical-stage company focused on developing the next generation of transformational immuno-oncology treatments to enable patient's immune systems to defeat their cancer, today announced an agreement with Genentech Inc., a member of the Roche Group., for Genentech to sponsor two clinical trials combining Forty Seven's CD47 antibody, Hu5F9-G4, with Genentech's PD-L1 antibody, atezolizumab (TECENTRIQ®), in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and with urothelial (bladder) cancer. [company press release, Jan 11, 18] $75M Series A in February 2016

Forty Seven  (Palo Alto, CA; no SBIR) cancer immunotherapy spinout from Stanford University completed the first half of an anticipated $75 million early-stage [Series A] funding round, the company said ... targets CD47, a molecule that is over-expressed on the surface of the majority of tumors and transmits a "don't eat me" signal that enables cancer cells to thrive. The molecule was originally identified as a cancer target by Weissman and other researchers at Stanford.   [Gina Hall, San Francisco Business Times, Mar 1, 16]

Forus Health

“We work with a Dutch company on optics, and the University of Texas supports us in business development,” Chandrasekhar adds. “We are talking to a Brazilian company that is interested in manufacturing our technology and selling in Latin America.” Outsourcees are becoming outsourcers.No SBIR, no apparent government subsidy to Forus Health which invented “a single, portable, intelligent, noninvasive, eye prescreening device” that can identify all five of these major ailments and also provide an automated “Normal or Needs to See a Doctor” report; it can be run by a trained technician, who through telemedicine connects patients to a doctor.  [Thomas Friedman, New York Times, Nov 5] 

Forward Slope (San Diego, CA)

The U.S. Navy has awarded two-year contract modifications to five companies to provide command and control technology and experimentation support services. Three companies had previous SBIR: SEV1Tech (Metairie, LA; $400K SBIR); Solute (San Diego, CA; $12M SBIR); Forward Slope (San Diego, CA; one SBIR) [Jane Edwards, govconwire.com, May 5, 2023]

Foster-Miller (Waltham, MA)

QinetiQ North America has won a $152M initial contract to manufacture small unmanned ground robots for the U.S. Army’s Common Robotic System – Individual program, Defense News reported Thursday. QinteiQ NA and Endeavor Robotics separately developed robotic systems under the CRS-I program’s engineering and manufacturing development phase through a $429.1M contract awarded in April 2018. [Brenda Marie Rivers, GovConWire, Mar 14, 19] some of the robotics came from former SBIR champ, now Qinetic subsidiary, Foster-Miller.

Protonex Technology (Southborough, MA; $2M SBIR) said its fuel-cell power system has been successfully tested in a Talon military robot from Foster-Miller. [Boston Globe, Apr 21]

Foster-Miller  has been awarded $58.5 million in funding for additional Talon military robots and replacement parts, its parent company, QinetiQ North America, said today.  The total represents awards from the US Army and Navy made during the six-month period from May 1 to Nov. 1,  [Boston Globe, Dec 2, 08]

Foster-Miller (Waltham, MA; 8 tons of SBIR) landed a $400 M deal from the Army for Talon robots, parts and services. [Mass High Tech, May 29,08]

Foster-Miller sold the Navy another $51M worth of robots. [Aug 10, 07]

Foster-Miller got another $18M robot order from the Navy. [Mass High-Tech, Jun 11, 07]

Foster-Miller acquired robotics companies Automatika and Applied Perception -- both based in Pittsburgh for an undisclosed price.  [Mass High Tech, Apr 24]

Foster Miller got another robot contract: Navy, $26M in an installment on the $257M 2005 defense contract.

The Talon by Foster-Miller has emerged as one of stars of this new class of robots. ...  Marine Colonel Edward Ward is division chief in the Robotic Systems Joint Project Office...said that his group has put 400 Talons into service, while the company said that other military purchases of the systems, which cost more than $100,000 apiece, put the number of its robots sent to Iraq and Afghanistan above 800  ... Talon's biggest competitor is the better-known iRobot   [Jeffrey Krasner, Boston Globe, Mar 12]  Did SBIR help Talon substantially?  Hard to tell since Foster-Miller had so-o many SBIRs. 

Foster-Miller, formerly of SBIR notoriety, got a $10M UKMOD subcontract for armor. Foster-Miller was founded in 1956 by three MIT graduates, and is now a subsidiary of U.K.-based QinetiQ Holdings Ltd.

Foster-Miller, the former SBIR consumption champ,  got a $64 M and a $28 M Navy contract, the larger to build robots and robotic parts for U.S. Navy repair teams deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  [Mass High Tech, May 23]

Foster-Miller got a $133M order for spare parts and service for its Talon robot. That's on top of  a recent deal of $96M for up to 1,200 robots over seven years, with a total award of $124 million, then the largest order in the company’s history.  Foster-Miller is a leading supplier of explosive ordnance robots for missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, completing more than 50,000 missions.  [Mass High Tech, Sep 20] FMI was the undisputed champion of collecting SBIR money before it was bought out by a large firm.

Foster-Miller plans to buy PSI (Reston, VA) $42M in a move to be a bigger DOD contractor, pushing 700 folks. Foster-Miller was the champion SBIR harvester until being bought by a British firm which is apparently looking for a bigger footprint in DOD business. Three MIT graduates founded Foster-Miller nearly 50 years ago. [story in Mass High Tech, Aug 2, 05]$152,596,023 is how much Foster-Miller got in DOD SBIRs by Sep 8 postings in the DOD database according to a spreadsheet painstakingly assembled for 678 line-by-lines by an interesting observer.  SBA records show 679 projects (lumping Phase 1 and Phase 2 as one project) of which about 80% are DOD. That's about another $35M for a grand total approaching $200M. Maybe the best economic story to emerge from all that money was when Parvis Tayebati left FMI to start his own company, got a couple of SBIRs, and five years later sold his company for $1.6B in overvalued stock of an info-tech biggie. Would such economic success have ever happened if he had stayed at FMI with those same SBIR awards? As Fox News would say, "We Report, You Decide". 

Heavyweight Champ to Retire.  Foster-Miller, the biggest user of SBIR, will sell itself to a British organization for $163M by Britain's QinetiQ Group PLC, a public-private partnership with the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense. If the SBA would publish what the Brits call league tables, we would see that FMI has had about three gazillion dollars in mostly defense SBIR money since SBIR began in 1983. SBA doesn't publish such stats because it would reveal how concentrated the SBIR money is in companies who live on SBIR, although FMI relied on regular SBIR for only a part of its revenue and accepted the relatively low net profit margin to get another foot in the DOD door. Tons of startup companies can rejoice that the champ has liberated a lot of SBIR money for them.   The buyer QinetiQ is now one-third owned by Carlyle Group, the Washington investment firm whose executives include many retired US officials. Carlyle's role is to help QinetiQ prepare for an initial public offering of stock by 2007. [Ross Kerber, Boston Globe, Sep 8]

Foster-Miller  (the SBIR champ) got a $9M contract from the Federal Railroad Administration for more work in locomotive crashworthiness and fuel tank safety. Foster-Miller has been creating computerized simulations of collisions involving rail equipment since 1995. These simulations are used to analyze different types of railroad accidents so that designers are able to minimize injury and improve crash worthiness through design modifications. In 2000, Foster-Miller opened a 5,000-square-foot, full-scale Locomotive Test Facility in Fitchburg, with a 1-million-pound loading test fixture capable of handling 40,000-pound test locomotives. Following modeling and testing in Fitchburg, Foster-Miller conducts full-scale railroad crash tests at a government facility in Pueblo, Colo.  [Mass High-Tech, Dec 23]  Foster Miller is a regular winner of the few DOT SBIRs awarded. 

When rescue conditions are too unsafe for dogs or humans, send in a robot. In the WTC clean-up one robot was supplied by SBIR champ Foster-Miller (Waltham, MA), says Ryan Malkin in Smart Money (Dec 01). I suppose SBIR could take some credit, at least for keeping FMI alive and well for two decades of SBIR totalling well over $100M.

Coming soon to a pub near you: beer in a plastic-screw top bottle. Rick Lusignea, president of Superex Polymer Inc.. a subsiudiary of SBIR champ Foster-Miller., said the Waltham company is working with a consortium of beer bottlers and brewing companies to apply its specialized polymer film in creating the world’s first plastic beer bottles. The whole idea of packaging beer in plastic bottles has been on the shelf for 10 years, Lusignea said. Superex’s innovative way to make a polymer known as liquid crystal polymers (LCPs). In the past, plastic bottles have been shunned by brewers because oxygen seeping through the plastic changes the flavor of the beer long before its carbonation is surrendered. LCPs, however, have a much stronger barrier to keep out oxygen than previous plastics; ... LCPs were developed by Air Force engineers 20 years ago. Their stiffness, strength and resistance to water and vapor infiltration made LCPs an attractive candidate for a diverse set of products. The early process for making the polymers, however, was troublesome. Under a federal grant, many SBIR's that is, Foster-Miller began exploring ways to solve the problem in 1983. Foster-Miller created Superex in 1993 and assigned Lusignea to begin exploring the market opportunities of the technology. The first real-world application of Superex’s LCP technology is in the medical device field, where a New York company called Precision Extrusions is making and selling LCP tubular products for endoscopic instruments. The product has attracted interest from device makers because it is five times stronger than conventional tubing and has electrical insulating qualities. The big market opportunity, however, is plastic beer bottles. The U.S. produces some 54 million units of beer per year; the worldwide market is three times larger. Lusignea does not expect LCP-lined plastic bottles to compete head-on with glass bottles and cans that are cheap, but he said it does offer advantages that have brewers and packagers interested. [Mass High-Tech, Jan 17] With enough SBIR and enough time, many things are possible. Especially if the supplier of the R&D funds has no economic goals and no need for an ROI.The gripe from the SBIR rejectees is that they could have gotten a much larger ROI with a lot less money. But the funding source, your USAF, ignores such arguments.

Not Just the Army Loves Foster-Miller. A quick look at the Navy's SBIR Data Base shows that 1991-1997 Foster-Miller has won 67 Phase 1s and 15 Phase 2s. And across all DOD 1983-1996, 101 Phase 2s and 180 Phase 1s, for a total something like $70M of innovation. A start-up needing government succor? As an FMI manager said at a recent SPIE Conference Foster-Miller is a 40-year old engineering services firm. Could your start-up stand that much prosperity and do you think you might be getting crowded out by FMI, however competent. Has the Law of Diminishing Returns been repealed in Massachusetts and the results accepted by the DOD?

Foster-Miller Suit (Oct 27) Foster-Miller (Waltham, MA) has a product. Actually FMI has quite a few products after $70M of SBIR handout. The latest product is an air-conditioned firefighter's suit pictured in The Futurist November 1997. What FMI doesn't have is any visible and compelling evidence that all that money was a smart investment by the government in a competitive investment program. Nor does the government seem anxious to raise the issue. Instead, it poured another $10M last year into the firm. But that's not FMI's problem; the public holds the government accountable for how the money was invested. For now, both FMI and the government hope the public is asleep or will accept a warm fuzzy story of good R&D by a highly competent firm.

Foster-Miller Nets a Product (May23) Shoot-a-net got a Business Week (May26) story for the national champ ($60M) SBIR consumer. A DARPA project for a shell that fires a Nonlethal Entanglement Technology (such bureaucratic words must fit into a pistol shell) from a fat police pistol. Is that high-tech as envisioned by SBIR's inventors? Close enough; at least it's a product with some sales potential which was the real goal (other than just pushing contract business to a constituency).

Foundation Medicine (Cambridge, MA)

Foundation Medicine up 11% [Mar 6, 17]

Foundation Medicine  up 10% [Jun 2, 16]

Foundation Medicine launched a blood-based test for cancer, what’s known as a “liquid biopsy,” called FoundationACT. The test is meant to be administered either when tissue biopsies either aren’t feasible or when a tumor sample can’t be obtained, and to identify a variety of genetic alterations present in a tumor.  [Ben Fidler, xconomy.com, May 5, 16]

Pathway Genomics  (San Diego, CA; no SBIR, founded 2008), known for pushing the boundaries of direct-to-consumer genetic testing, will launch a cancer screening test designed to detect bits of cancer DNA in the blood of otherwise healthy people.  ...  a first in the rapidly developing field of "liquid biopsies," which use gene sequencing technology to screen blood samples for trace amounts of DNA associated with different cancers. ... The cost to consumers begins at $299 to periodically check for DNA in their blood ... Guardant Health and Personal Genome Diagnostics Inc already offer blood tests for cancer patients. Roche-backed Foundation Medicine Inc, Genomic Health Inc, Illumina Inc and Sequenom Inc say they have similar tests in the works. [Julie Steenhuysen, Reuters, Sep 9, 15]

Foundation Medicine up 11% [Oct 2, 14]

 Foundation Medicine up 11%  [Feb 26, 14]

Foundation Medicine up 20% [Nov 15, 13]

Foundation Medicine that has attracted high-profile financial backers such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, said that it has partnered with a coalition of groups to advance a revolutionary new clinical trial design for lung cancer.   .....  had its [IPO] in September. Shares nearly doubled in their first day of public trading [Chris Reidy, Boston Globe, Nov 7, 13]

Foundation Medicine (Cambridge, MA; no SBIR) cancer diagnostic company, reminded me of the 2000 genomics bubble when it went public this week. ....   almost doubled in its first day of trading  ....   Genome sequencing is a powerful technology that has declined so much in price, so fast, that it has outpaced Moore’s law. The real value in sequencing is not the raw data, which are becoming a commodity, but rather the interpretation of that data for specific patients. In ways I will explain below, Foundation sits just at the nexus of that new data and its own increasingly powerful interpretation engine.  [Steve Dickman, xconomy.com, Sep 25, 13]

Big angel The maker of a cancer diagnostic test received an unsolicited email from Bill Gates in September, asking about the company. The initial inquiry led to a meeting between Foundation Medicine's (no SBIR) CEO and Mr. Gates,  ....  Gates was among three investors who put up a total of $13.5 million, expanding the full amount the company raised in a Series B financing round to $56 million.   [Ron Winslow, Wall Street Journal, Jan 19]

Fifty Nifty Techno-Innovators as judged by Technology Review magazine [Apr 12]. In the company of investment magnets like Facebook and Google are a few companies and ideas that would be fit for a realistic SBIR program intent on seeding technically uncertain innovation with a future if it can be shown to work.  
Alta Devices(no SBIR) high-efficiency gallium arsenide–based solar cells provide a way to lower the cost of solar power.  Can economically produce robust cells that use only small amounts of the expensive semiconductor.
 Integrated Diagnostics (Baltimore, MD; $1M SBIR)  By reducing the cost of diagnostic tests, it has allowed the monitoring of more disease markers. Its synthetic antibodies replace more expensive antibodies widely used in diagnostics.   
Suntech (no SBIR) Has developed a low-cost way of making better silicon solar cells. Its new panels are more efficient because they reflect less light and use thinner electrodes that block less light.   
Sakti3 (no SBIR) Its high-energy batteries, which will first appear in consumer devices, could make electric cars cheaper and improve their range.  Making batteries without the flammable liquid found in conventional electric-car batteries means they can store more energy. 
LanzaTech (no SBIR) Makes fuel and chemicals from the carbon monoxide produced by processes such as steelmaking.  Genetically engineered organisms turn the gas into ethanol and other useful chemicals. 
First Solar <(Toledo, OH; $750K SBIR) It is reducing the cost of utility-­scale photovoltaic installations.  constrains costs with vertical integration of everything from plant construction to the manufacture of high-efficiency cadmium telluride cells. 
Wildcat Discovery (no SBIR) Has used high-speed methods to find materials that improve the performance of batteries. Identified a pair of materials that could increase energy density by 25 percent in batteries for cars and portable electronics. 
Siluria  (no SBIR) Its catalytic process is able to convert cheap and abundant natural gas into ethylene, a commodity chemical used to make plastic.  Developed a family of catalysts that selectively cause methane to react to form ethylene.
Organovo (San Diego, CA; $260K SBIR) Its three-dimensional artificial tissue structures can be used for drug testing and are likely to find therapeutic applications. A printing process methodically deposits layers of cells and gel material to build up new tissues.    Cellular Dynamics International (Madison, WI; $500K SBIR) Using human iPS cells in drug screening could accelerate the development of new therapies.  Its new product derived from iPS cells is meant for use in vascular targeted drug discovery, tissue regeneration, and life science research.
Foundation Medicine  (no SBIR)  Its new diagnostics exploit a growing understanding of the molecular basis of cancer.   It has developed a comprehensive cancer diagnostic test and is partnering with pharmaceutical companies to use the test in drug development.<

Foundation Medicine  (Cambridge, MA; no SBIR), a cancer diagnostics company, said that it has closed an expanded Series A financing, bringing the total raised in the round to $33.5 million. [ChrisReidy, Boston Globe, Oct 18, 11]

Just a few months after naming new top officers and landing new collaboration deals,Foundation Medicine (formerly Enzo Clinical Labs, Cambridge, MA; no SBIR) has raised $10 million of a planned $20.5 million financing, according to federal documents.  [Rodney Brown, Mass High Tech, Aug 25, 11]

Foundation Medicine (Cambridge, MA) said it has completed a $25 million Series A financing [Boston Globe, Apr 15, 10]

Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center (Bucks County, PA)

The Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center of Bucks County is getting some federal government money to expand yet again.  ... serves as an incubator for early-stage life sciences companies. The grant will support the addition of 15 laboratories at the site, which is expected to result in the creation of 90 new jobs.  ...  Nearly 300 people currently work at biotech center.  ...   Five for-profit life sciences companies — Flow Metric,  Novira Therapeutics, Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center  ($600K SBIR), Synergy Pharmaceuticals ($900K SBIR) , and Cross Current — have committed to leasing the new space being created at the center.   [John George, Philadelphia Business Journal, Oct 10, 14] 

Fractal Antenna Systems (Bedford, MA)

Fractal Antenna Systems (Waltham, MA; $800K SBIR, founded 1995 ) announced what it calls a “successful demonstration of the world’s first practical invisibility cloak, at microwave frequencies,” which it intends to further develop to work in the spectrum of visible light. [Don Seiffert, Mass High Tech, Jun 29, 12]

Fractal Antenna Systems (Bedford , MA; one Phase 2 SBIR) says it got its 13th patent, [Mass High Tech, Sep 13]

Fractyl Labs (Lexington, MA)

Fractyl (Lexington, MA; no SBIR), a life sciences company focused on metabolic diseases, raised $55M in a Series E round [company press release, Aug 6, 20]

Fractyl Laboratories (Lexington, MA; no SBIR), a life sciences company dedicated to novel therapeutic interventions that can reverse the metabolic disease epidemic, today announced a first close of $55 million in a Series E financing [to] support the Revita T2Di pivotal clinical trial of Revita DMR (duodenal mucosal resurfacing) for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).    [company press release, Aug 6, 20]

Fractyl Labs (Lexington, MA; no SBIR) startup developing treatments for diabetes, has raised $44 million in Series D financing ...   has been working on a procedure to potentially delay the need for insulin injections in patients with type 2 diabetes called Revita Duodenal Mucosal Resurfacing (DMR).  [Sarah Buhr, techcrunch.com, Nov 30, 17]

Freedom Meditech (San Diego, CA)

Freedom Meditech (San Diego, CA; no SBIR) has raised almost $1.2 million from investors in a round that aims to raise $6 million for the diagnostic equipment maker... . The FDA cleared the technology last year. It is intended for use by optometrists and ophthalmologists to screen their patients for diabetes during routine eye exams.   [Alex Lash, xconomy.com, Jul 17, 14]

Freedom Meditech (San Diego, CA; no SBIR) developing a noninvasive device to measure blood glucose, said it has raised $7 million from private investors. ....  measures glucose levels by detecting polarization of light reflected from the eye, said Chief Executive Craig Misrach.  [Bradley Fikes, utsandiego.com, Aug 6, 13]

Free Flow Power

Free Flow Power, a New England startup company, wants to harness the mighty river for a secondary purpose — generating electricity. ... pursuing a $3 billion plan to install thousands of small electric turbines in the river bed, reaching from St. Louis to the Gulf of Mexico that would collectively generate 1,600 megawatts of electricity — enough to power 1.5 million homes. [Jeffrey Tomich, St Louis Post Dispatch, Apr 1, 08] But capitalistic innovations of technology are not free to enter the marketplace without considering any public downside that would have been ignored under Cal Coolidge's "The business of America is business." In this case, taking energy from the river will slow the flow with consequences not immediately apparent. But if the idea gathers enough energy at an acceptable cost, more such installations would follow until the river nearly stopped. The Western gold and silver rushes provide an example of unrestrained extraction.

Free Form Fibers (Saratoga Springs,NY)

Free Form Fibers (Saratoga Springs, NY; $4M SBIR) Awarded Direct-to-Phase II SBIR Award From The Air Force Research Laboratory [company press release, Jul 29, 2023] CEO Shay Harrison said over the last eight to nine months the company's customer orders have started picking up. [August 01, 2023]

Free Form Fibers (Saratoga Springs, NY; $4.3M SBIR, founded 2009) says it is nearly ready to sell [CVD formed fiber] product a decade in the making [Justin Dawes, Albany Business Review, Sep 15, 20]

Free Form Fibers LLC (Saratoga Springs, NY; $3.3M SBIR, founded 2006) Developer of chemical vapor deposition process designed to create inorganic high performance fiber [with] high-temperature, low corrosion non-woven filters and catalysts, enabling military and aerospace, automobile, biomedical, energy and other industries to get fibers with exceptional strength, stiffness, heat resistance and chemical resistance [pitchbook.com]

Eastern New York Angels is seeking entrepreneurs who are interested in obtaining early stage funding ... with a primary focus for companies located within the 11 county region surrounding Albany known as Tech Valley.   recently closed its latest investment in Free Form Fibers  (Saratoga Springs, NY; one SBIR)[which] created a new technology to manufacture high-performance fibers (HPF) at a substantially lower cost and environmental impact than competing processes.  [Eastern Angels website].

startup Free Form Fibers (Saratoga Springs, NY; one SBIR) received $1 million from the Department of Energy to scale its fibers that could prevent future nuclear accidents into production.  ...  creates ceramic fibers that can then be woven into durable parts for the nuclear and aviation industries. ... has raised around $250,000 in seed money from the Eastern New York Angels, as well as millions in grants from NASA, the Army and the National Science Foundation.  [Chelsea Diana, Albany Business Review, Nov 10, 15]

The Eastern New York Angels will fund more companies, this time focusing on later stage companies instead of startups. 
The goal is to raise $2.5 million by the end of the year.  ...  recently has invested $1.5 million into six early-stage companies with a seventh pending .... Companies funded in the first round include Paper Battery (Troy, NY; no SBIR),  Ener-G-Rotors (Troy, NY; no SBIR), Vital Vio (Troy, NY; no SBIR),ThermoAura (Troy, NY; no SBIR) (a manufacturer of high performing thermo-electric material, will open a new production plant in suburban Albany this summer as it moves into commercialization), and Free Form Fibers (Saratoga Springs, NY; one SBIR).   [Keshia Clukey, Albany Business Review, Jun 30, 14]

Freenome (Palo Alto, CA)

Freenome (from Philadelphia, PA to Palo Alto, CA; no SBIR, foundeed 2014) started by a former Penn doctoral student that is developing a software-enable liquid biopsy test to detect cancer in its earliest stages – has raised $5.5 million in a private stock sale led by .. a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that recently established a $200 million biotech fund.   [John George,Philadelphia Business Journal, Jun 13, 16]

Froedtert Health (Wauwatosa, WI)

Froedtert Health (Wauwatosa, WI) which runs a network of hospitals and clinics and is affiliated with the Medical College of Wisconsin, has committed an additional $15 million to investing in healthcare technology startups, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal. Since 2015, Froedtert has invested in startups through a subsidiary called Inception Health, which has backed companies located around the country. Froedtert has committed at least $45 million to startup investments thus far, the Business Journal reported. [Jeff Engel, xconomy.com, Nov 8, 18]

Frontier Medicines (South San Francisco, CA)

Frontier Medicines (South San Francisco, CA; no SBIR) launched with $67 million and a mission to find drug-binding pockets on previously undruggable proteins. ... described itself as being the preclinical stage and said it would develop drugs for debilitating diseases, starting with cancers. [Alaric DeArment, MedCity News, Jun 26, 19]

Frontier NanoSystems (Austin, TX)

Frontier NanoSystems (Austin, TX; no SBIR) received a $150,000 financing from two investors. [Christopher Calnan, Austin Business Journal, Nov 24, 14]  patented advanced materials technology fully integrates passive component assemblies using automated processes on silicon (and other semiconductor) and mitigates the need to customize radios for every wireless device.  [AngelList]  The Next Big Thing in Circuit Miniaturization  ...  a startup with a disruptive technology that proposes to completely change the industry ... invention is a flexible electroceramic lamination technology ... The big killer for reusability, however, is the [cellphone] radio antenna     [Patrick Cox, Penny Sleuth, Mar 8th, 2011]

Frontier Technology (Beavercreek, OH)

Frontier Technology (Beavercreek, OH (and others); 155 SBIR awards in Calif) lands $32M deal with U.S. Navy [John Bush, Dayton Business Journal, Sep 25, 18[

Front Range Biosciences (Lafayette, CO)

agbiotech Front Range Biosciences (Lafayette, CO; no SBIR), raised $10 million to finance a cannabis and hemp R&D program. [High Times, Oct 4, 18]

FRX Polymers closed its $26.7 million Series B round of funding, the company announced  [Patricia Resende, Mass High Tech, Apr 2, 12]

FRX Polymers (Chelmsford, MA; no SBIR)  has signed a long-term lease with Bayer Material Science to operate its first commercial plant in Antwerp, Belgium....  Founded in 2007, FRX has 20 granted patents and 58 patent applications .. The company says it’s producing at capacity in the current plants. [Don Seiffert, Mass High Tech, Mar 24, 12]

FTL Solar

Alternative energy startup FTL Solar said  that it is finalizing $15 million of a planned $40 million funding goal, and it is expanding its line of solar-powered shelters. ... formed two years ago after spinning out of FTL Design Engineering Studio, a New York-based pioneer in building integrated fabric structures.   [Austin American Statesman, Nov 6, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy (Danbury, CT)

Fuel Cell Energy up 20% [Nov 8, 21]

Fuel Cell Energy up 20% [Jan 26, 21]

Fuel Cell Energy up 21% [Jan 12, 21]

Fuel Cell Energy up 22% [Jan 7, 21]

Fuel Cell Energy up 25% [Dec 23, 20]

FuelCell Energy down 20% [Dec 2, 20]

Fuel Cell Energy  down 10% [Nov 1, 16]

Fuel Cell Energy  down 28% [Oct 25, 16]

Fuel Cell Energy down 17% [Jun 9, 16]

Fuel Cell Energy  up 14% [May 31, 16]

Fuel Cell Energy up 14% [Mar 14,16]

Fuel Cell Energy down 12% [Mar 10,16]

Fuel Cell Energy up 10% [Mar 9,16]

Fuel Cell Energy up 12% [Jan 4, 16]

Fuel Cell Energy  down 13% [Dec 15, 15]

Fuel Cell Energy down 15% [Dec 8, 15]

Fuel Cell Energy executed a 1:12 reverse split [Dec 4, 15]

Enlibrium (San Diego, CA; no SBIR) raised $15 million to develop cancer drugs, the biotech startup said. Enlibrium is developing the drugs based on the anticancer activity of metformin, a widely used drug for diabetes. Metformin curbs production of energy, which cancer cells use in the energy-intensive process of proliferation.  ....  licensed the technology from UC Los Angeles, where it was developed by professors Michael Jung and Richard Pietras. [Bradley Fikes, San Diego Union Tribune, Dec 4, 15]

FuelCell Energy (Danbury, CT; $4.7M  SBIR) announced that it has an agreement with Pepperidge Farm to make, install and service the new 1.4 megawatt cell, which provides the equivalent of enough power for about 1,400 homes, and to continue servicing the 1.2-megawatt cell that it installed in 2008.  [Hartford Courant, Apr 1, 15]

FuelCell Energy has announced a $65 million plan to expand its Torrington factory and add equipment to double the site's production capacity and reduce costs.  The two-stage expansion for the fuel cell maker is supported by millions of dollars in low-interest loans and tax credits extended by the Malloy administration.   [Brian Dowling, Hartford Courant, Oct 30, 14]

Plug Power sold $124.3 million worth of stock in its biggest stock sale ever, capitalizing on its recent rebound from penny-stock territory.  .... priced at a deep discount to Plug's recent stock price, suggesting some pushback among buyers  .... Among other stocks in the fuel-cell sector, FuelCell Energy is up 73% this year. Canada's Ballard Power Systems is up 174%. But the industry participants' shares have given head fakes before.   [Matt Jarzemsky, Wall Street Journal, Apr 24, 14]  Meanwhile, workers at ClearEdge Power (headquartered in Oregon and founded in 2003; no SBIR) in South Windsor, CT  were sent home, uncertain about what the future holds. ... Town Manager Matthew B. Gallagan said the fuel cell manufacturer will seek some form of bankruptcy protection. [Brian Dowling, Hartford Courant, Apr 24, 14]

DOE awarded FuelCell Energy (Danbury, CT; $4.8M SBIR) more than $3 million to increase the lifespan and the performance of its fuel cells, the department said ... the largest publicly traded manufacturer of the clean energy technology, which harvests hydrogen from natural gas and then converts it into electricity, heat and trace amounts of emissions.  .... last year had $187.4 million in sales, and posted an overall $34.4 million loss. The company has yet to reach net profitability.  [Brian Dowling, Hartford Courant, Apr 9, 14] 

Fuel Energy Cell down 17%  [Mar 11, 14]

Fuel Cell Energy up 11% [Mar 10, 14] 

Fuel Cell Energy up 18%  [Mar 7, 14]  

Fuel Cell Energy up 15%  [Mar 5, 14]

FuelCell Energy  ($4.7M SBIR) , the world's largest publicly traded fuel cell manufacturer, sold $27.5 million in shares Friday morning in a public offering to raise funds to continue business operations. ....  has operated in the red since its initial public offering in 1992  .... ended the last fiscal year with $187.7 million in sales    [Brian Dowling, Hartford Courant, Jan 17, 14] Top line sounds good, but bottom line determines future. The SBIR advocates would call it a huge success.

The European arm  FuelCell Energy (Danbury, CT; $3.4M SBIR) announced the sale of a fuel cell to developers of an office tower in London....  is another small step in their worldwide expansion into European and Asian markets. FuelCell Energy Solutions, the company's subsidiary in Europe with its base in Germany, will manufacture and service the fuel cell.   [Brian Dowling, Hartford Courant, Dec 4, 12]

Not one fuel cell company had reached profitability, despite years of high hopes and large public and private investments in the industry, in Connecticut and elsewhere.  But [CEO] Bottone knew that FuelCell Energy (Danbury, CT; $5M SBIR) could be the first — and it appears that will happen in the coming year.   .....  As the company sells more fuel cells, it closes in on covering its overhead, something the company projects could happen by the end of 2013.  [Brian Dowling, Hartford Courant, Jul 20, 12]

FuelCell Energy, the state's largest fuel cell manufacturer, is narrowing its losses on its products, but its revenues were down from the third quarter of 2009. [Mara Lee, Hartford Courant, Sep 2, 10]

FuelCell Energy rose 23% [Jun 3, 10], after the company said it will supply power plants to PG&E's California utility for use at two public universities, in deals valued at $12.6 million.  [Wall Street Journal, Jun 4, 10]

Fuel Cell Energy up 11% [Mar 11, 10]

Fuel Cell Energy  up 12% [Feb 22, 10]

Fuel Cell Energy up 11% [Dec 31, 09]

FuelCell Energy up 16% [Dec 29, 09]

Fuel Cell Energy said it has expanded an existing deal with a South Korean power provider that will use the Connecticut company's hardware to manufacture fuel cell stacks. .. the additional demand would justify expansion of its Danbury operations. ... includes an upfront license fee of $10 million and an ongoing royalty, initially set at 4.1 percent of revenues generated by POSCO's sales of the fuel cell stack modules.  [Eric Gershon, Hartford Courant, Oct 31, 09]

Fuel Cell Energy up 11% [Sep 14, 09]

Fuel Cell Energy up 12% [Aug 19, 09]

Fuel Cell down 10% [Jun 10, 09]

Fuel Cell up 19% [Jun 9, 09]

FuelCell Energy said that it is partnering with a South Korean power producer to sell the main components of its fuel cell generators in the country. As part of the agreement, POSCO Power, an independent power producer based in Seoul, has ordered $58 million worth of fuel cell manufacturing equipment -- enough to build 30.8 megawatts of fuel cell power generation in the country. ...  also agreed to buy $25 million worth of FuelCell Energy common stock at $3.59 a share once the licensing agreement is finalized.  [Lynn Doan, Hartford Courant, Jun 9, 09]

Fuel Cell  up 13% [Apr 9, 09]

Fuel Cell Energy  down 17% [Mar 27, 09]

Fuel Cell Energy  up 11% [Mar 23, 09]

Fuel Cell Energy up 15% [Mar 11, 09]

Fuel Cell down 20% [Mar 5, 09]

Fuel Cell down 14% [Mar 2, 09]

Fuel Cell Energy  up 14% [Feb 24, 09]

Fuel Cell  down 12% [Feb 23, 09]

FuelCell Energy said that it has sold a 300-kilowatt power plant to the Marine Corps to be installed at its largest training center. No price was disclosed. The plant, running off hydrogen fuel and oxygen from the air, will generate electricity to power the combat center at Twentynine Palms, Calif., and feed heat into the base's steam line to provide hot water and space heating.  [Hartford Courant, Feb 24, 09]

Fuel Cell Energy down 10% [Jan 14, 09]

Fuel Cell Energy up 15% [Jan 13, 09]

Fuel Cell Energy down 10% [Jan 12, 09]

Fuel Cell Energy up 10% [Dec 16, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy down 24% [Dec 4, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy up 12% [Dec 3, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy up 21% [Nov 26, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy up 37% [Nov 24, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy up 11% [Nov 21, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy up 12% [Nov 13, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy down 15% [Nov 6, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy up 11% [Oct 28, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy down 12% [Oct 22, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy up 14% [Oct 17, 08]

Fuel Cell up 26% [Oct 16, 08]

Fuel Cell down 15% [Oct 15, 08]

Fuel Cell down 14% [Oct 14, 08]

Fuel Cell up 23% [Oct 13, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy up 23% [Oct 10, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy down 15% [Oct 9, 08]

Fuel Cell down 22% [Oct 8, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy up 16% [Sep 30, 08]

Fuel Cell Energy down 17% [Sep 29, 08]

FuelCell Energy down 10%  [Aug 29, 08]

FuelCell Energy ($3M SBIR) down 13% after the company reported a fiscal third-quarter loss wider than analysts expected. [Wall Street Journal, Aug 29]

Fuel Tech (Batavia IL)

Fuel Tech up 14% [Mar 4, 14]

Fuel Tech (Batavia IL; no SBIR; 137 employees) up 17% after winning a $7.2 million contract from a Midwest utility for its "clean-burning" coal technology. [Wall Street Journal, Oct 18]

Fulgent Therapeutics (Temple City, CA)

Fulgent Genetics (Temple City, CA; no SBIR, founded 2011, market cap $66M, 98 employees) up 30%   [Jun 14, 18] Developing flexible and affordable genetic testing [company website]

Kinex Pharmaceuticals  (Buffalo, NY; $1.1M SBIR) is suing a longtime executive in a case that involves trade secrets and billionaire entrepreneurs from California.  The financial implication of the situation is symbolized by Kinex’s demand for compensation from the defendants: nearly $3 billion. .... [former co-founder Dyster]  is now defending herself along with the companies for which she worked as a consultant — Fulgent Therapeutics (Temple City, CA; no SBIR) and ANP Technologies (Newark, DE; $3.5M SBIR).   [Dan Miner, Buffalo Business First, May 5, 15]

Full Spectrum Genetics (South San Francisco, CA)

AvidBiotics (South San Francisco, CA; $3.3M SBIR) will have the right to develop and commercialize drugs spun out of a new research collaboration with neighbor Full Spectrum Genetics (South San Francisco, CA; no SBIR) .....   centers on a family of AvidBiotics-developed proteins that focus on immuno-oncology and antiviral targets. Those proteins, dubbed Micacides by AvidBiotics, detect and destroy cancerous or virus-infected cells. [Ron Leuty, San Francisco Business Times, Sep 10, 13]

Furiex (Morrisville, NC)

Meryx (Chapel Hill, NC; no SBIR) a UNC-Chapel Hill spinout developing a treatment for leukemia, has raised $1.5 million.  ...  Affiliated with the company is Fred Eshelman, the UNC graduate and millionaire founder of pharmaceutical research organization PPD and drug developer Furiex (Morrisville, NC; no SBIR), both of which have been sold at a hefty profit. The Eshelman School of Pharmacy bears his name and he recently committed $100 million to advance drug discovery at the university.  ...  Earlier in 2014, Meryx raised $3.1 million  [Jason deBruyn, Triangle Business Journal, Jan 1, 15]

Fused Innocation (Neenah, WI)

Six young Wisconsin bioscience companies have been chosen by the state's biotech trade organization as emerging companies with good growth potential.  The companies have all transitioned successfully out of research and development and are developing commercial products, said Bryan Renk, executive director of BioForward .... : Fused Innocation  (Neenah; WI) VibeTech (Sheboygan, WI); Somna Therapeutics (Germantown, WI); PatientWise  (Middleton, WI); NanoOncology, a subsidiary of Peptimed (Madison, WI); PharmaSeek Financial Services (Middleton, WI).  [Kathleen Gallagher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Aug 30, 12]  None had SBIR.

Fusion Coolant Systems (Ann Arbor, MI)

in this year’s Accelerate Michigan business plan competition   DeNovo Sciences (Ypsilanti, MI; no SBIR) won the grand prize of $500,000. [over] nine other finalists on the last day of the competition with its microfluidic-based platform technology that can detect circulating tumor cells earlier and with greater sensitivity than standard biopsy approaches. Winning a runner-up prize of $150,000 was Fusion Coolant Systems, (Ann Arbor, MI; one SBIR), a University of Michigan spin-out that makes an advanced coolant and lubria­tion sys­tem for use in man­u­fac­tur­ing. [Sarah Schmid, xconomy.com, Nov 18, 11]

Future Technologies (Neenah, WI)

Future Army contracts. The Army revealed a new roster of industry partners under a potential $37.4B contract that covers knowledge-based professional engineering support services to command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance programs. SBIR companies: Artel (now big, $300K); Dynetics (now big, 31 awards); Macaulay-Brown (now big, 23 awards); NetCentric (now big, $900K); Scientific Research (Now big, $16M); Array Information Technology (one SBIR); Bennett Aerospace (21 SBIR awards); Envistacom (one SBIR); Fibertek (127 SBIRs); Future Technologies ($1M); Fulcrum ($1.2M); LinQuest ($1M); Manufacturing Techniques (One SBIR); Navmar Applied Sciences (68 awards); Peerless Technologies ($2.6M); Research Innovations (one SBIR); Sonalysts (128 awards); SURVICE Engineering (50 awards); Truestone (one SBIR).[GovConWire, Oct 19, 18]