Phase, Inc. awarded funding from NC Biotech to develop organ-on-a-chip solutions
Charlotte, N.C.—Phase, Inc., a Charlotte-based startup developing a new technique to manufacture organ-ona-chip devices that create more realistic in-vitro models, recently received support from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center to advance the commercialization of its technology.
NC Biotech awarded Phase one of its highly selective Small Business Research Loans, which foster growth of innovative early-stage life science companies in North Carolina.
“We are extremely grateful for the support of NC Biotech, which will help us not only bring our product to market, but also allow us to grow our economic footprint in the Charlotte region,” said Jeff Schultz, Ph.D., Co-founder of Phase.
“We are excited to support Phase as it develops technologies that could greatly accelerate the field of organ-on-achip technologies,” said Kyle Bartholomew, Ph.D., Director of Investments for NC Biotech.
NC Biotech leads life science economic development for North Carolina and supports innovation, commercialization, education, and business growth to cement North Carolina as a global life science leader.
“I’ve been following Phase’s growth for the last two years and continue to be impressed by their innovative technologies that are going to bring next generation organ-on-a-chip platforms to market,” said Mark McDowell, a venture capitalist, founder, and board member of Launch Charlotte. “This is exactly the kind of company that will help spur the growth of biotech in our region.”
Phase is using its proprietary 3D printing technology to develop organ-on-a-chip solutions for drug development and personalized medicine. Phase’s 3D printing technology creates microfluidics using PDMS, the industry-standard material, at a speed and resolution that render biologically accurate organ-on-a-chip models.
The funding from NC Biotech follows other investments and support Phase has received from several scientific and economic development agencies.
The company recently completed a Phase 1 SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health in collaboration with researchers from the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering to develop a 3D-printed blood brain barrier.
Phase also received support from the One North Carolina Small Business Program, which seeks to increase the number, quality, company and technology diversity, and geographic breadth of North Carolina Federal SBIR and STTR Phase I awards.
Phase is headquartered in First Turn Innovations, a Cornelius-based engineering and prototyping business incubator lab designed to help entrepreneurs advance their ideas from concept to testing.
For more information contact Co-founder Zeke Barlow at zeke@phase.am or 540-750-6317.