Business Oregon Awards Matching Grants to Support Business Growth and Commercialization

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Business Oregon and the Oregon Innovation Council (Oregon InC) are thrilled to announce the recipients of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Matching Grant awards. The SBIR and STTR grant programs are federal programs designed to stimulate technological innovation and provide opportunities for small businesses to conduct research and development with commercialization potential. The programs help small businesses explore their technological potential and get their products closer to market. 

However, because the SBIR/STTR funding alone leaves gaps in critical areas for early-stage companies to scale their business, the Matching Grant program is available to complement the federal program and address these critical gaps. Business Oregon’s Matching Grant program can increase a business’s chances of success by helping companies advance their technologies and better positioning them for future fundraising and growth after the federal grants are complete. These funds can be applied to expenses that help a company stay and grow in Oregon, such as business plan development, facilities, testing equipment, production equipment, intellectual property protection, product marketing, business consulting, and more.

 A list of the businesses awarded 2024 SBIR/STTR Matching Grants is below. 

• Biomotum (Portland) is developing a regulatory strategy and international go-to-market plan for smart ankle foot orthosis for children with cerebral palsy. 
  
• Birch Biosciences (Portland) is building a pilot scale validation model for their bio-enzymatic process that enables circular polyurethane and PET plastic recycling. 
  
• Center Mom (Portland) is developing a perinatal depression prevention product, with a focus on BIPOC and rural pregnancy. 
  
• KeyBiome (Eugene) is developing a novel microbiome-derived anti-inflammatory protein-based therapeutic to treat IBD. 
  
• Lazarus 3D (Philomath) is expanding their synthetic patient-specific replicas to plan and practice surgical procedures in gynecology. 
  
• LeapFrog Design (Bend) is creating a commercial pilot for treatment of blackwater for onsite non-potable reuse. 
  
• Luciole Pharmaceuticals (Sherwood) is developing a novel, disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. 
  
• Narnar (Portland) is creating a reading workstation for cardiologists that aids in diagnosing cardiac diseases. 
  
• NemaMetrix (Eugene) is commercializing FishCam Lite, an automated zebrafish drug testing platform used in biomedical research.
   
• Northwest Prevention Science (Eugene) is developing digital health technology for improving the mental health of children. 
  
• PDX Pharmaceuticals (Portland) is developing a cancer immunotherapy that utilizes a patented nanoparticle to co-deliver therapeutics to treat solid tumors. 
  
• QuantiPort (Beaverton) is developing a point-of-care blood volume diagnostic for monitoring postpartum and trauma-related hemorrhages. 
  
• Rewire Neuro (Portland) will focus on market expansion for their AI-powered biomedical image processing technology. 
  
• Stark Street Materials (Portland) is commercializing a radiation shielding technology that is a non-toxic replacement technology for lead shielding. 

More information on Business Oregon’s SBIR/STTR Matching Grant program can be found at www.oregon.gov/biz.