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Empire State Development Announces 43 More Companies Choose to Grow in New York State and Commit to Creating 640 New Jobs

Mar 2, 2017

90 New Jobs Are at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn
 

Brooklyn, NY – Empire State Development recently announced that 43 businesses will expand in or locate to New York State, partnering with colleges and universities to spur economic growth across the state. These 43 businesses have committed to create more than 640 new jobs and invest more than $15 million statewide. Eight businesses representing 90 new jobs are at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn.
 
“From life sciences to advanced manufacturing, industrial engineering to green-tech, more and more companies are finding New York State is a great place to grow their business,” said Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky. “These 43 companies will create hundreds of jobs for New Yorkers in dynamic, innovative industries while generating millions in revenue for local economies throughout the state.”
 
“The business partnerships SUNY colleges and universities have cultivated as a result of this program continue to bring academic and research benefits to our students, faculty, and staff while also driving economic development in every region of the state,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “Congratulations to each of the SUNY colleges and universities welcoming new business partners as a result of today’s announcement.”
 
These businesses will create jobs in key industries, including: biotechnology; craft beverages; computer/information technology; data processing and hosting; industrial electronic engineering; green technology; high technology; imagining/optics; life sciences; manufacturing; research and development; software development; value added processing; and agribusiness and food processing.
 
The 43 companies announced today are sponsored by the following New York State colleges and universities: Broome County Community College; Clinton Community College; Dutchess County Community College; Erie Community College; Hudson Valley Community College; Mount Saint Mary College; New York University; Schenectady County Community College; SUNY Albany; SUNY Cobleskill; SUNY Downstate Medical Center; SUNY Plattsburgh; University at Buffalo; and University of Rochester.

The following businesses at SUNY Downstate have joined START-UP NY:
 
BioHealthWays, Inc. is a new ophthalmic medical materials and devices research and development company that is developing artificial vitreous substitutes for use in patients treated for sight-threatening eye diseases.  Vitreous is a natural substance that fills the inside of the eye that must be replaced during a vitrectomy, a surgical procedure to treat disorders of the retina and vitreous. The company will create 14 new jobs and invest $135,000.
 
Call9 is a new company developing software that will enable physicians to perform point of care testing (labs test, EKG’s and ultrasounds) from a patient’s bedside to remote off-site physicians. The software will be used by medical groups to deliver urgent, emergency and palliative care to skilled nursing facilities, assistant living centers and home care agencies. The software also has its own electronic medical records and charting system and will help avoid unnecessary hospitalizations. The company will create 25 jobs and invest $150,000.
 
DrinkSavvy, Inc. is an existing research and development company that is expanding. The company will develop colorimetric chemical sensors that detect analytes, such as drugs, pathogens, bacteria, and explosives, for real-time detection in field use, without the need for secondary analysis using lab equipment or spectrometry. The chemical sensors will be embedded in plastic stirrers, straws and cups and provide a colorimetric signal to the consumer in order to prevent consumption of illicit drugs and ensuing drug-facilitated sexual assault and crime. The company will create 15 jobs and invest $362,000.
 
Fesarius Therapeutics Inc. is a newly formed life science company that will develop engineered skin replacement products using patented microsphere hydrogel technology invented by its co-founder Dr. Jason Spector. The tissue products, initially targeted at the dermal replacement market, utilize proprietary, patented technology. Fesarius Therapeutics technology will materially increase the efficacy of dermal replacement products over current existing products.  Poor wound healing is a frequent and costly complication across a wide array of medical and surgical specialties.  The need for an alternative to one’s own tissue for repair has existed as long as reconstructive surgery itself. The will create six new jobs and invest $70,000.
 
Kinnos Inc. is an existing bio-technology company that aims to raise the standard of infectious disease decontamination through its patent-pending Highlight technology. Highlight is an additive that greatly improves visibility, guaranteeing complete coverage on surfaces, which fades in color to provide real-time feedback when decontamination is done. Kinnos is developing new technology to expand its platform to wipes and hand sanitizers to be marketed in hospitals for daily disinfection to prevent hospital-acquired infections and antimicrobial resistance. The company will create 17 new jobs and invest $100,000.
 
Lucerna, Inc. is an existing New York State biotechnology company that is developing new RNA-based research tools for industrial and drug discovery applications. Lucerna has an exclusive license of a proprietary fluorescent RNA tagging technology that overcomes existing RNA imaging technologies and is a platform technology that can be adapted for different markets and applications. The company will create two new jobs and invest $70,000.
 
Parkside Scientific Inc. is a new preclinical stage drug discovery company that focuses on developing novel first-in-class small-molecule drugs for a variety of cancers and inflammatory diseases that work through epigenetic modulation of gene expression. Parkside Scientific will combine cutting-edge science with efforts being made to establish NYC as a biotech hub. The company will create three new jobs and invest $20,000.
 
Mirimus, Inc. is an existing bio-technology company focused on developing preclinical research tools for drug discovery.  Mirimus genetically engineers animal models with the unique capability of reversible gene silencing for use in research by academic labs, biotech and pharmaceutical companies.   Through genome editing and reversible gene silencing, the technology helps scientists discover the effects of different diseases and potential treatment prior to drug development itself. The company will create eight new jobs and invest $240,000.

 

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About SUNY Downstate Medical Center

SUNY Downstate Medical Center, founded in 1860, was the first medical school in the United States to bring teaching out of the lecture hall and to the patient’s bedside. A center of innovation and excellence in research and clinical service delivery, SUNY Downstate Medical Center comprises a College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, a School of Graduate Studies, School of Public Health, University Hospital of Brooklyn, and a multifaceted biotechnology initiative including the Downstate Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT for early-stage and more mature companies, respectively.

SUNY Downstate ranks twelfth nationally in the number of alumni who are on the faculty of American medical schools. More physicians practicing in New York City have graduated from SUNY Downstate than from any other medical school.