CSIT Awards $450,000 Through Second Round of NJ SBIR/STTR Direct Financial Assistance Program

TRENTON, N.J. (February 25, 2021) – The New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology (CSIT) today announced that it has awarded a total of $450,000 to 16 early-stage companies through the state’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) Direct Financial Assistance Program. Each of the awardees is currently engaged in the federal SBIR and/or STTR programs. The awards will enhance the state’s innovation economy by strengthening the competitiveness of Garden State businesses participating in the federal programs. To date, CSIT has awarded a total of $825,000 to 29 New Jersey companies during the program’s two funding rounds.

The federal SBIR and STTR grant programs provide more than $3 billion each year to small businesses in a variety of technology and life sciences areas that propose innovative ideas that meet specific federal research and development (R&D) needs. The SBIR program enables small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization. The STTR program funds cooperative R&D partnerships between small businesses and research institutions such as universities, federal R&D centers, or non-profits. The programs are open to U.S.-based, for-profit small businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

“New Jersey’s emerging businesses are generating an abundance of innovation and supporting them as they tap into the federal SBIR/STTR programs will have lasting economic effects at both local and global levels,” said CSIT Chairman Gunjan Doshi.

CSIT Executive Director Judith Sheft noted that nearly a third of the 16 awardees for this round of funding are NJ state certified as women- owned businesses. Awardees hail from 10 different counties within the Garden State and more than two-thirds of companies have an affiliation with New Jersey universities.

“The combination of our state’s highly-talented workforce and our world-class research universities make New Jersey the ideal spot for innovative companies to succeed,” said Sheft. “We are very encouraged to see such a high percentage of applicants benefiting from partnership opportunities with these universities as they work toward commercialization.”

Fourteen companies that have received federal SBIR/STTR Phase I, Fast-Track or Direct to Phase II awards/contracts were each awarded a grant of $25,000. The selected companies include:

1. Atux Iskay Group LLC – Plainsboro
2. BRISEA Group Inc. – Parsippany (NJ State Certified Woman/Minority-owned)
3. DMK Pharmaceuticals Inc. – Gladstone
4. Drone Go Home, LLC  – Oceanport (NJ State Certified Woman-owned)
5. Innovations Unlimited, LLC – Pennsauken (NJ State Certified Woman-owned)
6. Mgenuity Corporation – Lincroft
7. MRIMATH, LLC – Voorhees
8. Neutroelectric, LLC – Williamstown (NJ State Certified Woman-owned)
9. RenewCO2, LLC – Cranford
10. Rizlab Health, Inc. – Princeton Junction
11. SAPHTx Inc. – Newark
12. ShockTech – Mahwah
13. SunRay Scientific, LLC – Eatontown (NJ State Certified Woman/Minority-owned)
14. Telluric Labs, LLC – Red Bank

Additionally, the following two New Jersey small businesses will each receive $50,000 bridge funding grants. They have successfully completed Phase I and have applied for Phase II of the federal SBIR/STTR program.

1. Andluca Technologies Inc. – Princeton
2. BioInvenu – East Hanover

These funds can be utilized to maintain project activities and cover general operating costs.

The awardee’s focus areas fell into the following categories, all of which were identified in Governor Phil Murphy’s economic development strategic plan as high-wage, high growth sectors: technology, life sciences, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing.

“Participants in this program run the gamut from drug-discovery companies to a business creating a drone detection system to one that develops an augmented/mixed-reality medical and surgical assist system for astronauts of exploration-class space missions,” said Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips. “The work they are doing is both critical and far reaching. We are proud to support them in their endeavors.”

State Senator Paul Sarlo sees the awards announced today as critical to recapturing New Jersey’s role as a leader in innovation.

“The strength of our innovation ecosystem is directly correlated to the economic vibrancy of our state,” Senator Sarlo said. “Resources like the NJ SBIR/STTR Direct Financial Assistance Program are useful tools as we seek to attract businesses to locate to, and grow within, the Garden State.”

In June, CSIT awarded $375,000 in matching grants to 13 New Jersey small businesses that were engaged in the federal SBIR/STTR program.

About CSIT

In August 2018, Governor Murphy signed legislation re-establishing the former New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology as the CSIT. Comprised of representatives from the public and private sectors, as well as academia, the Commission is tasked with leading the way in promoting the state as a home for academic and technological research, development, and commercialization.

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