Two startup companies — one in Akron and the other in Medina — have each received a $25,000 grant from the nonprofit Innovation Fund, designed to help young companies at the earliest stage of development.
The Akron startup is Poly MedTech Inc., whose initial product is called Suture Glue. It is a medical adhesive that would be used instead of external stitches for patients, who have laparoscopic surgery, cosmetic surgery or suffer injuries. Poly MedTech will use the funding to further develop the polymer and work on gaining approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
Poly MedTech is associated with the University of Akron Research Foundation. The company involves research by Joseph P. Kennedy, a UA professor of polymer science and chemistry, and Juay Seng Tan, a former associate professor of biomedical engineering at UA, according to the university.
The Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron is working with the startup.
The Medina startup is Darkside Scientific LLC, which has developed an electroluminescent coating technology, LumiLor paint. This patent-pending product can be used to illuminate any surface, according the Innovation Fund. The $25,000 will be used for various projects, including building a paint shop training center.
The two area companies were among eight technology-based companies in Northeast Ohio receiving a total of $375,000.
The five-year-old Innovation Fund is supported by a network of Northeast Ohio university, government and economic development partners. Each quarter, the fund gives grants up to $100,000 to several companies in a Northeast Ohio region that includes Summit, Stark, Portage, Medina and Wayne counties.