2011 Springboard Emerging Company/Technology Showcase 

The Springboard Initiative and the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) are excited to present our next innovation outreach event.  I hope you will have time to join us on December 8th for our TechRevolution seminar . Our seminar will include a showcase of two NC State start-up companies and a discussion of three compelling early-stage technologies.

Company Showcase:

Katharos is a medical device startup being jointly spun-out of NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill focused on developing a proprietary filtration system that lowers blood phosphates in hemodialysis patients. Research has shown that patients with chronic kidney disease who have uncontrolled blood phosphorus levels have a significantly higher risk of mortality. Currently, these patients are advised to modify their dietary intake and to take oral phosphate-binding medicines at each meal, resulting in low compliance. Katharos seeks to introduce the first device for use with existing dialysis equipment to address this unmet medical need.

Ligamar is a nano-bio materials startup that has developed production-ready technologies used in the discovery and manufacture of biotherapeutic drugs such as antibodies and vaccines. The company has a novel technology platform that enables the next generation of high-throughput, disposable bioseparation and purification systems.

Technology Showcase:

• A novel MOSFET device that enables "instant on" computers
• An enzyme that will enhance the efficiency and reduce the cost of biofuel production
• A rapid test for bacterial contamination of food
• NCSU-10, a novel dye-sensitized solar cell for conversion of light energy to electricity