Ringing in the New Year!
Welcome to 2026.
As we close out 2025, our client companies delivered a year defined by steady execution and meaningful milestones.
Throughout the year, companies secured competitive SBIR and NSF awards, including multi-million-dollar federal funding to support product development, scale-up, and commercialization. Others advanced critical regulatory and clinical milestones, launched new technologies, and strengthened their intellectual property with newly issued patents.
Several companies expanded their reach beyond Oregon, forming strategic partnerships, entering new markets, and engaging global customers and collaborators. Investment activity remained strong as well, with seed rounds, strategic investors, and community-backed raises supporting continued growth.
Our alumni companies continued to move the needle too, earning industry recognition and securing additional funding to advance their science toward real-world impact.
The pattern is clear. Progress built on rigor. Momentum built on execution.
We enter 2026 with companies that are better positioned, more resilient, and ready for what’s next.
Client Company Wins in 2025
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Joined the Veterinary Health Innovation Engine (Vhive Incubator) at the University of Surrey to explore livestock and companion animal health opportunities.
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Received a $7.8M National Science Foundation award to fund product development and scale-up with collaborators from Caltech, Oregon State, Rutgers, and Avery Bio.
- Went to BIO 2025 in Boston with support from the Oregon Biotech Collective (via a grant for the Oregon Pavilion).
- Named a finalist for the Oregon Technology Awards (finalist recognition in statewide tech/life science)
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Submitted its second FDA 510(k) device application for the Biopsy Port Adapter.
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Appointed Jose Cervantes as Vice President of LATAM to drive commercialization in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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Launched a crowdfunding initiative via Wefunder, raising nearly $300,000 from community, healthcare, and user investors in the first few weeks.
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KINGSCROWD Capital joined as an investor, providing validation and investor network support
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Selected as one of eight U.S. companies to present at the NIH Innovation Showcase at the 2025 International Stroke Conference.
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Published a peer-review research paper on GPF and COVID-19 in the American Society of Hematology journal Blood Vessels, Thrombosis & Hemostasis
- Hemex Health’s CEO, Patti White, received the ET WOMEN CONCLAVE Award 2025 for Excellence in HealthTech in March. The ET Women Conclave is an initiative of the Times of India dedicated to celebrating and empowering women business leaders. This award recognizes Patti’s visionary leadership in advancing accessible, high-impact diagnostics that are transforming global healthcare. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/business/hemex-health-co-founder-ceo-patti-white-felicitated-at-et-women-conclave-2025/
- We’re proud to partner with Syrma Johari Medtech Limited to expand access to innovative point-of-care diagnostics. This collaboration strengthens our ability to deliver affordable, high-quality diagnostic solutions globally—especially for chronic and blood-based conditions like sickle cell disease, anemia, and more.
- Hemex Health captured the Growth Stage Award at the 2025 OEN Entrepreneurship Awards, a recognition reserved for companies showing strong traction, market readiness, and serious growth potential. It is a well earned milestone that highlights their steady momentum and the impact they continue to make in Oregon’s biotech community.
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Signed master service agreements with two major drug development companies for multiple Cryo-EM projects.
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University of Virginia Medical Center added as one of four service sites for Cryo-EM.
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CryoFAST™ V1.3.2 software was praised for doubling throughput and cutting costs.
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Invited to present at the first Oregon AI Conference.
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NSF Phase 2 final report approved by NSF.
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Successfully delivered two Cryo-EM projects.
- Hosted Ken Boddie, KOIN Anchor and Political Director, as well as the host of “Eye on Northwest Politics,” at OBI and HTI for an overview of the Oregon BIO industry and HTI.
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SBIR Phase I funded (award confirmed in September newsletter).
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Initial design work completed on a second-generation Transcervical Selective Tubal Delivery System; equipment moved into OBI space (earlier progress reported in July).
- Awarded a National Science Foundation Phase II SBIR grant to support automation of its patented noninvasive patient monitor technology
- We are continuing to advance the science of noninvasive circulatory dysfunction monitoring; introducing yet another patent to our IP portfolio at ProMedix Inc – Precision Patient Monitoring!
- Announced a strategic partnership with Hamamatsu Photonics centered on the MoxiePlex spatial proteomics platform and launched a Technology Access Program.
- Secured a $2.25M Phase II NCI SBIR grant to commercialize its “lab-in-a-box” direct-to-digital pathology imaging platform.
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Excited to share their peer-review publication on gut microbiome and redox homeostasis published with leading researchers (Thaena team and helpers).
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Closed a Seed fundraising round led by Portland Seed Fund with valuation growth and regional investor support.
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Published a second patent for its human-derived postbiotic supplement.
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Expanded its team with talent including former Intel engineers, and reported strong projected quarterly revenue growth.
- Virogenomics BioDevelopment was awarded the first-year of funding on a five-year Exploratory/Developmental Phased Award Cooperative Agreement (UG3/UH3). The grant award is through NIDA and aims to develop DRhQ as a therapeutic for methamphetamine use disorder. If fully awarded, the grant will fund dose and dosing schedule studies in an animal model, GMP manufacture, IND-enabling toxicology, and Phase I clinical studies. The grant is a collaboration between investigators at VBD, OHSU and LSU.
OBI Alumni Updates
- Met Year 1 milestones for its Phase II NCI SBIR grant (R44CA285233), triggering a new $1.09M Notice of Award and bringing total NCI funding to $2.4M for PETTRA™, a targeted lung cancer therapy that demonstrated superior efficacy versus standard of care and strong synergy with radiation in preclinical NSCLC models, advancing the program toward clinical trials.
- Closed a $95 million Series B financing co-led by RA Capital Management and Forbion to advance its lead diabetes candidate, clofutriben, into Phase 2b development for type 2 diabetes with elevated cortisol.
- VitalFlo has been acquired by Doktorconnect, marking a significant leap forward in proactive respiratory care. The acquisition integrates VitalFlo’s FDA- and CE-registered spirometry tools, remote monitoring, and clinical decision support platform directly into Doktorconnect’s comprehensive preventative health ecosystem.With this union, providers can now deliver data-driven care for conditions like asthma and COPD seamlessly alongside cardiovascular, metabolic, endocrine, and musculoskeletal health services.
Congratulations on your hard work and successful endeavors! You’re creating wonderful innovations for healthcare.
Thank You for Your Continued Support!
As we close out 2025, OBI is already building momentum for another strong year of free, high impact entrepreneurial programming designed to support life science startups at every stage across Oregon.
Our programming slate includes monthly Lunch and Learns on timely and practical topics for bioscience founders, well attended Happy Hour networking events that strengthen community connections, and a robust BioMentoring program that pairs entrepreneurs with experienced industry leaders. This month, we also launched BioMembership, a new way for startups and partners to engage with OBI through expanded access to programming, space, and resources.
Learn more here: https://www.otradi.org/startups/obi-biomembership/
We are incredibly grateful for the continued support of our community since OBI opened in 2013. That support makes this work possible and allows us to continue offering accessible, founder focused programming statewide.
To support our upcoming educational offerings, each program includes sponsorship opportunities, along with Platinum, Gold, and Silver corporate sponsorship packages for organizations looking to make a year long impact.
If you are interested in supporting OBI’s programming through a tax deductible sponsorship, please review our Sponsorship Kit.
For questions or to discuss sponsorship opportunities, contact Adrienne Klein for more information.
Upcoming Events
Virtual Lunch & Learn
Built from the Core: Values that Guide
February 10 | 12:00-1:00 PM
Online
Free! Register here
Workshop: SBIR/STTR Grant Preparation Workshop
February 12 & 13
OBI Event Space, Portland
Apply Here