{"id":17176,"date":"2024-06-20T20:07:26","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T20:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/?p=17176"},"modified":"2024-06-20T20:11:45","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T20:11:45","slug":"investing-in-innovation-at-umb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/","title":{"rendered":"Investing in Innovation at UMB"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><sub>From left, David Block and Phil Robilotto signed a follow-on investment agreement in the summer of 2023.<\/sub><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Published in The Elm<\/strong>   |     <strong>June 18, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:1px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"http:\/\/umventures.org\"><strong>UM Ventures, Baltimore<\/strong><\/a> makes equity investments in UMB startup companies, helping advance commercially promising technologies and supporting UMB entrepreneurs.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:1px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/umaryland.edu\"><strong>University of Maryland, Baltimore <\/strong>(<strong>UMB) <\/strong><\/a>spurs the advancement of commercially promising technologies and innovative startup companies through a robust mix of programs designed to support our inventors and entrepreneurs at each stage of development. One initiative is the&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.umventures.org\/investments\">UM Ventures, Baltimore (UMVB) equity investment program<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bringing a biotech product to market requires significant funding. For many startups in this space, the first round of funding can be difficult to acquire. The UMVB equity investment program invests directly in UMB startups, providing not just financial support, but also sending a strong message to potential co-investors: This company, this technology, this team has potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the program was established in 2014, UMVB has invested just under $2 million in 12 companies through 18 investments. And the track record is excellent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Four of the companies \u2014 Harpoon Medical, Breethe, Living Pharma, and SurgiGyn \u2014 have been acquired.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The portfolio companies have raised an additional $95 million in co-funding, new grants, and subsequent follow-on funding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Four 510k clearances and two CE marks have been obtained.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Returns from the four acquisitions have helped establish both a dedicated, independent wet laboratory in the University of Maryland BioPark and a medical device prototyping space on UMB\u2019s campus.&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.umventures.org\/umb-ventures\/specialized-facilities\">Both of these spaces<\/a>&nbsp;expand the University\u2019s capabilities and provide critical support for UMB startups and inventors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the last year, UMVB has made three investments in a diverse mix of companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gliknik.com\/\"><strong>Gliknik<\/strong><\/a>, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company creating new therapies for people living with immune disorders, received follow-on investment in the summer of 2023. The company is advancing its fourth drug into human clinical trials.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sonosamedical.com\/\"><strong>Sonosa Medical<\/strong><\/a>, a preclinical diagnostics company developing the next generation of tools to diagnose and treat obstructive sleep apnea, received an initial investment in the fall of 2023. &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.protaryx.com\/\"><strong>Protaryx Medical<\/strong><\/a>, a medical device company reimagining access to the left atrium for minimally invasive transcatheter cardiac procedures, received follow-on investment in January 2024. The technology behind Protaryx also received support from the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.umventures.org\/umb-ventures\/life-sciences-ip-fund\">UMVB Life Sciences IP Fund<\/a>, an initiative that provides direct support to commercially promising translational research projects at UMB.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Prior to these investments, UMVB had not made any investments since 2021 due to a lack of qualifying opportunities. That downturn is reflective of an overall lull in biotech investment following the boom of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe financing environment has been an extremely challenging one for the past three years,\u201d said David Block, MD, MBA, chairman and CEO of Gliknik, adding, \u201cWe are extremely grateful to UM Ventures and all of our investors who have stuck with us over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re excited about the uptick in activity over the last year and feel it indicates a rebound in the biotech investment environment,\u201d said <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/phil-robilotto-do-7764414\">Phil Robilotto, DO, MBA<\/a><\/strong>, associate vice president for technology transfer at UMB and executive director of UMVB. \u201cIt\u2019s a very positive sign for UMB startups trying to raise financing rounds in 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal of UMVB\u2019s investment program is to help UMB startups successfully navigate the \u201cvalley of death.\u201d This occurs after a technology is spun out into a startup, but before it has been de-risked enough to attract interest from investors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This investment is a boon for Sonosa and came at a pivotal stage,\u201d commented Stephen Restaino, PhD, founder and CEO of Sonosa Medical. \u201cIt also highlights the holistic approach and firm commitment at UM Ventures, Baltimore to support commercialization of the incredible research at UMB.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>David Mester, MBA, CEO of Protaryx Medical, echoed Restaino, saying, \u201cProtaryx owes much of its success to the invaluable partnership with UM Ventures, Baltimore. Their continued support, including multiple rounds of financing, has played a pivotal role in our journey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The UMVB equity investment program invests in startup companies that are based on UMB intellectual property and are based in Maryland. It was originally established to help support UMB startups as they attempted to raise initial seed financing rounds, but due to the success of the program, has expanded to include participation in follow-on rounds, such as late seed, \u201cA round,\u201d and later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UMVB is actively looking to expand its investment network to benefit UMB startup companies. For more information on the UMVB equity investment program, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/mailto:probilotto@umaryland.edu\/?subject=UMVB%20Equity%20Investments\"><strong>Phil Robilotto<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UM Ventures initiative helping to advance commercially promising technologies in Baltimore and beyond<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":17178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Investing in Innovation at UMB - MPower Maryland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Investing in Innovation at UMB - MPower Maryland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UM Ventures initiative helping to advance commercially promising technologies in Baltimore and beyond\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MPower Maryland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-20T20:07:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-20T20:11:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/UM-Ventures.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1982\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1741\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ademaio\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ademaio\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ademaio\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bdd738afb45b3e1c0563f848048f5fdf\"},\"headline\":\"Investing in Innovation at UMB\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-20T20:07:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-20T20:11:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/\"},\"wordCount\":743,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/UM-Ventures.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/\",\"name\":\"Investing in Innovation at UMB - MPower Maryland\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/UM-Ventures.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-20T20:07:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-20T20:11:45+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/UM-Ventures.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/UM-Ventures.jpg\",\"width\":1982,\"height\":1741},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Investing in Innovation at UMB\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/\",\"name\":\"MPower Maryland\",\"description\":\"University of Maryland, MPowering the State\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MPower Maryland\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/mpower-revised-logo_option-3_option-3.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/mpower-revised-logo_option-3_option-3.png\",\"width\":1204,\"height\":391,\"caption\":\"MPower Maryland\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bdd738afb45b3e1c0563f848048f5fdf\",\"name\":\"ademaio\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc0f2d20f772c557c979e9a81d6a1c69d0a16458542e51cf6cc5bd106d0dc239?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc0f2d20f772c557c979e9a81d6a1c69d0a16458542e51cf6cc5bd106d0dc239?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ademaio\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/author\/ademaio\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Investing in Innovation at UMB - MPower Maryland","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Investing in Innovation at UMB - MPower Maryland","og_description":"UM Ventures initiative helping to advance commercially promising technologies in Baltimore and beyond","og_url":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/","og_site_name":"MPower Maryland","article_published_time":"2024-06-20T20:07:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-06-20T20:11:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1982,"height":1741,"url":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/UM-Ventures.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"ademaio","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ademaio","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/"},"author":{"name":"ademaio","@id":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bdd738afb45b3e1c0563f848048f5fdf"},"headline":"Investing in Innovation at UMB","datePublished":"2024-06-20T20:07:26+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-20T20:11:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/"},"wordCount":743,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/UM-Ventures.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/","url":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/","name":"Investing in Innovation at UMB - MPower Maryland","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/UM-Ventures.jpg","datePublished":"2024-06-20T20:07:26+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-20T20:11:45+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/UM-Ventures.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/UM-Ventures.jpg","width":1982,"height":1741},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/investing-in-innovation-at-umb\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Investing in Innovation at UMB"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/","name":"MPower Maryland","description":"University of Maryland, MPowering the State","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#organization","name":"MPower Maryland","url":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/mpower-revised-logo_option-3_option-3.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/mpower-revised-logo_option-3_option-3.png","width":1204,"height":391,"caption":"MPower Maryland"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bdd738afb45b3e1c0563f848048f5fdf","name":"ademaio","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mpower-dev.umbaltimore.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc0f2d20f772c557c979e9a81d6a1c69d0a16458542e51cf6cc5bd106d0dc239?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc0f2d20f772c557c979e9a81d6a1c69d0a16458542e51cf6cc5bd106d0dc239?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"ademaio"},"url":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/author\/ademaio\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17176"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17180,"href":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17176\/revisions\/17180"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mpower.maryland.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}