Startups have record year at UConn program

FARMINGTON >> Startup companies that are part of the University of Connecticut’s Technology Incubation program had a record-setting 2016, raising $39.9 million in investments, school officials said Monday.

That is $15.5 million more than the previous record for attracting investments, which was achieved in 2014. There were 33 companies that were part of the incubator program in 2016, the most in its history.

The program came into existence in 2004 to encourage the creation of new technology-based companies with a link to UConn.

“Instead of going to Boston or New York, these companies choose to stay in Connecticut to grow their companies, create jobs, and benefit society with their cutting-edge advances,” Jeff Seemann, vice president for research for UConn and the school’s Health Center, said in a statement. In addition to supporting technology startups coming out of UConn, the program also includes some new technology ventures from outside the school, as well.

These external startups conduct research and development in Connecticut and have access to specialized equipment and customized business support services.

More than half of the investment money that was raised by companies in the UConn program went to Agrivida. An agricultural technology company primarily focused on animal nutrition, Agrivida raised $21 million, which will be used to advance the commercialization of feed additive enzymes for use with poultry and swine as well as to support product development for dairy and beef cattle.

Dan Meagher, chief executive officer of Agrivida, credited the UConn program with helping the company meet significant milestones.

“We are looking forward to delivering on our promise to improve the production efficiency of meat, milk, and eggs to help address the growing global demand for food,” Meagher said in a statement.

Agrivida is based in Medford, Massachusetts, but works closely with UConn’s Plant Science Department, according to school officials.

The startup company with the next best level of success in fundraising during 2016 was Frequency Therapeutics, which received $9.1 million in investments. The company is developing a drug-based restoration therapy for people who have hearing loss caused by continuous exposure to loud noises.

Bob Langer, co-founder of Frequency Therapeutics and a professor with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the company’s scientific team, which is based at the incubator program’s UConn Health Center campus, “played an important role in supporting the development of the company’s ... platform to restore healthy tissue in the body.” The therapy the company is developing would regenerate inner ear sensory hair cells, which detect sound and transmit signals to the brain.

Frequency Therapeutics announced earlier this year that it has raised an additional $32 million to continue developing the hearing restoration therapy.

According to a recent survey by the National Business Incubation Association survey, UConn’s incubator was 12,000 square feet larger and was home to 62 percent more startups than the national average.

Companies participating in the program had 71 full-time employees and 30 working part-time, according to school officials.

A $19 million expansion at the technology incubator facility in Farmington at UConn Health was completed in January 2016. The program now has more than 32,000 square feet of high-tech wet labs and office space between the university’s flagship campus in Storrs and Farmington.

Call Luther Turmelle at 203-680-9388.