PCI Ventures Portfolio - Penn Center for Innovation

Advac Therapeutics

Development of vaccines and therapeutics for the treatment of infectious diseases and cancers

Penn Founder: Hao Shen, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Agni Semiconductor

Developing memory systems for extreme environments and low-power computing.

Penn Founders: Deep Jariwala, PhD, Roy Olsson, Eric Stach (Penn Engineering)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

AltruMed

Develops self-driven wearable medical drug delivery devices to combat substance use disorders

Penn Founder: Jacob Brenner, MD, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Axonova Medical

Tech platform allowing the stretch growth of axon bundles for use as fully functional grafts to address peripheral and CNS neuropathies.

Penn Founders: D. Kacy Cullen, PhD & Douglas Smith, MD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Calorint

Heat-based technology for wound healing

Penn Founders: Jonathan Isserow, MD (formerly Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Carisma Therapeutics

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Carisma Therapeutics

Cellular immunotherapy for solid tumors.

Penn Founders: Saar Gill, MD, PhD & Michael Klichinksy, PharmD, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Cartio

Developing CAR regulatory T cells to treat atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases.

Penn Founder: Robert Schwab, MD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Cerespectus

Catheters using real time anatomic video feedback and fluoroscopic assistance for precise gene therapy delivery and treatment of other disorders of the central nervous system

Penn Founder: Bryan Pukenas, MD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures UPadvisor

Cogwear

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Cogwear

Affordable, mobile, comfortable, sustained, research-grade, brain state monitoring on the go

Penn Founder: Michael Platt, PhD (Penn Arts & Sciences)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Cyclemer

Developing cyclic conjugated polymers for industrial applications.

Penn Founders: Daniel Mindiola, PhD, John Russell, PhD (Arts and Sciences)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Daimroc Imaging

Using Argentavue, a silver nanoparticle contrast agent for breast cancer imaging

Penn Founder: David Cormode, DPhil (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Elaeis Therapeutics

Targeting protein palmitoylation to confront unmet challenges in human disease.

Penn Founders: Eric Witze, PhD & George Burslem, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

EmboVent

Removing the embolic load from the heart during open heart surgery with a novel heart vent catheter.

Penn Founder: William Vernick, MD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

EnaChip

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EnaChip

Developing magnetic materials, processes, and device designs that enable integration of magnetic components with silicon semiconductor devices

Penn Founder: Mark Allen, PhD (Penn Engineering)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Enteropass

Developing novel enteric bypass solutions to change the paradigm of enterocutaneous fistula management

Penn Founder: Daniel Holena, MD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Evinacel

Developing a variety of technologies that enable improved gamma delta T-cell therapy, a novel DR5 CAR construct, and an exosome therapy platform

Penn Founder: George Xu, MD, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Exyn Technologies, Inc.

Collect impossible to reach data with breakthrough AI-powered industrial drones & robots.

Penn Founder: Vijay Kumar, PhD (Penn Engineering)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

FloBio

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FloBio

Analyzes dynamic blood flow as a diagnostic technique in trauma, ER, and clinical settings

Penn Founder: Scott Diamond, PhD (Penn Engineering)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

FluidiSpec

Developing microfluidic systems for proteomic analysis of small samples for research tools and clinical analyses.

Penn Founder: Aaron Timperman, PhD, and Lumala Nelum Perera, PhD (Penn Engineering)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Fluorosurgical Biosciences

Developing precision-medicine tools to increase intraoperative cancer detection for improved tumor resection.

Penn Founders: Jim Delikatny, PhD & Sofya Osharovich, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Forsagen

Developing biomaterial directed tissue sealing approaches for the long-term health and preservation of orthopaedic tissues.

Penn Founder: Robert Mauck, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

GastroVationX

Portable medical device to be used in endoscopy to make procedures economical and efficient

Penn Founder: Ricardo Morgenstern, MD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Ghost Robotics

Building customizable robotic machines highly adept at perceiving tactile sensations

Penn Founder: Gavin Kenneally, PhD (Penn Engineering)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Hydropore

Hydropore is a clean technology start-up developing hydrogen fuel pellets for drones.

Penn Founder: Eric Detsi, PhD (Penn Engineering)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Hysplex

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Hysplex

Developing small molecule PARP inhibitors for the treatment of cancer and neurological disorders.

Penn Founder: Ben Black, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Innervace

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Innervace

Implantable tissue engineered brain pathways for neurodegenerative disorders.

Penn Founder: D. Kacy Cullen, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

JT Me-Sh Diagnostics

Developing a novel point-of-care device to evaluate an individual’s exposure to radiation.

Penn Founder: Melpo Christofidou-Solomidou, PhD & Shampa Chatterjee, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Leden

Developing a self-powered tissue healing dental implant system to treat and prevent peri-implant diseases

Penn Founder: Geelsu Hwang, PhD (Penn Dental Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

LignaMed

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LignaMed

Targeted therapeutics from flaxseed derivatives

Penn Founder: Melpo Christofidou-Solomidou, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Limbsalv

Advanced technology for limb salvage and reconstruction

Penn Founders: Scott Levin, MD & Edward Cantu, MD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Linnaeus

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Linnaeus

Developing a G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) agonist with applicability across a range of cancers.

Penn Founders: Todd Ridky, MD, PhD (Penn Medicine) & Chris Natale, PhD (Penn Arts & Sciences)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Liquid BioDx

Diagnostic blood test for sensitive detection of circulating tumor cells.

Penn Founders: Jay Dorsey, MD, PhD & Gary Kao, MD, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Luminosity Wearables

Enabling non-invasive glucose monitoring using off the shelf wearable devices.

Penn Founder: Amanda Watson, PhD (Penn Engineering)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

LuxFiat Therapeutics

Developing gene therapies to treat genetic causes of blindness.

Penn Founders: William Beltran, DVM, PhD & Gus Aguirre, VMD, PhD (Penn Veterinary Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Mechano Therapeutics

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Mechano Therapeutics

Therapeutic delivery platform using mechanically-activated microcapsule technology

Penn Founders: George Dodge, PhD & Robert Mauck, PhD (Penn Medicine)

(continued) Daeyeon Lee, PhD & Bhavana Mohanraj, PhD (Penn Engineering). PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Neuralert

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Neuralert

Robust wearable monitors to rapidly identify critically important neurological events such as stroke

Penn Founders: Steven Messe, MD (Penn Medicine), James Weimer, PhD (formerly Penn Engineering)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Neurokappa Therapeutics

Treatments for cerebral vascular spasm using salvia divinosum

Penn Founder: Renyu Liu, MD, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Neurostorative

Developing nerve fusion technology for immediate axonal reconnection and electrical restoration after injury.

Penn Founders: Justin Burrell, PhD & D. Kacy Cullen, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

NewBreathz

Respiratory-based diagnostics for metabolic disorders.

Penn Founder: Steve Solga, MD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Nia Therapeutics

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Nia Therapeutics

Developing responsive neurostimulation therapies for patients with dementia and other memory disorders.

Penn Founder: Mike Kahana, PhD (Penn Arts & Sciences)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

OmicPath AI

Developing an end-to-end workflow to predict spatial gene expression and characterize tissue architecture with single-cell resolution.

Penn Founders: Mingyao Li, PhD, Daiwei Zhang, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Onocor

Catheter based retrieval systems designed to recovered malposition cardiovascular devices

Penn Founders: Joseph Gorman, MD, Robert Gorman, MD & Matthew Gillespie, MD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Osciflex

Developing medical devices for the prevention of thrombosis

Penn Founders: Mark Kahn, MD (Penn Medicine) & John Welsh, PhD (Penn Engineering)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Osetomics

Diagnostic and prognostic tools for the treatment of acute musculoskeletal injuries, chronic orthopedic pathologies, and bone implant complications

Penn Founders: Annamarie Horan, MPA, PhD & Samir Mehta, MD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Ostiio

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Ostiio

A novel approach to correct skeletal deformities and deficiencies using a fully implantable, magnetically-driven, bony distraction device

Penn Founders: Ari Wes, MD & Jesse Taylor, MD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Paradigm Surgical

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Paradigm Surgical

Prophylactic mesh augmentation systems for fascial reinforcement

Penn Founder: John Fischer, MD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Peroxitech

Novel therapeutic to prevent acute lung injury, the major cause of death with sepsis.

Penn Founders: Aron Fisher, MD & Sheldon Feinstein, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Prohibix LLC

Developing injectable therapeutics that stop the progression of tissue degenerative diseases and preserve quality of life

Penn Founder: Jason Burdick, PhD (Penn Engineering)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Prolifagen

Developing microRNA therapies to treat myocardial infarction, prevent remodeling, and regenerate tissue

Penn Founder: Edward Morrisey, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisor)

Quantaras

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Quantaras

Advanced body-wide analysis of medical imagery for clinical and research purposes

Penn Founders: Jayaram Udupa, PhD & Drew Torigian, MD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Radix Therapeutics

Developer of targeting drugs to treat cancer.

Penn Founder: Yi Fan, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Rafias

Novel therapeutics to treat cocaine and other substance abuse disorders.

Penn Founder: Elizabeth Heller, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Recupero Robotics

Robotics for improved physical therapy

Penn Founder: Michelle Johnson, PhD (Penn Engineering)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

RightAir

Wearable device for respiratory assistance in COPD patients

Penn Founder: Jake Brenner, MD, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Sapience Leadership

Consulting services on curricula, operational issues, and strategic planning

Penn Founder: Michael Johanek, EdD (Penn Graduate School of Education)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

SchoolSims

Technology-enhanced immersive learning solutions to leadership development for educational and other organizations

Penn Founder: Michael Johanek, EdD (Penn Graduate School of Education)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

SightPath VR

Developing a virtual reality navigation test for assessment of functional vision.

Penn Founder: Jean Bennett, MD, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Spyridon Biotech

Developing modulators that enhance exercise motivation by stimulating transmission of signals to the brain.

Penn Founders: John Nicholas Betley, PhD (Arts and Sciences), Christoph Thaiss (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Stage One Immunotherapeutics

Developing small molecules that target retinoic acid signaling pathways to treat solid tumors.

Penn Founder: Malay Haldar, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

SyzOnc

Developing cancer therapies that target untapped biological pathways and the tumor microenvironment, beginning with the Hippo pathway in soft-tissue sarcomas.

Penn Founder: Tzipora Sarah Karin Eizinger, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

TAIRIS

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TAIRIS

Improving neurosurgery and neurosurgeons through anatomical pattern recognition assistance

Penn Founders: Vivek Buch, MD, Peter Madsen, MD & Tejvir S. Khurana, MD, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Tarna Therapeutics

Developing precision therapeutics for patients suffering from kidney disease.

Penn Founder: Katalin Susztak, MD, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

TheraVal

Novel liver-derived organoid platform that enables the company to develop and validate potential therapeutics for NASH and other hepatic diseases.

Penn Founder: Tobias Raabe, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Vasowatch

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Vasowatch

Decision support technology for obstetrics to improve outcomes for all mothers

Penn Founder: Stefanie Modri, MSN, RN, C-MNN (Penn Nursing)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Vellum Biosciences

Non-invasive imaging diagnostic to differentiate cancer, inflammation, and infection

Penn Founder: Mark Sellmyer, MD, PhD & Robert Mach, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Veltion Therapeutics

Novel approaches for cancer treatment by targeting the Integrated Stress Response and its role in tumor as well as stroma adaptation to stress

Penn Founder: Costas Koumenis, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)

Ventru

Aims to improve the safety and efficacy of neurosurgical procedures through surgical instrument innovation

Penn Founders: Rachel Blue, MD & Michael Spadola, MD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Versatilis Therapeutics

DOTA-based universal immune receptor for cancer cell therapy.

Penn Founder: Daniel Powell, PhD (Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Vetigenics

Using novel phage-display techniques to develop reagents and therapeutics for veterinary medicine

Penn Founder: Nicola Mason, BVetMed, PhD (Penn Veterinary Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPstart)

Vital Start Health

Empowering clinicians and caregivers by giving them a digital platform to improve neonatal care

Penn Founder: Carrie Hufnal, MD (formerly Penn Medicine)

PCI Ventures (UPadvisors)