Fund Provides $1.5 Million To Digital Health Companies
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Money goes to companies working with universities and federal labs in the state.
Since January, Maryland’s Technology Development Corp. has doled out $1.5 million in funding through a commercialization fund to 15 companies developing technology products across the state. Called TEDCO, the state’s technology commercialization fund was started about a decade ago and run by Maryland’s Technology Development Corporation. Initially, TEDCO invested exclusively in early-stage companies working with local universities or federal labs to turn new technology into viable products and services.
According to a TEDCO press release, the financial support is designed to advance the companies’ technology and product commercialization efforts, and was awarded to startups across a wide-range of industries including medicine and disease treatment, healthcare, software development, and professional development.
“Early-stage companies in Maryland benefit immensely from the investment of capital the Technology Commercialize Fund is able to provide,” said Rob Rosenbaum, president and executive director of TEDCO. “The portfolio of this core TEDCO program includes some of the most dynamic emerging companies in the State, and we’re proud to support the 15 newest start-up additions.”
Some of the innovations being supported by the recent TEDCO funding include voice monitoring technology, mobile care adherence programs, video conference and other remote monitoring technology, clinical decision support for healthcare providers to cut out unnecessary overutilization, behavioral health support, and technology to support radiation therapy.
To qualify for TEDCO funding, companies must be in a collaboration with a federal lab or university, be located in an affiliate incubator company in the state, be involved in one of two Maryland programs – ACTiVATE, an entrepreneurship training program aimed at women, or INNoVATE – or participate in TEDCO’s Rural Business Initiative.
According to Med City News, the program focuses on companies with fewer than 16 employees, half of whom work in the state, or the company must be a university spin-off under five years old or have venture investments under $500,000.
To date, 225 companies have been funded and completed their projects. With an investment of over $15 million these companies have gone on to receive more than $678 million in downstream funding from angel and venture investors, federal awards and other resources.