Meet three Polsky-related startups making waves in Chicago's tech scene – Chicago Maroon

Polsky Center on E 53rd St.

Eight startups affiliated with the University of Chicago Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation are included in innovation and technology website Chicago Innos' list of 24 startups to watch in 2024. Now in its 10th year, his Innos Rising Startups list features up-and-coming startups ready to tackle Chicago's tech ecosystem.

Established in 1998 at the Booth School of Business, the Polsky Center supports students interested in entrepreneurship and invention faculty who want to commercialize their discoveries. Among the startups included on the list, Maroon said the founders of three of his companies are alumni of the Polsky Deep Tech Ventures program: Jonathan Paul and Osman Ahmed of Flow Medical, John Sexton Abrams of Ntrad; We spoke with Mr. Xiaoyang Wu of Alnair Therapeutics.

flow medical

Flow Medical, founded by University of Chicago researchers Jonathan Paul and Osman Ahmed, is developing a new multifunctional catheter to help diagnose and treat deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

A big problem early on was seeing DVT and pulmonary embolism in patients infected with Covid-19, Paul said. We talked with each other about the tools available to treat this problem and asked, “Are you satisfied with the tools available to treat these patients?”

We need the big companies that make these devices, like Boston Scientific, Medtronic, and Abbott, to do what we need to do to make better devices that solve the problems we're working on. “We started by talking about something,” Paul continued. After talking about it more, we finally said: “Then why don't you give it a try?”

Both parties agreed that a one-size-fits-all approach could be improved and set out to create a new standard of precise, personalized care. They devised a steerable monitoring catheter with a fiber optic pressure sensor to improve lysate delivery and track thrombus resolution.

Ultimately, Ahmed said, they are trying to take a procedure and modernize it to the way medicine is done today. The effects of giving too much or too little medication can be very serious, so we tried to incorporate that into this treatment.

While mulling over various drawings and prototypes, the team realized the need for external support to realize their vision. We were good with our hands, but we had no idea how to actually build a device, Paul said. They considered various resources within the university and ultimately turned to the Polsky Center for a partnership.

Through the Polsky Center, Paul and Ahmed identified a local medical technology design firm called Ontgen Medtech, which took the design to the prototyping stage. Flow Medical, an alumnus of the Polskys I-Corps program and Compass Deep Tech Accelerator, also secured her $200,000 co-investment from the George Shultz Innovation Fund to further develop the technology.

They took us from zero to one, from nothing to a working prototype, Paul said. I think many companies get stuck here. How do you take an idea on paper and turn it into something that actually holds? We're grateful to both Polsky and Ontogens for their help.

ntrad

Ntrad aims to simplify supply chain complexity by using AI to match disparate data between manufacturers and retailers. The company's solutions connect brands and trading partners in real-time, essentially eliminating third-party intermediaries and potentially costly human errors. Before founding Ntrad last year, CEO John Sexton Abrams worked extensively in strategic supply chain development at healthcare services company Cardinal Health and data management services company Syndigo. .

Abrams' experience working in the supply chain made him aware of the challenges of setting up simple products for consumers. In most cases, we were unable to get the information we needed from the product level.

I looked at them and said, “This could be automated.” So I started using AI as a co-pilot approach to doing things more effectively and at lower costs. Instead of moving from clipboard to clipboard, move digitally from clipboard to clipboard. [one] from one device to another. Abrams continued that it will allow that individual to control a broader range of information and execute it more precisely at the product level.

As AI becomes more integrated across industries, operational paradigms are being reshaped as companies seek greater efficiency. Abrams told Maroon that he doesn't want to “bring people out of the loop.” I wonder how I can empower them. And you can find the right way to do it.

Although Abrams was not affiliated with the university, he founded the Polsky Center, an independent innovation hub based in Chicago until 1871. Ntrad then joined the second group of Transform, a data science and AI accelerator run by Deep Tech Ventures.

Abrams said there are a few moments that particularly stand out as a mentor. Whiteboarding with Polsky I remember him drawing both sides of an equation on the board in a session. I drew a simple circle in the middle and wrote the AI. He jumped out of his chair and said, “That's it.” That was a pivotal moment when we finally arrived at the simplest, most mundane view of what we were doing.

Abrams highlighted the role of the mentorship program in understanding how it represents the company's values, which led directly to the funding round. Ntrad is currently working with Databricks to transition from the original minimum viable product to the next product rollout.

Alnea Therapeutics

Alnair Therapeutics is an oncology startup developing platform technologies to improve drug delivery to hard-to-treat cancers. The company's origins lie in research conducted by Xiaoyan Wu, an associate professor of cancer research and stem cell biology at the university.

This technology aims to exploit the unique characteristics of cancer metabolism to enhance direct targeting and penetration of drugs into cancer cells, improving patient outcomes.

Oncology treatments are extremely toxic, Wu said. It is a difficult process for patients.In most cases, 99% [deployed] Rather than reaching the tumor, the drug reaches normal cells and tissues. What we were trying to develop was a system that would allow drugs to be directed at tumors like missiles, rather than shooting all the cells.

One of the most well-established phenomena in cancer metabolism is the digestion of glucose to form lactic acid, Wu said. Lactate concentrations vary depending on the tumor microenvironment, but can be 10 times or even 40 times higher than normal lactate concentrations. If we can harness that signal, we can target drugs through nanocarrier systems.

Alnair Therapeutics and Polsky's efforts include initial participation in the I-Corps program and subsequent participation in the Compass Deep Tech Acceleratore, where they test the feasibility of commercializing research and develop startups. Developed the foundation. It was through these programs that Dr. Wu met co-founders Anh Nguyen (MBA 11th) and Ryan Myers (MBA 23rd).

Wu said sometimes it's difficult to build bridges. We call this the bench-to-bedside transition. We must move technology from the laboratory to the clinical environment and ultimately create something of benefit to patients. Transitions, especially in biotechnology, have many hurdles between initial scientific discovery and market launch.

The biotechnology field is difficult to break through, but Wu told the Maroon that the Polsky Center played a key role in identifying the company's potential and charting its future direction.

The ecosystem is very challenging, but also exciting, Wu says. This is a completely new process for me and I am also learning a lot from my co-founder about being part of this process and seeing every step to make it happen. It's about teamwork.

In 2022, Alnea received $175,000 through the George Schultz Innovation Fund. The company won the New Venture Challengeone, the nation's top accelerator program, and the startup received an investment of $585,000.

The founders of all three startups attribute their transformative experiences to the University of California's thriving venture ecosystem and commitment to entrepreneurial excellence. The University of Chicago ecosystem is large and fairly quiet. But the network that Polsky showed us was tremendous, Abrams said.

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