Money makes the world go 'round - and keeps technology start-ups in business.
Compendia Bioscience, Inc., an Ann Arbor-area company formed last year to commercialize Onocomine, a web-based analysis tool for the cancer gene expression database, has gotten a $250,000 investment from Ann Arbor SPARK, the business incubator and economic development engine, and $2.4 million small business innovation and research grant from the National Cancer Institute.
"We applied for the grant to develop the next generation product," says CEO Dan Rhodes.
That grant doesn't kick in until February, and the SPARK award will help bridge the gap, he says.
"The big thing is it allows us to start working on our pace and accelerate things," Rhodes says.
The company has 12-14 employees, but plans to add 10 to 15 over the next two years.
Four other metro area businesses - Saleztrack, Avidimer Therapeutics, Inc., and RazorThreat - received SPARK awards. The SPARK Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, a collaborative effort of Michigan's 12 SmartZones, has distributed $3 million to 14 companies to date.
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Writer: Nancy Kaffer
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