Business incubator to aid startup research of US health threats

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has chosen the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2) to help end influenza and sepsis.

M2D2 is one of eight business incubators in the nation selected to aid startups in addressing the illnesses, noting an estimated 35.6 million cases of the flu are reported and claim the lives of 56,000 people each year while sepsis results in 250,000 deaths annually.

M2D2 will receive $500,000 from BARDA over the next five years to assist startups at its incubators in Lowell and Worcester, which provide access to world-class research expertise and facilities.

“Receiving this five-year grant and partnering with BARDA on this new national initiative will allow us to further assist startups already working with us to respond to these challenges, as well reach out to more entrepreneurs interested in joining M2D2,”
Stephen McCarthy, M2D2 founder and chairman of UMass Lowell’s Biomedical Engineering Department, said. “It’s exciting our incubator program, and UMass Lowell as a whole will have an impact on national health security over the next five years and beyond.”

Two startups already working with M2D2 in Lowell to combat the flu and cure sepsis, Versatope Therapeutics and ExThera Medical Corp., also plan to join the new network.