Prince William Science Accelerator Lab 1.(Photo: Business Wire)
Prince William County today congratulated three science start-ups – ISOThrive, LLC, Virongy, LLC and Ceres Nanosciences, Inc., – on recent business successes leading from the Prince William Science Accelerator.
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Prince William Science Accelerator Lab 1.(Photo: Business Wire)
All three start-up enterprises have gained significant momentum, leading to expansion into new commercial lab space, increased R&D and the potential for new employment opportunities. ISOThrive recently expanded into new lab space within the Accelerator, Virongy has extended its lease for another year, while Ceres Nanosciences became the first start-up to successfully graduate into commercial space within Innovation Park, a premier corporate research park anchored by George Mason University’s SciTech Campus.
“We are very proud of the significant strides being made by our tenant companies at the Prince William Science Accelerator and congratulate all three companies on their commendable progress,” said Jeff Kaczmarek, Executive Director, Prince William County Department of Economic Development.
“What we are seeing is the gradual realization of the vision, formulated by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, for Prince William County to be a catalyst for the growth and development of the life sciences ecosystem that our businesses are benefitting from today,” he added.
ISOThrive recently expanded its footprint at the facility, now occupying two lab spaces. Through this expansion, the company will accelerate its work in leveraging the gut microbiome to prevent and treat cancer, with an initial focus on colon cancer. The company intends to recruit three new staff to support this new R&D effort that is expected to result in new U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cancer treatment modalities. In addition to its new lease, ISOThrive has also opted to extend its existing lease for another three years to support the growth of its initial core business that produces OTC and Medical Food microFood products targeted at a variety of chronic health issues.
“Locating in the Prince William Science Accelerator has been instrumental to our company’s success. Having easy access to cost competitive, state-of-the-art wet lab facilities, expert technical support, all within a research university setting has allowed us to conduct research, fine tune our business model and achieve a level of commercialization within a relatively short space of time,” said Jack Oswald, Chief Executive Officer, ISOThrive.
Virongy has recently renewed its lease for another year. The company’s groundbreaking work has received the endorsement of the National Institute of Health through the award of a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $220,000. The award supports additional R&D, in addition to funding commercialization efforts. “Locating in the Prince William Science Accelerator has allowed us to cultivate and leverage strategic partnerships with George Mason University. Proximity to the university has also allowed us to recruit from its pool of graduates skilled in life sciences,” said Dr. Yuntao Wu, Founder, Virongy.
Most recently, Ceres Nanosciences expanded into commercial space within Innovation Park. The company is known for its work in the development of diagnostic products using its unique and proprietary Nanotrap® particles.
First established in 2014, the Prince William Science Accelerator is designed to provide an innovative environment for entrepreneurial research and product development, nestled strategically in Innovation Park near George Mason University, SciTech Campus. Today, the County is home to approximately 9,000 businesses, an increase of 40% over the past ten years.
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Prince William County, Virginia
Department of Economic Development
Ginny
Person
Main: 703-792-5500
Direct: 703-792-5518
gperson@pwcgov.org