UM Ventures
Since 2011, more than 153 startups have been created. Read more about recent UM Ventures
startups and successes below:
CoapTech
UMB medical device startup CoapTech is developing the PUMA-G System, the world’s first and only point-of-care ultrasound system for the placement of feeding tubes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared device is being used in hospitals throughout the country to decrease length of stay, reduce costs, and provide better patient care. A pediatric version of the system is currently in clinical trial.
Hazel Analytics
Hazel Analytics, a global leader in food safety technology, specializes in the use of data-driven technology solutions to monitor regulatory compliance and improve public health. Born in 2014 out of cross-disciplinary research in economics and computer science at UMCP and the University of California, Los Angeles, Hazel Analytics now serves more than 200 global food service and retail brands and over half of the world’s 100 largest restaurant chains. In 2022, Hazel announced a partnership with Yelp to provide restaurant and food service hygiene data and health scores. In 2023, the company was acquired by longtime partner Ecolab.
Inventwood
Inventwood, founded by Liangbing Hu, PhD, Distinguished University Professor in UMCP’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering and director of the Center for Materials Innovation, received a $20 million SCALEUP award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s innovation agency, Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy. InventWood’s SCALEUP project will contribute to the decarbonization of buildings and enable them to store significantly greater amounts of carbon by scaling up a game-changing wood material, MettleWood, which is 60 percent stronger than construction grade steel but 80 percent lighter, much less expensive, and far more sustainable. InventWood is building an 89,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Frederick, Md
IRAZU Bio
IRAZÚ Bio is bridging the divide between academic research and drug development. With a hands-on approach, IRAZÚ identifies, de-risks, and develops the best intellectual property-protected academic research to create innovative life science companies. IRAZÚ’s first spin-out company, IRAZÚ Oncology, is advancing a vaccine candidate for colorectal cancer. Its novel platform builds on a technology initially developed at the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM).
KaloCyte
A UMB-based preclinical stage biotech company that is developing a novel bio-inspired artificial red blood cell, called ErothroMer. Co-founder Allan Doctor, MD, director of UMSOM’s Center for Blood Oxygen Transport and Hemostasis, KaloCyte works closely with the school on a $46 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency grant to develop a synthetic blood product.
Medcura
Medcura, a startup based on joint technology between UMCP and UMB, ispoised to leverage its proprietary chemistry to carve out a prominent presence in the surgical landscape with its growing product line of hemostatic and wound treatment products. Housed in the Discovery District in College Park and spun out of research from the Fischell Department of Bioengineering, Medcura is scaling up to meet manufacturing demand. It hired staff and expanded its physical footprint by 50% in 2023. Medcura received FDA Breakthrough Designation for LifeGel – the first surgical hemostat to achieve this status.