Three startup companies from UC Irvine (UCI) put their best foot forward at the First Look SoCal Innovation Showcase all-virtual, two-day event. Hosted by the Alliance for Southern California Innovation, the annual event recognized 14 top research institutions and 27 startup teams within Southern California.
“The goal is to showcase the unstoppable talent and connect them with the vast resources of the region, such as investors, mentors, leadership team members, and valuable networks,” said Gene Sykes, chair for Alliance of Southern California Innovation. “This is what we want to do — we want to be the super connector for all of the innovation and entrepreneurship that’s present throughout Southern California.”
UCI startup Aracari Biosciences, co-founded by UCI faculty, kicked off the first pitch session. The startup aims to accelerate drug discovery with their vascularized micro organ (VMO) device that recreates complex 3D cellular structures where oxygen and nutrients are transported through naturally formed blood vessels and drug responses closely match those seen in the body. Aracari is also working toward developing personalized medicines. Often referred to as “body-on-a-chip,” the company can create tissue “organoids," such as heart, liver and brain, and can also grow multiple tumor types.
“Everything that gets to these tissues gets there through blood vessels, which is just how it works in your body … this is the key to Aracari’s technology,” said Chris Hughes, Ph.D., co-founder and chief scientific officer of Aracari. “When we test drugs, we get data that reproduces what you see in a mouse or a person, but you cannot get that data from 2D culture systems, which is what most people are using — that’s what sets us apart.”
During the presentation, Hughes, also a professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry in the School of Biological Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering, said they have developed loyal and returning customers and are working with several top pharmaceutical companies. Their ultimate goal is to develop a precision medicine platform to help identify the optimal anti-cancer treatment for individual patients.
In the second session, Wayfinder startup eLysis pitched to investors. The startup uses electrical currents and an injected saline solution with lidocaine, or their UCI-patented technology known as electrochemical lysis (ELF), to destroy fat cells. With ELF, the team has developed minimally invasive precision body contouring technology for cosmetic applications.
“We are very optimistic that ELF will see a fast adoption among physicians and medical spas, thanks to its low pricing for spa treatments,” said Joon You, Ph.D., interim CEO and chief technology officer of eLysis and UCI Henry Samueli School of Engineering alum. “Currently our team is very strong, we hope to add more business expertise as we get closer to commercialization.”
Also during the second pitch session, Wayfinder startup Sayenza Biosciences shared how the team is creating a fully automated platform that manipulates liposuction fat to create injectable stem cells for cosmetic applications and, eventually, regenerative medicine.
“We are developing a multi-functional, patent-pending reusable platform that involves single-use disposable cartridges,” said Dr. Derek Banyard, MBA, CEO of Sayenza Biosciences and UCI School of Medicine alum. “It processes the fat in about 15 minutes and is fully automated, allowing the surgeons to focus on patient care as opposed to the processing.”
Sayenza Biosciences hopes to receive a phase one Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant later this year that will pave the way for a phase two SBIR, which will facilitate a FDA 510(k) submission by 2023.
Learn more about the startups in the Wayfinder program.
Main Graphic: Kate Wokowsky, UCI Beall Applied Innovation
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