Pitt spinouts make impact on healthcare
Spinouts from the University of Pittsburgh are making an impact on healthcare, both in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and in other areas of medicine. Here are a few of the startups making waves:
Epistemix, a 2019 spinout of the Pitt Graduate School of Public Health, couldn’t have timed its debut better. The company builds epidemiological models to predict public health episodes to fight smallpox, measles, HIV, SARS, MERS, and the opioid crisis.
Alung Technologies, develops advanced medical devices for treating respiratory failure. It recently received emergency use status from the FDA for its artificial lung devices, which can help patients avoid mechanical ventilation.
AxoMax Technologies, a spinout from Pitt professor Dr. Kacey Marra, has developed a nerve guide that repairs large nerve gaps incurred in auto accidents or war.
Vivasc Therapeutics is the brainchild of biology professor and cardiologist Dr. Maliha Zahid. Her company won a $327,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a drug to target heart arrhythmia.