Rhode Island Commerce Awards Four New Innovation Vouchers

Published on Tuesday, October 08, 2024

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Continuing the McKee Administration’s efforts to support small businesses at the forefront of the state’s innovation economy, the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation has awarded a total of $266,800 to four businesses through its Innovation Voucher program.

The Innovation Voucher Program offers eligible, locally based entrepreneurs and small businesses up to $75,000 in grant funding to expand research & development capacity in partnership with local knowledge providers such as colleges, universities or teaching hospitals. The program has awarded more than $6.3 million in grant funding since its inception in 2016.

“Rhode Island’s economy is built on the foundation of our strong, diverse small business community, and the Innovation Voucher program is one of many resources our Administration offers to ensure this community is well-positioned to play its part in increasing income levels across the state,” said Governor Dan McKee.

“Rhode Islanders prove every day that they have great, brand-new, problem-solving ideas. Our job at Rhode Island Commerce is to offer the support and help make the connections that ultimately turn those ideas into job-creating businesses,” said Secretary of Commerce Liz Tanner. “We are proud to invest in Rhode Islanders who are both making an impact on today’s economy and helping to build a stronger, more sustainable future.”

The latest Innovation Voucher awardees, which were unanimously approved by Rhode Island Commerce’s Board of Directors at its monthly meeting in September, include:

• Mighty Well, Inc. | East Providence & Newport | $75,000: To partner with the RIH Orthopedic Foundation to test and collect lab data on the efficacy of Mighty Well’s PICCProtected Kit, a product designed to improve care for patients undergoing long-term IV therapy utilizing a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) or midline for treatment.

• Prisere LLC | Cranston | $62,000: To support rigorous testing of successive prototypes of Prisere’s Business Disaster “Go” Kit, a workplace disaster risk mitigation product, with the support of insurance partners, to demonstrate the reduction in insured risks arising from the deployment of the kits.

• Kestrel Innovative Fibers, LLC | Narragansett | $54,800: To support the testing of a series of additives to polymers to aid in processing recycled plastics into pellet form, with the goal of achieving the quality of virgin plastics that can be used as the base material to produce fibers or injection molding.

• Bolden Therapeutics, Inc. | Providence | $75,000: To collaborate with the Fallon Laboratory at Brown University to better understand the potential of Bolden’s novel therapeutic treatment to combat a broad spectrum of neurological conditions, with a particular focus on Alzheimer’s disease.

“As a Rhode Island native and co-founder of Mighty Well, we are honored to receive this Innovation Voucher from Rhode Island Commerce. This funding will allow us to advance the development of our PICCProtected Kit, helping us gather the critical lab data needed to demonstrate its impact on improving care for patients undergoing long-term IV therapy. We are excited to collaborate with the Rhode Island Hospital Orthopedic Foundation on this groundbreaking research and to contribute to the state’s thriving innovation ecosystem,” said Emily Levy, Co-founder and President of Mighty Well.

“As a former reinsurance executive, I founded Prisere to develop technology to enable climate resilience. I am grateful for the support of our work to reduce commercial insurance premiums, commensurate with improved resilience practices,” said Donna Childs, Founder and Chief Executive Office of Prisere LLC.

“It is great news to receive the grant to help with funding the research project for adding an additive to recycled plastics that will enhance the properties of the recycled plastics making them comparable to virgin plastics. This will allow us to make fibers and ultimately fabrics from these recycled plastics. We will evaluate how many times these materials can get recycled before they lose their properties. One of the goals, working with URI, is to create a circular economy for recycled materials and this is a great start,” said Rob Torgerson, Founder and President of Kestrel Innovative Fibers, LLC.

“We are thrilled to receive this Innovation Voucher from Rhode Island Commerce and are very appreciative of the support toward our goal of developing new therapies for patients in need,” said Johnny Page, Sc.M., Co-Founder and CEO of Bolden Therapeutics. “These funds will enable meaningful progress for Bolden's research and development. We look forward to continuing to grow our research operations and collaborations within Rhode Island.”

Innovation Voucher applications are accepted on an ongoing, rolling basis. This is the second round of Innovation Vouchers awarded in 2024, with two awards being announced this past March.

More information on the Innovation Voucher program, as well as several additional innovation-focused programs, can be found at https://www.CommerceRI.com/Innovation.

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