by Barry Teater, NCBiotech Writer May 13, 2021 .
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK The North Carolina Biotechnology Center awarded 48 grants and loans totaling nearly $1.8 million to universities, bioscience companies and other entities in the third quarter of its fiscal year.
The awards, made in January, February and March, support life sciences research, technology commercialization and entrepreneurship throughout North Carolina. The funding also helps universities and companies attract follow-on funding from other sources.
Company loans
Three bioscience companies received Small Business Research Loans totaling $550,000 to advance their research, product development and commercial viability.
Alacrity Medical Innovations of Chapel Hill received $100,000 to complete prototype development and prepare for an Investigational New Drug (IND) filing with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a disposable, drug-device combination product that treats mild to moderate bleeding in patients
In partnership with expert knitters at the Catawba Valley Community College’s Manufacturing Solutions Center in Conover, Bear Fiber has developed in a method that creates a “stronger, cotton-like hemp fiber” so you can “treat your feet.” The method combines help with organic cotton and recycled nylon-6 fiber.
Bear Fiber has been promoting hemp fiber for fashion since the 1990s, when they were also helping develop the organic cotton market. The company’s goal now is to help grow the American Hemp Fiber Industry by developing a commercially sustainable market to support farmers, processors, yarn spinners, textile manufacturers and the apparel industry in the United States.