Startup with promising glaucoma therapy backed by Purdue Foundry Investment Fund

A life science startup, Bionode, has received a boost from Purdue Research Foundation’s Foundry Investment Fund (FIF), which invested $250,000 in the startup as a partial matching investment made in it by institutional and other investors.
Bionode LLC CEO Murray Firestone (left) and Pedro Irazoqui, the chief technology officer, associate head and Reilly Professor of Biomedical Engineering and professor of electrical and computer engineering, who developed a non-invasive glaucoma therapy treating and preventing elevated intraocular pressure. Bionode and Amplified Sciences LLC, and CorMatrix Inc., will each receive a $250,000 investment from the Foundry Investment Fund. (Purdue Research Foundation image)

Bionode LLC, was founded by Pedro Irazoqui, chief technology officer, Purdue Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering associate head and Reilly Professor of Biomedical Engineering and professor of electrical and computer engineering, and CEO Murray Firestone. They developed a non-invasive, wearable, bioelectronic device aimed at the prevention and treatment of elevated intra-ocular pressure in glaucoma patients. A video about the company’s novel electroceutical is available here.

The FIF co-invests with other institutional investors to fund startups based on Purdue life sciences technologies.
 
“The Foundry Investment Fund has invested approximately $4.2 million over the past four years in various life science companies with Purdue and state of Indiana connections,” said John Hanak, Purdue Ventures’ managing director.
 
In 2014, the Foundry Investment Fund opened as a $12 million PRF investment fund created in partnership with Cook Medical. Each investment opportunity is reviewed and selected by the Foundry Investment Fund’s Investment Committee.
 
“This fund makes investments in companies that have secured external ‘smart money’ capital from the likes of venture funds and other institutional and professional investment sources,” Hanak said. "In the future, we will continue to review emerging technologies with potential for outside and FIF investment.”
 
Amplified Sciences LLC and CorMatrix Inc. will also each receive a $250,000 investment from the fund. Amplified Sciences LLC is developing an early detection technology for oncology and kidney diseases. With a sensory platform and biospecimen collection, this technology detects disease markers in bodily fluids, such as urine or saliva. CorMatrix Inc. repairs and regenerates cardiac tissues using small intestinal submucosa based extracellular matrices.