Arizona Recent News – Swanson Reed | Specialist R&D Tax Advisors

Nucleus RadioPharma Opens Facility in Mesa

Nucleus RadioPharma plans to develop two new research and development and production facilities in Mesa, AZ, and Springhouse, PA. The Arizona facility will be 53,000 sq ft and will bring about 50 new local jobs.

The expansion aims to address two challenges: a shortage of development and manufacturing facilities and geographic limitations caused by the short half-life of many radiopharmaceuticals.

Nucleus RadioPharma is a contract development and manufacturing organization focused on radiopharmaceuticals. The new facility will enable development across the nation with less failure due to the product’s half-life.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Nectero Medical Secures Funds in Fight Against Advancing Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Nectero Medical Inc., a pioneering medical technology company based in Tempe, Arizona, has reached a significant milestone in its mission to revolutionize the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). With the successful closure of a $96 million Series D financing round, Nectero is poised to accelerate the development of its innovative abdominal aortic aneurysm treatment.

Led by Norwest Venture Partners, the Series D round saw substantial contributions from renowned firms such as Boston Scientific, BioStar Capital, Cadence Healthcare Ventures, and Aphelion Capital. This substantial investment will propel Nectero’s Phase II/III stAAAble trial forward and support the submission of an FDA new drug application for its groundbreaking Nectero EAST system.

The Nectero EAST system represents a new approach to AAA treatment, offering a minimally invasive solution with the potential to transform patient outcomes. Designed as an endovascular aneurysm stabilization treatment, EAST features a dual-balloon delivery catheter and a proprietary stabilizer mixture containing pentagalloyl glucose (PGG). This innovative approach strengthens the aortic vessel wall by delivering PGG locally into the aneurysmal wall, reducing the risk of further degradation and rupture.

One of the key advantages of the EAST system is its simplicity and efficiency. The procedure requires no specialized tools and can be completed in less than an hour, offering a streamlined alternative to traditional open surgery. Moreover, EAST leaves behind no permanent implant and does not preclude future interventions, providing patients with a versatile and effective treatment option.

With FDA fast track designation granted last August, Nectero is well-positioned to accelerate the development and regulatory approval of its groundbreaking technology. The addition of Dr. Zack Scott and Dr. Alan Davis to the Nectero board of directors further strengthens the company’s leadership team, bringing invaluable expertise and insight to guide its future growth and success.

AAA poses a significant health risk, affecting approximately 1.4% of individuals aged 50 to 84 in the United States. With aging, tobacco use, and certain medical conditions contributing to the weakening of the aorta’s wall, the need for innovative treatment options is more pressing than ever. Nectero’s commitment to advancing AAA treatment represents a beacon of hope for patients and healthcare providers alike, offering the promise of improved outcomes and enhanced quality of life.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Breaking New Ground: Biodel AG’s Series A Funding and Promising R&D

Biodel AG, a pioneering company in the field of biotechnology, is making waves with its recent Series A funding round. With an infusion of capital, the company is poised to take its cutting-edge research and development (R&D) efforts to the next level.

Securing Series A funding is a significant milestone for any startup, and Biodel AG is no exception. The company’s recent success in raising funds demonstrates the industry’s confidence in its vision and potential. This financial boost will enable Biodel AG to accelerate its R&D initiatives, bringing innovative solutions to the forefront of agriculture.

Biodel AG has long been dedicated to pushing the boundaries of nature to restore sustainability to our food supply. The company’s R&D efforts focus on developing biological products for crop and livestock production, based upon their proprietary microbial and amino acid ingredients. With these development efforts, they hope to develop the essential biological inputs and practices necessary to reverse the impact of climate change.

Biodel AG’s R&D efforts are summarized in three key areas:

Produce Nitrogen-Fixing, Photosynthetic Autotrophs
Produce Isoprenoid Amino Complex®
Manufacture Sequester® Soil Amendment & BioFertilizer Products

Biodel AG’s R&D endeavors have the potential to shape the future of healthcare by introducing innovative therapies, improving treatment outcomes, and enhancing patient experiences. With the Series A funding in place, the company is better equipped than ever to bring these transformative solutions to fruition.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

GoX Labs and WearTech Center Unveil Exoskeleton to Protect Workers

Arkansas Patent of the Month - September 2021

GoX Labs, creators of a workforce injury prediction platform, have just unveiled their wearable exoskeleton technology called PhenEX. This suit will help workers squat and lift heavy loads with less impact on the body.

Development was achieved in collaboration with the WearTech Applied Research Center and mechanical engineers from Arizona State University. The project will involve the use of a first of its kind exoskeleton testbed at the WearTech Center which was unveiled back in September.

The lightweight exoskeleton suit is designed with specialized sensors which assist in measuring ergonomic factors to promote safe movement and reduce workplace injuries. The sensors activate spring elements when workers need to perform these physical activities. The quasi-active exoskeleton unlocks when the worker is at rest or doing something that does not require support (eg. driving, walking etc.) so that normal motion is not hindered.

Testing protocols for the vastly expanding exoskeleton market will provide a great service to the industry. GoX Labs has now developed and validated a testing regime that can serve as a product that can be used in a new exoskeleton test bed at the WearTech Center. GoX Labs and AKE will test out PhenEX on local employers like Amazon, Lucid Motors, and other industry partners through WearTech.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

DarkPulse, Inc. to Acquire TJM Electronics West

Wisconsin Patent of the Month - June 2021

DarkPulse, Inc. has officially signed an LOI to acquire TJM Electronics West. This strategic acquisition will help further advance DarkPulse’s R&D and manufacturing capabilities in Arizona. DarkPulse, Inc. uses advanced laser-based monitoring technology to provide rapid and accurate monitoring of temperatures, strains, and stresses. These specialties are highlighted when applied to live, dynamic critical infrastructure and structural monitoring. Their patented BOTDA dark-pulse sensor technology provides a data stream of critical metrics for assessing health and security of infrastructure.

TJM Electronics West, Inc. is an ISO9001 and AS9100 certified electronics and electro-mechanical assembly operation based in Arizona. They are an industry leader in comprehensive turnkey electronic contract manufacturing. Their Surface Mount Technology launched them to the forefront in 1999.

“Acquiring TJM will bring DarkPulse immediate expansion of our Research and Development capabilities including prototyping while allowing us to develop additional proprietary components and manufacture those components in house.” Said DarkPulse Chairman and CEO Dennis O’Leary, “The facility will also house a team dedicated to Aerospace and Robotics development.” He continued, “We expect that DarkPulse will be expanding our team in Arizona into the TJM facility in the coming days.”

Under the terms of the LOI , DarkPulse will acquire 100% of TJM for $450,000 in cash. The Company will invest additional resources for TJM’s ongoing operations and expansion of the business.

Are you developing new software for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Fireline Science Receives SBIR Grant

Fireline Science LLC has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The company uses data science-based insights to guide their development of digital products and services. They use educational technology products, AI, and analytics to drive this innovation.

This grant will help in their development of a new technical framework for an intelligent, edge-based learning management system that will work in completely offline or suboptimal online student environments. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced students across the nation to online and hybrid learning models. Going forward, many schools intend to continue digital learning when students cannot be physically present (eg. snow days). This style of teaching relies on students having reliable access to the internet and technology, which is simply not always the case. The digital divide has become increasingly present in this past year.

Fireline Science intends to put this grant towards a fundamentally new engineering approach to learning management systems that use cloud-based technologies for synchronous and asynchronous communications. They intend for this to be a near-term solution to at-home digital learning as high-speed internet infrastructure is expanded to uncovered territories – such as Native Reservations.

“We began this project based on my father’s experience as a principal of a Native American K-6 boarding school. When the COVID-19 crisis began, he had no viable digital learning solutions for his students and had to rely on bus drivers delivering paper packets to provide continuity of learning,” said Collin Sellman, PhD, CEO at Fireline Science LLC. “We are confident that our deep experience in data science, AI, and building next-generation, large-scale learning management systems will allow us to develop a fundamentally new approach for offline student learning to help the students currently being left behind.”

Are you developing new software for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Student Innovation Challenge: diet pet food, simple small claims systems and more.

Tech Launch Arizona (TLA)‘s first Student Innovation challenge has provided five students with funding and commercialization help for their innovations. The goal was to engage students in the innovation process, to create unique inventions that benefit society.

The Inventions:

Mushroom cultivation for fresher produce with unique flavors, medicinal benefits, and easy grow-ability. A biosysems engineering graduate student developed it with the intention of allowing any market and restaurant to grow fresh mushrooms on site.
An online small claims system, to assist with claims under $2,500. These may incude rental disputes, which the law student behind the idea experienced first-hand.
Diet pet food that veterinarians can administer to induce weight loss/prevent obesity in both dogs and cats. The honors student behind this idea first thought of this in her thesis work, where she tested pet obesity and owners’ guilt when placing their dog on a diet.
Un-cloggable toilet paper, an idea that came to an undergraduate student when travelling on an airplane that had to land because all toilets were clogged with toilet paper.
An app for real-time detection of road roughness, to assist with highway maintanance. This was developed by a civil engineering graduate student, who intends to calculate road roughness utilizing smartphone sensors and accelerometers.

The Student Innovation Challenge

TLA modeled the Student Innovation Challenge after a similar staff-based program that provides funds to UArizona employees to develop early-stage inventions and prepare them for commercialization. Open to both undergraduate and graduate students, the challenge involved activities like creating a prototype, confirming functionality and exploring scalability. The students filed out invention disclosures and worked with TLA on intellectual property protection, asset development and strategy planning.

Eighteen proposals entered into the first challenge, and the five above were chosen as the most commercially viable. Each of the winning students was paired with a TLA licensing manager; they will assist with intellectual property protection and strategic planning, to make these projects into commercial products. Following the success of this first challenge, TLA will launch its next in September.

Are you developing a new invention? Did you know your R&D experiments could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’s largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs and CFPs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Study Ranks Performance of Each State’s Economy Over The Past Decade

The economy of the United States is the largest in the world by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and the second-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). During the past decade, in most of the US states, economy has improved considerably, but that is not to say every state’s economy is equally healthy. Some states are experiencing an economic boom, while others continue to contend with poor GDP growth, low per capita income, unemployment and poverty.

The Ohio Alliance for Innovation in Population Health conducted an analysis of the data collected by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) for 2009 and 2019 and ranked the economic performance of all fifty states in the US. The results determined that the economies of the states such as New Hampshire, followed by North Dakota, turned out to be the healthiest over the past ten years, while the states such as Louisiana and Mississippi were regarded as the most economically distressed states. To be more precise, the most economically distressed states for 2019 were Georgia, Arkansas, South Carolina, Arizona, Kentucky, Alabama, West Virginia, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Mississippi. However, the results of the study should be interpreted with caution.

This is because, though ranked last and being labelled as the poorest state, Mississippi improved its economic distress index score of 153 in 2009 to 141.8 in 2019. The state witnessed an upsurge in nearly all income-related categories. But simultaneously, it also faced widespread weakness across the economy. Sectors shrinking included government, construction, entertainment, arts, agriculture, nondurable goods manufacturing and recreation. The state’s economic conditions weakened as compared to its growth in the past. The economy grew just 0.3% in 2017, compared to 2% growth in 2016. However this is expected to improve in 2018 and 2019.

It can be concluded that economic vitality can help communities remain competitive and adapt to the constantly changing world.

New Mayo Clinic – ASU Accelerator Program To Spark Medtech Startups

According to a recent report released by Evaluate, the number of medtech startups hit a new low of 196 in 2018. The number has been declining over the last couple of years but it’s the first time in more than a decade the figure has gone below 200.

Surprisingly, however, the total amount invested in medtechs has been holding steady, thanks to big companies such as Grail, Helix, and Alphabet’s Verily. In fact, Verily’s recent investment of $1 billion in the industry signifies 2019 will leave 2018 in the dust in terms of the total amount invested in medtechs.

The new financing trend implies that investors have opted to make fewer, but bigger investments, which has enabled big companies like Helix to undertake ambitious R&D programs whereas small startups are left out in the cold.

That said, Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University think they may have a solution for this unpleasant situation. The duo has come up with a six-month accelerator program that is aimed at creating investment opportunities for medtech startups.

Throughout the program, medtech startups will have access to Mayo Clinic’s medical experts, investors, and other individuals who can validate, refine, and finance their technologies.

There is a catch, however. To qualify for the program, a medtech startup ought to have already generated $500,000 as seed capital. In addition to that, each startup that qualifies to join the program will pay a fee of $50,000.

The program will take place at Mayo Clinic’s Campus in Arizona, and its goal is to ensure that in those six months, each startup that joins the movement is in a better position to raise money and accelerate product development.

Whether this program will be beneficial or effective remains unknown. But the institutions are already recruiting the 1st batch of participants who’ll join the program by April, so we’ll find out in due time.

Reinforcement Learning ‘Tunes’ Robotics Prosthetics in Minutes

Researchers from Arizona State University, the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University have discovered a new intelligent system that depends on reinforcement learning to tune powered robotic prosthetic knees.

This new development will allow patients to start walking comfortably using their prosthetic equipment in minutes, as opposed to the hours it would take if the gadget was to be manually tuned by a trained clinical practitioner. This invention is the 1st system to rely only on reinforcement learning to tune robotic prosthesis.

According to a statement by North Carolina State, the new tuning device tweaks 12 distinct control parameters to accommodate the specified patient while addressing prosthesis dynamics like joint stiffness through the whole gait cycle.

Usually, a human medical practitioner would work with the prosthesis’ user to adapt several parameters. This process takes hours to complete. The new invention, on the other hand, relies on a computer program that avails a type of machine learning called reinforcement learning to modify all 12 parameters instantaneously.

This permits the patient to use the powered prosthetic knee to walk on a level surface in less than 10 minutes.

“We begin by giving a patient a powered prosthetic knee with a randomly selected set of parameters,” said Helen Huang, a co-author of a paper on the work and a professor in the Joint Department Biomedical Engineering at UNC and NC State. “We then have the patient begin walking under controlled circumstances.”

“Data on the patient’s gait and the device are collected via a suite of sensors in the device,” she added. “A computer model adapts parameters on the device and compares the patient’s gait to the profile of a normal walking gait in real time.”

Even though all the work is currently executed in a controlled, medical setting, the goal of the researchers is to invent a wireless version of the system. This will permit the device to continue fine-tuning itself as the user tackles his or her daily activities and surrounding conditions.

Derek Bridges on Foter.com / CC BY