Ann Arbor's NanoBio, U-M score $9.3M research grant

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 | Source: Concentrate

NanoBio isn't as small as its name implies... especially after nailing down millions in a federal research grant.

The Ann Arbor-based firm is splitting the $9.3 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a division of the National Institute of Health, with the University of Michigan. NanoBio's slice of the pie is $4.1 million.

That means three research job openings at NanoBio right now. The company's staff currently stands at 17 employees and three interns, and is expected to continue to grow.

"I expect we'll be adding a couple more to that in the near future," says John Coffey, vice president of business development for NanoBio. He hinted that a few more deals are expected to materialize this fall, describing them as "commercial opportunities."

The grant is expected to support research to develop nanoemulsion-based mucosal vaccine adjuvants for a wide variety of antigens. The idea is to leverage the body's natural immune defenses to protect it against a wider range of diseases.

The U-M spin-off has nailed down a variety of funding so far this, totaling more than $20 million. It has received $60 million in private equity since 2006.

Source: John Coffey, vice president of business development for NanoBio
Writer: Jon Zemke