FuzeHub Awards Grant to CNYBAC 2019 MDIC Graduate CathBuddy
The CNY Biotech Accelerator (CNYBAC), located at 841 E. Fayette St. in Syracuse, has a client called CathBuddy, Inc., which was awarded a $50,000 grant from Albany–based nonprofit FuzeHub for a manufacturing project. The CNYBAC is a program of the Upstate Medical University. (Eric Reinhardt / CNYBJ file photo)
ALBANY, N.Y. — CathBuddy, Inc., a client of the CNY Biotech Accelerator, and two instructors at Alfred University will use $50,000 grants for manufacturing projects.
The grants are among eight that Albany–based FuzeHub announced it has awarded to “collaborative” projects statewide.
Project categories cover adoption of new technology to enhance a process and/or product; prototype development, design for manufacturing; proof-of-concept manufacturing; certain equipment purchases; manufacturing scale-up; and other projects to advance manufacturing capabilities.
FuzeHub is a nonprofit organization providing small to medium-sized manufacturers with guided access to an extensive network of industry experts, programs, and resources to solve business growth challenges.
FuzeHub is the statewide New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program (MEP) center, supported by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology & Innovation.
CathBuddy
SUNY Upstate Medical University is the recipient of a $50,000 FuzeHub manufacturing grant on behalf of the CNY Biotech Accelerator (CNYBAC); its client, CathBuddy, Inc.; and CathBuddy’s catheter and insertion aid design for manufacture project.
CathBuddy, led by CEO Souvik Paul, was a CNYBAC 2019 Medical Device Innovation Challenge (MDIC) graduate and is now a client tenant.
While participating in the MDIC program, CathBuddy, also won a FuzeHub commercialization competition grant. The CathBuddy reusable urinary catheter technology provides a method for users to sterilize no-touch catheters between uses, reducing their catheter supply costs and potentially improving user health.
The ultimate goal of CathBuddy’s patented technology is to “improve long-term urinary health through the implementation of reusable smart catheters that can gather key bladder and urine diagnostics repeatedly on a daily basis, allowing physicians to make personalized recommendations for patients,” per a FuzeHub news release.
This project involves vetting manufacturers to complete design for manufacturing efforts and production of manufacturing molds. The effort seeks to complete the verification and validation testing process for CathBuddy’s regulatory submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Success in this project will directly translate to the allocation of annual manufacturing spend to NYS medical device manufacturers, increased CathBuddy employment, and investment in manufacturing capital equipment.
The project “forms the foundation of in-state efforts” to establish CathBuddy’s manufacturing capabilities in New York.