Cambridge-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology has helped launch a variety of healthcare startups in recent years, including ones that detect disease in wastewater and deliver weeks' worth of medications in a single capsule.
Students in the mechanical engineering program at MIT, some of whom have gone on to found startups, work with clinicians at Boston-area hospitals and med-device industry representatives.
According to a Jan. 27 university news release, the startups include:
— Biobot Analytics, which developed a technology that monitors wastewater to identify the spread of diseases.
— Lyndra Therapeutics, which created an oral drug-delivery platform that delivers one to four weeks of medication in one capsule released over a period of time, has raised $240 million to date. The company was co-founded by Giovanni Traverso, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at MIT and physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
— Spheric Bio, which is creating a minimally invasive device to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, won the inaugural MIT Future Founders Initiative Prize Competition in May.
— Teal Bio, which makes a reusable, transparent respirator worn by healthcare professionals on long shifts, was also co-founded by Dr. Traverso.
— Vicarious Surgical, which developed a minimally invasive robotic surgery system that gives surgeons 360-degree views inside a patient's body, has more than 200 full-time employees.