The National Institutes of Health awarded UNandUP a $1,211,807 Phase II grant to further develop their ‘Flow Acceleration for Stroke Thrombolysis System’ or FAST.
In the grant application the problem this system addresses is acute ischemic stroke resulting from a blood clot in the neurovasculature. AIS is the 5th leading cause of death in the U.S., impacting more than 700,000 Americans annually, with a 65% chance of death or severe disability.
This funding goes toward building the magnetic infusion sub-components that will mechanically diffuse medicine to the clot – as well as studying the mechanism of that action, safety and clot interaction. This work is needed for later FDA approval. CEO Francis Creighton’s LinkedIn profile shows the company got its start in February of 2018, is headquartered in St. Louis and has at least 10 employees.
Francis Creighton, UNandUP CEO
Creighton declined requests for an interview this week, and has gone on the record with 4thEst8 in the past about how he wants to stay in ‘stealth mode’. Unfortunately, he’s leaving data all over the internet with hard evidence about what he’s doing.
A visit to the startup funding site F6S displays his profile where he (rightly) brags about his prior work at Stereotaxis and Pulse Therapeutics – both focused on robotics for doctors. It also cites the grants he’s been awarded for his newest startup UNandUP.
Last July the 4thEst8 did a story about the six Phase I SBIR grants that he’s racked up. Individually these grants fall under the dollar amount that traditional ink-and-paper reporters are paying attention to – but together they top $2 million. And in our July article we were clear to point out that EACH of these Phase I’s could lead to a much more substantial Phase II – and that’s what just happened.
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On the 4thEst8:
