NEW YORK – CellChorus, a Houston-based cell analysis firm, said on Wednesday that it has received a $2.2 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Fast-Track grant.
The funding from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences will support development of the firm's Time-Lapse Imaging Microscopy in Nanowell Grids (TIMING) platform for analysis of cell-cell interactions at the single-cell level.
The fast-track process allows applicants to submit both Phase I and Phase II applications at once, which can minimize the funding gap between phases. A $1.9 million Phase II grant will kick in after CellChorus reaches milestones under its $324,000 Phase I grant.
CellChorus, a University of Houston spinout, launched in 2019 and offers access to its platform though a commercial service.
The TIMING platform helps quantify "how immune cells move, interact, kill, survive, and secrete biomolecules at single-cell resolution," the firm said in a statement. "Data and insights from the TIMING platform enable the field to develop, manufacture, and deliver novel therapies faster, at less expense, and with higher rates of success to benefit patients in oncology, infectious diseases, and a wide range of other diseases and disorders."