COLUMBIA, MD – The Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO) has invested $1.12 million in 15 Maryland startups, each receiving $75,000.

“From devices that will make great medical contributions to technologies that will change the face of modern agriculture, TEDCO’s Maryland Technology Transfer and Commercialization Fund helps a wide-range of innovations become a reality,” said John Wasilisin, acting president and executive director of TEDCO.

“This million-dollar investment will contribute to the quality and safety of our everyday lives and we look forward to following the progression of these promising technologies as they move from the laboratory to the marketplace.”

To date, 134 companies have received funding from MTTCF and completed their projects. With an investment of more than $9.3 million, these companies have gone on to receive downstream funding from angel and venture investors, federal awards and other resources exceeding $394.8 million. This is a leverage of the state’s investment through TEDCO of $42.4 to $1.

Companies funded in this round are:

• Amidus, Baltimore, is working with the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Tech Center to provide innovative technology solutions using custom algorithms that have wide applicability, especially in the events industry.

• Cognapse, Baltimore, is a healthcare company working with the Emerging Technology Center to focus on diseases and disorders of the brain as people age, such as Alzheimer’s. Remiva, the company’s first product, expected to be launched in 2011, is a proprietary combination of natural supplements and vitamins.

• CYNCZ, Germantown, Md., is working with the Germantown Life Sciences Incubator to provide an automatic self-updating address book that can aggregate all contact data sources including emails, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), mobile phones and social networking sites.

• Differential Dynamics Corp. (DDMotion), Owings Mills, Md., is working with the University of Maryland College Park (UMCP) to introduce an all-mechanical green technology called Infinitely Variable Motion Control (IVMC) which has applications for power generation, compression, air conditioning, and vehicle transmissions. DDMotion is using TEDCO’s grant to enable IVMC to convert variable wind speed into constant output, allowing wind power generation that is capable of capturing a greater portion of available energy.

• Hememics Biotechnologies Inc., Rockville, Md., is working with the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center to provide ambient temperature shipping services to in-vitro diagnostic reagent manufacturers of cells at lower cost, while also extending the shelf life of many cell-based perishable products.

• Nour Immune Inc., Annapolis, is working with UMCP to create “proof of concept” for the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), which will demonstrate the in-vivo activity of its newly created anti-inflammatory agent, Nourexin-4, in a mouse model of H1N1 influenza infections. Nourexin-4, once developed and commercialized, will also have the potential to combat overactive inflammation in other diseases such as Hepatitis C and Sepsis.

• NutriGrown, Columbia, Md., is working with the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Services (USDA ARS) to produce a line of matrix-based, soil nutrient products designed to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous leaching by up to 80 percent, resulting in reduced nutrient leaching and enhanced plant growth.

• Omic Biosystems Inc., Rockville, Md., is working with the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI) to create technological solutions for modern omics-based biological sciences such as genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and system biology.

• Pearl LifeScience Partners, Baltimore, is working with the UMBC Tech Center to bioengineer “synthetic dendritic cells” which are capable of stimulating an immune response against foreign agents. These synthetic dendritic cells will then act as host cells infected with an enveloped virus that subsequently replicates and stimulates the cell surface molecules which stimulate the immune system.

• Plasmonix Inc., Baltimore, is working with UMBI to develop Metal Enhanced Fluorescence (MEF) microplates that provide life science researchers with multiple thousand- fold increases in fluorescent signal assays. Once the MEF microplate product line is well-established, the company will introduce applications in the areas of biohazard detection and medical diagnostics.

• Quantum Medical Metrics, Baltimore, is working with the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU APL) and the UMBC Tech Center to refine, clinically test and produce an affordable, high performance Forearm Strength System for accurately estimating the strength of the forearm, which is one of the most common sites for osteoporotic fractures.

• Remedium Technologies Inc., College Park, Md., is working with UMCP to develop a propriety novel hemorrhage controlling technology called “Nano-Velcro.” Nano-Velcro is a wound care technology and user-friendly hemostat, which is able to orchestrate the rapid, self-assembly of a clot-like seal upon contact with blood.

• SAJE Pharma,  Baltimore, is working with Johns Hopkins University (JHU) to develop new therapeutic drugs that provide significant benefits over currently available therapies. The company’s current lead compound, SPL-334 is being developed to treat asthma.

• Seguro Surgical Inc., located in Columbia, Md., is working with JHU to develop the Lap Pak ™, a medical device for the efficient and secure packing of bowels which will expose the surgical site during major abdominal surgeries.

• Viracine Therapeutics Corp., located in Columbia, Md., is working with the USDA ARS to develop and characterize a series of genetic promoters for DNA containing viruses infecting invertebrates, such as shrimp, that are pantropic in nature and can be used to prevent plant diseases.