RefloDx, a Davis County startup, recently received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue developing a novel noninvasive method for detecting and quantifying bolus material in the upper esophagus to assess reflux.
RefloDx’s technology, SondeFlux™, will aid medical clinicians in quickly assessing a patient’s symptoms to determine if reflux is the underlying cause. This process will potentially save the medical community over $10 billion annually and give reflux sufferers a quick, less painful diagnosis.
The company also received a nonrecourse loan through the Utah Technology Innovation Funding (UTIF) program, which provides microgrants and nonrecourse loans to support Utah companies in their efforts to develop high-risk technologies with significant potential to solve challenging problems.
“Receiving support from the Utah Innovation Center was critical to my success in winning these awards,” said Rudy Wilcox, RefloDx founder and CEO. “The UTIF nonrecourse loan also provided a much-needed lifeline to keep my business afloat while I waited for the NSF Phase II award to come through.”
The NSF Phase II award was issued through the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The company previously won two Phase I awards totaling $500,000 from the NSF, including one award from the federal Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. The two programs combined offer nearly $4 billion in research and development funding to innovative small businesses in the U.S. each year.
The Utah Innovation Center assisted RefloDx with these winning proposals and is available to assist other Utah companies looking for non-dilutive funding through the federal SBIR/STTR programs.