A start-up company led by a Texas A&M University faculty member and located at Texas A&M has received a prize for innovation from the Houston Technology Center, Texas’ largest technology incubator and accelerator.
Shape Memory Therapeutics Inc. — led by Dr. Duncan Maitland, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering — was awarded second place for the Goradia Innovation Prize, which recognizes the best innovations from leading Texas Gulf Coast universities and research institutions and encourages bringing those innovations to the marketplace. The second-place prize comes with a $25,000 award.
“Shape Memory Therapeutics is commercializing a game-changing device for treating cerebrovascular aneurysms,” Maitland said. “Our technology has the potential to treat more patients than can be treated with current devices. Further, we believe that SMP scaffolds are safer and more effective than existing devices.”
Housed in the Texas A&M Bioscience Business Accelerator Shape Memory Therapeutics was founded in 2009 to commercialize innovative medical devices based on shape memory polymer materials developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and through the Texas Engineering Experiment Station of The Texas A&M University System.
The Houston Technology Center’s selection of awardees for the Goradia Prize was based upon the commercial potential of a company’s innovation, the soundness of its business plan, the potential for job growth within the region and the likelihood of significant long-term success.
