A medical device developer and manufacturer has received new funding from the Southside Bethlehem Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) to help commercialize its product.

CryoConcepts has received a $15,000 technology transfer grant to help facilitate the commercialization of CryoLab, a bench-top instrument that will utilize cryogen gas for esthetic, veterinary, and medical applications.

“The CryoLab is a platform product that will allow the company to expand into new markets meeting the needs of many healthcare practitioners,” said Sam Niedbala, CEO of CryoConcepts.

The company offers a full line of products aimed at delivering cryogenic gases for a wide range of medical professionals in the most efficient way possible. Niedbala has noted that other delivery methods are not cold enough, thus giving poor results, or require the use of two hands and a patient to sit still while cryogenic gas is administered via a cone.

By contrast, the company’s CryoPoint technology is designed to match the right temperature of cryogen based on the lesion that is being treated, so medical professionals can tailor the cryotherapy to the needs of the patient, creating better outcomes and less trauma to the treatment site.

The company introduced its first product in early 2011, called CryOmega, a multi-use, disposable cryosurgical device that sprays liquefied nitrous oxide, according to Niedbala.

CyroConcepts was started by Niedbala and Bill Hinchey, who also previously co-founded OraSure Technologies, a national leader in point-of-care diagnostic tests and specimen collection devices. Also based in Bethlehem, OraSure continues to employ over 200 people since the development of the first rapid HIV-1 test approved in the U.S. by the FDA.

CyroConcepts operates out of the Victory Firehouse, right next door to OraSure Technologies. Mike Gausling, an entrepreneur and fellow OraSure Technologies co-founder, renovated the space into a place where emerging businesses could receive guidance and cultivate their creative ideas.

“This is a perfect example of why public-private partnerships work,” said Bethlehem Mayor Robert Donchez.

“When Sam, Bill, and Mike left OraSure, they continued their passion for innovation that led to the renovation of a historic structure, a newly-created venture capital firm, and a new medical device manufacturer,” Donchez said. “It is through programs like the KIZ that we are continuing this partnership and we look forward to similar success in the future.”

The Southside Bethlehem KIZ is a designated area that fosters entrepreneurial growth in coordination with the efforts of institutions of higher education. It has invested more than $7 million in 90 companies since its inception in 2004.

The KIZ has awarded four technology transfer grants and 7 student internship grants to companies in 2017 so far. This investment totals around $80,000 and is funded entirely by the KIZ primary partners, said Asher Schiavone, Bethlehem economic development coordinator.

Other companies to receive Southside Bethlehem KIZ technology grants so far this year include:

• Mezzimatic LLC, which makes the “throwable paintballs” product Goblies
• SolTech Solutions, a manufacturer of state-of-the-art LED grow lights
• UBMe, a proximity-based software development company

Technology transfer grants, which can total up to $15,000, are available to companies located in the Southside Bethlehem KIZ that has been in operation for less than eight years and falls within a set of approved industry clusters. The KIZ provides several incentives to qualified businesses, which also include student internship grants and KIZ tax credits.