Mtrac hubs stay course for $2.6m

Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF), a fiduciary agent administered by Michigan Economic Development Company (MEDC), has approved $2.6m in additional funding for state-wide innovation hubs under the Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (Mtrac) banner.
Mtrac encourages the commercialisation of research from all Michigan higher education institutions, hospital systems and nonprofit research systems.

The innovation hubs are industry-themed centres each managed by a different Michigan institution – University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Michigan Technical University and Wayne State University.

Of the $2.6m sum, MSF has allocated $2m to the Mtrac Statewide Life Science Innovation Hub at University of Michigan, which offers support for projects in four medical segments – devices, diagnostics, therapeutics and healthcare IT.
The hub has so far nurtured 65 projects which have spawned 15 businesses, 16 licences and options, and more than $18.8m in follow-on funding.
Participants in the initiative have originated from University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Michigan Technology University, as well as healthcare providers Spectrum Health, Beaumont Health and Henry Ford Health System.
The announcement comes after Mtrac committed an additional $1.1m to the AgBio Mtrac Statewide Innovation Hub managed by Michigan State University in August 2018, providing enough money to sustain operations for an additional two years.
MSF’s latest funding injection is part of a $9m tranche for various state-wide entrepreneurial initiatives, including $300,000 for MVCA Venture Upstart III, which supports VC activities in Michigan, and $480,000 for BBC Entrepreneurial Training Corporation, which helps local startups apply for federal grant funding.
Michigan Small Business Development Center has received a total of $5.7m in MSF funding for core services and technology counselling, as well as funds for emerging technologies and a business accelerator.