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December 9, 2004 Griffin secures $2.5 million to detect chemicals; expands R&D effortWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Griffin Analytical Technologies Inc. has received $2.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Defense that will allow the company to expand operations at the Purdue Research Park, where it is developing a suite of next-generation chemical detectors. Griffin Analytical Technologies Inc. ("Griffin") received funding from three separate agencies including: a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II award in the amount of $730,000; an SBIR Phase III contract in the amount of $1.4 million; and direct funding from the U.S. Air Force Research Lab (Broad Agency Announcement) in the amount of $370,000. This funding will enable Griffin to customize its MINOTAUR(tm) line of products for the U.S. Marines and U.S. Air Force. "The multiple awards indicate that several defense agencies believe in the ability of the Griffin team to develop cutting-edge chemical detection technology," said Dennis Barket, Griffin Analytical's president. Purdue University-licensed technologies being commercialized by Griffin will enable portable mass spectrometers that are capable of multidimensional mass analysis to be deployed outside the laboratory. Griffin's MINOTAUR(tm), the first portable mass spectrometer based on Cylindrical Ion Trap (CIT) technology, has the ability to detect trace concentrations of chemicals in complex matrixes and then confirm the presence of these chemicals through an additional process called multidimensional mass analysis (MSn). The multiple defense contracts will accelerate the growth of Griffin, already honored as one of Indiana's fastest growing companies in October 2004 by the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Barket said, in response to this funding, that he expects Griffin's research park headquarters to double in size within the first quarter of 2005 to approximately 10,000 square feet. Barket also plans to hire an additional 10 employees next year. Purdue Research Park is Indiana's first Certified Technology Park and home to the largest university-affiliated business incubator in the country. This year it was named the top research park in the nation by its peers at the Association of University Research Parks. In the past three years, the park has launched more than 30 technology startup companies. Sources: Dennis Barket, (765) 775-1701 x101, barket@griffinanalytical.com Wendy Kramer, marketing communications associate, (765) 775-1701 x119, kramer@griffinanalytical.com |
