July 23, 2015

Albany, NY

Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo News Release: Governor Cuomo Announces 12 Additional Companies Join START-UP

128 Businesses Now Participating in START-UP NY and Committing to Create More Than 3,600 New Jobs across New York State

Governor Cuomo announced that 12 more businesses plan to expand in or locate to New York State as a result of START-UP NY, the innovative program that establishes Tax-Free Areas associated with colleges and universities across the state. These businesses have committed to create at least 385 new jobs and invest approximately $7.3 million over the next five years in the Western New York, Mohawk Valley, Capital District, New York City and Long Island regions.

“From Buffalo to Albany and down to Long Island, START-UP NY is transforming the way companies look at doing business in New York State,” Governor Cuomo said. “This program offers a truly one-of-a-kind opportunity, and we’re seeing it attract new businesses and jobs to communities across the state. I congratulate the latest round of companies that have joined START-UP NY, and I am excited to see this program continue to drive New York’s economy forward.” “Today’s announcement of 12 more companies joining START-UP NY is yet another example of the positive impact this program is having on the state’s economy,” Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky said. “With 128 companies now participating, it is clear that START-UP NY has been an effective tool in turning New York into a better place to do business, while gaining commitments to create thousands of new jobs and invest millions of dollars in our communities.”

The 12 companies announced today are being sponsored by the University at Buffalo, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, SUNY Downstate, New York University and Stony Brook University. START-UP NY now has commitments from 128 companies – sponsored by 25 different colleges and universities statewide – to create 3,609 new jobs and invest upwards of $180 million over the next five years in communities throughout the state.

SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher said, “We are thrilled with this development and look forward to growing relationships between these new businesses and SUNY. University-business partnerships are some of the strongest economic generators out there, and SUNY is happy to supply the proof with continued START-UP NY engagement on our campuses throughout the state.”

Laura L. Anglin, president of the Albany-based Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU) said, “START-UP NY capitalizes on a sector whose very job it is to set in place the ideal conditions for the growth of viable ideas: the best talent, world-class facilities, and a mission to transfer knowledge. Private, not-for-profit colleges and universities are at the forefront of innovation and today’s announcement is another step forward in the Governor’s plan to proactively engage higher education in service to the state’s economic development goals. This is a win for our students, and for our communities.”

The businesses expanding in or locating to the Empire State under START-UP NY will create jobs in several key industries, including research and development in biotechnology and high technology; research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences; computer systems design services; and manufacturing.

The Governor announced the following businesses have joined START-UP NY:

• Avanan Inc.;
• Bodhi Seven Corporation;
• Chronicle LifeSci America Corporation;
• Designer Hardwood Flooring CNY, Inc.;
• Doolli, Inc.;
• Enhanced Pharmacodynamics, LLC;
• Geometric Intelligence, Inc.;
• Glauconix, Inc.;
• NANO DX, Inc.;
• PHD Skin Care, LLC;
• Postprocess Technologies, LLC; and
• Urgent Consult, Inc.

Additional details about the latest businesses approved for START-UP NY follow:

University at Buffalo – 245 new jobs Bodhi Seven Corporation is a new media company developing Mindfulmarket.com, a niche multi-sided marketplace website similar to eBay. Mindfulmarket.com will connect buyers and sellers with products and services that fit their niche by acting as a broker and will not be warehousing or shipping any products. Bodhi Seven will locate to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Innovation Center in Buffalo. The company will create 22 new jobs and invest $40,000.

Chronicle LifeSci America Corp. is a newly formed U.S. corporation whose parent corporation is headquartered in Canada. The company plans to launch the mobile web portal www.derm.city as a global clinical news and social networking community for U.S. and international physicians. The company is also pursuing opportunities in the USA and other national markets for its established Canada-based business-to-business products and services, medical meetings and conferences, and online education and training. Chronicle LifeSci America Corp. will locate to the Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics in Buffalo. The company will create five new jobs and invest $80,000.

Doolli, Inc. is an existing research and development company developing a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that is a user-friendly application platform for building and publishing databases and views of data sets. The user databases are instantly searchable and available across all platforms whether browser, tablet, mobile or other devices. Doolli will locate to the University at Buffalo Gateway Building in Buffalo. The company will create 200 new jobs and invest $4,410,000.

Enhanced Pharmacodynamics, LLC is a new contract research organization that assists biotech and pharmaceutical companies with the design and implementation of model-informed drug development strategies in diverse therapeutic areas. The company leverages the knowledge derived from the application of advanced pharmacometric and pharmacology techniques to guide dose selection and provide timely decision-making results that impact on drug development programs. Enhanced Pharmacodynamics will locate to the Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics in Buffalo. The company will create eight new jobs and invest $245,000.

Postprocess Technologies, LLC is an existing New York-based Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) company serving the additive manufacturing industry. The company offers support removal systems, surface finish equipment, wastewater treatment systems, vacuum drying equipment, support removal detergents and finishing media and compounds for the complex post-printing requirements of additive manufactured model material. Postprocess Technologies will expand to the Olmstead Center for Sight at 1170 Main Street, Buffalo. The company will create 10 new jobs and invest $100,000.

New York University – 47 new jobs Avanan Inc. is an existing New York-based software engineering company that is developing cloud-based security software. The application is currently in advanced stages of testing. The product is expected to be launched in late 2015 and will be sold and distributed through the internet as software as a service. Avanan will locate to the NYU Polytechnic Incubator at 137 Varick Street in New York City. The company will create five new jobs and invest $101,000.

Geometric Intelligence is a recently launched artificial intelligence software development company in New York State that develops innovative, machine learning algorithms to process data with applications in natural language understanding, machine vision, and robotics. Geometric Intelligence employs a team of scientific researchers and software developers with advanced degrees in neuroscience, linguistics, and machine learning, in order to create cutting-edge technology that can be applied to a wide range of high-technology industries. Geometric Intelligence will locate to the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering Varick Street incubator in NYC. The company will create 42 new jobs and invest $115,000.

SUNY Downstate – 40 new jobs Urgent Consult, Inc. is an existing New York State company that is developing a cloud-based platform that streamlines the medical referral process. The product allows providers to schedule appointments directly with a specialist physician on behalf of their patient and share clinical data across electronic medical records and care settings. The company is pre-revenue and is currently beta testing with Mount Sinai. Urgent Consult will locate to the Biotechnology Incubator at 760 Parkside in Brooklyn. The company will create 40 new jobs and invest $33,500.

SUNY Polytechnic Institute (PI) – 29 new jobs Glauconix, Inc. is a new contract research organization that provides services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies developing drugs for treatment of glaucoma. Glauconix’s proprietary tissue engineering and testing technology has demonstrated a variety of unique and beneficial characteristics to screen potential glaucoma drugs and expects to have customers throughout the world send potential glaucoma drugs to Glauconix for screening and identifying effective drugs. Glauconix will locate to SUNY PI’s Center for Environmental Sciences and Technology Management (CESTM) in Albany. The company will create 14 new jobs and invest $1,272,500.

NANO DX, Inc. is a newly formed biotechnology company that is a spinoff of an existing Massachusetts firm, Nuclea Biotechnologies, Inc., which develops, produces and markets nano-scale diagnostics to provide patients and physicians with better ways to manage and care for chronic disease. The company’s mission is to develop, produce and sell microchips and readers for use in proteomics (the study and function of proteins) based cancer screening. NANO DX, Inc. will locate to SUNY PI's Nano Fab East building in Albany. The company will create 15 new jobs and invest $265,000.

SUNY Oswego – 19 new jobs Designer Hardwood Flooring CNY, Inc. (DHF) is a newly formed company that will manufacture a patent-pending panelized-engineered wood flooring system using advanced “green” technology. The primary market channels include both commercial building and architectural users and the company will distribute its product internationally. End users will be the "do it yourself" market and the product will be sold through big box retailers. DHF will locate to underutilized space on an industrial site in the City of Oswego and owned by the Oswego County IDA. The company will create 19 new jobs and invest $495,000.

Stony Brook University– 5 new jobs PhD Skin Care, LLC, a California based research and development dermatology company that will be new to New York State, focuses on the design and fabrication of new ingredients and topical formulas for over the counter (OTC) drug, and other topical products for skin-care. PhD Skin Care, LLC will be relocating its entire operation to the Long Island High Technology Incubator at SUNY Stony Brook. The company will create five new jobs and invest $185,000.

About START-UP NY START-UP NY provides businesses that create net new jobs in New York State with the opportunity to operate 100 percent tax-free for 10 years, paying no state income tax, business or corporate state or local taxes, sales tax, property tax or franchise fees. The companies also partner with the higher education institutions they are sponsored by, and have the ability to access industry experts and advanced research laboratories associated with the schools.

To date, 72 schools are participating in START-UP NY, establishing more than 400 Tax-Free Areas, representing over 4.4 million square-feet of tax-free space for new or expanding businesses to operate on or near campuses. Each college and university’s approved START-UP NY plan is available at  www.startup.ny.gov

START-UP NY includes strong provisions to protect against fraud. Businesses are required to submit certification to ESD, and falsifying certifications is a felony. The program also includes strict provisions to guard against abuses such as shifting jobs among related entities or “shirtchanging,” when a company simply reincorporates under a new name and claims its existing employees are now new jobs. In addition, START-UP NY includes measures to prevent self-dealing and conflicts of interest. In cases of fraud, the State is empowered to claw-back benefits granted to the business. Companies that do not meet the terms of the program – including meeting their job creation targets – may have their benefits reduced, suspended or terminated. ESD has the authority to review company data to ensure that jobs have been created and maintained, and to end participation by companies that have not created net new jobs.