Small Business Administration: Wisconsin Exec, Medical Firm Honored for Contributions to Innovation At White House Ceremony

MILWAUKEE – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) presented the prestigious Tibbetts Award to two Wisconsin honorees, David Linz, Associate Director of the Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC) and Stratatech Corporation of Madison, at a White House ceremony in mid-January.. They were among 37 small businesses, five individuals, and three supporting organizations recognized for successfully driving innovation and creating new jobs through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

The CTC is Wisconsin’s resource for assistance with SBIR/STTR funding. Since joining the CTC’s predecessor in 2005, David Linz has generated nearly $23 million in capital investment, provided multi-faceted assistance to over 600 entrepreneurs in technology-based and manufacturing businesses, and helped launch the Ideadvance Seed Fund, combining early-stage grant funding with business mentoring to develop innovative ideas and potential businesses from UW System faculty, staff, and students. Thanks to his efforts, the 2017 Health and Human Services SBIR Conference will be held in Milwaukee.

Stratatech has received 37 SBIR grants since its founding in 2000 to commercialize the discovery at UW-Madison of cells which produce living tissue nearly identical to native skin. It focuses on skin regeneration therapies for severe burns, rare diseases, and chronic non-healing ulcers.

SBA Acting Regional Administrator and Wisconsin District Director Eric Ness congratulated them, noting, “These innovators represent Wisconsin’s significant contributions to creating jobs and building new industries while helping to address many of the nation’s most pressing challenges.” In the past five years, 114 Badger State organizations have received 267 SBIR and STTR awards totaling nearly $127.5 million, in part through working with the CTC.

The Tibbetts Award honors the SBIR/STTR program participants and supporters that have created a significant economic or social impact through the use of SBIR/STTR funding and are considered the best of the best from the thousands of firms that currently participate in the program. The award is named in honor of the late Roland Tibbetts, who was instrumental in developing the SBIR/STTR programs through a career-long dedication to small business entrepreneurship, applied research and technological breakthroughs.

The SBIR/STTR programs represent the nation’s largest source of early stage research and development funding for small businesses. The programs are administered by the SBA in collaboration with 11 federal agencies, who collectively supported more than $2.5 billion in federal research and development funding. Additional information about the programs, the upcoming SBIR/STTR national conference and the SBIR Road Tour can be found at www.sbir.gov.