Small Business Innovation Research Program Provides Seed Funding for R&D

Earlysville, VA, September, 2020 – Caza Health, LLC has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $249,950 to conduct research and development (R&D) work on near point of care (nPOC) tests for vaginitis to reduce preterm birth and sexually transmitted infection (STI) transmissions.

Today nearly 10% of all women’s visits to physicians are for symptomatic vaginitis. Vaginitis is often misdiagnosed and or requires a second office visit. Disruptions in the vaginal microbiome can dramatically increase the chance for contracting certain sexually transmitted infections and is responsible for up to as many as 50% of spontaneous preterm births. There is a need for nPOC tests that eliminate return visits and reduce wrong treatments reducing patient discomfort.

“NSF is proud to support the technology of the future by thinking beyond incremental
developments and funding the most creative, impactful ideas across all markets and areas of science and engineering,” said Andrea Belz, Division Director of the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships at NSF. “With the support of our research funds, any deep technology startup or small business can guide basic science into meaningful solutions that address tremendous needs.”

“Thanks to the NSF, this grant will allow the team at Caza Health to finalize development for our artificial intelligence DayZ™ System for vaginosis. We are pleased to take these steps to providing better point of care products in women’s health,” commented
Peggy S. Robinson, CEO.

Once a small business is awarded a Phase I SBIR/STTR grant (up to $256,000), it becomes eligible to apply for a Phase II grant (up to $1,000,000). Small businesses with Phase II grants are eligible to receive up to $500,000 in additional matching funds with qualifying third-party investment or sales.

Startups or entrepreneurs who submit a three-page Project Pitch will know within three weeks if they meet the program’s objectives to support innovative technologies that show promise of commercial and/or societal impact and involve a level of technical risk. Small businesses with innovative science and technology solutions, and commercial potential are encouraged to apply. All proposals submitted to the NSF SBIR/STTR program, also known as America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, undergo a rigorous merit-based review process. To learn more about America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, visit: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/

About the National Science Foundation:
 Small Business Programs: America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF awards $200 million annually to startups and small businesses, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. Startups working across almost all areas of science and technology can receive up to $1.75 million to support research and development (R&D), helping de-risk technology for commercial success. America’s Seed Fund is congressionally mandated through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $8.1 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.

About Caza Health
Caza Health is a diagnostic company focused on women’s health.  Our vision is to give women a healthier life through better diagnostics for unaddressed health issues. Caza’s first products are using artificial intelligence to power our proven optical scanning instrumentation to more accurately diagnosis vaginosis and determine the risk of preterm birth all being done in the physician’s office. Caza’s DayZ™ System is comprised of artificial intelligence algorithms, scanning optical instrumentation and associated reagents that can simply identify bacteria, yeast, and trichomonads in one test.

As well as vaginal health, Caza’s patented scanning optical instrumentation has the potential for deployment in other medical conditions, such as cancer and infectious diseases, and in the life science industry.

For further information:
Caza Health LLC +1.914.525.5928
Peggy S. Robinson, CEO
Marc Hrovatic, CFO