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    CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – January 11, 2024 – Luminoah Inc., a medical technology company dedicated to improving the standard of care for patients requiring enteral nutrition, has been awarded a $463,000 grant from Virginia Catalyst. This funding propels Luminoah’s innovative enteral feeding system one step closer to commercialization, poised to grant millions of users the freedom to feed themselves anytime, anywhere, while empowering healthcare providers to support their patients remotely. 

    The Virginia Catalyst, also known as the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation (VBHRC), announced that it has awarded $2.2 million in grants to four life and bioscience projects in the Commonwealth of Virginia. These grants, which will be met with significant matching funds from partner companies, were awarded through Grant Round 15 of Virginia Catalyst’s ongoing mission to stimulate economic development by promoting collaborative projects that address large, unmet needs for improving human health, and that can create high-paying jobs in the Commonwealth.

    “This grant will accelerate our efforts,” says Neal Piper, Founder and CEO. “Born from a personal need right here in Virginia, we’re proud to collaborate with two of Virginia’s leading universities: The University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University. This grant marks a significant milestone for Luminoah, propelling us towards bringing our transformative technology to the millions who need it most. It’s a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and unwavering dedication to improving healthcare for all.”

    Mike Grisham, CEO, Virginia Catalyst said, “We are excited to fund this cohort of companies and their collaborating university partners on these important life science innovations. Together, they will have a significant impact on economic development in the Commonwealth of Virginia while improving human health.”

    Through this 15th round of funding, Virginia Catalyst has awarded 61 grants totaling $29.7 million, resulting in over $47 million in matching funds and an additional $821 million in follow-on funding to date.

    Other Grant Round 15 project awardees include Adovate, LLC (Charlottesville, VA), Nanochon, Inc. (Washington, DC), and S1P Therapeutics, Inc. (Blacksburg, VA)

    About Luminoah
    Luminoah is a medical technology company dedicated to improving the standard of care for patients requiring enteral nutrition. The company’s portable, intuitive, and connected nutrition system creates a new reality for patients and providers, enabling the freedom to feed anytime, anywhere with robust data tracking and remote patient monitoring. To learn more, visit Luminoah.com.

    About Virginia Catalyst

    Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation (VBHRC), doing business as Virginia Catalyst, has a vision of advancing life sciences throughout Virginia as a means of addressing large unmet medical needs to improve human health and to create high-paying jobs throughout the Commonwealth. Funded by the Virginia General Assembly’s General fund, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Tech, Eastern Virginia Medical School, George Mason University, and Old Dominion University. Virginia Catalyst has funding opportunities to support collaborative projects in the Commonwealth. For more information, visit www.virginiacatalyst.org.

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    Luminoah, a company that develops innovative products and resources for tube-fed children, recently collaborated with Kristin Meyer, the author of the book “The Adventures of Team Super Tubie,” to bring joy and empowerment to tube-fed children attending the Oley Foundation conference.

    Neal Piper, founder and CEO of Luminoah, shared his personal experience reading The Adventures of Team Super Tubie book to his son, Noah, during his chemotherapy. Noah had wholeheartedly embraced being a Super Tubie and cherished the book, making it his personal favorite. Recognizing the tremendous impact it had on his son, Neal was determined to ensure more children could access this incredible resource.

    Kristin Meyer, a passionate advocate for tube-fed children, highlighted the importance of children’s books that educate and empower those who require enteral or total parental nutrition. She spoke from her own journey with her son, Camden, emphasizing the need for resources that not only inform but also instill a sense of pride and empowerment. Luminoah proved to be the perfect collaborator, deeply understanding the personal significance of such resources.

    During the Oley Foundation conference, Kristin signed and provided copies of the book to the tube-fed children in attendance. As she read the stories aloud to these children, who intimately understood the tubie experience, the children’s eyes sparkled with excitement as they connected with the characters and their tubie superpowers. They felt seen, understood, and proud of their uniqueness.

    “The Adventures of Team Super Tubie” is a book of hope for families seeking to educate and empower their tube-fed children. Luminoah made the book available at their booth, ensuring its accessibility to families attending the 40th Annual Oley Foundation Conference in St. Louis. This invaluable resource promises to make a significant difference in the lives of countless children and their loved ones.

    To learn more or to purchase the book, visit SuperTubie.com and Amazon.

    Charlottesville medical device company Luminoah won over the judges and claimed the people’s choice award Tuesday at Lighthouse Labs’ Demo Day competition at Richmond’s Hardywood Park Craft Brewery.

    The company is behind a mobile feeding tube device that collects data. It competed against seven other companies in a pitch competition as part of the event. All eight had just completed Lighthouse Labs’ accelerator program.

    Luminoah was awarded $1,000 for winning the people’s choice award and $2,000 for winning over the judges, or panel of “sharks”, that included Meg Pryde, co-founder of Brandefy, Aaron Montgomery, co-founder of CarLotz, and Ebonie Atkins, managing director at Henrico EDA.

    Luminoah founder and CEO Neal Piper said winning both competitions was “humbling” and that he was grateful to be able to go through Lighthouse Labs with the other founders. He said he learned a lot from the accelerator program, especially financial modeling, go-to-market strategies and communications.

    “I found tremendous value in just sharing ideas and being authentic with one another about the challenges that we are facing,” Piper said.

    The company had never participated in an accelerator program but felt it was time to enter a program. Accelerators are a common method for startups to realize a path forward.

    “We were looking at several opportunities,” Piper said. “We looked at Y Combinator, Techstars and Lighthouse Labs. Being a Virginia-based company, we thought it was important to be in a Virginia-based accelerator. This is the first accelerator we applied for and were accepted into.”

    Luminoah is set to close on a $6 million Series A funding round in the next couple of weeks, Piper said. The company plans to expand the team and further develop its product. The goal is to apply for Food and Drug Administration approval in 2024. Luminoah wants to go after the pediatric home health care market initially but also seeks to move into senior and rehabilitation markets.

    Piper said the program opened a bunch of opportunities for Luminoah. The company had a network in Charlottesville and within the University of Virginia but not around Richmond. The program connected Luminoah with mentors and experts at Virginia Commonwealth University.

    “They opened their arms to their providers and gave us support,” Piper said. “They gave us feedback on the product.”

    Overall, he said he realized the hubs being created across Central Virginia are becoming a powerful source of entrepreneurship. People are starting to realize the state is supporting the startup community, and 757 in Norfolk and Lighthouse Labs accelerator programs are getting noticed across the country. Cville Biohub is building a biotech hub in Charlottesville.

    “Each of these pockets are having events with the leaders, and you are building relationships,” Piper said. “What we are finding is that there are VCs coming from the Bay Area, and they are seeing Virginia as an opportunity to invest. That was not the case prior to Covid.”

    Piper started the company after his young son was diagnosed with cancer. The treatment required him to be fed through a tube, a process that involved him being constrained by a medical pole and a pump.

    “[Our] device is small,” Piper said. “It’s so small you can’t tell anyone is wearing it.”

    Around 500,000 children could benefit from the product, and it solves a problem in the market. While his son no longer needs a feeding tube and is cancer free, other kids can benefit from the technology.

    “It’s just a no-brainer to let a kid be active while you pump nutrition into their stomach,” Piper said.

    The other companies who competed in the pitch competition were medical device maker E-Sentience (Durham, North Carolina); health-tech company Healp (Fairfax Station, Virginia), shipping solutions company Heroshe (Houston), cybersecurity company Karambit.AI (Annandale, Virginia), AI and augmented reality software maker Kilsar (Virginia Beach), online fitting room company Modi (Miami) and smart-home-as-a-service company HIO (Richmond), which was formerly called Project Mongoose.

    A highlight of the event was the presentation of a state decree honoring Larkin Garbee and Todd Nuckols. The two played a key role in founding Lighthouse Labs and Startup Virginia.