Arch Grants awards $2 million to grow geospatial, agtech, medical device companies - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

ST. LOUIS — With a backing boost from Arch Grants, a section aesculapian instrumentality institution aims to assistance doctors support a person oculus connected patients who person infusions astatine home.

The company, HIVE, is 1 of 23 businesses to person backing successful this year's cohort. Arch Grants, a St. Louis-based startup backing program, connected Friday announced much than $2 cardinal to startups and early-stage businesses.

This twelvemonth Arch Grants selected a smaller radical of companies, but much wealth for each. Last twelvemonth 35 companies received $50,000, positive an further $10,000 for the out-of-town businesses that relocated to St. Louis. This twelvemonth 23 companies received $75,000, positive $25,000 for those that relocated here.

Gabe Angieri, enforcement manager of Arch Grants, said the programme is not conscionable astir attracting businesses to the portion that volition spell connected to prosecute locals and walk dollars successful the community. It's besides astir investing successful the radical who volition tally St. Louis' businesses successful the decades ahead.

"This is the adjacent procreation of concern leaders for St. Louis," Angieri said. "We spot our extremity arsenic not conscionable spurring economical development, but investing successful the radical moving these companies."

The geospatial and agtech sectors are well-represented successful this year's cohort, arsenic are aesculapian instrumentality companies, similar HIVE.

HIVE's co-founder and CEO, Joe Beggs, said helium had primitively wanted to commencement a institution that helped radical signifier their pills. But helium rapidly realized that determination are already tons of products connected the marketplace that service that purpose. Then astatine an lawsuit held by the student-run concern incubator Sling Health, helium spoke to an infectious illness doc who described an absorbing problem: Some of his patients who received intravenous antibiotics astatine location were coming to their follow-up appointments sicker. The doc couldn't archer if helium was prescribing the incorrect medications, oregon if the patients simply weren't taking them.

At astir the aforesaid time, Beggs' relative was being treated for an infection. He was missing doses of his antibiotics. His information worsened, and helium had to beryllium admitted to the hospital. 

"That was truly wherever HIVE became idiosyncratic for me," Beggs said. "We person to travel up with a amended monitoring solution."

Beggs' relative has since made a afloat recovery.

HIVE volition soon statesman a usability survey of its prototype instrumentality among 15 patients. The survey volition beryllium successful concern with BJC Home Infusion and the Washington University School of Medicine. HIVE plans to travel up that survey with 2 more, of 60 patients successful 2023, and 300 patients successful 2024.

HIVE developed a prototype device — a small, white, cylindrical portion that clips onto the extremity of the IV larboard successful the patient's arm. It detects each clip the diligent connects oregon disconnects the line. HIVE provides a router that sends that accusation to the location wellness bureau successful existent time.

The instrumentality lone costs $15 to make, Beggs said, but for location wellness bureau staff, the quality to rapidly spot whether patients are taking their medications arsenic prescribed could beryllium a game-changer.

"With the nursing shortage that we person today, this volition let the nurses to rapidly place the patients who request them the most," Beggs said.

Though the thought was primitively for patients who person antibiotics for infections, done conversations with a location infusion provider, HIVE recovered that their merchandise mightiness besides beryllium suitable for radical receiving chemotherapy, dialysis and different infusions.

The institution started successful St. Louis, past moved to Chicago for little than a twelvemonth to articulation mHUB, an accelerator. This autumn the institution moved backmost to St. Louis — though it inactive has immoderate operations successful Chicago. Today the institution has 4 employees and six contractors.

Beggs said helium hopes to bring the instrumentality to marketplace successful precocious 2023 oregon aboriginal 2024.

Beggs, 25, grew up successful Kelso, Missouri, astir 10 miles southbound of Cape Girardeau. As a kid, helium knew St. Louis arsenic "the spot you spell for a Cardinals crippled erstwhile a year."

His institution volition receive $100,000 done the Arch Grants program. Though it inactive maintains immoderate operations successful Chicago, HIVE present mostly works retired of BioSTL, and the coworking abstraction Spark downtown.

"It's benignant of similar the reddish carpet was rolled out," helium said. "I consciousness truthful humbled."