Several companies were accepted as South Carolina Research Authority Member Companies, and others received new grant funding, SCRA officials said. 

All SCRA Member Companies receive coaching, access to expertsin SCRA’s Resource Partner Network, eligibility to apply for grant funding, and the potential to be considered for investment from SCRA’s investment affiliate, SC Launch Inc.

Baleen Solutions LLC was accepted as an SCRA Member Company and received a $50,000 Acceleration Grant. The Summerville-based startup has developed a cloud-based software that automates the analysis of text and image documents and provides rapid actionable interpretations. The software can be used with financial, medical, legal, and government forms and reporting.

CarbonCents Inc. received a $50,000 Acceleration Grant. The Walhalla-based startup provides solutions to organizations to collect, measure, and evaluate energy costs and emissions. Their service offers insight into the operations of manufacturing, health care, education, and municipalities.

EHG South Inc., DBA Momento Med, received a $25,000 Project Development Fund Grant. The Columbia-based startup provides a web application that allows providers to support HIV medicine management for large groups of patients in little time. The app combines pill reminders with motivational and educational text messages sent directly to the patient’s cell phone.

Elevate Therapeutics Inc. received a $25,000 Project Development Fund Grant. The Greenville-based startup developed a digital application that helps palliative care patients better manage pain and medications while offering education and empowerment at their fingertips.

FinSiteful Inc. was accepted as an SCRA Member Company. The Swansea-based startup offers an easy-to-use web application for college and high school students to learn about, manage, and access money. The app provides real-time access to financial aid options, financial literacy tools, and scholarships and grants.

Incora Health Inc. received a $25,000 Project Development Fund Grant. The Greenville-based startup patented a smart earring that tracks biodata without interrupting the user’s activities or sleep. The wearable accurately tracks core body temperature using machine learning and artificial intelligence, which provides women with reliable biometrics to help meet their maternal and wellness goals.

PeriopHealth LLC was accepted as an SCRA Member Company. The Charleston-based startup offers a surgical instrument management solution that creates a real-time perpetual inventory, reduces waste, and helps to optimize instrument workflows and quality in sterile environments.

ProTrustee Inc. received a $50,000 Acceleration Grant. The Mount Pleasant-based startup offers a software platform that simplifies, automates, and streamlines fiduciary processes for bank trust departments and independent trust companies.

Real Motors Inc. was accepted as an SCRA Member Company. The Greenville-based electric motorcycle manufacturer is developing an affordable, light-duty electric motorcycle targeted at urban commuting.

Sagacity was accepted as an SCRA Member Company. The Greenville-based startup developed a platform that helps venture capital firms request, collect, and analyze portfolio company performance freeing up team members' time to make more informed decisions.

Sojourn Med Tech LLC received a $25,0000 Academic Startup Grant. The Clemson University-based startup developed the world’s first smart simulator (called CanSim) equipped with state-of-the-art hardware and software for assessing and training clinic personnel to improve dialysis procedures.

Grant funding is made possible, in part, by the Industry Partnership Fund contributions that fuel the state’s innovation economy. Contributors to the IPF receive a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit.

Chartered in 1983 by the State of South Carolina as a public, nonprofit corporation, South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) fuels South Carolina’s innovation economy through the impact of its four programs.

SC Academic Innovations provides funding and support to advance translational research and accelerate the growth of academic startups.

SC Facilities offers high-quality laboratory and administrative workspaces for technology-based startups and academic institutions.

SC Industry Solutions facilitates and funds technology advancements and partnerships with industry, startups, and academic institutions.

And SC Launch mentors and funds technology-based startups that may also receive investments from SCRA’s investment affiliate, SC Launch, Inc.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said it recognizes the serious impact of Hurricane Ian on customers and operations of financial institutions in affected areas of South Carolina and will provide regulatory assistance to institutions subject to its supervision.

The initiatives will provide regulatory relief and facilitate recovery, FDIC officials said.

The affected areas in South Carolina are Charleston, Georgetown and Horry counties.

Lending: The FDIC said it encourages bankers to work constructively with borrowers in communities affected by Hurricane Ian. The FDIC said it realizes the effects of natural disasters on local businesses and individuals are often transitory, and prudent efforts to adjust or alter terms on existing loans in affected areas should not be subject to examiner criticism. 

In supervising institutions affected by Hurricane Ian, the FDIC said it will consider the unusual circumstances they face. The FDIC said it recognizes that efforts to work with borrowers in communities under stress can be consistent with safe-and-sound banking practices as well as in the public interest.

Community Reinvestment Act (CRA): Financial institutions may receive CRA consideration for community development loans, investments, or services that revitalize or stabilize federally designated disaster areas in their assessment areas or in the states or regions that include their assessment areas. For additional information, the FDIC said institutions should review the Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Community Reinvestment at Section 12(g)(4)(ii).

For help in identifying community development activities to revitalize or stabilize a disaster area, the FDIC said financial institutions can contact their regional Community Affairs Officer.

Investments: Bankers are encouraged to monitor municipal securities and loans affected by Hurricane Ian. The FDIC said it realizes local government projects may be negatively affected and encourages bankers to engage in appropriate monitoring and take prudent efforts to stabilize such investments.

Reporting Requirements: FDIC-supervised institutions affected by Hurricane Ian should notify the Atlanta Regional Office if they expect a delay in filing Reports of Income and Condition or other reports. 

The FDIC said it will evaluate any causes beyond the control of a reporting institution when considering the length of an acceptable delay. 

Publishing Requirements: The FDIC said it understands damage caused by Hurricane Ian may affect compliance with publishing and other requirements for branch closings, relocations, and temporary facilities under various laws and regulations. 

Banks experiencing disaster-related difficulties in complying with any publishing or other requirements should contact the Atlanta Regional Office, FDIC officials said. 

Consumer Laws: For consumers’ principal dwelling-secured loans, Regulation Z provides consumers an option to waive or modify the three-day rescission period when a “bona fide personal financial emergency” exists.

To exercise this option, the consumer must provide the lender with a statement describing the emergency in accordance with the regulation, FDIC officials said.

Temporary Banking Facilities: The Atlanta Regional Office will expedite any request to operate temporary banking facilities by an institution whose offices have been damaged or that desires to provide more convenient availability of services to those affected by Hurricane Ian. 

In most cases, a telephone notice to the FDIC will suffice initially, officials said. They said institutions may submit necessary written notification later.

USPTO China IP Road Show coming December 15

9am - 4:30pm

Greenville Technical College (Barton Campus) Student Success Center

506 Pleasantburg Dr., Greenville, SC

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s China Intellectual Property (IP) Road Show comes to Greenville, South Carolina, with a free one-day program bringing together experts from the U.S. government, academics, IP attorneys, and local business people to share insights on China and IP issues that will benefit U.S. IP rights holders. Join us to hear from these experts about how to protect and enforce your IP rights in China and the United States. To register CLICK HERE.

The Ritedose Corporation, a locally owned and operated pharmaceutical manufacturer, announced plans to expand operations in Richland County.

The company’s $81 million investment will create 94 jobs, according to the South Carolina Department of Commerce.

Founded in 1995, The Ritedose Corporation operates a state-of-the-art “blow-fill-seal” (BFS) facility, where liquid-pharmaceuticals are formulated, filled and packaged for distribution.

For over 25 years, The Ritedose Corporation has been an industry leader in the aseptic production of sterile, single-dose medication, serving the contract development manufacturing, generics and 503B outsourcing markets. 

The company’s customers range from small startups and retail pharmacies to large pharmaceutical companies, wholesalers and hospital systems.

Located at Carolina Research Park in Columbia, The Ritedose Corporation’s first phase of expansion includes adding square footage to its existing facility. The expansion will also involve internal renovations to the existing structures of the facility.

When complete, the expansion will allow the company to manufacture an additional 400 million doses of pharmaceuticals, Commerce officials said.

Phase one of the expansion and the addition of approximately 50 of the 94 total jobs will be completed in early 2024. Those interested in joining The Ritedose Corporation should go to the company’s careers page.

The state’s Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits related to this project.

The council also awarded a $500,000 Set-Aside grant to Richland County to assist with the costs of building improvements.

The SC School for the Deaf and the Blind Foundation received a $100,000 donation from the CW & Dorothy G. Love Foundation.

The gift will support a new program at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind (SCSDB): a natural playground.

An empty lot, filled with chipped stone, will be transformed to create a place where deaf, blind, and sensory multi-disabled students can play on specially treated wooden play structures that will be adapted to meet their sensory needs.

The SC School for the Deaf and the Blind Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that exists solely to support the financial needs of the SC School for the Deaf and the Blind.

Contributions to the SCSDB Foundation can be made through its website, www.SCSDBFoundation.org. or by mail to SCSDB Foundation, 355 Cedar Springs Rd., Spartanburg, SC 29302.