One company is selling bioterror-detecting technology. One has sold identification software to the U.S. Senate. Another has developed an anthrax treatment.
All are based in Anne Arundel County, and all are the first litter of new companies being nurtured by the Chesapeake Innovation Center, the nation’s first homeland-security incubator.
Business incubators help budding entrepreneurs turn their ideas into successful businesses. They provide office space and business consulting for a minimum fee.
When Chesapeake Innovation Center opened in October, no other incubator targeted the homeland-security market.
“I think that we fill a particular niche that’s unfilled,” said John Elstner, chief executive officer and founder of the Annapolis-based incubator.
Since the September 11 attacks highlighted America’s security weaknesses, both governments and corporations have started taking great care to guard against threats.
The federal budget for 2004 allocated $36.2 billion for homeland defense, including protection against bioterror and computer-system infiltration.
The idea for the Chesapeake Innovation Center came when the nonprofit Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp. was looking for ways to expand business in the county.
“Chesapeake Bay Innovations Center was funded and initiated by Anne Arundel County to create new companies here. It was part of a larger economic-development plan,” Mr. Elstner said.
The need for new technology in homeland security provided the perfect platform for new businesses and quick growth. Interest from entrepreneurs attempting to break into the homeland-security market was greater than the economic-development center and Mr. Elstner anticipated.
The incubator reviewed 275 potential tenants in the past year and accepted 15, the last two of which will be announced Friday.
The services that the companies at the Chesapeake Innovation Center offer are varied:
• Real-interface bioterror-detecting software has been sold to various government agencies, including a Southern state to be announced within the next week. Their product sells for $400 a unit.
• PharmAthene has developed an anthrax treatment called BoxTox, which works to bind the anthrax toxins instead of treating the infection with an antibiotic.
PharmAthene’s main client will be the federal government, which recently allocated $13 billion for the purchase of vaccines and treatments for bioterror agents. Because the proper dosage amount is not known, PharmAthene is not sure how much the treatment will cost.
• Real User has created a password-replacement software called Passfaces that uses an assigned series of portraits for authentication. All the user must do is pick out the correct portraits in the assigned series. Cost for the software is as low as $2 per user per year and recently was purchased by the U.S. Senate.
Businesses admitted into the Chesapeake Innovation Center must meet certain criteria, including merit of technology, quality of management and appreciation for what the business incubator can provide.
Once a business is admitted, it is provided with office space, conference rooms and a front-desk receptionist. It also receives business coaching, training and access to a vast network of resources.
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