Encapsulate co-founders met each other during their graduate studies at UCONN and formed the company based on their technical experiences to improve the healthcare procedure in cancer treatment. The team is based in Hartford and Meriden, Connecticut, and includes Armin Rad, Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, Leila Daneshmandi, Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, and Reza Amin, Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering.
Encapsulate has developed an automated tumor-on-a-chip system that can grow patient-derived cancer cells outside the body and screen them against chemotherapeutic drugs. With this technology the oncologist can choose the most effective chemotherapy drug prior to beginning treatment on the patient. This ensures the patient receives the right level and type of treatment they need to have a more favorable medical outcome. The technology reduces the overall costs of treatment, as well as unnecessary and painful testing on the patient. Encapsulate has partnered with two healthcare systems in CT and started its pilot clinical studies on lung and colon cancers. Moreover, Encapsulate was recently awarded by NASA/International Space Station with one of their most prestigious awards for $700,000 to use their technology in the space station for cancer research.
Hartford has a great entrepreneurial ecosystem. Moreover, its unique location right in between two great major biotech hubs, NYC and Boston, makes it a perfect place to start a business, especially in Encapsulate’s case, in which physical distances for tumor sample preservation plays a role.
The best thing about Hartford is the people!
