The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $304,436 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to LyoWave Inc. for a project that could increase the availability of medicines and reduce pharmaceutical development and manufacturing costs.

LyoWave has also received a $50,000 Phase I grant from the Indiana Economic Development Corp.’s Applied Research Institute.

The funded project is titled “Scaling Up Tunable High-Frequency Microwave Heating for Pharmaceutical and Biologics Manufacturing.”

Founded in 2023, LyoWave has received a series of seed funding from California-based Handshake Ventures. 

In May 2024, LyoWave entered into a joint development agreement with Millrock Technology, an industry leader in innovative freeze dryers for biotech, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications from laboratory to production.

LyoWave commercializes microwave heating technologies developed at Purdue University that improve upon traditional lyophilization by increasing speed, cost-effectiveness, and product throughput.

The project aims to build the knowledge to scale LyoWave’s heating technology to high-volume manufacturing, paving the way for broader commercial use.

Drew Strongrich, LyoWave co-founder and CEO, said developing the technology will lead to faster, higher-yield manufacturing of injectable pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and diagnostic reagents.

LyoWave’s technology is licensed by LyoWave. It has been developed by researchers at Purdue, led by Alina Alexeenko, the Reilly Professor in Aeronautics and Astronautics and Chemical Engineering in Purdue’s College of Engineering.