Best Life Sciences Companies in Rochester, United States
The 40 best Life Sciences companies in Rochester, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Vyriad.
Our analysis of 164 Life Sciences companies
$34.7b in tracked funding; 83% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Life Sciences companies in Rochester
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Employees | Founder | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vyriad Developer of oncolytic-virus-based immunotherapies for cancer treatment 50Patents top 20%Funding top 21%Innovation top 25%Moat top 32% All 7 signals ▾Patentstop 20% Fundingtop 21% Innovationtop 25% Moattop 32% Techbottom 43% Globalbottom 37% Marketbottom 36% Patents: 70 patents matched (strict assignee match) · 56 filings since 2022 vs 14 in 2017-21 Funding: Raised $100M across 8 rounds · 8 rounds over 8 yrs (1.0/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 50/100 | $100M | 8 mo ago | Series B | 37 | — | WordPressMySQLPHP+18 | 70 patents Engineered rhabdoviral vectors for oncolytic cancer therapy and viral antibody diagnostics | — |
| 2 | Sonex Health Innovating ultrasound-guided solutions to transform patient experience, improve safety, lower costs | $90M | 35 mo ago | Series B | 32 | Jay Smith Co-Founder & CMO | WordPressApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+32 | — | — |
| 3 | Cytotheryx Developer of human hepatocytes for research and clinical applications 29Moat top 30%Patents top 37%Funding top 38%Innovation top 41% All 7 signals ▾Moattop 30% Patentstop 37% Fundingtop 38% Innovationtop 41% Talentbottom 49% Globalbottom 35% Marketbottom 25% Moat: IP moat: 14 patents · Soonicorn Patents: 14 patents matched (strict assignee match) · 14 filings since 2022 vs 0 in 2017-21 rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 29/100 | $60M | 7 mo ago | Series A | 12 | John Swart Chief Executive Officer | — | 14 patents Engineered human hepatocyte production, genetic modification, and biliary delivery platforms | — |
| 4 | Bio-Optronics Provider of clinical trial management system and related research solutions | $30M | 103 mo ago | Acquired | 91 | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | Clerio Vision Laser induced change in refractive index | $29M | 67 mo ago | Series B | 104 | Mikael Totterman Founder | — | 72 patents Myopia‑control contact lenses using peripheral defocus, chromatic aberration, and subsurface optics | — |
| 6 | Vaccinex Deveeloper of therapeutics to treat cancer and neurologic diseases | $15M | 29 mo ago | Public | 41 41 → 28 (-32%) | — | DrupalPHPBootstrap+24 | 576 patents Immunotherapeutic biologics targeting SEMA4D and CCR8 for neurodegeneration and atherosclerosis | — |
| 7 | VirtualScopics Provider of imaging-based clinical trial solutions | $4M | 173 mo ago | Acquired | 91 | — | — | 36 patents Patents concentrated in computing, sensing & instrumentation | — |
| 8 | OyaGen Drug discovery and development for infectious diseases and cancer therapeutics | $3M | 16 mo ago | Seed | 4 | Harold Smith founder and CEO of OyaGEn | — | 55 patents Small-molecule antiviral drugs targeting RNA viruses and HIV. | — |
| 9 | Pneumeric Developer of therapeutic device for pneumothorax decompression | $2M | 37 mo ago | Seed | 5 | Sasha Gentling Co-Founder | — | 2 patents Emergency medical chest sealing devices for trauma care | — |
| 10 | VPGMedical Digital health service providing video-based, contactless health monitoring solutions | $1M | 80 mo ago | Seed | 8 | Jean-Philippe Couderc Co-founder and CEO | — | — | — |
| 11 | Imanis Life Assisting life science research with noninvasive reporter genes, lentiviruses, cell lines, oncolytic viruses… | $1M | 135 mo ago | Seed | 36 | — | Cart FunctionalityWordPressMySQL+24 | — | — |
| 12 | Mill Creek Life Sciences Accelerating cell-based therapies with innovative human platelet lysate solutions | $725K | 132 mo ago | Seed | 6 | — | Cart FunctionalityWordPressMySQL+22 | — | — |
| 13 | Thermal Gradient Provider of PCR-based diagnostic tools | $614K | 115 mo ago | Deadpooled | 4 | Bob Juncosa CEO | — | 9 patents Thermal cycling devices for precise temperature control in PCR and related biochemical processes. | — |
| 14 | MicroWash Provider of a medical device that collects nasal specimens to test for pathogens | $100K | 49 mo ago | Seed | — | James Young Founder & CEO | — | — | 1 launch |
Top 12 Life Sciences companies in Rochester
#1
Series B · Rochester, Minnesota · founded 2016 · 37 employees$100Mraised▾
Developer of oncolytic-virus-based immunotherapies for cancer treatment. The company focuses on the development of new oncolytic virus treatments that leverage Vyriad’s vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) platform, as well as antibody discovery capabilities. The company's lead product is Voyager-V1 which addresses multiple cancer types.
- Dec 2025Series B$25M
- May 2022Series B$29.5M
- Oct 2019Series A$24.4M
- Sep 2018Grant (prize money)$2.1M
#2
Series A · Rochester, Minnesota · founded 2018 · 12 employees$60Mraised▾
Developer of human hepatocytes (HHC) for research and clinical applications. The company develops HHC for toxicology study, hepatitis research, and allotransplants.
- Jan 2026Conventional Debt—
- Jan 2026Series A$60M
#3
Seed · Rochester, New York · founded 2003 · 4 employees$2.8Mraised▾
Drug discovery and development for infectious diseases and cancer therapeutics. The company focuses on identifying novel therapeutic indications and IND-enabling lead compounds for licensing or partnering. Their expertise spans assay development, screening, and mechanistic studies, offered as a fee-for-service. They develop antiviral and oncology therapeutics, targeting mechanisms responsible for tumor growth and progress. The company seeks collaborators for assay development and drug discovery services, aiming to deliver new therapeutic solutions for clinical development and commercialization. They have High Content Screening (HCS) aspirations and plan to expand screening capabilities. Their lead compounds address HIV, Ebola, and COVID-19. They are involved in preclinical drug discovery, lead compound optimization, and offer services in cell biology, virology, and structural biology. They are based on assay development technology and academic work on gene editing enzymes.
- May 2025Grant (prize money)$597K
- Aug 2023Grant (prize money)$597K
- Jul 2020Grant (prize money)$572.9K
- Aug 2018Grant (prize money)$600K
#4
Series B · Rochester, Minnesota · founded 2014 · 32 employees$90Mraised▾
Innovating ultrasound-guided solutions to transform patient experience, improve safety, lower costs. They empower physicians with minimally invasive techniques for carpal tunnel release and trigger finger release using real-time ultrasound guidance. The company focuses on refined simplicity, creating elegant and effective healthcare solutions. Through the Educational Institute, they offer world-class professional education and training, including web-based ultrasound skills training, educational webinars, on-site cadaver training programs, and a state-of-the-art training lab. They aim to be the global leader in ultrasound-guided surgery, pioneering innovative therapies and skill enhancement solutions. Their mission involves refining and simplifying processes, disrupting the status quo, and thinking differently to improve patient care and outcomes. They provide resources for both physicians and patients, promoting access to advanced procedures and knowledge.
- Sep 2023Venture Debt—
- May 2023Series B$40M
- Feb 2018Seed$150K
- Mar 2015Seed$100K
#5
Public · Rochester, New York · founded 1998 · 41 employees$15.1Mraised▾
Deveeloper of therapeutics to treat cancer and neurologic diseases. The company’s lead drug candidate, pepinemab, blocks SEMA4D and has the potential to increase immune activity against tumors and to reprogram underlying pathogenic immune mechanisms that amplify damage in chronic neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease.
- Mar 2024Post IPO$1.8M
- Feb 2024Post IPO$3.7M
- Jan 2022Post IPO$6.6M
- Sep 2020Post IPO$2M
#6
Series B · Rochester, New York · founded 2014 · 104 employees$28.9Mraised▾
Clerio Vision is developing a product for non-invasive, incision-less, tissue-sparing laser technology to modify the refractive index of the cornea and improve vision in patients with refractive errors. The procedure, called LIRIC or (laser-induced refractive index change can be used to correct both far and nearsightedness, and can also be used to adjust other more invasive treatments such as cataract or LASIK surgeries.
- Jan 2021Series B$8.3M
- Jul 2019Series B$11.9M
- Sep 2017Grant (prize money)$1.2M
- Jul 2017Series A$3.6M
#7
Acquired · Rochester, New York · founded 1985 · 91 employees$30Mraised▾
Provider of clinical trial management system and related research solutions. The company offers solutions for study design, site identification, study startup, and enrollment planning. It also provides services related to regulatory compliance, data management, and training. The company aims to streamline clinical operations and financial management for research sites.
- Jan 2018Series B$30M
#8
Seed · Rochester, Minnesota · founded 2021 · 5 employees$2.2Mraised▾
Developer of therapeutic device for pneumothorax decompression. The company has developed the Capnospot a colorimetric capnography device that can be used to decompress tension pneumothorax in a trauma patient.
- Jul 2023Seed$2.2M
#9
Acquired · Rochester, New York · founded 2000 · 91 employees$3.8Mraised▾
Provider of imaging-based clinical trial solutions. The company uses a collaborative approach to optimize imaging solutions, and provide quantitative imaging data that help detect disease progression faster and identify therapeutic benefits sooner. Claim to deliver highly reproducible imaging analysis. Key therapeutic areas served include Oncology, Hematology, Muscular Disease, Metabolic Disorders, and Neuroscience across imaging modalities like CT, MRI, MRE, DXA, X-ray, PET, and Ultrasound.
- Apr 2012Post IPO$3M
- Sep 2009Grant (prize money)$224.1K
- Sep 2009Grant (prize money)$224.1K
- 2007Post IPO$4.3M
#10
Seed · Rochester, New York · founded 2017 · 8 employees$1.2Mraised▾
Digital health service providing video-based, contactless health monitoring solutions. The company develops innovative monitoring solutions leveraging video-based sensors in smart devices and computers. They focus on effortless health monitoring to improve the lives of patients needing continuous health status tracking. Their core technology, HealthKam, offers clinically validated video monitoring for pulse rate and atrial fibrillation detection. They partner with hospitals to expand the reach of their technology. The company's solutions offer a new standard in remote patient monitoring, eliminating the need for wearables or new devices. This technology is ideal for continuous, non-invasive health insights.
- Dec 2019Seed$600K
- Jun 2019Seed$500K
- Nov 2018Seed$100K
#11
Seed · Rochester, New York · founded 2012 · 36 employees$1Mraised▾
Imanis Life Sciences, a non-invasive imaging solutions company, provides reporter gene imaging vectors, cells, services, and support. It offers ready to use lentivectors for gene transfer to primary cells and cell lines for use in vitro characterization studies and in vivo studies in research animals. The company also provides contract imaging services, including study design, imaging contract, and in vitro and in vivo studies.
- Jun 2015Grant (prize money)$202.8K
- Sep 2014Grant (prize money)$163.5K
- Mar 2014Seed$1M
- Aug 2013Seed—
#12
Deadpooled · Rochester, New York · founded 2004 · 4 employees$614Kraised▾
Provider of PCR-based diagnostic tools. The company’s proprietary technology allows rapid PCR and consists of multiple layers including both conductors and insulators of thermal energy that establishes a "thermal gradient" within the device. The company is focused on the development of three instrument-cartridge systems (FlashAmp, Flash-LC, and Flash-HC) based on its FLASH platform. The FlashDirect-LC is a sample-to-answer device for low complexity specimens, with the primary test for MRSA. Another product FlashDirect-HC is focused on analysis from higher complexity specimens with the first target as HIV diagnosis. The FlashAMP instrument is a quantitative PCR for research use only. The company claims that the "Thermal Gradient" can perform MRSA test in 13 minutes.
- Jan 2017Seed$614K
- Feb 2011Grant (prize money)$5.7M
- Feb 2010Grant (prize money)$5.7M
- May 2008Grant (prize money)$120.4K
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Life Sciences coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
What Rochester researches in biotechnology
- University of Rochester14
- University of Rochester Medical Center9
- Rochester Institute of Technology3
- Rochester Institute of Technology Kosovo2
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.