News

BARDA announces new partnerships to develop at-home diagnostic technologies for COVID-19, influenza, and future pandemic preparedness

GRIP Molecular is working with BARDA on a single-use, hand-held cartridge that is designed to enable lab-grade accuracy, multiplexed detection of SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B, RSV, and other common pathogens using a nasal swab sample. Their proprietary biosensor technology is intended to provide results within five minutes and read-out on a standard mobile device.

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Edward J. Ludwig 2021 AdvaMed Lifetime Achievement Award Winner!

On behalf of the entire GRIP Molecular team and investors, congratulations on this wonderful award. For those that do not know, with the extraordinary participation of over 400 of the leading medical technology companies, AdvaMed advocates globally for the highest ethical standards and patient access to safe, effective and innovative medical technologies that save and improve lives. We at GRIP are grateful to have experienced your personification of these ideals. We are very proud to have you as our Board Chair and today will bask in the glow of AdvaMed’s recognition of your lifetime of impactful accomplishment.

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Edward Ludwig joins GRIP Molecular Technologies, Inc. as Chairman of the Board

ST. PAUL, Minn., March 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — GRIP Molecular is pleased to announce the formation of a Board of Directors with Edward Ludwig accepting the role of Chairman of the Board. GRIP Molecular is a Minnesota based biotech company founded with the mission of providing lab grade medical diagnostic results at the point-of-need. GRIP is developing a proprietary and patented electronic biosensor that can quickly, accurately, and simultaneously detect a wide array of disease and health condition biomarkers in a single test, in minutes, using a standard cell phone to display the results.

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GRIP Molecular: Company Update

GRIP Molecular has successfully raised funds to complete proof-of-concept experiments, gain exclusive rights to the underlying IP, activate its research facility, sponsor research activities at

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GRIP Molecular: 2021 Best Tech Startups in St. Paul

The Tech Tribune staff has compiled the very best tech startups in St. Paul, Minnesota. In doing our research, we considered several factors including but not limited to:

1. Revenue potential
2. Leadership team
3. Brand/product traction
4. Competitive landscape

Additionally, all companies must be independent (unacquired), privately owned, at most 10 years old, and have received at least one round of funding in order to qualify.

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GRIP Molecular awarded Launch Minnesota Grant

Seven University of Minnesota startup companies were today awarded Launch Minnesota Innovation Grants by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Developments (DEED). DEED staff targets these new grants, 20 of which were announced today, at “the most promising, innovative, and scalable technology businesses in the state” based on the recommendations of an advisory board to Launch Minnesota, a statewide collaborative effort to accelerate the growth of startups and amplify Minnesota as a national leader in innovation.

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Stasia Ogden, JD

Stasia Ogden recently joined GRIP in a General Counsel role with a particular expertise in Intellectual Property Law.  Stasia has over 20 years as a practicing attorney in law firms and major multi-national corporations and 9 years with Baxter Healthcare Corporation and 4 years with BD.  Her focus on healthcare industry global IP strategy, transactions, licensing, litigation and global portfolio management will help GRIP navigate global IP issues and maximize existing rights to 3+ patent families that provide the foundation for GRIP’s novel electronic biosensor.  Stasia has a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University, an MBA from University of Missouri – St. Louis, and a BA in Biochemistry from Northwestern University in Chicago.

Michael Osterholm PhD

University of Minnesota Regents Professor 
  • McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health 
  • Author
  • University of Minnesota
  • Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP)
  • Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Technological Leadership Institute, College of Science and Engineering,
  • Medical School – Adjunct Professor
  • Science Envoy for Health Security on behalf of the US Department of State 2018-19
  • Numerous national/global Advisory Board appointments on Biosecurity, Health Research and Pandemics

Steven Koester PhD

Professor Electrical & Computer Engineering
University of Minnesota

Research Areas:

  • Graphene Biosensors
  • Biomedical & Biological Computational Methods
  • Energy Systems & Power Electronics
  • Micro and Nano structures 

Michael McAlpine, PhD

Professor Mechanical Engineering University of Minnesota

Research Areas:

  • 3D printing functional materials & devices
  • Advanced manufacturing using nanoscale inks
  • Biomedical devices
  • Bioelectronics

Edward Ludwig

  • 45+years of senior executive medical industry leadership experience
  •   Numerous Board roles, including with; Boston Scientific, CVS, Aetna, AdvaMed (Chairman), Johns Hopkins Michael Bloomberg School of Public Health, Hackensack University Medical Center, College of Holy Cross, Columbia Business School, The Center for Higher Ambition Leadership 
  • MBA – Columbia University

Laurie Knutson MBA

Vice President of Marketing

Laurie Knutson is GRIP’s VP of Marketing.  She bring over 30 years of healthcare strategy, product development and systems transformation experience across Fortune 50 to pre-revenue companies. Laurie has held C-level roles healthcare services, products, insurance, financial services and consulting, and was founder or C-level at 4 tech startups.  Laurie’s focus on commercializing products in the healthcare sector is based on her unique ability to assess the market and product adoption variables in areas of unmet needs. Laurie also has 10+ years analytics with care model development for seniors, commercial and vulnerable populations.  Laurie has her MBA in Finance from the University of Minnesota and her BA in Biology from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Richard G Minicus MBA, MS

Rich Minicus is seasoned Chief Financial Officer with over 30 years in M&A, venture capital investment, and capital markets transactions. Rich brings 21 years in medical technology business development with Becton Dickinson, BD Ventures, and Pfizer which has enabled GRIP to quickly formulate a detailed financial plan beyond what most startups provide to investors. Rich also has 9 years in finance with Merrill Lynch Capital Markets, ML Venture Capital, and JP Morgan. Rich earned his MBA at Harvard Business School, and holds a MS in Biology from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Caroline Popper

Caroline Popper, MD is the Co-Founder and President, Popper & Co. healthcare consultancy. Caroline has the perfect combination of 30 years’ experience in medical diagnostics and drug discovery, combined with extensive direct clinical experience. She has held many senior managerial and advisory positions with numerous global diagnostics companies, including BD, bioMérieux and MDS Proteomics. Caroline was also an attending physician at the Department of Emergency Medicine at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she completed residencies in internal medicine and pathology.

Edward Gillan

CEO, CCO

Ed Gillen is GRIP’s CEO and brings over 30 years medical device industry experience, including point-of-care diagnostics.  Ed enjoyed a successful 23-year career at Becton Dickinson (BD) holding many positions globally including WW Senior Director – Strategy & Business Development – Diabetes Care Division, Global VP/GM – Surgical and Anesthesia Systems ($200M P&L), Advanced Drug Delivery, Global Business Leader – Vaccine Delivery.  Ed’s startup experience includes his most recent role as CEO Medality Medical. Ed has his MBA from Penn State University.

disease diagnosis Grip molecular

Bruce Batten

Founder/Chairman/President

Bruce Batten has been founder / CEO of four technology startups including C-level roles at Thermo Instruments, CyberOptics and Advantek. Bruce started his career in Academia earning a Ph.D. in Anatomy & Cell Biology at the Medical College of Virginia, post-doctoral work at Harvard Medical School. He was Faculty member at Harvard, Tufts and The Ohio State medical schools and later ran the MBA Program at Augsburg University. Bruce has over 10 years of molecular diagnostic development, including detailed work on a POC Zika virus assay. Bruce founded GRIP Molecular to commercialize breakthrough solid state bioelectronic technology that will disrupt the diagnostic industry and empower consumers and doctors with fast, accurate and comprehensive information.