Encapsulate Inc.

Encapsulate Inc. is a Farmington, Connecticut-based for-profit manufacturer specializing in precision oncology and personalized cancer screening technologies. The company is registered as a self-certified small disadvantaged business and has established itself as a significant recipient of federal research and development funding through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Encapsulate Inc. develops advanced microfluidic and biochip platforms designed to predict patient-specific drug responses for cancer treatment applications, with a particular focus on colorectal and pancreatic cancers. The company's core mission centers on creating scalable, cost-effective diagnostic technologies that aim to improve cancer treatment outcomes by reducing ineffective treatment cycles and lowering overall healthcare costs.

Through federal contract awards, Encapsulate Inc. has received substantial funding from the NASA Shared Services Center under the SBIR program to advance its NVASIVE project, which applies artificial intelligence and machine learning methodologies to predict metastasis using noninvasive techniques and microgravity research environments. The company progressed through the SBIR program phases with a Phase I contract valued at $156,494 (awarded August 7, 2024, with completion scheduled for February 6, 2025), a Phase II contract valued at $899,787 (awarded July 16, 2025, with completion scheduled for July 15, 2027), and a Phase III contract valued at $2,748,020 (awarded May 23, 2025, with completion scheduled for May 22, 2028). All three contracts were designated as total small business set-asides and involve the development of automated microfluidic biochip platforms integrated with bioreactors and 3D tumor models. The contract work is performed at Encapsulate Inc.'s Farmington, Connecticut facility and focuses on creating technologies capable of testing patient-derived cancer cells against chemotherapy drugs to enable personalized treatment selection prior to initiating therapy.

Encapsulate Inc. has also secured significant federal grant funding through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084). The company received an initial NSF Project Grant of $255,995 (awarded May 15, 2022, with completion through April 30, 2023) to support development of an automated biochip platform for personalized cancer screening, which demonstrated the feasibility of growing patient-derived cancer cells on biochips to screen them against multiple chemotherapy drugs in less than one week. Building on this foundation, Encapsulate Inc. was awarded an NSF Cooperative Agreement valued at $1,213,619 (awarded June 15, 2025, with completion scheduled for May 31, 2027) under the SBIR Phase II program to further develop the precision oncology platform integrating microfluidics, biochips, bioreactors, and 3D tumor models. The NSF grants specifically target the challenge that over 70 percent of cancer patients undergo ineffective chemotherapy through trial-and-error methods, and the company's technology aims to address a $2 billion domestic market in colorectal and pancreatic cancer treatment with a broader global market exceeding $30 billion. Combined federal contract and grant investments in Encapsulate Inc. now exceed $5.3 million, demonstrating sustained federal validation of the company's mission to transform personalized cancer treatment through data-driven diagnostic technologies.