Choong-Hwan Ryu, laboratory director for uPetsia, works inside the shared lab space at the University of Arizona’s Center for Innovation, 1800 E. Innovation Park Dr., in Oro Valley.

 Rebecca Sasnett, Arizona Daily Star

Sweetening doggie breath is spelling sweet success for uPetsia, a University of Arizona technology startup that recently won an innovation challenge sponsored by pet-food giant Purina.

uPetsia, which has developed a harmless bacteria strain that can counter stinky dog breath, was one of just five companies picked as winners in Purina’s 2022 Pet Care Innovation Prize, among more than 120 companies from 75 cities worldwide that applied.

The company, founded in 2020 by associate professors Eric Lyons and David Baltrus in the UA College of Agriculture & Life Sciences School of Plant Sciences, and the other prize winners received $10,000, mentorship from Purina and will participate in a “virtual accelerator boot camp” with experts from across the company and the pet-care industry.

During a final pitch competition in March, the startups will get the chance to present their businesses to an audience of industry influencers and investors. A grand-prize winner will be chosen at the Global Pet Expo, a major industry trade show set for March 23-25 in Orlando, Florida, and receive an additional $10,000 in cash.

“For us, it’s a really big deal and it’s wonderful for us to get this validation for the company,” Lyons, uPetsia’s chief science officer, said of the Purina prize.

uPetsia was launched in 2020 with the help of the university’s commercialization arm, Tech Launch Arizona, and is going through a comprehensive incubation program at the UA Center for Innovation-Oro Valley.

uPetsia’s technology solves the problem of bad dog breath by modifying natural canine oral bacteria to produce mint aromas.

While other products, such as canine toothpastes and chew treats, use flavors and scents to cover bad breath and last for only a few minutes, the harmless bacterial strain Lyons and Baltrus developed enters a dog’s mouth and remains for about two hours, producing a pleasant smell.

The bacteria could be incorporated into specially formulated treats, chews and food for dogs, making them easy to use, said Lyons.

Lyons said the company is now working to increase the minty smell the bacteria produces and improve the duration of the product’s effectiveness up to eight or 12 hours, with plans to develop other scent offerings.

The company is in the process of optimizing its first prototype product to submit it to an independent lab for safety testing, Lyons said, adding that it would then be up to the U.S. Food and Drug and Administration to review the findings.

uPetsia isn’t required to perform the testing or get formal FDA approval, Lyons said.

uPetsia has developed a harmless bacteria strain that can counter stinky dog breath.

“We want to use an independent party just to make sure that both internally and externally we are generating products that are safe for our pets,” said Lyons, adding that it also will also reassure potential business partners and investors.

uPetsia is working to attract industry partners capable of bringing its doggie-breath-busting technology to market through new products or as an additive to current products, in a business-to-business model going forward with new technologies and products, Lyons said.

“We want to stay focused on the research and development and developing these novel applications of bacteria for microbiome applications,” he said. “We don’t want to get into the business of manufacturing and selling.”

Following development of the doggie-breath treatment, the company plans to perfect a breath-saving formula for cats — and perhaps eventually, for humans, Lyons said.

“The same kinds of technologies are going to work in cats and other mammals, such as humans,” he said. “I would love nothing more than to see this product incorporating something like chewing gum, where instead of just having that burst of minty freshness when you chew gum, you get something that might last for hours.”

uPetsia is so far self-funded by its founders but is in early discussions to raise some outside capital to help fund its research and development programs, Lyons said.

Lyons said the company has received critical support from Tech Launch Arizona, and the UACI, as well as from the Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce and the greater Tucson community.

With help from TLA, Lyons founded the company with business-development expert Scott Zentack, now uPetsia’s CEO.

TLA helped to refine, protect and license the intellectual property, helped fund product development and provided mentorship and coaching through its Mentor-in-Residence and National Science Foundation i-Corps programs.

The company was admitted to the UACI-Oro Valley last year, after winning the center’s Sponsored Launch by the Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce competition.

uPetsia uses shared labs at the UACI-Oro Valley and recently hired Choong-Hwan Ryu, a molecular biologist and longtime UA postdoctoral researcher, as its laboratory director.

TLA Associate Vice President Doug Hockstad called uPetsia’s Purina award a great achievement.

“This team has taken an innovation that started as a scientific idea and worked tirelessly to bring it to the world,” Hockstad said. “We’re excited to see their vision and impact coming to fruition, and gratified that market leaders like Purina are recognizing that excellence, as well.”

The four other Purina prize-winning startups boast some cool pet innovations, too:

Minnesota-based Bright Planet Pet makes 100% plant-based dog treats that taste and smell like meat; FluentPet of San Diego has developed an electronic device that allows dogs, cats and other animals to communicate with humans; Los Angeles-based Paway launched a social network just for dogs; and Boston-based QSM Diagnostics has developed disposable sensors to quickly diagnose bacteria infections in dog and cats.

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Contact senior reporter David Wichner at dwichner@tucson.com or 520-573-4181. On Twitter: @dwichner. On Facebook: Facebook.com/DailyStarBiz