Sorbenta Wins Lex Generalis Pitch Competition at AUTM 2026 Annual Meeting

Sorbenta's next-generation ion exchange technology for PFAS removal recognized for its potential to deliver cleaner water to millions worldwide

SEATTLE & PHOENIX & CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lex Generalis, the innovation-focused law firm backed by Anzu Partners, today announced that Sorbenta Inc. has won the Lex Generalis Pitch Competition at the AUTM 2026 Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington. Sorbenta was selected from a competitive field of university-born deep-tech ventures for its groundbreaking approach to removing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as "forever chemicals," from contaminated water supplies.

PFAS contamination has become one of the most pressing environmental issues globally, with the U.S. EPA now regulating two PFAS compounds in drinking water at a maximum level of just 4 parts per trillion — equivalent to a single drop of water dissolved in five Olympic swimming pools. More than 6,500 water utilities across the U.S. are under pressure to comply with these regulations, while industries from semiconductors to textiles and hundreds of government and military sites face mounting remediation obligations.

Sorbenta is developing a new class of regenerable, high-capacity, PFAS-selective ion exchange resins that outperform conventional filtration approaches, including granular activated carbon (GAC) and existing ion exchange resins, which suffer from low capacity, poor selectivity, susceptibility to fouling, and inability to be regenerated. Sorbenta's resins are a drop-in replacement to existing water treatment infrastructure, remain effective significantly longer, reduce replacement frequency, and can be regenerated on-site to lower total cost of ownership. In head-to-head pilot studies against leading commercial resins, Sorbenta's technology demonstrated 30 to 40% longer lifetime for ultra short-chain PFAS, five times the capacity for short-chain PFAS, and four times longer lifetime with regeneration.

"Sorbenta's win represents exactly the kind of innovation we created this competition to celebrate: university-rooted science solving one of the world's most urgent public health challenges," said Cathryn Paine, CEO of Lex Generalis. "Their technology is technically rigorous, commercially viable, and backed by an exceptional team of scientists and operators. We look forward to supporting their journey to market."

Sorbenta was co-founded by two professors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Frank Leibfarth, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Chemistry Lead, and Orlando Coronell, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Environmental Sciences and Engineering and Engineering Lead, along with Robin Weitkamp, a 30-year chemical industry executive serving as Co-Founder and Commercialization Advisor. Together, they co-lead the NC Pure Project, a $10 million initiative to develop and evaluate novel sorbents for PFAS removal at bench through pilot scale. At UNC-Chapel Hill, the Sorbenta team received support from several teams within Innovate Carolina, the university’s initiative for innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development. Pre-commercial translational development of the resin technology was funded through a partnership between Innovate Carolina’s Institute for Convergent Science and the North Carolina Collaboratory. Sorbenta also worked with Innovate Carolina’s Office of Technology Commercialization to protect their intellectual property (IP) and its New Ventures and Partnerships’ team, KickStart Venture Services, which supports IP-based startups. KickStart support included seed funding via a commercialization grant award, customer discovery through the UNC I-Corps program, grant-writing support services, as well as space in the KickStart Accelerator, an on-campus wet lab for Carolina spinout companies.

The company has scaled production to greater than 50 kilograms, completed full empty bed contact time (EBCT) pilot studies at six municipal water treatment plants in North Carolina, and is actively conducting field trials for challenging remediation applications.

"Removing PFAS from water is one of the defining environmental challenges of our time, and current technologies simply weren't designed to meet the scale and precision required," said Orlando Coronell, Co-Founder and Engineering Lead at Sorbenta. "Our resins were built from the ground up to be selective, regenerable, and cost-effective, giving water utilities and industries a real path to compliance and remediation at scale."

About Lex Generalis
Lex Generalis is a law firm backed by Anzu Partners to provide cost-effective and strategic legal services for startups, research institutions, and technology transfer offices. The firm focuses on corporate law, intellectual property, and strategic legal support designed to help innovators grow while controlling legal spend. Learn more at www.lexgeneralis.com.

About Sorbenta
Sorbenta Inc. is developing next-generation ion exchange technology to enable municipalities, industries, and government agencies to remove PFAS from contaminated waters worldwide. Co-founded by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Sorbenta offers regenerable, high-capacity, PFAS-selective ion exchange resins that are a drop-in replacement to existing infrastructure — delivering cleaner water, lower costs, and a more sustainable approach to one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Learn more at www.sorbentainc.com.