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Frisco event helps medical startups gain traction: National investors hosted at MedVentures
By Anthony Tosie, atosie@starlocalnews.com
Medical startups from across the country descended on Frisco Tuesday in an attempt to obtain millions of dollars in funding from potential investors.
The event, MedVentures, hosted by Frisco-based incubator North Texas Enterprise Center, allowed medical startups an opportunity that may not otherwise be available to them: the ability to pitch their products and services to major investors.
This year, NTEC received 80 applications from medical startups that it narrowed down to 10. Those 10 then went on to present their business to potential investors at the event. Another 10 companies were given the opportunity to make "quick-pitch" presentations.
North Texas companies made up a large percentage of the applicants, Zajicek said, with entries coming from companies located in Dallas, Frisco, Plano and Allen, among others.
One Frisco company, Organ Transport Systems, pitched a product that would extend the viability of organs after they're taken from donors.
The company's CEO, Michael Holder, said that product, called the "LifeCradle," could help add thousands of organ donations a year across the country that previously wouldn't be possible.
"Our device is currently configured for hearts, [although] the IP and technology platform can be used for other organs as well," Holder told the room of about 100 potential investors. "We significantly extend the duration of an organ's viability to up to 24 hours, compared to four hours [allowed by] current coolers."
Holder added that the LifeCradle could enable one-third of discarded hearts to be used in organ transplants, which could double the amount of transplants in the United States. Organ Transport Systems is working with hearts from deceased humans that could increase the amount of donors by up to 6,000.
Current transplant guidelines require hearts to only be obtained from brain dead donors.
Zajicek believes companies from the Dallas area could become more influential in the medical industry as time goes by, particularly in niche markets.
"There are some hotbeds of medical technology [in places] like San Diego, Boston [and] Minneapolis," Zajicek said. "Is Dallas at the same level as those places? No, but we have all the right things in place to continue building a very strong medical technology ecosystem here. But in some subsegments, such as mobile health, we have an opportunity to be on par with those places."
The top 10 companies have combined to raise more than $14 million in the 12 months following MedVentures in each of the past three years. Overall, the 66 companies who have made pitch presentations have raised a cumulative total of $274 million.
"The startups that present here have a fantastic track record," Zajicek said. "It's remarkable what they've gathered, but to me what's important is what they achieve after the conference -- investors ultimately want to meet companies that are ready for investment."
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