| DEALFLOWUPDATE Issue #16. Friday, August 31 |
Hello everyone, For this newsletter, we’ll be reviewing some recent news as well as our deals section. Just as a review of our deals section, we feature notable acquisitions, raises and partnerships in deals that match our technical and business criteria. This criteria is an integral part of our diligence process. We take great pains to go through what we think of as much more diligence than any other VC in the medical device space, with an average of 300 to 400 hours spent on each deal that we complete. This time is spent on activities all based on the extensive experience in the Zoic team of not just venture capital, but also direct experience in medical device development, regulatory approval and commercialization. -Neal P.S. Our readership continues to grow! please subscribe if you’re new and continue to share with others on social media. Connect with us, we would love to hear from you! |
| Dealflow In addition to our usual themes of recent acquisitions and startups that are of interest, we’ll be taking a look at a number of innovations in orthopedics. Orthopedics is a constant focus area for us, as the need is strong and the market is in constant need of new solutions. However, interestingly enough, despite this lack of breakthrough innovation, the number of patents filed by orthopedic surgeons is the highest amongst all physician specialties. This could be because of the nature of the industry (many companies, but all competing on commoditized products) or just a lack of focus from the startup side.  Wright to buy orthopedic focused Cartiva for $435M in cash Some startups do have some interesting innovations, though. For example, cartilage repair and especially regenerating damaged cartilage is currently quite difficult. A recent acquisition shows how valued a potential solution is in addressing this issue for treating osteoarthritis. Five years ago this summer, NEA led a $4.3 million funding in Cartiva, valuing the maker of orthopedic devices at $6.4 million. On Monday, fellow medical device maker Wright Medical agreed to acquire 100% of Cartiva for $435 million. Read More  One investor puts $2.5 million into OrthoSensor Another aspect of orthopedics is the postoperative care; more often, this is the critical issue, especially as patients get quickly discharged to home. Tracking and guiding postoperative therapy, especially physical therapy to restore neural and muscular/skeletal function is a strong interest area, as long as there is significant innovation in hardware and software. For example, a recent $2.5M investment shows the potential for a movement sensor intended for postoperative knee surgery care. Read More  $11.2 million in an equity offering for PerQdisc device Most of the time, we see orthopedic innovations that are incremental, specifically improving on current devices, especially implants. These implants are still valued by the industry and by health care, but we still see a need for major innovations (i.e. those that are 10x improvements) on current methods and devices. For example, this device to treat degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine in adults. Read More  Progenerative Medical Closes $1.5M Seed Funding Wound healing has been discussed previously – one of our team member’s prior experiences in the medical device industry is with negative pressure wound therapy. This has been one of the most significant advancements in wound care, allowing chronic and acute wounds to close within a few weeks rather than months. Expanding the applications for this platform technology allowed the company to grow and still continue. A company recently licensed the technology for use in regenerating damaged bone for spine and general orthopedics use. Read More  TheraNova Incubator Spinoff Piccolo Medical Raises $2.3M Lastly, just to introduce another deal example that is outside orthopedics is surgical navigation. Improvements in this space are also valuable, especially as more and more surgeries are sought to be less invasive. Catheter navigation for example, can potentially reduce surgery time, thus reducing overall costs and complications. Read More Spotlight  #CompanyHighlight Optina Diagnostics Optina Dx, a company focused on the development of technology for the early detection of disease through the eye. With a first application in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, Optina’s technology highlights retinal amyloid deposits, a key biomarker of the disease. News: Simple eye exam may be able to screen for Alzheimer’s  Vivienne Ming at the RBS Disrupt 2.0 Conference Zoic Capital’s Big Data Venture Partner, Dr. Vivienne Ming presented her work and insight as part of the conference focus on contributions by world leading tech pioneers. Dr. Ming discussed her work in neuroscience and how technological innovation can be harnessed to address social needs. Read More ShareTweetForward What We’re ReadingPB VC’s Insatiable Appetite for Biotech EY How Behavioral Design is Transforming the Role and Impact of Life Sciences in Healthcare AXI The Alt Assets Trend Towards Specialized Funds WIR Can Crispr Halt Muscular Dystrophy? Connect With Zoic Capital |
| The Biweekly Dealflow Update, curated by the team at Zoic Capital. |
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