Vol. 5 No. 2

 

 

An exciting season
Everyone is telling us that there is an economic downturn, but very exciting things are happening at Misgav and at our portfolio companies:

More details about these and other developments appear below;  I hope you will take the time to read more about our successes.
 
Have a great summer!

 

Steve Rhodes, CEO
Misgav Venture Accelerator
 
 
ETView announces $15 million distribution agreement
ETView signed a distribution agreement with Life Saving Medical Solutions (LSMS) worth a minimum of $15 million. LSMS is an association of 20 distribution companies working in the United States. News of the agreement appeared in the English and Hebrew press.
 
In other news from ETView ... The Company recently updated its logo and refreshed the look of its website.
 

LifeBond completes $8 million funding round
LifeBond raised $8 million in its second financing round, which was completed in early June. Pitango Venture Capital and Robert Taub led the round. LifeBond develops surgical sealants and hemostats to prevent leakage and bleeding. The company's CEO and founder is Ishay Attar, Misgav's former VP business development. Read the LifeBond announcement in Hebrew and English.
 
 
Virtual Ports begins its official market launch and named as a "most promising biomed company"
Virtual Ports marked its official market launch with its exhibit at the annual meeting of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES). Virtual Ports' laparoscopic tools were unquestionably the hit new product at the conference. Read more about the reaction to the Virtual Ports tools at SAGES.
 
In other news from Virtual Ports ... The Company was named as one of the 20 most promising Israeli biomed start-ups by the Calcalist newspaper. See the article about Virtual Ports (Hebrew). In the same article, Dune, ETView, and LifeBond, were among the "20 more most promising biomed companies."
 
 
Welcome to our newest company: Stimatix GI
We are pleased to welcome our newest company, Stimatix GI. The Company is developing a novel implant for people with ostomies. Stimatix was featured in a Globes article about four new start-ups approved by the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor. David Hanuka is the CEO of Stimatix. Read more about Stimatix GI.
 
 
PolyTouch wins at Rad Biomed
Misgav's PolyTouch was awarded 2nd place in the Rad Biomed's Most Promising Life Science Initiative of 2009. The competition took place at this year's Biomed (June 15-17) in Tel Aviv. PolyTouch is developing a unique deployment and placement device for laparoscopic ventral hernia repair. Read the full article about PolyTouch (in Hebrew).

In other news from PolyTouch ... The Company recently sent its first quarterly update.
 
 
ID-U Biometrics announces "amazing results"
ID-U Biometrics recently completed analyzing the results of its expanded database. Daphna Palti-Wasserman, CEO, writes: "The new database has actually doubled our original benchmark database. We got amazing results! We got a 96% success rate on the joint database (first and new). The results were obtained with our new improved algorithms." Read more about ID-U Biometrics.
 
 
Nephera mentioned in industry report 
Nephera is mentioned in the product development and innovation section of the "World Market for Dialysis Equipment and Services" report. Published by Kalorama Information in April 2009, the report is available for $3,500. Read more about Nephera's device for renal function in patients with congestive heart failure.
 
 
BioPack awarded patent
In late March, BioPack received an Israeli patent for its "pest-impervious packaging material and post-control composition." Inventors are Shlomo Navarro, Dov Zehavi, Miriam Rindner, Simcha Finkelman, Refael Dias, Sam Angel, and Fadel Mansur. Read more about BioPack's insect-repellent packaging.
 
 
RealView unveils new website and completes product animation 
RealView unveiled its new website and product animation. RealView is developing a miniature "imager" for on-demand monitoring of the bladder. See the website (the link to the animation is on the home page).

 

 

 

EVENTS
 
The buzz after Biomed Israel 2009
A number of our portfolio companies showed off their innovative products and technologies at this year's Biomed in Tel Aviv (June 15-17). The Misgav booth was once again a busy gathering place for entrepreneurs, inventors, investors, and conference visitors.
 
Misgav technologies figured prominently in a story about Biomed 2009 broadcast by Israel's Arutz 7 (in Hebrew). Misgav CEO Steve Rhodes, Yaron Aizenbud (Scorpion Surgical Technologies), and Yaron Samama (ETView) were all interviewed for the story. As well, there were short clips of technologies from Virtual Ports and Headway.
 
More news from Biomed 2009 ...  For a look at some of the activities around our booth, see our Biomed 2009 photo gallery.

 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
Steve Rhodes, Misgav's CEO, was a panelist at this year's Biomed. The panel topic was a special HR session on "Career Opportunities in Biotech/Biomed." Panelists discussed current and expected recruitment trends in biotech and the place of new immigrants in the life science industry. The panel was sponsored by the Israeli Life Science Industry, Gvahim, and Kenes International.

 

 

©2009 The Misgav Venture Accelerator. All rights reserved

The Misgav Venture Accelerator. Supporting great ideas. Entrepreneurs interested in learning more about the Misgav Venture Accelerator should contact Lior Yankelson, VP business development. Investors interested in learning more about Misgav or its portfolio companies should contact Steve Rhodes, CEO. Phone: +972.4.999.1991.