I am very happy to announce the appointment of Dr. Eran Feldhay as CEO of the Misgav Venture Accelerator.  Eran is an M.D. who has been involved in the medical products industry for 14 years, most recently as the General Manager of McKesson Israel (formerly Medcon Ltd.).  Eran previously served as McKesson's VP of Cardiology and on the executive team of the McKesson Imaging Group, the leader in the US PACS (picture archiving and communication systems ) market. He was also a member of the IHE cardiology committee (an industry group) developing healthcare IT standards.  We believe that Eran's addition to the Misgav team greatly strengthens our efforts to be the leading incubator in the medical field.  I am sure that you all join me in wishing him great success in his challenging new position, and I encourage you to be in touch with Eran about new investment opportunities or investments in our portfolio companies;  I know you will be as impressed by him as we are.

For me, Eran's appointment marks an important milestone in the development of Misgav and The Trendlines Group.  When I started working at Misgav in 2004, I set a goal of making Misgav the best incubator in Israel. We have made significant strides in this direction.  The other good news is that there is still a lot that we could do much better; we always strive to improve, execute better, have more successful companies, etc.  This striving and setting high goals is what is going to keep us sharp for years to come.

In my new position as co-CEO and Chairman of The Trendlines Group, positions I am honored to share with Todd Dollinger, I plan to be even more involved in our portfolio companies and incubators.  Todd has, in addition to his other responsibilities, taken the chairmanship of the Misgav Incubator and I have been named chairman of our Mofet  Incubator (www.mofet.org.il). These changes represent a logical next step in the growth and development of The Trendlines Group.

Thanks so very much to the many people - far too many to thank personally in this note - who have contributed to making the last six years so exciting and rewarding.  Together we can make the next six years even more successful for all our stakeholders.

 

With very best wishes for a great summer,

Steve

 

ETView Completes Reverse Merger with First SBS

ETView, developer of a tracheoscopic ventilation tube (TVT) with an embedded video camera, is proud to announce the completion of the company's merger into publicly traded First SBS. ETView's innovative TVT facilitates easier intubation for emergency situations, anesthesia, and telemedicine which eliminates the use of the laryngoscope tube. The video camera allows the doctor or paramedic performing the intubation procedure to gain a clear view of the trachea and upper airways for TVT placement and positioning and for continuous monitoring of the airway.   PolyTouch Medical Ltd. Receives FDA Clearance to Commercialize PatchAssist PolyTouch Medical has obtained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the company's PatchAssist laparoscopic hernia mesh placement device. PolyTouch , a leading developer of laparoscopic soft tissue prosthetic placement technologies, says that the PatchAssist enables accurate mesh placement in ventral hernia repair, reducing the surgical procedure time by 30%-50%. PolyTouch CEO Ofek Levin said, "There's a great deal of interest from both surgeons and companies in the business. We believe that the PolyTouch's device will become the new standard for the deployment and placement of meshes in laparoscopic procedures."  Misgav CEO Dr. Eran Feldhay said that the FDA approval was obtained quite quickly, just 49 days after PolyTouch filed a Premarket 510(k) Application and that this was a vote of confidence by the FDA in the company's technology.