Sanus Advisory Asia Singapore

Sanus Asia is a Singapore based advisory firm providing investment and transaction-related services across Asia with a focus on Healthcare and Life Sciences.

We work with investors and high potential companies to assist growth/development across Asia through capital raising and strategic/operational support.

We seek to identify high potential US/European Medtech and Digital Health companies with near-term commercialisation potential in Asia.

Will also consider earlier stage investments as a principal Angel investor if there is a strong Asian angle to the technology/business model.

Dr Ronald Ling
LinkedIn logo Managing Director 

Sofia Angel Fund United States

Sofia Angel Group is a group of angel investors based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group solely focuses on investing in women-led businesses where women are the founders, or women are on the senior management team. Sofia Angel Group does not have a specific timeframe to make an investment, however would make an allocation by the end of 2013 if a compelling opportunity is identified. The group typically invests around $100,000 per company, however has the ability to invest up to $3 million through co-investments from the group’s members.

Barbara Nelsen

Sound Affects

Sound Affects is a philanthropic organization based in Westport CT. Sound Affects is a nonprofit crowdfunding platform that will provide non-dilutive research grants to for-profit life science companies developing products in the oncology sector. Sound Affects? grant sizes are variable depending on project needs with current projects seeking to raise between $5 and $5, the amount of funding sought should be sufficient to reach the next product development milestone. Sound Affects is potentially open to funding about 4 further projects and is best placed to work with entrepreneurs based in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region of the USA but is also open to proposals from outside this region. In addition to direct crowdfunding Sound Affects will in the future provide additional resources via a matching fund.
Mona Jhaveri
Executive Director 

Subwave Sensing United States

Subwave Sensing is poised to be the future of fracture care by giving the traditional orthopaedic hardware market an infusion of intelligence that will improve patient outcomes, decrease treatment costs and fundamentally change how fracture care is treated in the United States.

Year Founded
2012
Main Sector
Medtech Phase of Development
Technology Overview

Our flexible sensor can assess mechanical deformation of orthopaedic implants via a painless and wireless radio frequency emission, which is captured and analyzed using our handheld reader. Upon analysis of these radio emissions, Subwave Sensing will be the first MedTech company to provide real-time, post-operative clinical feedback on implant performance as well as patient healing patterns.

Alliance & Collaborations
DePuy/Synthes (a division of Johnson and Johnson)
Supporting Metrics or Evidence
  • Designed and manufactured working prototypes (sensor and handheld reader)
  • Successfully completed a statistically significant large animal (ovine) fracture model with favorable results for our primary indication (trauma)
  • Successfully completed a proof-of-princiapal study in a large animal (ovine) fracture model with favorable results in our secondary indication (spine) 
  • Successfully completed a proof-of-principal study in a large animal (ovine) cadaveric model using a second generation flexible sensor (trauma and spine)
  • Completed ASTM biocompatibility evaluations confiming that our implant materials do NOT ilicit an immune response
  • Received a regulatory opinion from a top tier Washington D.C. regulatory law firm (Hogan and Lovells)
Current Financing Needs

2015 = $1.3M

2016 = $2.4M

Subwave Sensing is requesting an initial investment of $700,000 for the first half of 2015 to accelerate the scale-up of our prototypes and creation of data/cloud infrastructure as well as file additional patent applications and solidify a reimbursement strategy. A second investment of $600k will support formal product (sensor and antenna) design control and web app development as well as begin initial validation studies.

After successfull completion of our 2015 miletsone events, another investment of $2.4M will be required to go to market. This money will be used for large-scale manufacturing, regulatory and FDA filings, product validation, additional large animal market validation studies, quality control/assurance activities as well as setting up distribution/sales networks.

Current Timeline

Subwave Sensing plans to be on the market in two years and revenue positive by year three.

Current Investors

The founders have boot-strapped the design and development of the technology with National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants and personal funds.

IP Status

Subwave Sensing filed a PCT application in 2008 on our core technology and have recieved a notice of allowance in China and Korea. We anticipate a notice of allowance in the United States within six months.

We have filed an additional patent application last year expanding the breadth of our IP footprint and have several other applications awaiting filing.

Subwave has a full-release and freedom to operate from Colorado State University, where the technology was originally developed.

Recent Milestones
  • Subwave Sensing was selected as a finalist in the 2014 Digital Health Investor Challenge (PRIME Healthcare Collaborative http://primehealthco.com/) in September 2014.  
  • Subwave Sensing has two formal quotes from premier software developers for the creation of a Subwave software app, cloud service and user interface.
  • Subwave Sensing has started discussions with a premier medical device contract manufacturer for the completion of medical device compliant prototypes as well as the set-up and maintenance of our corporate quality system and regulatory strategy.
  • Subwave Sensing is actively seeking experts to fulfill advisory and Board level roles on our Board of Directors.
Management Team Highlights

The Subwave Sensing management team has over forty years of experience within the orthopaedic and electrical engineering disciplines, in both academic and commercial settings. Our team is keenly aware of the obstacles and regulatory requirements to commercialize intelligent orthopaedic medical device products in the United States as well as abroad. We have the expertise, commitment and passion to commercialize high quality products that disrupt the traditional understanding of how medical information is used and delivered in the evolving mobile health environment.

Founders:

  • Chad J. Ronholdt, B.Sc., MBA. President and CEO:

    • Charismatic and passionate executive with eighteen years of product development, validation and quality expertise with a successful track record of commercializing orthopaedic devices.

  • Christian Puttlitz, PhD. Founder and Scientific Advisory Board Member:

    • Key opinion leader within the orthopaedic biomechanical testing discipline and tenured professor of Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University.

  • Hilmi Volkan Demir, PhD. Founder and Scientific Advisory Board Member:

    • BioMEMS key opinion leader and tenured professor of Electrical Engineering at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Chad Ronholdt
President and CEO 

Syncona Partners United Kingdom

Syncona Partners, founded in 2012, is an evergreen investment firm based in London, UK. The firm is an independent subsidiary of the Wellcome Trust who invested the initial £200m capitalization. The firm is mandated to invest in companies with the potential to make major breakthroughs in healthcare. The investment size will usually range from £1M – £20M per company. The firm seeks to create sustainable, profitable businesses, to support them with capital over the long term, for the benefit of patients, and to hold an ownership position to create value for the Wellcome Trust. The firm is actively screening new investment opportunities.

Year Founded
2012
Biotech Phase of Development
Medtech Phase of Development
Capital Structure Preference
Investment Stage Preference
Chris Hollowood
Partner 

Tech Coast Angels

Founded in 1997, Tech Coast Angels is the largest angel investor group in the United States. Its members provide funding and guidance to more early-stage high-growth companies in Southern California than any other investment group. TCA members invest in companies in a wide range of industries including life sciences, biotech and health IT. TCA has more than 325 members including its venture capital affiliates in five networks in Los Angeles Orange County San Diego Westlake/Santa Barbara and the Inland Empire. The organization will finance on an opportunistic basis as long as substantial disruptive market opportunities exists. The firm has historically invested in Biotech Therapeutics & Diagnostics, Biotechnology R&D Services, Biotechnology Other, Medical Technology companies with sub sectors of Anti-Infectives, Bioinformatics, CRO (Contract Research Organization), Diagnostic Instrumentation, Diagnostic Services, Drug Delivery, Food, Industrial Biotechnology, Small Molecules, Small Molecule Therapeutics, Wound Care and indications including Diseases of the Nervous System, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Neoplasms/Cancer/Oncology, Respiratory.

Websites:
www.greenwingsbiomedical.com
techcoastangels.com

Investor Type
Biotech Phase of Development
Medtech Phase of Development
Capital Structure Preference
Investment Stage Preference
Richard Koffler
Member 

Teijin Pharma Ltd. United States

Teijin Pharma Ltd. has unique profiles managing pharmaceutical and home healthcare products and also strong value chaines from basic research to sales, maintenance and follow up to patients in both business divisions.

We are actively dedicating to look for opportunities to collaborate with the US companies including startups, instituites and investors to introduce products/technologies into JP market with some amounts of investments for the best collaborations.

We are focusing on areas of respiratory, cardiovascular, orthopedics, rehab and neurological diseases.

Mr Aki Maeda
Mr Aki Maeda
Manager of Business Development 

Thrive Bioscience, Inc. United States

Thrive Bioscience is commercializing automated, analytical cell management laboratory instruments with integrated disposables. Thrive systems target the existing manual cell culture market ($8B), the cell-based assay market ($14B) and multi-billion dollar emerging markets for cell therapeutics. Thrive systems monitor, maintain, and passage cell lines, as well as run assays and generate large amounts of previously unavailable data.

Current methods of cell culture, developed more than 50 years ago, are now a major bottleneck holding back research and medicine, and cost society billions of dollars annually in waste and lost opportunity. Thrive Bioscience is the first company to wholly automate cell culture in research, diagnostic, and therapeutic markets.

Cell culture, especially the growth of human and other mammalian cells, is a fundamental tool used in science and medicine. As an example, the market for cell-based assays used in drug discovery accounts for $14B annually. One of the most rapidly growing and emerging segments requiring automated cell culture is the personal cell-based therapeutics market, for which human cells are genetically engineered, and then re-implanted into a patient.

Website:
thrivebio.com
Year Founded
2014
Main Sector
Medtech Subsector
Medtech Phase of Development
Current Financing Needs

Have raised $3M of a $4M round and seeking investors to complete the round.

Current Investors

Life Science Angels, Finney Capital and several seed investors.

Management Team Highlights

Management Team

·       CEO, Gary Paul Magnant -- Serial bio-tools entrepreneur; 3 prior successful exits; formerly Sage Science, MJ Research, ThermoCeramix, Owl Scientific

·       COO/CFO, Thomas Forest Farb -- Serial healthcare-centric entrepreneur; numerous successful exits and IPOs; formerly MedicaMetrix, Indevus Pharma, Interneuron Pharma, Cytyc

·       CSO, Alan Blanchard, PhD -- Numerous commercial instrumentation successes in DNA sequencing & DNA microarrays at Agencourt Personal Genomics and Lilly

·       VP Engineering & Manufacturing, Brian Foley -- Former Head of Technology & Engineering at Merck Millipore; numerous products developed and launched

Board of Directors

·       Guy Broadbent -- Former President of Laboratory Products Division of Thermo-Fisher Scientific; former CEO of XcellerX (acquired by GE Healthcare)

·        Michael Finney, PhD -- Managing Director of Finney Capital; former Co-Founder and CSO of MJ Research; Board Member of Sage Science

Tom Farb
Chief Operating Officer 

Torrey Pines Investment

Torrey Pines Investment (TPI) was founded in 22 and is based in San Diego CA. The firm has raised two funds and also invests in drug development via a partnership with BioMotiv. TPI makes venture-stage minority equity investments and prefers act as a co-investor but also leads rounds on occasion. The firm invests internationally.

Ron Demuth
President 

Transverse Medical, Inc. United States

TRANSVERSE MEDICAL INC is an early stage medical device company focused on the development of innovative technologies addressing the market of aortic embolic protection for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), cardiovascular percutaneous interventions and surgical procedures. TMI’s proprietary Point-Guard™ technology is uniquely designed with the capability to conform to the aortic arch anatomy, deflect and filter embolic material from entering the major cerebrovascular arteries, collateral and adjacent arteries, and upon completion of procedure, safely and effectively remove the system with captured embolic debris.

Stroke rate is substantial in many established and emerging cardiovascular procedures.  Of particular interest in the field are the new Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) procedures.  There clearly exists an unmet need for an embolic protection and capture device that can be utilized during the procedures to significantly reduce acute strokes and adverse ischemic events, particularly in heart valve implantation & repair.

The risk of cerebral events and the need for protection during Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement is well documented in the literature and discussed by highly recognized key opinion leaders at major medical conferences around the world.  Stroke and the incidence of silent embolic events during TAVR are associated with high patient morbidity and mortaility.  This awareness of stroke, reported early on in the range of 2% to 11% prior to standardized endpoint definitions, is a concerning complication during TAVR and may have been attributed to early generation devices.  However, stroke continues to be reported in TAVR with rates in the range of 0.6% to as high as 7%, remaining roughly double those associated with surgical aortic valve replacment (SAVR). While the clinical and technical challenges of TAVR will continue to be addressed through lower profile devices and operator experience, the risk of stroke remains a major concern.

The market opportunity and adoption for TAVR continues to grow worldwide with a CAGR estimated at 19.8% (2014 to 2018) and worldwide market sales projection of $2.9 Billion in 2018. (Source: David Roman, Managing Dir., Global  Investment Research, Goldman, Sachs & Co.). The TMI Leadership Team estimates the Cerebral Embolic Protection Device (CPD) market to be at a conversion rate to CPD during TAVR at 50% by 2018, with worldwide market sales for CPD estimated at approx. $280 to $480 Million with an ASP of $3-5K. The Point-Guard™ advantages are expected to allow it to be used in 50% or more of such cases, projecting gross worldwide revenues of around $146 million by 2018.  Complications are limiting market growth (i.e., stroke) - - Controlling stroke (i.e., Point-Guard) can expand the markets and accelerate the expansion of TAVR use to lower risk patients, capture a larger portion of high/intermediate risk patients, set the "standard of care" (e.g 100% carotid filter use in US), and set the standard for other procedures (EP, AF, LAA, etc.).  Preliminary data presented at TCT 2014 by Dr. Axel Linke of University of Leipzig Heart Center in Leipzig, Germany showed significant reduction in early cerebrovascular accidents (CVA). Median Total Lesion Volume reported a 65% Reduction; Median Lesion Number reported a 57% Reduction; Rate of CVA reported a 67% Reduction. 

TMI is currently developing the POINT-GUARD™ Cerebral Embolic Protection System with VARIFLEX™ Conforming Technology. Point-Guard™ is the first complete embolic protection system engineered with VariFlex™ conforming technology, uniquely designed to conform to the aortic arch and branch artery ostia addressing the concern and possibility of residual flow redirecting around current embolic protection devices. The integration of VariFlex technology allows for maximum wall apposition to cover the aortic arch branch arteries with variable flexibilty and positioning. All other CPDs in the market have only met one or two areas of concern for CPD (Freeman, et al – “With all the embolic protection devices, potential limitations exist.”).  The Point-Guard is the only aortic embolic protection device designed to address all key features and functions of embolic protection during TAVR: conformity, deflection, filtration, and capture of emboli upon removal. Point-Guard will be the first cerebral embolic protection system to completely meet operator and procedural needs through ease of use, a low profile, safety and efficacy, compatible, and rapid delivery.

The Point-Guard™ is a class II product in the USA and can be cleared using the 510(k) process, with clinical trial results.  The number of clinical trial patients required is to be determined, but anticipated to be fewer than 100, including EU CE Mark clinical trial patients.  The CE Mark will be pursued first and is expected to require 50 or fewer patients with 30 day post-procedure follow-up.

TMI has raised $500K in private funding to date, is seeking additional seed funding of $1 million and series A funding of $6 million. 

Seed Funding will allow for completion of concept development & design freeze, pre-clinical development, testing, in vitro & in vivo studies, and first in human experience. Full Series A Funding will support European clinical trials (FDA Compatible), clinical product manufacturing & readiness, CE Mark approval & European pre-commercialization launch, strengthen IP and Filings, and general operation & administration.

Year Founded
2011
Main Sector
Medtech Subsector
Indication
Medtech Phase of Development
Technology Overview
TMI is currently developing the POINT-GUARD™ Cerebral Embolic Protection System with VARIFLEX™ Conforming Technology.
Current Financing Needs
Seed & Series A Funding
Current Timeline
Pre-Clinical Development
Current Investors
Private Investors & Founders
IP Status
US/PCT Applications Filed; US and WO Publications
Eric Goslau
CEO 
Larry Blankenship
Director 
Ted Tarasow
Director