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The Medtech New Ventures 2009 was hosted in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, on July 29, 2009, by the North Texas Enterprise Center for Medical Technology (NTEC). The event is an annual, regional, early-stage investment conference, and showcased companies focused on the rapidly growing medical technology sector. This sector, with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 10 percent over the last 25 years, includes medical instruments and devices, diagnostic equipment, medical therapeutic devices, medical monitoring equipment, and other health-related products. The program included an industry panel discussion, a venture capital panel discussion, and a showcase of six emerging medical technology companies.

The purpose of the conference is to connect quality emerging medical technology companies seeking capital with investors that focus on their industry sector. In addition to investment opportunities, the conference strives to deliver useful, timely, and relevant educational content to medtech entrepreneurs and to those that service the medtech industry. Finally, Medtech New Ventures Conference provides a "trade show" venue for vendors and service providers seeking to exhibit their capabilities at the conference. The 2009 conference drew over 300 attendees.

The angel panel was composed of representatives from various angel groups in Texas, and gave insight into the current state of affairs. Good deals still get funded; although valuations have dropped significantly since last year. Nuggets of wisdom shared included: "Don't worry if your pitch falls flat. Even President Obama only got 52 percent of the vote. Your deal will get funded," and "The best thing the entrepreneur can do is create competition for the deal," and "I'm a CPA. I don't look at forecasts because I know what they're made of."
Caroline Gagliardi, of Price Waterhouse Coopers gave the Q2/2009 Moneytree report, which reflected the current funding drop that all early-stage companies feel these days. Venture deals were down all around.

The venture panel was composed of venture capitalists from across the nation, some specializing in medical and healthcare investments. Sevin Rosen , HP Growth Partners , Sante Ventures , Chrysalis Ventures , H.I.G. Ventures , and PTV Sciences were represented. The panel elaborated on the fact that most VC firms are sitting tight, reserving cash for follow-on rounds, and have only gotten more conservative with their investments over the past year.

Of the six presenting companies chosen from a pool of applicants, two were from North Texas, three from Central and South Texas, and one from Michigan. The presenting companies and their technologies were: Hygieia, an innovative glucose-metering company; Microtransponder, a wireless neurostimulation solution; Stellarray, a flat panel x-ray source; MDConnection, a specialty-specific practice management solution focusing on dermatology; Sironics, an implantable wireless heart-monitoring device; and Traumatec, a portable brain-cooling device for emergencies. All companies were selected by a jury and were required to submit to a thorough review as well as a mandatory rehearsal session with medtech and presentation experts.

While the PWC Moneytree report touched on the funding situation nationwide, Mike Lockerd's presentation reported on the progress being made by one steady funding source, the Texas Emerging Technology Fund. This fund, which is a state investment fund for promising technology-based start-up firms in Texas, has over $200 million allocated for investment and has made close to 100 investments. In addition, Texas has set aside $3 billion for the newly formed cancer prevention and research institute, which will invest $300 million annually in research over the next 10 years.

The event was a thoroughgoing success and served to inform the Southwest region about the current state of affairs in medical technology and seed stage investments. This year's conference will feature a full day program with breakout sessions. Itwill take place in July 2010 and we expect to exceed 400 attendees.

Dynamic Enviromental