MedVentures
2010 will take place on July 21,2010 in Frisco, Texas. The date
is approaching fast and it is time to take a look back at last
year's event.
The Medtech New Ventures
2009 conference was hosted in Frisco, 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,
includes medical instruments and devices, diagnostic equipment,
medical therapeutic devices, medical monitoring equipment, and
other health-related products. The program included an angel
investor panel discussion, a venture capital panel discussion, and
a showcase of six promising 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, MedVentures
2010, will feature a full day program with 8 presenting
emerging startup companies. There will be investor panels composed
of VC's and angel investors and a health care policy update
focusing on medical devices. It will take place on July 21, 2010
and we expect to exceed 400 attendees.