University of Minnesota has teamed up with medical group Mayo Clinic and medical device maker Boston Scientific to launch a seven-week medtech accelerator with an initial cohort of six, the Star Tribune reported yesterday.
The program is operated by incubator Gener8tor, which partnered University Minnesota’s tech transfer arm, Office of Technology Commercialization, in 2016 to support university-linked entrepreneurs and startups from the tech transfer office’s seed equity fund.
Minnesota’s medtech accelerator will run three times each year under Gener8tor’s gBeta framework. It will refrain from collecting fees or equity from its participants.
Businesses will receive guidance from experts including physicians, entrepreneurs and angel investors, to find the right strategy for unlocking investments and customer demand.
Star Tribune named the first six participants in Minnesota’s medtech accelerator as:
- ExpressionMed, a manufacturer of adhesive tape that extends the lifespan of wearable medical devices such as insulin pumps while also making them more fashionable.
- Kobara Medical, which has designed a cardiac pacemaker lead that works without being inserted into the heart to reduce the potential of heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia.
- NeuroVasx, which is developing devices to help treat patients that have suffered a cerebral aneurysm or stroke.
- Soundly, a developer of an app that combats snoring by teaching throat exercises in a game-like environment. The approach builds on sleep apnea research from University of Minnesota’s Department of Medicine.
- Quench Medical, which is building a handheld inhaler that tackles asthma by bringing the medication to relevant airways with more than 80% efficiency. Quench is based on research by Bryce Beverlin, a former education specialist at Minnesota’s Medical Device Center.
