BioEnterprise

  

About:  

BioEnterprise is the region's biomedical accelerator. With the assistance of BioEnterprise and its economic development partners, more than 100 Cleveland health care start-ups have raised over $1 Billion in venture investments since 2003. Funding has come from regional and national venture capital firms. With the opening of a number of new venture firms in Ohio, the State now ranks among the top five states in the nation in number of health care venture firms. Based in Cleveland, BioEnterprise's founders and partners are Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University, Summa Health System and the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron. 

Fund Support:

$11.75 million

Performance:

BioEnterprise helped establish Northeast Ohio as a global bioscience center. The region's bioscience companies now raise, on average, more than $150 million in venture capital raised annually. Northeast Ohio is now home to more than a half dozen bioscience venture investors. The region is one of the most attractive markets for bioscience venture firms between the coasts.

2012 Update:

  • Health IT in Northeast Ohio could get a boost as life science initiative BioEnterprise introduces a new accelerator for emerging health technology companies. BioEnterprise, in partnership with other Cleveland healthcare, research, medical payer organizations, announced the launch of the Health IT Accelerator. The HIT Accelerator will offer mentorship, access to key customers, and business development and fundraising support for area healthcare IT companies with market-ready or in-market products and services.
  • Thermalin Diabetes, a Cleveland-based biotech company focused on next-generation insulin analogs, received a $4.5 million SBIR grant from the NIH.  Funds will be used for formulation development and pre-clinical studies. The company is a spin-out of Case Western Reserve University.  
  • Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies, a Cleveland-based neurodevice company, has been awarded $4.5 million in grants from NIH.  Funds will be used to further develop products to monitor and treat Parkinson's disease.   
  • Neurostimulation pain-relief device company SPR Therapeutics has raised its series A round of investment to $2.2 million. The company, whose pain-relief system is aimed at reducing shoulder pain in patients who recovering from strokes, has also engaged an investment banking firm to look for strategic partnerships. 
  • Neurostimulation company Checkpoint Surgical has raised a $1.7 million series B round of investment and expects to win European regulatory approval of its intraoperative device shortly.The Cleveland-area company will use the new funding to boost its U.S. sales and marketing staff.
  • Juventas Therapeutics, a regenerative medicine spin-out of the Cleveland Clinic, announced a $12 million equity raise. Investors in Juventas include Triathlon Medical Ventures, Early Stage Partners, Fletcher Spaght Ventures, Reservoir Venture Partners, Blue Chip Ventures, JumpStart, and North Coast Angel Fund. 
  • The America21 Project and BioEnterprise are hosts of a groundbreaking national conference dedicated to promoting and accelerating underrepresented minority healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship.  The First Minority Biomedical Entrepreneurship Conference will be held on May 21 – 22 at the Cleveland Marriott, overlooking the construction of the Cleveland Medical Mart and Convention Center. 
  • Athersys, a Cleveland stem cell developer, raised $9 million in a private stock sale. Funds will be used for business and clinical development.  The company's lead products are in Phase 2 clinical studies. It will use the proceeds from the private placement for “ongoing business development and clinical efforts, and for general corporate purposes.
  • ViewRay, the Cleveland developer of the ViewRay MRI-guided radiation therapy system, has raised $16 million from Aisling Capital (New York), Fidelity Biosciences (Boston), Kearny Venture Partners (San Francisco), Orbimed (New York) and Siemens (Boston). ViewRay will use the funds for its commercial product launch, pending FDA approval; the system is currently sold for research purposes. The company has raised $45 million since 2010, employs nearly 50 people and plans to hire 12-15 more this year.  
  • CardioInsight, the Cleveland developer of the ECVUE noninvasive electrocardiographic mapping system, raised a $7.5 million Series C venture round. Funds will be used to further European sales efforts and complete FDA approval.
  • Research Organics, a Cleveland-based supplier of high purity biochemicals for use in the biopharmaceutical and diagnostic markets, was acquired by Sigma-Aldrich.  The acquisition will provide the resources for Research Organics to enhance their product line and upgrade facilities.   
  • Life Core Technologies, developer of the Excel Cerebral Cooling System, raised $250,000 from JumpStart.  Funds will be used to increase sales efforts and to gather additional data on the device's effectiveness.
  • The On-Line Biomedical Job Fair ran online March 26th to March 30th. Thirty-five employers participating, 225 jobs listed, and 900 job seekers participating.  More than 250 job applications have been filed through the site.
  • OnShift Inc., a provider of staff scheduling and shift management software for the health care field, said it has closed $3 million in financing that it will use to bolster sales and marketing efforts and to increase its staff. The company's Series B financing round was led by a client of West Capital Advisors LLC of Cincinnati and included participation from OnShift's institutional investors Draper Triangle Ventures, Early Stage Partners and Glengary LLC.
  • Cleveland's biomedical industry has grown dramatically in the last nine years, from 300 companies in 2002 to over 700 companies in 2011. Venture capitalists from throughout the nation have invested more than $1 billion in more than 100 Cleveland start-up companies since 2003. 
  • Midwest health care companies attracted $810 million in new investments across 178 companies in 2011 according to the BioEnterprise Midwest Health Care Venture Investment Report.
  • Neurodevice company Checkpoint Surgical raised $1.7m led by NDI Healthcare Ventures. The company's handheld, disposable device, the Checkpoint Stimulator/Locator, received FDA clearance in 2009 and European regulatory approval is expected shortly.
  • Software company OnShift closed a $3 million series B led by West Capital Advisors and joined by Draper Triangle, Early Stage Partners and Glengary. Funds will be used to bolster sales and marketing efforts and to increase staff from 36 to 60.
  • Teleradiology company Radisphere raised $10 million in equity to expand the group's community hospital customer base. The company's investor group includes Maverick Capital and Oak Investment Partners; Juventas Therapeutics announced a $12 million equity raise to finance Phase II clinical trials of the company's JVS-100 therapy in heart and critical limb ischemia settings.