Companies-in-Development
Accelerating the development of new medical technologies
The companies currently hosted within Fogarty Innovation span a wide range of sectors and technologies. However they are all united by a common goal—improving patient care.
Companies-in-Residence
Boomerang Medical
Autoimmune diseases are the third most common category of disease in the U.S. after cancer and heart disease. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, autoimmune diseases affect up to 27 million people in the U.S. alone. Boomerang Medical is a bioelectronic medicine company developing technology to advance the treatment of autoimmune diseases by harnessing the body’s own “peripheral wiring” in order to manage inflammation and immune response. Boomerang Medical is backed by Arboretum Ventures.
Chronus Health
While many of our vital signs are easily obtained, the one test that doctors rely on to make the majority of their diagnoses—the blood test—can take hours, if not days, for results. Chronus Health has developed a portable device that provides lab results in minutes, allowing for real-time diagnosis and thus promising to dramatically improve time-to-care and patient outcomes. The startup has focused its initial efforts on complete blood count (CBC) and comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), which account for 50 percent of all blood tests performed in the United States.
Enspectra Health
Skin cancer is the most common form of malignancy, with more individuals diagnosed each year than for all other cancers combined. For the last 150 years these malignancies have required an invasive biopsy for diagnosis, but Enspectra is leading a digital transformation in pathology by imaging real-time cellular anatomy in living tissue, without cuts or stains.
Everyplace Labs
Everyplace Labs is advancing a new model of remote healthcare delivery, enabled by self-service diagnostics. The company is developing a self-service kiosk for diagnostic testing at essential worksites. Their solution promises to automate testing and the processes that surround onsite testing operations, with an initial focus on COVID-19. For essential employers, Everyplace Labs aims to offer a cost-effective, turnkey testing solution that maximizes employee productivity and testing compliance.
G-Tech Medical
Up to 60 million individuals in the U.S. suffer from debilitating gastrointestinal disorders. G-Tech Medical is developing a wearable technology aimed at improving outcomes and reducing costs by non-invasively monitoring gastrointestinal tract activity.
Healyx Labs
More than 110 million people worldwide suffer from non-healing, open wounds. High costs and overly complex technology severely limit, if not eliminate, access to advanced wound care technology. Healyx Labs is developing the lowest-cost and easiest-to-use wound vacuum technology for price-sensitive and underserved markets.
iDentical
One hundred seventy-eight million adults in the United States are missing at least one tooth, and a surprising 40 million are missing all their teeth. Currently, dental implants are the top choice of treatment, yet less than two percent of those impacted by tooth loss are able to reap the benefits due to limited accessibility, high cost, high risk and long treatment time. iDentical is leveraging the latest 3D technology to offer a safer, faster and more affordable solution through its drill-free, non-invasive dental implants.
Materna Medical
Approximately 50 percent of all women in the U.S. will suffer symptoms of a pelvic floor disorder resulting from childbirth by the time they turn 55, and over 20 million suffer from pelvic pain. Materna has developed an obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN) platform of medical devices: the first, Prep, is aimed at preventing maternal pelvic injuries during childbirth and shortening delivery time; the second, Milli, is helping treat pelvic pain and dyspareunia.
Nasus Medical
More than 36 million patients in the U.S. suffer from chronic rhinosinusitis. In fact, the condition accounts for 1 to 2% of all physician visits and is associated with $7 to 12 billion in direct U.S. healthcare costs per year. Nasal steroid sprays are typically prescribed as standard of care, but are only partially effective as they cannot reach beyond the anterior portion of the nasal cavity. Nasus Medical is developing solutions for improved intra-nasal drug delivery through an innovative technology that is designed for patients to treat themselves at home, early in the pathway.
Ryme Medical
As the third-leading cause of death worldwide, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of diseases that causes airway blockage and breathing problems. These diseases include chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Ryme is focused on alleviating the suffering of patients who struggle to breathe by targeting the autonomous nervous system. The condition impacts more than 375 million people worldwide at an annual cost of approximately $50 billion and is a huge burden to healthcare systems around the world. Ryme has already received its first funding from Santé Ventures.
Company Accelerator Program
Eclipse Regenesis
Current chronic therapies for short bowel syndrome (SBS), a malabsorption disorder caused by the lack of a functional small intestine, include expensive medication and intestinal surgery. These approaches have low success rates and a staggering average 5-year cost of care of $1.6 million per patient. Eclipse Regenesis is developing the first restorative therapy for pediatric and adult SBS patients with the Eclipse XL1 Distraction Enterogenesis System, which harnesses the body’s own tissue regenerative capabilities to produce new, fully functional intestine. The startup has raised a seed round of funding, been awarded numerous grants, has a growing IP portfolio and has been published in over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles.
Xtract Medical
Strokes are a leading cause of disability and the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. While physicians had largely been treating stroke with medication, treatment has been shifting to a procedure that removes the clot with a stent retriever. Xtract Medical is working on a device that’s simple to use and meets two significant needs: improving the ability to remove the clot on the first try, known as the “first pass” in thrombectomy; and preventing the clot from breaking up as it’s being removed.
Flosonics Medical
Continuous and less-invasive patient monitoring is paramount for critically ill patients and the providers who treat them. Flosonics Medical has developed the FloPatch, a low cost, easy-to-use, wearable Doppler ultrasound sensor that is improving the management of critically ill patients at the point-of-care, such as in the ICU, emergency room and operating room. The device provides hands-free blood flow assessments by sending data wirelessly to mobile devices using low energy Bluetooth. The company is targeting a multi-billion dollar market opportunity and its technology has been cleared by both the FDA and Health Canada.
UltraSight
Ultrasound is a key tool for diagnosing potentially life-threatening problems, but patients too often die before they reach a facility. UltraSight facilitates point-of-care ultrasound in the cardiac imaging space by offering real-time on-screen guidance and quality assessment through a layer of intelligence that simplifies and standardizes ultrasound cardiac scanning. UltraSight’s software introduction is perfectly timed to coincide with the proliferation of cost-effective handheld devices designed for cardiac scans. However, despite the devices’ availability, it can take up to two years to master the skill of cardiac scans. UltraSight bridges the gap to allow any medical professional to become an expert in conducting cardiac scans, with AI technology that reduces the training to one day. The intuitive technology alerts the user when the image of the heart is aligned correctly; then it captures the image and saves it to be uploaded to a remote expert who can interpret it.
Invention Accelerator Program
Vincent Gaudiani, MD
Dr. Gaudiani is the senior cardiac surgeon at Pacific Coast Cardiac & Vascular Surgeons. He is also surgeon-in-chief of the California Pacific Medical Center Heart Institute and director of cardiac surgery at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. With more than 10,000 heart operations under his belt, Dr. Gaudiani is one of the most prolific practitioners in cardiovascular surgery.
Chad Rammohan, MD
Dr. Rammohan is an interventional cardiologist practicing at El Camino Health’s Mountain View hospital and the former medical director of the Norma Melchor Heart and Vascular Institute. He has over 25 year experience in the field, specializing in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology.
James Kintzing, Ph.D.
James Kintzing, is Stanford Biodesign Innovation Fellow. He earned his BS in Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Mathematics from Grove City College; and his MS and Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Stanford University. Prior to his Fellowship, he worked as a consultant with Biotech Connection and the Stanford Consulting Student Group.
Brandon McCutchen, MD
Brandon McCutcheon, MD, is a Stanford Biodesign Innovation Fellow. He received his Master of Public Policy from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and MD from the University of California, San Diego – School of Medicine. He is the co-founder of Phraze, a digital technology company and a practicing neurosurgery specialist.
Eric A. Appel
Eric A. Appel is an assistant professor of Materials Science & Engineering at Stanford University. He received his BS in Chemistry and MS in Polymer Science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; then obtained his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Cambridge. During his post-doctoral work, he received a Margaret A. Cunningham Immune Mechanisms in Cancer Research Award. He recently received a Terman Faculty Fellowship from the School of Engineering at Stanford University.