YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES
Who will be the next Medtronic? What will be Minnesota's next breakthrough industry? Wendy Lee, with help from James Walsh, will provide you the latest information and commentary on the people, companies, and trends driving innovation in Minnesota. From visionary entrepreneurs to game changing technologies, this blog offers a window into the future of Minnesota's economy.
Minnesota Angel Network aims to create up to 290 jobs
Posted by: Wendy Lee under Minnesota entrepreneurs, Minnesota innovation, Minnesota technology Updated: February 9, 2012 - 9:57 AM
The Minnesota Angel Network, an initiative to improve funding for start-ups, said it aims to help 24 companies create up to 290 jobs and raise $32 million by the end of next year.
The network links promising entrepreneurs with angel investors and charges for its services. Entrepreneurs pay a $120 application fee, a $875 administrative fee and a later-determined educational fee. In return, they receive services and extensive feedback on their business plans before they are given access to the network’s investors.
“MNAN supports credible entrepreneurs become more effective at preparing for and seeking investments, and provides investors with access to quality deal flow,” said Todd Leonard, the network’s executive director in a report. “MNAN is a conduit for investment and business resources to increase the number of emerging companies and jobs throughout the state of Minnesota.”
Leonard said the network has 50 individual angel investors, 20 angel funds/networks and 48 additional angel funds across five states as part of its program. The job projections are based on whether the network will succeed in raising the full amount of funding for 24 companies in its program.
But Leonard cautioned in his report that “it is still too early to predict the funding success rate” of the network’s companies.
So far, there have been six companies that have received access to investors after undergoing the program’s educational training. Of those six, three have received angel investment, Leonard said. The network declined to state the amount of angel investment raised so far.
TST Media acquires Wisconsin Sports Network
Posted by: Wendy Lee under Minnesota entrepreneurs, Minnesota innovation, Minnesota technology Updated: February 8, 2012 - 11:15 AMMinneapolis software firm TST Media said it acquired Wisconsin Sports Network for an undisclosed sum.
TST sells a platform called NGIN, which is used by sports teams to run websites, process payments and for social networking.
TST said the latest acquisition will help it grow its business. Wisconsin Sports Network (WSN) tracks more than 85,000 student athletes involved in Wisconsin high school sports each year. The network has had more than 300 million page views since it launched in 2002 and users have bookmarked it more than 2 million times.
“They caught our eye with their outstanding traffic, hundreds of thousands of users (and) a world class data set,” said TST’s CEO Justin Kaufenberg in an interview with the Star Tribune. “We’ve always admired what they’ve done.”
The company plans to keep all ten Wisconsin Sports Network (WSN) employees, bringing its total workforce to 85 people. WSN’s founder, Nicholas Kartos, will become general manager of TST’s Madison, Wis. satellite office.
WSN users will be able to access WSN’s data on NGIN for free, but if users want to get a mobile app with the data they will pay a fee, Kaufenberg said.
TST Media is a business partner with the Star Tribune in the coverage of high school sports.
Medtronic, Boston Scientific issue statements on FDA agreement
Posted by: James Walsh Updated: February 1, 2012 - 12:21 PMFDA and Medical Device Industry reach agreement in principle on fees
Posted by: James Walsh Updated: February 1, 2012 - 9:58 AM
After a year of negotiations, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and representatives of the medical device industry have reached an agreement in principle regarding the medical device user fee program.
The two sides have agreed on proposed recommendations authorizing the FDA to collect $595 million in user fees — plus adjustments for inflation — over five years. Details of the agreement, such as the fee structure, are expected to be finalized soon, the FDA announced Wednesday.
It is the third reauthorization of a medical device user fee program, under which the industry agrees to pay fees to help fund a portion of the FDA’s device review process. In return, the FDA agrees to overall performance goals such as reviewing a certain percentage of applications within a particular time frame.
According to the FDA, the agreement "strikes a careful balance between what industry agreed to pay and what the FDA can accomplish with the amount of funding proposed. It would result in greater accountability, predictability, and transparency through such improvements as a more structured pre-submission process and earlier interactions between FDA and applicants.
Twin Cities Angels II invests in local medical device firm
Posted by: Wendy Lee under Minnesota entrepreneurs, Minnesota innovation, Minnesota technology Updated: January 26, 2012 - 5:22 PMInterValve Inc. said on Wednesday it received an undisclosed investment from local group Twin Cities Angels II.
The funding moves the Minnetonka-based medical device firm closer to its goal of raising $7.5 million in its latest investment round, said CEO Mark Ungs.
InterValve is developing a medical device that will help treat patients with aortic stenosis, a condition when the heart’s aortic valve does not fully open. Patients with aortic stenosis can undergo surgery to input a new valve or choose a less invasive, more expensive procedure recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, where a new valve is snaked through a patient’s groin area to their heart.
InterValve is working on a special balloon that would be used for the less-invasive procedure. InterValve’s device is shaped differently from competing products, reducing the chance of complications, Ungs said.
“We’re thrilled to receive their investment which will enable us to advance to human evaluation,” Ungs said.
Twin Cities Angels II is a local group of angel investors that typically considers making investments from $50,000 to $1 million, according to its website.
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recent posts
- Minnesota Angel Network aims to create up to 290 jobs
- TST Media acquires Wisconsin Sports Network
- Medtronic, Boston Scientific issue statements on FDA agreement
- FDA and Medical Device Industry reach agreement in principle on fees
- Twin Cities Angels II invests in local medical device firm
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