Mayo Clinic Investments – Medical Devices, Drugs, Tests and Patents on the Agenda

This article talks about where Mayo Clinic is investing time, money and research. One of the companies in particular, Torax has been covered here a couple times a the blog with the device for GERD. BD

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In mid-2008, the clinic launched the $10 million Mayo Medical Ventures Fund II to further the work of its predecessor MMV I. The fund develops joint investments with health care venture capital firms to provide financing of between $250,000 to $500,000 for companies based on Mayo creations or research.

So far this fund has financed four companies, starting with Nevro Corp. last year. Nevro is creating implantable devices to help manage chronic pain. It also has financially fed Torax Medical Inc., a medical device firm in Minneapolis. Torax was founded in 2003 with help from Mayo and it is working on a device to control acid reflux.

Implanted Medical Device for GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) in Trials

The venture fund is Mayo's later-stage tool for investment help. The first step is usually taken by the Innovation Loan Program, run by the Office of Intellectual Property. Mayo says this office has generated more than $115 million in the last 23 years for patient care, education and research.

The Innovation Loan focuses on "ideas that fall outside typical funding options," according to Mayo's definition. It provides up to $200,000 loans per qualifying idea. That money is usually earmarked for making prototypes, early research and things like pre-clinical studies.

San Francisco-based Nile Therapeutics is one company that has made use of this program. It is based on the work of Dr. John Burnett, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist. He works with peptides in the heart and combines them with ones from the green mamba snake.