The Soul of Biotech

My notes on the 10-minute company pitches. None are portfolio companies of Burrill, the sponsor.

* Blacktoe Medical: finger probe connected to HUD so that doctor can see what’s at the tip of his finger during surgery. Looks cool. I wonder whether hospitals would find it to be cost-effective.
* Dimera: DP9, thromboxane receptor antagonist, treating CVD in post-menopausal women. Patent expiration of 2017. Successful in pre-clinical trials. Ready to enter Phase III. Looking for another $40M for Phase III. Sounds like a promising product, but I wanted to know more about the manufacturing and marketing strategy.
* Electrical Geodesics: Functional Neuroimaging. Create anatomically specific information about changes in brain function. Profitable (barely) in 8 of last 9 quarters. The presentation was focused more on the product than on the market opportunity, which seems to reflect the overall strategy of the company. I like to hear a lot of discussion about the end users, and I didn’t hear it.
* FloraGenex: AgBio company doing genetic screening for plants. Great presenter, great presentation! Led with a memorable customer story (Heinz trying to save money on corn syrup for their ketchup through genetic screening for sweeter tomatoes) and how the company is trying to solve the customer’s problem. Simple value proposition: speedy identification of plant markers for customers using genetic sequencing. Detailed explanation of market and of customer, and how the technology will serve both well. Bravo!
* MolecularMD: Molecular diagnostic testing for CML and NSCLC. Plans to expand from assays and pharma services to physician services and kits.
* Vesticon: Med tech company working on vertigo diagnosis and treatment. Planning to deepen sales to existing customers with upgrades and portable versions.

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