Pacific Northwest Life Sciences Meeting (2)
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) 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.
