The 2014 cohort of Zero to 510, the medical device accelerator developed by the Memphis Bioworks Foundation, has been selected, and the companies will begin the program May 14.
Zero to 510 provides $50,000 in seed capital through local venture firms Innova and MB Venture Partners, while providing mentoring and other services through the 12-week course. The program will conclude Aug. 24 with a Demo Day that will allow companies to present their products to potential follow-on investors.
This year’s group includes:
Blood Monitoring Solutions, a group of recent graduates from Vanderbilt University who have created a tracking system device that reduces the amount of blood that is wasted in hospitals due to compliance parameters; EndoInsight, another Vanderbilt team that uses patented technology to develop a low-cost carbon dioxide insufflation system that will help reduce the pain and discomfort associated with colonoscopies; Innometrix, a team from Oxford, Miss., that has developed a diagnostic technology that produces a biomechanical snapshot of the female pelvic floor that will give physicians better data prior to surgery; and Compression Kinetics, from Chapel Hill, N.C., which has created a compression sleeve, which uses a shape memory alloy to create a pressure wave to increase circulation throughout the human body and decrease peripheral edema.
In the three years of its existence, Zero to 510’s companies have received $4.5 million in investments, and three companies are now selling products in the marketplace. Two are continuing to evaluate their long-term potential and the remaining companies are in the product development stage and/or raising additional funds.
“In watching the development of companies the first two years, we have learned what types of concepts and products have the greatest likelihood of emerging into our ecosystem with both the potential for follow-on funding and long-term business viability,” Allan Daisley, director of entrepreneurship and sustainability for Memphis Bioworks Foundation, said in a statement. “As a result, we chose to accept fewer teams into the program this year to be able to focus more time and attention on their success.”