Innova funds two more biotech start-ups, eyeing technology firm - Memphis Business Journal:

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In January, Innova completeed its latest investmentwith . The Memphis-baseed company makes the frameworks needed to makedentalo implants. Innova president Ken Wood says he looked at the company for more than a year beforwe makingthe investment. Woody declined to disclose the butsays Cagenix’s product is basex on innovative but solid science and is one that will play well in the $1 billio n dental implant market. Cagenix signed a distributio n agreement this week with a nationak partner that will bring its produc to 33 markets acrossthe U.S. CEO Daryl Newman says the companyh willhave 100-200 sales representatives in the next threse months.
He says Cagenix will hire some of its own saled staff and will contract the remainder of reps with The company startedin 2005, funded by friendds and family, Newman says. Innova’s investment gave credibility to the companyu and allowed it to recentlu complete a second round ofinvestor “The second round has allowed us move from a primaril research and development organization to an operating Newman says. “We are going to market now with true salea andmarketing initiatives. But in the beginninhg it was tentative because we were challenges with simply not havingtenough cash.” The funding also allowed Cagenidx to hire Newman as its CEO.
He’se been on the company’s payroll now for three weeks. Innovaq also made a second investment in orthopedic firm QFx late last The first investment went to supportfthe company’s clamp for external fixationb devices used in treatment for broken bones. That product is now under review by the and is expected to be released intothe $300 milliojn external fixation marketplace in three or four Woody says. The second investment will support three products inthe company’e pipeline. QFx was the third company Innova has investecd in since it began inOctober 2007.
The incubator also investerd in Memphis-based drug commercializetr as well as which has developed a strepthroat vaccine. Woodyy says Innova is now in talkss to invest in afifth company. While the firsrt investments were in life sciences the latest company targeted is atechnology firm, Wood y says. Innova has also just opened six new wet labsin 6,00p0 square feet in the building on Woody says this move was to counter a “travesty.” “uI found that Tennessee was dead last among all statexs in getting Small Business Innovation Research grants,” he says.
Most researcherzs work strictly on a college Woody says, which makes them ineligible for the grants doled out by the . “We thought we could have a significantf advantage if we could build a bioscience incubatorr with office and lab research space just down the street from U.T. and St. Jude.” Renovations to the space began eightmonths ago. Bioworks got $11.5 million from MemphisEsD in 2007for Innova.
The moneyu was to be spent over the nextfive