Surgical device company secures $7M | Minnesota’s impressive Q1 | Ripple effect

Surgical device company secures $7 million in funding

CINCINNATI, OH–Cincinnati-based Standard Bariatrics, Inc. closed a debt facility on April 27, 2022, with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). The debt facility provides $7 million in term loans, of which the first $4 million was funded at closing. The funding will be used to accelerate commercial efforts for the Titan SGS surgical stapler and related proprietary medical devices designed for bariatric surgery.

Minnesota healthcare startups raise $475 million in Q1

MINNESOTA–A venture report from Medical Alley finds that healthcare startups in Minnesota raised $475 million in Q1 2022, which is more than was raised in all of 2021. Twenty-nine healthcare startups raised funds last quarter, with a majority coming from late-stage and growth rounds. Medical device companies led with $289 million in funding; digital health companies raised $153 million. The largest round of the quarter came from medical device maker Saluda Medical, which raised $125 million. Minneapolis-based Gravie was second with its $75 million Series E round.

Vanderbilt invests to keep up with research data storage demands

NASHVILLE, TN–Vanderbilt University researchers will benefit from a $1 million investment from the school in a new high-performance storage system. Vanderbilt’s Advanced Computing Center for Research and Education expects to have the upgrades ready by the start of the fall 2022 semester. Storage needs of researchers have risen tenfold in five years and the new system will better support faculty research requiring advanced data analysis, including work in artificial intelligence and next-gen imaging.

Biomedical research has ripple effect

COLUMBUS, OH–Researchers who examined the UMETRICS dataset available through the Institute for Research on Innovation and Science found that NIH funding of biomedical research created more benefits than expected. The federally funded research projects led to more studies, research and publications beyond the original projects, in a ripple effect.

NIH funding part of virtuous research cycle for leading university

ST. LOUIS, MO–The Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis expects 20 to 30 percent growth in NIH funding over the next five years. School of Medicine dean and executive vice chancellor of medical affairs, David Perlmutter, said in an interview with the St. Louis Business Journal that he sees the university’s research mission as a virtuous cycle, meaning the school invests in education and research to bring improvements to clinical care, better outcomes for patients, and better health for the overall community. NIH funding, he says, is the most rigorous and competitive metric of biomedical science in the U.S., and is a key part of the university’s culture of success.