Pluromed, Inc. Awarded Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Accelerator Program Loan
Pluromed, Inc., a medical device manufacturer revolutionizing the way bleeding is controlled during surgery, has announced that it has been awarded a $500,000 loan from The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, a quasi-public agency tasked with implementing the State's $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative. Pluromed is one of seven life sciences companies in Massachusetts, out of a total of eighty-eight applicants, to receive a share of the $3.4 million in loans from the Center's Accelerator Program.
Woburn, MA (PRWEB) May 19, 2009 -- Pluromed, Inc., the medical device manufacturer revolutionizing the way bleeding is controlled during surgery, has announced that it has been awarded a $500,000 loan from The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, a quasi-public agency tasked with implementing the State's $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative. Pluromed is one of seven life sciences companies in Massachusetts, out of a total of eighty-eight applicants, to receive a share of the $3.4 million in loans from the Center's Accelerator Program.
Pluromed is pioneering the use of atraumatic gel plugs to improve outcomes in cardio-thoracic surgery. Pluromed received the prestigious 2008 European Association of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) Techno-College Innovation Award for the most important technological breakthrough in any area related to thoracic and cardiovascular surgery for its LeGoo Internal Vessel Occluder.
Pluromed plugs are based on "reverse thermosensitive" polymers that are liquid at low temperatures and gel at body temperature; these plugs are completely reversible via cooling and completely dissolvable. When injected into a vessel, the plug blocks off blood flow to provide surgeons with a bloodless field. When cooled, the plugs liquefy and dissolve into the bloodstream, and are then excreted in urine. Pluromed's LeGoo™ is the only completely atraumatic method of temporarily occluding a blood vessel. Pluromed's polymers will also be used in the revolutionary application of allowing surgeons to remove a tumor in a bloodless field while normal blood flow is maintained to unaffected sections of the organ.
The Accelerator Program, the Center's flagship investment program for companies, supports and "de-risks" early-stage companies by providing loans that will match grants and investments from the federal government, foundations, non-profit agencies, institutional investors, and other sources of capital. By leveraging other sources of capital, the Accelerator Program will provide support to companies at the most critical stages of their development cycle, enabling them to conduct vital research and proof of concept studies, and attract subsequent investment, improving the odds of bringing cutting edge innovation to the marketplace.
Support for the Accelerator Program is augmented by the Center's recently established Corporate Consortium Program, which provides matching funds for MLSC's investment activities. Corporate charter member Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) will contribute $500,000 over two years to the Corporate Consortium and MLSC intends to add additional members over time.
Applicants for the Accelerator Program are generally early-stage life sciences companies with a high-potential for technology commercialization, rapid growth, and downstream private equity financing. The loans are designed to address the need for capital investment associated with the long life sciences R&D cycle and the high cost of translating research into a commercially viable product.
Applications were subjected to a double-blind, rigorous peer review, followed by an evaluation by the Center's Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Applicants were then further screened by the Center's Investment Sub-committee of the Board of Directors, including a live presentation by finalists. Final awards were determined by the Center's Board of Directors.
Jean-Marie Vogel, Pluromed's CEO said, "We are very pleased and proud to have received this award from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. It comes at an important time for Pluromed, as we continue the international launch of LeGoo, the only truly atraumatic means of achieving temporary vascular occlusion during vascular and cardiovascular surgery. Access to the capital provided by this award, as well as the ongoing revenue from product sales and NIH grants, will help continue Pluromed on a path of growth."
"This investment in Pluromed reflects our commitment to early-stage companies working to produce products and therapies that will improve the human condition and address unmet medical needs," said MLSC President and CEO, Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister. "The Accelerator Program aligns with MLSC's mandate to ensure that Massachusetts maintains and strengthens its global leadership position in the life sciences sectors, spurring economic development, and creating new jobs."
"The strong interest in the Accelerator Program and diversity of applicants required us to develop a process that had extensive analysis, objectiveness and rigor, through an initial peer review process and subsequent review by the Center's Scientific Advisory Board," said Dr. Harvey Lodish, Chair of the MLSC Scientific Advisory Board, Member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and Professor of Biology and Professor of Bioengineering at MIT. "The awardees are companies whose commercial prospects, scientific innovation, and potential for development of new therapies and devices for the life sciences are consistent with MLSC's mission and vision, and we aim to help translate this innovation into creating new jobs in Massachusetts and new life-saving technologies."
"The award of these loans is further proof that our commitment to the life sciences industry is real and that Massachusetts is the place for companies that are innovative, are developing medical technologies that advance the care and treatment of our residents, and that create good jobs," said Senator Ken Donnelly (D-Arlington), who represents Woburn in the State Senate. "Pluromed is that kind of company and I'm very pleased that they have been chosen to receive this funding."
"These life sciences innovators need exactly this kind of stimulus funding that the Life Sciences Center provides with their Accelerator Loan Program. Early-stage companies like Pluromed will not only provide solid economic development for this emerging industry, but more importantly, help doctors save lives", said Representative Jay Kaufman, (D-Lexington) who also represents a portion of the City of Woburn.
"I am ecstatic that Pluromed has been awarded this life sciences loan," said Representative James Dwyer (D-Woburn). "The work that they have done has advanced some of the most critical types of procedures and has really revolutionized the way doctors operate on patients."
About Pluromed, Inc.:
Pluromed, Inc., Woburn, Massachusetts, founded in 2003, is a commercial stage company pioneering the use of atraumatic gel plugs to improve the safety, efficacy and economics of medical interventions. These products address a broad surgery market that includes cardiac and vascular surgery, prostate, kidney and liver surgery, plastic/reconstructive surgery, trauma/battlefield applications and the treatment of kidney stones. They are based on the Company's patented rapid reverse thermosensitive polymer technology; the polymers are liquid at low temperature and quickly transition to a high viscosity gel at body temperature.
http://www.pluromed.com
About the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center:
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) is a quasi-public agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts tasked with implementing the Massachusetts Life Sciences Act, a ten-year, $1 billion initiative that was signed into law in June of 2008. The Center's mission is to create jobs in the life sciences and support vital scientific research that will improve the human condition. This work includes making financial investments in public and private institutions that are advancing life sciences research, development and commercialization as well as building ties between sectors of the Massachusetts life sciences community. For more information, visit www.masslifesciences.com.
About the Life Sciences Accelerator:
In order to expand life sciences-related employment opportunities, promote health-related innovations and stimulate research and development, manufacturing and commercialization in the life sciences, the Life Sciences Accelerator Program provides loans to companies engaged in life sciences research and development, commercialization and manufacturing in Massachusetts. Target entities are generally early-stage life sciences companies with a high-potential for technology commercialization, rapid growth, and downstream private equity financing. The program is designed to help sustain these companies through a critical stage of development and to leverage additional sources of capital to bring cutting edge innovation to the marketplace. Accordingly, the Program places special priority on providing matching funds for grants or awards from a variety of sources.
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