Several University of Michigan Medical Innovation Center fellows who started Tangent Medical Technologies have a plan that will change the way IVs are used. Adrienne Harris, Elyse Kemmerer, Merrell Sami and Steven White got the idea for the company after noticing that the current design for peripheral IVs have a high complication rate. And now Tangent has finalized its licensing agreement with U of M that provides the school with an equity stake in the company, according to a university statement.
Tangent was formed by the fellows as a spin-off from the U of M MIC to develop and commercialize Novacath--a safer and more effective design for delivery of IV fluid and medication through peripheral veins. The patent-pending Novacath is in the prototype stage. Tangent hopes to submit Novacath for FDA clearance soon and obtain a contract with a manufacturer for production and sale of the device, according to the university's statement.
The two-year-old U of M MIC is dedicated to commercializing medical devices and software. It runs the fellowship program through which the Tangent group came together, news radio WWJ reports. "They work together in a predetermined domain to find opportunities and hopefully develop a plan for it," Brenda Jones, managing director, tells the station. Tangent has found a group of angel investors and is now going for its first round of venture capital, she adds.
A second group has a new technology to get access to the femoral artery in the thigh, a crucial location for a variety of medical tests and procedures, WWJ reports.
- get the university release
- see the WWJ report