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Flex Biomedical - Embedding MedTech Expertise, Building a Network
Entrepreneur: Sal Braico
Coach: Don Freeman
Sal Braico was referred to MedTech IGNITE by IGNITE board member Dean Banks, formerly of Highland Capital Partners. In late 2007, Sal was moving to the Boston area to join Flex's scientific founders after having raised $8.3 million to launch a biotech start up in Wisconsin. Sal was keen to build up a network of advisors and investors in the Boston area and Dean suggested that Sal apply to the IGNITE program. "What was particularly appealing to me about IGNITE was the opportunity to connect with a pool of high-caliber, experienced medtech leaders," notes Sal. "I also liked the fact that the mentoring was provided by current and former CEOs. It was important to me work with someone who had an in-depth understanding of what it takes to raise capital and shepherd a new technology to market."
Flex Biomedical is developing a polymer-based, injectable technology to treat osteoarthritis. The technology was initially developed at Boston University in the laboratory of Mark Grinstaff, an associate professor of biomedical engineering who had spun out two other companies from his research. In addition to Dr. Grinstaff, Flex's scientific advisors included Dr. Brian Snyder, an orthopedic surgeon at Children's Hospital in Boston and Dr. Michel Wathier, a senior scientist in Dr. Grinstaff's lab. Joining Sal as Chief Operating Officer was Hideki Suzuki, who had worked with Sal at his previous startup. Sal comments, "Our team members all came from a very strong scientific background, so part of the value of what MedTech IGNITE offered was the opportunity to deepen our business and industry knowledge."
When Flex was accepted into the IGNITE program in December 2007, the company was due to receive $200,000 in seed funding from Boston University. Sal notes, "One of the first issues Don and I worked on was the distribution of that initial funding. I wanted to make sure that we spent it wisely and sought out Don's guidance on how much we should spending testing our lead product and how much to allocate on developing our follow-on technologies." Prior to joining IGNITE, Sal and his team had done extensive research to understand their market opportunity and their development pipeline. He comments, "We had a good feel for how to proceed with our product development process, but it was helpful to confirm with Don that we were on the right track. He gave us some good advice on the biocompatibility data investors would want to see, which helped inform our pre-clinical strategy."
Above all, Sal reports that he gained the biggest benefit from Don's deep expertise in the medtech industry, "Coming from the drug development industry, I had assumed that the product development process and fundraising approach in medtech would be similar. I quickly discovered that neither was the case and particularly that medtech investors look at very different criteria than biotech investors. Don's expertise and guidance in these areas was invaluable as he helped me structure my clinical pathway and hone my value proposition for investors."
As the final step in his IGNITE process, Sal presented his case for investment before an audience of early stage investors and advisors on July 10, 2008. Providing feedback to Sal and his team was a customized panel of industry leaders with expertise in polymer development, biochemical engineering, intellectual property, and reimbursement. Reviewers recommended that Sal evaluate his collaborations with Boston University carefully, to ensure that he maintains ownership over the critical elements of his technology's IP. They also suggested that Sal and his team collect the data necessary to claim a compelling clinical endpoint, such as eliminating the need for joint replacement.
Sal states, "Being part of IGNITE definitely helped me save time and money. Had I not had Don's network and the resources of the IGNITE staff to tap into, I would have probably ended up spending a substantial amount of money hiring consultants and had my time eaten up with networking and establishing connections in the area. Having the resources of the IGNITE program at my disposal allowed me to focus my time and energies on driving my company forward in an effective, efficient way."
Sal Braico was referred to MedTech IGNITE by IGNITE board member Dean Banks, formerly of Highland Capital Partners. In late 2007, Sal was moving to the Boston area to join Flex's scientific founders after having raised $8.3 million to launch a biotech start up in Wisconsin. Sal was keen to build up a network of advisors and investors in the Boston area and Dean suggested that Sal apply to the IGNITE program. "What was particularly appealing to me about IGNITE was the opportunity to connect with a pool of high-caliber, experienced medtech leaders," notes Sal. "I also liked the fact that the mentoring was provided by current and former CEOs. It was important to me work with someone who had an in-depth understanding of what it takes to raise capital and shepherd a new technology to market."
Flex Biomedical is developing a polymer-based, injectable technology to treat osteoarthritis. The technology was initially developed at Boston University in the laboratory of Mark Grinstaff, an associate professor of biomedical engineering who had spun out two other companies from his research. In addition to Dr. Grinstaff, Flex's scientific advisors included Dr. Brian Snyder, an orthopedic surgeon at Children's Hospital in Boston and Dr. Michel Wathier, a senior scientist in Dr. Grinstaff's lab. Joining Sal as Chief Operating Officer was Hideki Suzuki, who had worked with Sal at his previous startup. Sal comments, "Our team members all came from a very strong scientific background, so part of the value of what MedTech IGNITE offered was the opportunity to deepen our business and industry knowledge."
When Flex was accepted into the IGNITE program in December 2007, the company was due to receive $200,000 in seed funding from Boston University. Sal notes, "One of the first issues Don and I worked on was the distribution of that initial funding. I wanted to make sure that we spent it wisely and sought out Don's guidance on how much we should spending testing our lead product and how much to allocate on developing our follow-on technologies." Prior to joining IGNITE, Sal and his team had done extensive research to understand their market opportunity and their development pipeline. He comments, "We had a good feel for how to proceed with our product development process, but it was helpful to confirm with Don that we were on the right track. He gave us some good advice on the biocompatibility data investors would want to see, which helped inform our pre-clinical strategy."
Above all, Sal reports that he gained the biggest benefit from Don's deep expertise in the medtech industry, "Coming from the drug development industry, I had assumed that the product development process and fundraising approach in medtech would be similar. I quickly discovered that neither was the case and particularly that medtech investors look at very different criteria than biotech investors. Don's expertise and guidance in these areas was invaluable as he helped me structure my clinical pathway and hone my value proposition for investors."
As the final step in his IGNITE process, Sal presented his case for investment before an audience of early stage investors and advisors on July 10, 2008. Providing feedback to Sal and his team was a customized panel of industry leaders with expertise in polymer development, biochemical engineering, intellectual property, and reimbursement. Reviewers recommended that Sal evaluate his collaborations with Boston University carefully, to ensure that he maintains ownership over the critical elements of his technology's IP. They also suggested that Sal and his team collect the data necessary to claim a compelling clinical endpoint, such as eliminating the need for joint replacement.
Sal states, "Being part of IGNITE definitely helped me save time and money. Had I not had Don's network and the resources of the IGNITE staff to tap into, I would have probably ended up spending a substantial amount of money hiring consultants and had my time eaten up with networking and establishing connections in the area. Having the resources of the IGNITE program at my disposal allowed me to focus my time and energies on driving my company forward in an effective, efficient way."