The Michigan Biomedical Venture Fund (MBVF) invests in biomedical startup companies with U-M licensed IP in the domain of therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, or health IT. The MBVF is a collaborative effort between the U-M Medical School’s Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FFMI) program and the U-M College of Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE).
With a $3 million gift from the Monroe-Brown Foundation, the MBVF awards $50,000-$300,000 to biomedical startup companies. The Fund serves to drive the university’s world-class leadership by creating a critical pipeline between research and the biomedical innovation life cycle. The goal is to continue in our efforts to attract world-class research talent to U-M and the broader Ann Arbor entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The Fund is exclusively for biomedical startups or companies with U-M IP or license. Most applicants need to successfully complete an existing U-M translational program such as Coulter, MTRAC, NSF I-Corps and/or be recommended by the Deal Flow Council. Companies can also directly apply after consulting with the Program Manager. Applicants are required to complete the online proposal and submit any relevant material.
CLICK HERE for additional fund information and FAQs.
*Parabricks acquired by NVIDIA Healthcare
Deal Flow Council Members
The Deal Flow Council (DFC) is comprised of 4-7 members that review applications, as well as recommend U-M start-ups to consider for funding. DFC members include individuals that are closely connected to U-M research and innovation, and U-M translational programs, eg: Office of Tech Transfer Licensing and the Venture Center, I-Corps, Med and CoE units (including the department chairs), U-M MTRAC for Life Sciences Innovation Hub, and the Coulter Program. DFC members are:
- Drew Bennett, M.B.A., Licensing, U-M Technology Transfer
- Charles Cole, M.B.A., Venture Center, U-M Technology Transfer
- Jonathan Fay, Ph.D., I-Corps, U-M Center for Entrepreneurship
- Michelle Larkin, M.S., MTRAC for Life Sciences, Fast Forward Medical Innovation
- Tom Marten, M.B.A., Coulter Program, U-M Biomedical Engineering
- Brad Martin, Ph.D., Fast Forward Medical Innovation
- Divya Patil Hangargekar, M.Eng., Technology Development Specialist, U-M Center for Entrepreneurship
- Mike Psarouthakis, M.B.A., M.S., Venture Center, U-M Technology Transfer
- Dave Repp, M.B.A., M.S., Venture Center, U-M Technology Transfer
Investment Advisory Board Members
The Investment Advisory Board (IAB) is comprised of 7-10 members and advises on all investment decisions. IAB members include individuals with domain expertise, successful venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and other investors in healthcare and biotech. Members do not have an official U-M appointment or specific ties to existing U-M funding programs (one representative is appointed to the IAB by the U-M Investment Office). The IAB is operationally independent from the Deal Flow Council. IAB Board Members are:
- Sundaresh Brahmasandra, Ph.D., VP, Head of Ann Arbor Operations and Product Development at NeuMoDx, a QIAGEN Company
- Rafael Castilla, J.D., Director of Investments and Structuring, U-M Investment Office
- Brian Gallagher, M.S., Ph.D., Partner, Abingworth
- Rekha Hemrajani, M.S., CEO, Aravive
- Dan Kidle, B.B.A., M.B.A., Partner, Arboretum Ventures
- Jason Lettman, M.B.A., Partner, Lightstone Ventures
- Julia Owens, Ph.D., President & CEO, Millendo Therapeutics
- Ellen Sheets, M.D., M.B.A., Entrepreneur in Residence, Partners Innovation Fund
- C.R. Sincock, COO, Avfuel
Portfolio Companies
ARBORSENSE
Ann Arbor, MI
Girish Kulkarni, President & Co-Founder
Arborsense makes wearable devices for continuous monitoring of blood alcohol content and other analytes directly from the skin
arborsenseinc.com
BRIO LLC
Ann Arbor, MI
Hannah Hensel, Co-Founder & CEO
Brio’s insertion stylets minimize reliance on clinician skill for success and are designed to assist users in locating the trachea and maneuvering the endotracheal tube through the mouth, throat, and airway.
briodevice.com
Courage Therapeutics
Newton, MA
Dan Houseman, CEO
Courage Therapeutics is developing new medicines for eating disorders.
couragetx.com
EVOQ Therapeutics
Ann Arbor, MI
William Brinkerhoff, Co-Founder & CEO
EVOQ offers nano-vaccine technology that is able to evoke potent anti-tumor T-cell responses that can eradicate tumors and establish long-term immunity against tumor recurrence.
evoqtherapeutics.com
FlexDex Surgical
Brighton, MI
James Geiger, CEO
FlexDex Surgical is an innovative medical device company bringing the benefits of minimally invasive surgery to more patients around the world by providing surgeons with tools that have the functionality of robots at the cost of traditional hand-held instruments.
flexdex.com
GENOMENON
Ann Arbor, MI
Mike Klein, CEO
Genomenon’s software simplifies genome interpretation to improve diagnostic accuracy in clinical practice and speed genetic discoveries in research laboratories.
genomenon.com
INVENIO
Santa Clara, CA
Jay Trautmann, President & CEO
Invenio’s NIO imaging system enables intraoperative histology, reducing downtime in the OR and allowing examination of specimens from multiple sites in the surgical cavity.
invenio-imaging.com
MDI Therapeutics
Ann Arbor, MI
Stephen Benoit, President & CEO
Leveraging the world-renowned research of founder Dan Lawrence in serpin biology. MDI Therapeutics has discovered a new class of small molecule inhibitors of plasminogen activator inhibitor-type 1 (PAI-1) for the treatment of fibrosis.
mditherapeutics.com
MOUNTAIN PASS
Ann Arbor, MI
Tom Simon, CEO
Mountain Pass Solutions (MPS) offers a fully configurable workflow management system as a SaaS product.
gomountainpass.com
NitriCap Medical
Minneapolis, MN
Paul Rabinovich, CEO
NitriCap Medical developed a catheter insertion device intended to reduce the incidence of catheter-related bloodstream infections among patients.
nitricapmedical.com
ONL Therapeutics
Ann Arbor, MI
John Freshley, President & CEO
ONL offers a first-in-class therapy to protect the vision of patients with retinal disease, using a Fas inhibitor designed to protect against retinal cell death.
onltherapeutics.com
PARABRICKS
Exited – acquired by Nvidia
Ann Arbor, MI
Mehrzad Samedi, CEO and Co-founder
Parabricks helps companies and researchers sequence whole human genomes 48x faster than conventional next-generation sequencing pipelines saving on computation costs with faster throughputs.
parabricks.com
RIPPLE SCIENCE
Ann Arbor, MI
Peter Falzon, Co-Founder & CEO
Ripple Science offers program management software for recruiting subjects for academic or industry studies.
ripplescience.com
QUESTIONS?
Have questions about the Michigan Biomedical Venture Fund? Contact Kasia Glanowska, MBVF Analyst, at kasiag@umich.edu.
