We are pleased to welcome EpiEP Inc., CI’s newest portfolio company, to Connecticut. EpiEP, which is developing a medical device system for the treatment of certain cardiac arrhythmias, is scheduled to complete its move from Virginia to Connecticut by mid-July.

CI invested alongside LaunchCapital and individual investors in a $1.5 million funding round.

Read more about this company and CI’s investment in Governor Rell’s announcement about EpiEP.

Russ Tweeddale

Managing Director, Investments

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Posted under From the Deal Team, Uncategorized

We’ve heard it over and over again, like a broken record: “lost for the season,” “finished for the season,” “will miss the rest of the season.” Sound familiar? Our leading UConn basketball players have literally, at times, fallen like flies while racing around the court or twisting to make a critical pass or block. Since 2008, in fact, we’ve seen several Lady Huskies – including Caroline Doty, Kalana Greene and Mel Thomas – diagnosed with torn anterior cruciate ligaments (ACLs) and sidelined for the season.

Once the diagnosis is made, the solution requires reconstructive surgery, involving a second surgery to harvest large pieces of tissue from the kneecap or hamstring, followed by physical therapy and months of strengthening and conditioning. The damage caused by the harvesting surgery never completely reheals, and the injury can take a player a full season to regain the level of performance he or she had before the injury – and that’s after the lost season when the injury occurred. Clearly, these injuries are debilitating and are a source of frustration, not only for the players but also for the team and its fans.

But here’s the good news. Soft Tissue Regeneration (STR) of Stamford, Connecticut, is advancing breakthrough technology that promises to eliminate the harvesting surgery, cut the recovery period for patients with ACL injuries down and return them to practice in a much shorter time! How will STR do this? The company is developing a unique solution that utilizes an implanted synthetic braided scaffold to facilitate the regeneration of ligament tissue.

The company has been making great strides in demonstrating its technology and was recently given a vote of confidence with a new investment from Connecticut Innovations. We announced this investment last week. Click here to review our press release.

With assistance from this technology, the Lady Huskies can turn outstanding seasons into phenomenal seasons – with injured players recovering more quickly and returning to the game stronger than ever.

Russ Tweeddale
Managing Director, Investments

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Posted under From the Deal Team

Nature has a funny way of providing a helping hand when it comes to healing. We may not all realize it, but the vast world of nature offers a plethora of healing agents. We just need to unearth them, so to speak!

Remarkably, sixty to seventy percent of the drugs in use in the United States today are natural products or are derived from or based on natural products. Some have even been derived from microbes in the soil. However, existing technology has screened only a small fraction of microbes in the soil and in other ecological niches. A pity, indeed.

That may soon change, however, if Metagenomix Inc., a young company spun out of Yale, is able to successfully demonstrate its new high-throughput methods to mine drug-like compounds from microbes in the soil – potentially a treasure trove for new drugs.

CI is helping this company pursue its technology development goals by providing investment capital. We encourage you to read more about the company, and our recent investment, in our Metagenomix press release.

Russ Tweeddale
Managing Director, Investments

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Posted under From the Deal Team

What do a California wine distributor and the U.S. military have in common? They are both customers of LiQuifix Inc. of Stamford, Connecticut, the manufacturer of a non-toxic, environmentally friendly spray lubricant and the newest member of Connecticut Innovations’ portfolio. To keep its bottling equipment and conveyor system in good working order, the wine distributor/bottler uses LiQuifix to lubricate the various moving parts of its equipment. Likewise, because LiQuifix carries no electrostatic charge, it does not attract dust and is an excellent choice as a lubricant for refurbishing military equipment used in Iraq.

While LiQuifix is making inroads in the industrial and military sectors, it also has many consumer applications – which means that you may soon see this product on a shelf in a store near you!

Earlier this month, Governor Rell announced CI’s $500,000 investment in LiQuifix Inc. through our Connecticut Clean Tech Fund. Read more about our investment here.  

Russ Tweeddale
Managing Director, Investments

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Posted under From the Deal Team

Helix Therapeutics’ proprietary targeted gene modification (TGM) technology is just one example of the many exciting technologies being spun out of Yale University. About a year ago the startup company licensed the technology from Yale on an exclusive worldwide basis. Developed in the lab of Dr. Peter Glazer, a founder of Helix and one of its board members, the technology is being utilized by Helix to develop therapies for HIV/AIDS and genetic disorders, such as sickle cell anemia, B-Thalassemia, Hurler’s Syndrome and Gaucher’s Disease.

CI recently strengthened its support of Helix by making a follow-on investment in the company. Click here to read our press release.

We are in the process of exploring other Yale-grown technologies with hopes that there will be additional partnership opportunities for CI – where our early-stage support can make a difference in helping launch startup companies.

Russell Tweeddale
Managing Director, Investments

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Posted under From the Deal Team

Connecticut Innovations and Clean Energy Fund staff members devoted their time on Friday, June 5th, to beautifying the grounds of the Veterans’ Home and Hospital in Rocky Hill.  The staff raised funds through luncheons, a proven way to get people to donate, to purchase both perennials and some annuals and then rolled up their sleeves and raked, dug and planted.  The day was perfect for our efforts – cool, cloudy with a light rain.

Many veterans stopped by to chat and to thank us for our efforts.

Catherine Cook, director of community affairs and volunteer services, wrote:

“Thank you for caring about our neediest veterans and helping us do something we could not have accomplished alone.  We were overwhelmed at the volume of the donated plants and materials you were able to obtain!  Our veterans in the Special Care Unit and the other hospitalized vets are so appreciative of the gifts you have given them.”

On a personal note, both as a veteran and a member of a Marine Corps League Detachment that also has regular activities for the residents, I am taking this opportunity to thank the staff for helping my brothers who have given so much.

Russ Tweeddale
Sgt, United States Marines
Managing Director, Investments

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Posted under From the Deal Team