TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | o c t o b e r 2 0 1 5 10 Enter Gauss Surgical and their unique vision to redefine real-time measurement for surgical blood loss using tablet technology. "Along comes this company, and they told me that they were going to hold up their iPads and detect how much blood a patient has lost using colorimetric analysis," Lumsden said. "We were pretty skeptical. Unbeknownst to us, one of our surgeons took 24 ccs of blood, squirted it into a receptacle and checked it against Gauss' technology. It registered 24 ccs. We were stunned. "At the same time, none of this stuff is going to work if it doesn't integrate into our workflow and is easy for our nurses to utilize," he added. "You can have a great idea, but it has to be usable on a daily basis. We're delighted to have Gauss Surgical here with TMCx, and I'm very excited about the opportunity to work with them. It's a privilege to be involved." "That's the reason we actually came to Houston from California," said Milton B. McColl, M.D., chief executive officer of Gauss Surgical. "We wanted to work with people like Alan and Setting sail into bold new markets has defined the ambitions of Medical Adhesive Revolution, a German-born biotech company seeking to establish itself in the United States—and poten- tially prompt a new evolution in wound closure through their next-generation surgical adhesive. "I've caused a lot of bleeding in my time, and their product can put a stop to that," deadpanned Robbins, refer- ring to his tenure as an internationally recognized cardiac surgeon. "Be sure to watch them very closely. I think they're going to be a successful acquisition in the field of wound care." "Today is the conclusion of a great, new chapter for our company. In fact, it's the first chapter in our U.S. history," said Alexander Schueller, president of Medical Adhesive Revolution USA. "It has been a time of charting our course, based on the feedback from our advi- sors and mentors, as well as the insights we gained in our work. Since the beginning of the program, we were able to zero in on a cardiovascular indication for our internal product that will allow us to bring it quickly to a market, which is large, growing and where we have a As an investor, I had never seen so many interesting opportuni- ties at a single event. — LINDA SPAIN Former Chief Financial Officer of Visualase Inc. Methodist who are at the cutting edge of technology and can help us develop those technologies as we move forward." For Redox, a company making it easier to interoperate with electronic health records, their current ambitions offer a marked contrast to their status six months prior. Their centralized interface engine enables users, from health systems to app developers, to easily exchange health data. In lower- ing the barriers of entry for new soft- ware applications to enter the health IT market, Redox is paving the way for users to make a potentially ground- breaking impact on patient care. "If you had seen Redox in March, we would have been actively developing new data models and fielding a lot of new requests," said Devin Soelberg, chief customer officer at Redox. "Fast forward to now, and the platform and service offerings we have available are much more robust. Most of what people need from us is already commercially available, which is allowing us to pivot our attention towards real growth. That's opening up whole new avenues of interest for us." strong competitive edge. "The TMCx program has been a great base to foster the relationships we have been building since we won the Rice Business Plan competition here in Houston in 2014," he added. "Also, it has been a good outlet to develop new relationships with key stakeholders— from venture capitalists, to surgeons, to potential partners." As the day drew to a close, setting the stage for valuable networking opportunities, it became clear that the attendees shared the entrepreneurs' enthusiasm for their products and saw the potential to send ripples throughout the future landscape of health care. "The quality of the pitches was exceptional, not only in people's ability to stand up and deliver, but moreover in the viability of the businesses being created," said Linda Spain, former chief financial officer of Visualase Inc., a Houston-based company that was acquired by Medtronic last year. "A number of companies are doing important work and could be hugely successful—thanks to the bringing together of technology, team and the resources TMCx has provided. As an investor, I had never seen so many interesting opportunities at a single event." For the companies who have pledged everything in pursuit of their passions, that's a ringing endorsement. For the first class of TMCx, composed of 21 companies from all across the globe and pictured here alongside TMCx staff, their efforts to refine their businesses and showcase their solutions all came together on Demo Day.

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