MB Venture Partners

Private Equity for the Life Sciences

Investment Portfolio

KFx Medical is an early stage company developing arthroscopic knotless two point fixation systems for shoulder rotator cuff repair. Rotator cuff repair is one of the highest growth segments of the sports medicine marketplace. With the aging of the “baby boomer” generation and an ongoing desire to maintain more active lifestyles, the sports medicine market is expected to deliver significant growth in the years ahead. Investors include: Arboretum Ventures, Charter Life Sciences, MB Venture Partners, and Montreux Equity Partners.

Anulex is a privately-held, venture-backed orthopedic spine company founded in February 2001. Historically, surgical treatment for ailments of the spine has been focused on the boney structures of the anatomy. Anulex is one of the first companies to recognize the fundamental role of the soft tissues of the spine and their role in chronic pain. Anulex is pioneering the development and commercialization of innovative, proprietary technology for the treatment of the soft tissue of the spine to reduce the persistence of pain and to reduce re-operation rates associated with a herniated or damaged intervertebral disc. Anulex’s first commercially available annular repair product, the Inclose Surgical Mesh System, is intended to improve patient outcomes by repairing the annulus after discectomy. Anulex is a privately-held, venture-backed orthopedic spine company founded in February 2001. Historically, surgical treatment for ailments of the spine has been focused on the boney structures of the anatomy. Anulex is one of the first companies to recognize the fundamental role of the soft tissues of the spine and their role in chronic pain. Anulex is pioneering the development and commercialization of innovative, proprietary technology for the treatment of the soft tissue of the spine to reduce the persistence of pain and to reduce re-operation rates associated with a herniated or damaged intervertebral disc. Anulex’s first commercially available annular repair product, the Inclose Surgical Mesh System, is intended to improve patient outcomes by repairing the annulus after discectomy.

AxioMed Spine Corporation is a private, venture-backed company developing innovative spinal products in collaboration with leading surgeons and scientists. Founder James Kuras, AxioMed Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, started the Beachwood, Ohio company in 2002 with the vision of advancing the standard of care for patients with degenerative spinal disease .

BioSET., is a private, development stage, company focused on incorporating its proprietary therapeutic peptides with medical devices to improve product performance, safety and patient well being. BioSET’s synthetic peptides for tissue regeneration continue to show promising results in studies for the treatment of musculoskeletal, vascular and chronic wound diseases. The company intends to capitalize on the growing trend toward drug/device combination products and seeks to offer their novel peptides and methods of delivery to industry partners.

Applied Spine Technologies, Inc. (AST) was formed to develop the M-Brace™ device for the treatment of chronic low back pain. The M-Brace device is based upon the biomechanical research of Dr. Manohar Panjabi, a world-renowned Professor of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation and Mechanical Engineering at the Yale University School of Medicine. M-Brace™ is a posterior Flexible Stabilization system designed to support an injured or degenerated spine while preserving spine motion and flexibility. Requiring no tissue removal or replacement, the M-Brace™ device is a substantially less invasive option for many of the patients who are currently offered fusion or disc replacement.

TissueLink Medical, founded in 1999, is a private company that develops and markets innovative disposable surgical devices that reduce or eliminate bleeding in surgery. TissueLink technology is used by surgeons to control bleeding in solid organ resections, orthopaedic reconstruction and spine surgery. The company’s proprietary technology can apply to multiple surgical specialties addressing markets that exceed $3.5 billion. Over 100,000 patients worldwide have benefited from the company’s products to date.

Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Cayenne Medical is a privately held medical device company defining new technology for the soft tissue reconstruction segment of the sports medicine market. The company was founded in 2005 and is focused on leading the transformation of traditional ACL repair procedures by applying advanced technology through minimally invasive techniques.

Kereos, Inc. develops targeted molecular imaging agents and therapeutics designed to detect and treat cancer and cardiovascular disease earlier and more specifically than previously possible. The specificity and unique capabilities of Kereos' molecular imaging agents enable earlier and more definitive diagnosis of disease. Similarly, Kereos' targeted therapeutics seek out definitive disease biomarkers and carry powerful payloads of proven chemotherapeutics, making them potentially more effective and less toxic in treating disease.

Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, Alveolus is a leading developer of next generation non-vascular interventional stent technology. Alveolus' advanced stenting technology enhances the quality of life for patients who suffer from pulmonary or gastrointestinal obstruction. The Alveolus product ideation process, guided by world leading interventionalists, allows for rapid prototyping and development of products to address the specific requirements for each area of the body. Products are created by physicians, for physicians, with an end goal of enhancing the quality of life and reducing the long term medical costs for patients and their families.

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. is an emerging leader in the development and commercialization of drug-device combination products for the repair of orthopedic injuries to bone, cartilage, ligaments and tendons. BioMimetic's suite of products and product candidates combine recombinant protein therapeutics with tissue specific scaffolds, actively stimulating tissue healing and regeneration. BioMimetic believes its biologically-enhanced orthopedic therapies can improve the treatment options and quality of life for millions of patients suffering injuries or deterioration of the bones, cartilage (joints), ligaments and tendons.

GTx, headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecules that selectively target hormone pathways to treat cancer, osteoporosis and bone loss, muscle wasting and other serious medical conditions. 

TriVirix International provides manufacturing and related services to the medical device and related life science industries. The company currently has contracts to develop and manufacture electronic equipment for hemodialysis and blood analysis, hearing screening, cardiac measurement and defibrillation, patient monitoring, and various other medical diagnostic and therapeutic and biotech measurement and analysis applications.

Protein Discovery is a privately held life science company providing mass spectrometry services and bioanalytical sample preparation solutions for life science research, drug development, and clinical diagnostics.

More than 100 million people experience back pain each year in the United States alone. For approximately 12.5 million of these people, the pain becomes chronic requiring medical treatment.   Spinal Restoration has dedicated itself to restoring patients’ lives by delivering new, early intervention, minimally invasive therapies with clinically proven results that will address unmet needs in spine health management. Spinal Restoration is currently working with a world renowned team of Clinical and Scientific Advisors to develop the BiostatTM Disc Augmentation System, a minimally invasive therapy for the treatment of chronic disc pain.

Expanding Orthopedics Inc. (EOI) owns extensive IP for use in spinal and trauma applications. Multiple product platforms will address: pedicle screw fixation even with poor bone quality, vertebral compression fractures in a novel way, and a wide range of simple to use fracture fixation products. Dr. Mark Levy, an orthopedic surgeon, founded EOI in 2001and his innovative designs focus on simplicity of use. A start-up based in Atlanta GA, EOI is a US corporation with a wholly owned research facility in Caesarea, Israel .