Obesity to become $139.5 Billion Opportunity!!

The Jumpstart Our Business Act: SEC Lifts Ban On General Solicitation

SEC Lifts Ban On General Solicitation, Allowing Startups To Advertise

 

The SEC has just voted 4 to 1 in favor of implementing section 201(a) of the JOBS Act, which lifts the ban on general solicitation and permits startups, venture capitalists, and hedge funds to openly advertise that they’re raising money in private offerings. While it may pose added risk of investors being misled, it should make it significantly easier for companies to raise capital to start or continue financing a business.
The rule change washes away some limitations on advertising of fundraising that have been in place for 80 years. President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act in April 2012 but now the removal of the ban on general solicitation is finally going into effect.
Previously, the idea was that companies could go public if they wanted to openly raise money. However, the intense regulation and scrutiny around IPOs has dissuaded some private companies from offering their stock to the public. Poor IPO performance for some fast-growing technology companies and well as improved secondary markets like SecondMarket have pushed startups to stay private for longer. Four times as much money was raised last year through private offerings than IPOs.
Due to the general solicitation ban, hedge funds, VCs, and startups had to quietly raise that money, soliciting by word of mouth and other forms of private communication. Now they could buy ads or openly announce that they’re seeking investors alongside using the traditional quiet method.

Investment is still limited to accredited investors worth more than $1 million liquid net worth, and fundraisers must take reasonable steps to ensure investors are in fact accredited. To help the SEC collect data on how investment will change, fundraisers have to file a Form D with the SEC at least 15 days before they begin general solicitation, and amend that Form D to state that they’re done soliciting within 30 days of finishing.

General solicitation will fuel a new cottage industry of investor matching-making sites that aim to broaden the investment pool to financial whales outside the insular world of Silicon Valley.

“Today, with the ban in place, only the most well-known investors get access to the best deal flow, making it more difficult for accredited investors across the country to invest in top deals,” writes Ryan Caldbeck of crowdfunding website, Circleup, to us in an email. Many sites businesses, like FundersClub, Circleup, Angelist, and Wefunder, help investors find startups to invest in, but have been severely restricted in how they could promote opportunities

“With General Solicitation it will be much easier for investors to find companies they are passionate about supporting,” writes Mike Norman of crowdfunding website, WeFunder, to us in an email. The new rule will hopefully open up the capital-starved startup market to the majority of investors. According to WeFunder’s website, only 3% of the US’s 8 million accredited investors are active in the startup space.
“This is creating a large void in the investment community whereby dissatisfied sophisticated investors are clearly looking to alternative investment options for lower fees, more options, etc. Crowdfunding portals will create a way for accredited investors to find additional deal flow,” writes David Loucks of the healthcare investment bank, Healthios.
The SEC is still to rule on the most significant of all provisions: crowdfunding. The Jumpstart Our Business Act (JOBS) of 2013 was supposed to permit everyone from Bill Gates to soccer moms to take an equal stake in hot new startups, not just accredited investors. But the implementation of unaccredited crowdfunding has been delayed by SEC politics and mini-scandals. If crowdfunding is allowed, it could pump even more capital into the startup ecosystem.

“No matter how you present an opportunity, investing, especially for equity, is complex. This law requires significant information disclosure and I hope that that info is shared in a way that people can understand and make decisions around.”
For instance, a bill pending in North Carolina mandates that investors be warned in plain English “I acknowledge that I am investing in a high-risk, speculative business venture, that I may lose all of my investment and that I can afford the loss of my investment.”
With general solicitation now allowed, startups may be able to raise money more quickly and from a wider range of investors than before.

Business of obesity and diabetes

Obesity the best investment opportunity.

The future of spine and back surgery

The future of spine and back surgery

29 Aug 2012, Dr Raj Nihalani, BioSpectrum

Many of the new techniques and equipments developed over the past few years for spine surgery have leaned toward the less invasive approach, which is gaining in popularity across the US. However, 80-to-90 percent of surgeons are still performing open surgeries, which they have perfected over the years.
Healthcare reform in the US could slow technological advances in the coming years due to uncertain reimbursements and increased fees on medical device makers. As we approach 2013, industry leaders weigh in on the future of spine surgery and the cost associated with it.
US Healthcare reform's impact on spine surgery
In the current atmosphere of anxiety regarding the "unknowns" of healthcare reform, many spine surgeons are opting to proceed with their practice cautiously. An increase in patient volume due to growth in the aging population coupled with diminishing reimbursement rates means spine surgeons will be looking for less costly surgery systems that are easy-to-use, according to Dr Chris Zorn, vice president, Spine Surgical Innovation.
Physicians who are working in hospital settings must justify their spending, which could lead to a decrease in purchasing of new and complex technologies that facilities are currently willing to purchase. While technology may continue to advance, physicians may not have the resources to learn new procedures or gain access to the equipment.
In Asia and Europe "Generally speaking, spine, like many other surgical areas, has certain things that become trendy, but my observations are that physicians worldwide are sticking to the basics," says Mr Zorn. "We live in a world of trying to keep it simple, keep the learning steps simple, minimize the impact of surgery on the budget as well as the impact of the procedure on the staff, surgeon and patient's time."

Currently, new minimally invasive surgery are three-to-five times more expensive than conventional surgery opening room to next generation of open repair technologies that are low cost.
One such company which is focusing on next generation open repair technologies is Spinofix and Spinofix International. Spinofix, with its head office in Irivne, California, and an international office in Taiwan and a proposed office in Singapore, has developed low cost treatment options that provide potentially better results that conventional treatments and cost as much or less than conventional treatment, which is a win-win situation.
Minimally invasive spine surgery vs open surgery
One of the biggest reasons to get spine surgery is intractable back pain. Patients resort to spine surgery because they can't take it anymore. Their goal is to get rid of the pain once for all.
Surgeons practicing less invasive or minimally invasive spine surgery are still learning the techniques, patients would rather prefer to do a conventional treatment because they are aware of the outcomes, which is similar to less invasive surgery. The only difference is quicker healing time (couple of weeks). Patient's and payers (insurance companies) prefer less costly and more predictable outcome that are less invasive with a chance to undergo a second revision surgery, if things did not go right the first time.
Investment in Spine Technology
Many investors looking to invest in spine technology may think minimally invasive technology is the way to go. Actually, it's the paradox. Next generation technologies, which are less costly and improvements in the open repair, are more popular and will stay for the next two decades. New technologies in spine fusion will replace the conventional treatments slowly, thus bridging the gap between the conventional treatment and minimally invasive surgery. Spinofix's cross connector system is one of the technology that the companies are using to bridge the gap.
Is the Asian spine market different?
In Asia, physicians affiliated with academic research centers are small in number (less than five percent). Most surgeons are likely to learn minimally invasive techniques in the future because they have more emphasis on procedural development.
In the coming healthcare climate, which is wrought with uncertain reimbursement rates and the potential for an increase in patient volume in countries like China and India, physicians are busy serving in the operating room all day and managing a robust practice. They will need to search for systems with simple ease-of-use, short learning curve and high value. The physicians will need to invest in low-cost systems like Spinofix that demonstrate beneficial patient outcomes.
Active patient recovery
As minimally invasive surgery and pain medicine make advancements, patients are able to play an active role in their recovery process. Patients are looking to explore their options. Many choose conventional spine surgery that are minimally invasive because they know the outcomes are predictable.
"Minimally invasive sounds great, I had a minimally invasive heart procedure last year, but that does not mean minimally invasive spine surgery its going to work for me. I would like the surgeon to look and fix my back right," said a 65-year-old women suffering from back pain in Singapore.
She decided to go the conventional route even though her cost was covered by the hospital system. Four weeks later she said, "I am glad I chose conventional treatment and I feel better. I read a lot about spine surgery on the internet and decided that I stick to the predictability of the procedure than the newness and hype of the less invasive surgery."

SEVEN: Rules for Start Up Entrepreneurs

SEVEN: Rules for Start Up Entrepreneurs
See if you can qualify to join the Scientific Entrepreneur & Venture Capital Network on Linkedin.


Most VCs and entrepreneurs believe start-ups are inherently iterative, that a string of mistakes doesn't prevent success, but may even be the path to it. Generally, that view is correct, but there are a few choices made early on that have implications so deep as to be functionally irreversible, with profound implications for outcomes. Product and business models are evolutionary by nature, but we see four things a young company must get right:

• The founding structure, team and values
• Where the company is located
• Strong IP if possible
• The initial investors (and their terms)
• Learn from your early mistakes
• Keep team morale high
• Don’t stop to seek money for the company.

Good Founding Structure, Team  and Values
A good start up company usually begins with a solid founding team. The team can be small but all members of the team need to be extremely cohesive. Members of the team need to understand the vision and core value proposition of the founder for the company.
The company structure is key, it needs a lot of thought, the capital structure,  the amount of money to be raised as seed money, the use of its proceeds. Do not underestimate the process and the hurdles you may face.

Process and hurdles are small surprises, which will come more often as the company progresses fast, how you resolve small surprises is very important. If you think ahead, the there will be fewer surprises over time and the mean time elapsed between surprises increases. So the key is don’t assume plan, plan, plan.
Location of Company:
Location of company is very important to get funded. If you are a life science or medical device company you need to be in Orange County, Ca , or Silicon Valley or  in Boston to get funded and acquired. The VCs would like you to be where the talent is abundant. An IT or Social media company needs to be in the area where there is culture of social media eg in Palo Alto, Stanford not near Berkley or San Diego.
IP and IP Attorneys:
It is imperative to have a terrific patent attorney to file the IP for your great idea. Any mistakes in the filing of the IP can result in grave damage to the value of the company.


Initial Investors:

Make sure the value of the company is reasonable and you have solid initial investors. As you reach the 1^st round of funding , it is important who is the lead VC in the company

Learn from early mistakes:
Keep in mind we learn, we learn, we learn! Everyday as a start up team. Learn early and learn fast from your mistakes. Have frequent meetings with your team to discuss: “What we know, and what we don’t know”.

Keep team morale high:

Who says its easy, it’s not supposed to be easy, that is why you are the chosen few working on this project.  Make sure the morale is high, take breaks, encourage the team and think positive.  Get the team members off the project if they are overtly negative, you want the enthusiasm very high.


Don’t stop raising money:
Don’t stop, keep making presentations to investors and people connected with money. Build relationship with industry players that will endorse your product when you need it the most.

 

Golden Rule: Don’t give up! Success belongs to those who are persistent.

Life Science Networking Opportunity: SEVEN on May 24th, Pacific Club

SEVEN is currently screening Medical Device, Biotech, and Healthcare IT startup companies interested in presenting at an exclusive CEO/Investor Black Tie Event for Life Science companies. Table tops are limited to 20, and are an excellent opportunity to pitch to investors / industry leaders. If you are involved in a startup that focuses on innovative technology and consists of a strong team with a great background, then contact us to qualify for the event.

 http://lifescienceinvestorsummit.com/blacktie-overview.html

Why Orange County?

Orange County is among the top medical technology hubs in the nation and the world

OC was among the top 5 in investments by region among all sectors*

Orange County ranked top 5 in medical technology investments nationwide*

16 of 30 of the most active investing firms nationally are based in California, making it ideal for growth and expansion*

Orange County is central to academic research institutions such as UC San Diego, UC Irvine, and UCLA whose breakthroughs vitalize innovation

 

The Scientific Entrepreneur Venture Capital Network will be hosting a Life Science Executive Mixer at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach, CA. The one day Black Tie event is scheduled for Thursday May 24th 2012, and will start at 5:30 PM - with cocktails to be served, and presentations accompanied by hors d'oeuvres lasting until 9:00 PM.

Approximately 200 Life Science executives, investors, and startup entrepreneurs are expected to attend, with the event focused on bringing together Medical Device, Pharmaceutical, BioTech, and Healthcare IT executives, startups/entrepreneurs, and investors to boost the booming life science industry in Orange County, and the greater Southern California metropolitan area.
SEVEN is currently screening Medical Device, Biotech, and Healthcare IT startup companies interested in presenting at an exclusive CEO/Investor Black Tie Event for Life Science companies. Table tops are limited to 20, and are an excellent opportunity to pitch to investors / industry leaders. If you are involved in a startup that focuses on innovative technology and consists of a strong team with a great background, then contact us to qualify for the event.You could also mail us a copy of your presentation today, or call Raj at (714) 658-3039.
 

“We are lucky to have the sensory abilities of vision,” Changing the color of your eyes “but don’t go asking for trouble”

Lasering the iris to destroy the brown pigment to turn it blue is “probably risky,” Dr. Robert Cykiert, associate professor of ophthalmology at NYU Langone Medical Center, told ABCNews.com.

“When you burn the brown pigment away with a laser, the debris that is created in the front of the eye — think of it as ashes resulting from burning anything — is likely to clog up the microscopic channels in the front of the eye, known as trabecular meshwork,” said Cykiert. “[It] is very likely to cause a high pressure in the eye, known as glaucoma.”

In some patients, this high pressure might  be temporary, he said, but in others, it could be permanent. Glaucoma is a disease that can cause serious permanent loss of vision.
Cykiert  also said that burning large amounts of brown pigment is likely to cause inflammation and potential damage to the cornea. The procedure could also bring on cataracts, depending on the severity of the inflammation.

Dr. Ivan Schwab, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of California at Davis School of Medicine and clinical correspondent at the American Academy of Ophthalmology, also has his doubts.

“These risks take time to develop, so they may not develop in the first year or two. It could take five or 10 years,” said Schwab. “If a large number of people were to undergo this procedure of lasering the iris, and it caused these problems down the road, we’d have a major public health problem on our hands.”