Fogarty Institute for Innovation Strengthens Presence in Women's Healthcare Innovation, Adding Three New Startups

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 22, 2015) - The Fogarty Institute for Innovation (FII), a nonprofit that provides intellectual, physical and financial resources to medical startups, today announced that three early-stage companies, Igantia Therapeutics, Marz Medical and Madorra, have joined the organization as new companies-in-residence.

The companies are developing technologies to solve unmet healthcare needs that afflict aging women and millions of female cancer patients. These three additions strengthen the Institute's leadership in medical innovation related to women and infant needs, with a total of seven in-residence startups now focused on this field.

The newly admitted startups are following in the footsteps of two graduating companies, InterVene and Prescient Surgical. Both these companies recently raised Series A funding, underscoring the significance of their new medical technologies, and are moving to their own facilities in the Bay Area. InterVene is creating a novel, minimally invasive device for the treatment of venous disease in the legs, and Prescient Surgical's technology holds the promise of reducing the incidence of surgical infections. 

"Women's health has historically been underdeveloped and underfunded in terms of medical innovation, yet it offers an opportunity to revolutionize patient care globally," said Ann Fyfe, President and CEO of the Fogarty Institute for Innovation. "We are excited to not only increase the number of medical technologies aimed at helping women, but also delighted to support more women leaders in this industry.

"We are also proud of our success rate in launching medical device companies and our ability to help them obtain Series A funding -- a critical milestone startups must achieve to commercialize their technologies. Six Fogarty Institute companies have now achieved this turning point, making their vital technologies one step closer to benefitting patients," she added.

About The New Startups

• Igantia Therapeutics, a health and research company, is developing a first-of-its-kind medical device/digital health technology for the treatment and study of an age-related ailment that affects most women -- hot flashes.
  
  
• Marz Medical is developing a technology aimed at reducing pain and recovery time for patients undergoing breast or burn reconstruction surgery. The technology will help mastectomy patients, and also individuals who suffered from burns anywhere on their body. Significantly, the technology has already received FDA approval to assist with tissue expansion needed during reconstructive surgery. One in eight women are diagnosed with cancer each year and about 100,000 women undergo mastectomy in the U.S.
  
  
• Madorra is developing the first, non-hormonal, medical device treatment for vaginal dryness and atrophy, which will improve the quality of life for breast cancer survivors and post-menopausal women. There are 1.4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States who suffer from vaginal atrophy.
  
  

About The Fogarty Institute for Innovation
The Fogarty Institute for Innovation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that helps early-stage medical companies transform their ideas into medical products that improve patient care. Carefully selected medical innovators are offered workspace, research and development resources, financial aid, and world-class mentoring by physicians and industry experts to bring their products to market. The Institute was founded in 2007 by internationally renowned cardiovascular surgeon and innovator Dr. Thomas J. Fogarty, M.D., and it is based on the El Camino Hospital campus in Mountain View, Calif. To learn more, visit www.fogartyinstitute.org, and follow the Institute on Facebook and Twitter.