medGadget, May 18, 2010

Out of Cleveland, OH, CerviLenz has debut a device for preterm labor triage based on intravaginal measurements of cervical length taken during pregnancy. Revealed this week at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) meeting held in San Francisco, the simple device can also be used to monitor a patient’s risk for preterm labor. CerviLenz is FDA cleared and clinical trials are underway.

From the announcement:

CerviLenz helps obstetricians, nurse-midwives, and L&D nurses assess and monitor women with signs or symptoms of preterm labor. Any health care professional trained to use a speculum can use CerviLenz. With accurate and immediate results, clinicians can make confident decisions faster. Using CerviLenz in the standard workup helps hospitals reduce costs and increase efficiency while improving patient care.

Today at the Annual Meeting of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Dr. Richard Burwick of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, presented data from a new study on CerviLenz® – an innovative device used to measure vaginal cervical length in pregnant women.

The study found that a CerviLenz measurement of 30 mm was equivalent to the fetal fibronectin test (Hologic, Inc.) in predicting preterm birth in women with signs and symptoms of preterm labor.

Product page…

Press releases below the fold:

“NEW TOOL FOR PRETERM LABOR TRIAGE TO BE INTRODUCED AT ACOG ANNUAL CLINICAL MEETING”

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, May 15, 2010:

CerviLenz Inc. announces the availability of its innovative device, CerviLenz® – a new tool for preterm labor triage. CerviLenz measures vaginal cervical length objectively, the first and only device of its kind.

CerviLenz helps obstetricians, nurse-midwives, and L&D nurses assess and monitor women with signs or symptoms of preterm labor. Any health care professional trained to use a speculum can use CerviLenz. With accurate and immediate results, clinicians can make confident decisions faster. Using CerviLenz in the standard workup helps hospitals reduce costs and increase efficiency while improving patient care.

Hospital Labor & Delivery Units are often overwhelmed with cases of suspected preterm labor. A quantifiable and reliable measurement of vaginal cervical length allows quick assessment of whether delivery is imminent and what level of care is necessary.

Dr. Michael Ross, Medical Director of CerviLenz Inc. and a Board Certified Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist explained that “Evaluating cervical length and any cervical change over time is well-established as critical in determining preterm birth risk. A CerviLenz measurement adds significant clinical value to preterm labor triage. Until now, clinicians in Labor & Delivery have only been able to estimate vaginal cervical length subjectively with a digital exam. CerviLenz gives clinicians an objective evaluation right away. Moreover, using CerviLenz in the standard triage workup for symptomatic patients speeds decision-making. Helping clinicians determine which patients require admission and guiding more selective use of resources such as transvaginal ultrasound or the fetal fibronectin test, CerviLenz helps provide efficient, cost-effective, high quality care.”

Dean Koch, President and CEO of CerviLenz Inc. said, “We are thrilled to bring CerviLenz to market to support clinicians with new, clinically relevant, objective information. To help hospitals put CerviLenz into practice quickly and easily, CerviLenz Inc. will provide a comprehensive yet simple training program. From high-risk centers to community hospitals, we are confident that CerviLenz will positively impact care for pregnant women in the stressful situation of suspected preterm labor.”

CerviLenz Inc. is the manufacturer and distributor of CerviLenz®. CerviLenz Inc. is dedicated to making a difference in the world of prematurity and donates a portion of revenue to charitable organizations advancing maternal and fetal health worldwide.

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“IMPORTANT DATA ON CERVILENZ A NEW TOOL TO HELP MAKE THE CALL IN PRETERM LABOR TRIAGE”

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, May 17, 2010:

Today at the Annual Meeting of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Dr. Richard Burwick of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, presented data from a new study on CerviLenz® – an innovative device used to measure vaginal cervical length in pregnant women.

The study found that a CerviLenz measurement of 30 mm was equivalent to the fetal fibronectin test (Hologic, Inc.) in predicting preterm birth in women with signs and symptoms of preterm labor. CerviLenz is a new tool that provides powerful information to help hospitals and obstetricians manage patients with suspected preterm labor.

Hospital Labor & Delivery units are often overwhelmed with cases of suspected preterm labor, but the majority of those patients will not deliver preterm. An accurate and reliable measurement of vaginal cervical length allows immediate assessment of whether delivery is imminent and helps clinicians determine what level of care is necessary. With CerviLenz, clinicians gain a quantifiable measurement and can make confident decisions faster.

CerviLenz can be used by any health care professional trained to use a speculum. Obstetricians, nursemidwives, and L&D nurses can learn how to use CerviLenz quickly and easily.

Low cost and resource efficient, CerviLenz helps save time and money while improving patient care.

CerviLenz is available for purchase now.

CerviLenz is manufactured by CerviLenz Inc. in Ohio. CerviLenz Inc. is dedicated to making a difference in the world of prematurity and donates a portion of revenue to charitable organizations advancing maternal and fetal health worldwide.

Posted on May 18, 2010 12:01 AM

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Houston Business Journal, May 14, 2010, by Christine Hall

A Kentucky venture capital and private equity firm has entered Houston to check out the investment climate for health care and technology start-up companies.

Louisville-based Chrysalis Ventures has brought aboard Alan Ying as venture partner to head the firm’s new Houston office.

Ying started off as a surgery resident at Duke University Medical Center, and later co-founded MercuryMD Inc. He sold the health care software company to Thomson Reuters in 2006.

For the past couple of years, Ying says he has been active in Houston, managing investments in health care information technology companies.

“There are a lot of deals getting passed off, so I believe there is room for us here,” says Ying.

Chrysalis Ventures, founded in 1993, makes early-stage and growth investments in Midwest and Southwest companies that focus on health care information technology, software and Web-based work.

Chrysalis manages $400 million through four funds, and has a total of 23 employees in Louisville, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Ann Arbor, Mich.

In addition to Houston, the company recently brought on entrepreneurs-in-residence in both Atlanta and Boston.

Koleman Karleski, managing director, says Chrysalis sees Houston as “under-ventured” in the area of health care technology.

“We think that will lead us to some exciting young companies,” says Karleski.

There appears to be plenty of upside potential. Figures from DowJones VentureSource show there have only been two investments for a total of $4.5 million in local health care companies over the past two years.

Chrysalis is also banking on previous investments in Houston companies. In 2004, the firm invested less than $1 million in MedServe Inc., a medical waste management firm that was purchased by competitor Stericycle Inc. in 2009.

Earlier this month, certain MedServe assets were bought by Houston-based Waste Management Inc.

Darl Petty, president of the Houston Private Equity Association, says Chrysalis has chosen a good time to open an office in Houston.

He notes health care technology has become a growth area due to the push by the federal government to expand electronic medical records and keep health care costs down.

“Houston has always been health care-centric with the Texas Medical Center, but now that we are getting more and more on the technology side, it will be good for them to have a presence,” says Petty.

With an economy on the mend, health care technology companies in need of venture capital could see more companies like Chrysalis coming to town.

In the past 90 days, Petty says equity firms have started to invest more freely and are even competing for deals.

“A lot more money is available now, and that is a good sign,” says Petty.

Chrysalis Ventures

Headquarters: Louisville, Ky.

Other offices: Houston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Ann Arbor, Mich.; Entrepreneurs-in-residence in Atlanta and Boston

Money under management: $400 million

Head of Houston office: Alan Ying, venture partner

Location: 2800 Post Oak Blvd, Suite 5850

Business First of Louisville, May 11, 2010

Doug Cobb, former chairman and CEO of Appriss Inc., has joined venture-capital firm Chrysalis Ventures as entrepreneur-in-residence.

Cobb co-founded Chrysalis with David Jones in 1993. He left in 1997 to become the founding president and CEO of Greater Louisville Inc., the metro chamber of commerce.

In 2000, Cobb joined Appriss, a company that develops software products for the criminal justice sector.

Appriss was among the companies in which Chrysalis had invested. The firm was recapitalized in 2007, with investments by Bain Capital Ventures and JMI Equity.

Cobb is one of several new additions at Chrysalis.

Dr. Alan Ying has been named venture partner. He built a health care software company that was sold to Thomson Reuters and more recently managed private capital being invested in health care IT companies.

Jill Force has been named chief operating officer. She previously was CFO of Rehab Designs of America and served for a decade as general counsel of Vencor Inc.

Derek Fricke has been named an analyst. He recently worked as an associate for BIA Digital Partners, a private equity and mezzanine investment fund based in the Washington, D.C. area.

And Greg Foster, who is based in Atlanta, has joined Chrysalis as an entrepreneur-in-residence. He most recently served as a partner at Noro-Moseley Partners and also was founder and CEO of Southern Direct. He served as vice president of corporate development for Turner Broadcasting after the parent company of CNN, TBS, TNT and other cable channels bought Southern Direct.

“Chrysalis continues to see great opportunities in the health care and technology sectors,” David A. Jones Jr., chairman and managing director of the firm, said in a news release. “In an increasingly dynamic environment, we think it even more important to expand our network of experienced executives who can help ensure our entrepreneurs’ visions will become reality.”

For more information on Chrysalis, visit Web site www.chrysalisventures.com.

All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.

Atlanta Business Chronicle, May 10, 2010

Social media venture capitalist Greg Foster is Chrysalis Ventures’ man in Georgia.

Foster’s role as entrepreneur-in-residence (EIR) will help the Louisville, Ky.-based venture firm expand its Georgia footprint.

As entrepreneur-in-residence, the 37-year-old will be Chrysalis’ boots on the ground — bringing health care, IT and digital media deals to the venture firm and vet potential portfolio companies.

Foster could take an operational role in the companies he partners with Chrysalis on.

This is not a full-time gig, but a way to settle into one, Foster told me this afternoon.

Foster, who focuses on media and technology, left Atlanta venture firm Noro-Moseley Partners last year.

Foster’s industry experience and familiarity with the Southeast market make him an attractive partner, Chrysalis principal Wright Steenrod said in a conference call Monday afternoon.

Chrysalis invests in early and growth stage companies in the health care and technology arenas. The company eyes firms “between the coasts” that have revenues of between $1 million to $5 million and are nearing profitability.

Atlanta is an attractive investment destination because its has a healthy deal flow and strong entrepreneurial talent, Steenrod said.

“Atlanta has a venture capital ecosystem that’s one of the best,” he said. “It has the universities that produce the talent with the great ideas.”

Local Chrysalis investments include Connecture, a sales automation software company serving health insurance firms; and afterBOT, a supply chain management company geared toward retailers.

“Atlanta has a lot going on, a lot to look at,” Chrysalis Chairman David Jones told me last September. “I bet you we’ve got 25 or 30 Atlanta companies in our deal log right now.”

Chrysalis has the dry powder to make those deals happen. The firm closed a $175 million fund — it’s fourth — in 2008.

Foster, a Georgia Tech grad and Harvard MBA, was an executive at Silverpop and now-defunct IXL Enterprises Inc., before launching Southern Direct Inc., which Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc. acquired in 2005.

Dow Jones VentureWire, May 10, 2010, by Jonathan Matsey

Chrysalis Ventures, which invests in both IT and life sciences, said it plans to expand its reach into Georgia with the hire of Greg Foster as an entrepreneur in residence.

The firm, based in Louisville, Ky., said it also plans to beef up its operations at home with the addition of Doug Cobb, a founder of the firm, as EIR, as well as Alan Ying as venture partner and Jill Force as chief operating officer.

“We focus on what we call Middle America – the Midwest and the South,” Chairman and Managing Director David Jones said. “This (the addition of Foster) gives us a person based in Atlanta.”

Foster focuses on media and technology. He most recently was a partner at Noro-Moseley Partners. Previously, he was chief executive of Southern Direct Inc., which was acquired in 2005 by Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc., where he was vice president of corporate development.

Cobb is returning to Chrysalis, which he helped found with Jones in 1993. He left the firm in 1997 to lead Greater Louisville Inc., the region’s economic development organization, later becoming CEO of Chrysalis-backed Appriss Inc., which was sold to Bain Capital Ventures and JMI Equity in 2007.

“He’s remained a close friend of the firm,” said Jones about Cobb. “We’ve made a lot of money together.”

Ying, who focuses on health care IT, was the CEO of MercuryMD Inc., a mobile information company for health care, which was acquired by Thompson Corp. in 2006. He then was chief medical officer for Thompson.

Jones said Ying will help bolster the firm’s health care IT investing – an area he said he sees being of greater importance for the firm – as well as bringing his educational background to Chrysalis. “He’s now the second M.D. on the team,” he said.

Force, who will manage Chrysalis’ day-to-day operations as COO, previously was executive vice president, general counsel and chief administrative officer at LifeCare Hospitals. She takes over from the firm’s retiring COO, Greg Richey.

The new hires come on the heels of a March announcement of the hiring of Janesse Thaw Bruce as executive in residence and Wendy Jarchow as director of business development. The firm also recently hired Derek Fricke as an analyst.

Chrysalis is investing from its $175 million third fund, which closed in early 2008. Jones said that fund, which has backed 14 companies, is roughly two-thirds invested. A subsequent fund would likely be in the $150 million to $200 million range, but he said the firm currently has no fund-raising plans set.