Tag: medtech

Prevent Diabetes: A new way for 86M prediabetics to go off course

Prevent Diabetes: A new way for 86M prediabetics to go off course

Jan 5, 2016 |

While diabetes is undoubtedly a big problem, with 29.1 million diabetics in the US, approximately 60 million in Europe, and 371 million across the globe, there are considerably more people who qualify as “pre-diabetic”. In fact, 86 million Americans are estimated to be pre-diabetic. The statistics are overwhelming: Half of all healthy 45-year-olds will develop prediabetes, a condition of elevated blood sugar that can lead to full-blown insulin-dependent Type II diabetes, according to a recent comprehensive study in The Netherlands. At the same time, there is also room for hope: Making lifestyle changes while prediabetic can reduce one’s risk of developing actual diabetes by 58%, according to a 2002 U.S. government-funded study. But that is much easier said than done. In order to significantly reduce one’s risk, individuals need to exercise for two and a half hours each week, and eat less fat and fewer calories, ideally reducing their body weight by 7%, according to the 2002 study. And those participating in the study that achieved this outcome had a team of counselors offering instruction and motivation, as well...

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All your questions, answered: 8 things to know about the medical cannabis industry [AMA with Dr. Morris Laster]

All your questions, answered: 8 things to know about the medical cannabis industry [AMA with Dr. Morris Laster]

May 20, 2015 | , ,

Medical cannabis is the next frontier of medtech investing, forecasted to become a $35 billion industry by 2020. How are the challenges of this industry being resolved? Your questions, answered: OurCrowd presents our first investor AMA (“ask me anything”) with medtech advisor, Venture Partner and 25-year industry veteran Dr. Morris Laster. Below, Dr. Laster addresses medical cannabis, providing answers and insight into the industry as well as the medtech advances made by Syqe Medical, developers of the world’s first meter-dosed botanical inhaler and OurCrowd’s current investment opportunity. Missed the live AMA? Have more queries about the medical cannabis industry? Don’t let your questions go unanswered!  Leave a comment below and we’ll answer them! —————- About Dr. Laster Dr. Laster is a physician with over 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and with expertise in identification, development and management of advanced biomedical drugs and technologies. Dr. Laster is the Venture Partner responsible for Medtech investments at OurCrowd; he has founded and/or managed six companies that have gone public in the US, UK and Israel. He invented a novel device to access the circulatory system through the bone...

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Medical Marijuana: Clearing the smoke on a miracle drug

Medical Marijuana: Clearing the smoke on a miracle drug

May 18, 2015 | , ,

This is a guest post by OurCrowd Venture Partner and medtech investment advisor Dr. Morris Laster.  If ever there was a ‘miracle drug’, the top candidate would be cannabis. The range of clinical conditions that have had the potential for treatment with marijuana is extensive ranging from approved conditions with cannabis derivatives such as Sativex for MS induced neuropathic pain and spasticity, or Marinol for cancer treatment induced nausea and vomiting, and AIDS cachexia. Other conditions include Type 2 diabetes, obesity, various neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, or Huntingdon’s disease, glaucoma and the list goes on and on. The biggest challenges with medical marijuana are: Marijuana is best administered by smoking due to the combination of active ingredients and first pass kinetics Dosing variability due to individual smoking differences and plant material There is the potential for recreational drug abuse For the first time, there is a solution for the issue of dosing medical marijuana. Israel-based Syqe Medical has developed an inhaler that “druggifies” marijuana by providing clinically-proven standardized dosing, utilizing a cartridge based dose, uniform heating element and...

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The State of BioMed in Israel: Startup Nation celebrates life sciences at IATI’s BioMed 2015

The State of BioMed in Israel: Startup Nation celebrates life sciences at IATI’s BioMed 2015

May 13, 2015 | , ,

Israel’s biomed industry is in full bloom; Don’t believe us? Let the numbers speak for themselves! Here are some stats that paint a quick picture of the industry growth: 1,380: the number of active biomed companies in the Startup Nation, an all-time high. 280: the number of R&D centers operating in Israel for foreign companies, including healthcare, for example: Johnson & Johnson, Philips, General Electric, Merck Serono, Abbott. $801 million: the amount raised from venture capital firms in 2014, which was 24% of all VC investments, showing recovery since the 2008/9 financial crisis. $2.9B: total sum of Israeli life science company acquisitions in 2013-14. Earlier this week, IATI released the 2015 Israel Life Sciences Industry Report that, in addition to the above-mentioned data, outlines the state of the biomed industry in the Startup Nation, including the investment landscape. OurCrowd is rated the “second most active life sciences investor in 2014,” right after VC firm OrbiMedIsrael Partners. With medtech encompassing 21% of OurCrowd’s investment portfolio, it would seem we are in line with the greater VC ecosystem in Israel. This indeed calls for a celebration. Luckily, it just so...

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10 medtech trends to monitor, a $200M acquisition, & the Israelis behind the ‘Pebble Time’ smartwatch [OurCrowd Newsletter]

10 medtech trends to monitor, a $200M acquisition, & the Israelis behind the ‘Pebble Time’ smartwatch [OurCrowd Newsletter]

Mar 9, 2015 |

Review last week in Startup Nation: another acquisition, medtech trends to monitor this year, what Fiverr is up to and what Rowan Gibson has to say about the Israeli spirit. Start getting this weekly newsletter via email: Subscribe now Nielsen buys Israeli big data company eXelate for $200M American global information and measurement company, Nielsen Holdings, has acquired Israeli data management company eXelate for an estimated $200 million. Founded in 2007, the company has developed a platform that allows data search and analysis for digital ad companies. eXelate has raised $32 million to date and employs 100 people in the US, Israel and at its London and Paris offices. The company’s development center will remain in Israel. Learn more. OurCrowd in the News Pixie featured in Ha’aretz OurCrowd featured in Baltimore Business Journal Surgical Theater featured in NBC Los Angeles Lucid Energy featured on KGW Israel21c featured MUV & Consumer Physics BioCatch featured in Biometric Update Consumer Physics in The Seattle Times ReWalk featured on CNBC OurCrowd’s Jon Medved in JNS.org SoBi featured in Atlanta Business Chronicle BillGuard featured on CNBC Tapit featured in ZDNet 10 medtech trends to monitor in 2015 Recently, the CES event illustrated just how technology...

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