The ITIF would like to thank the experts who gave so generously of their time and experience in order to preview and select the leading companies. They are, in alphabetical order:

• Yuval Avni, Giza Venture Partners
• Nissim Darvish, OrbiMed
• David Israeli, Pitango
• Hadar Ron, Israel Healthcare Ventures
• Pennina Safer, Medica Venture Partners
• Limor Sandach, Access Medical Ventures
• Benny Zeevi, DFJ Tamir Fishman Ventures
• In addition, Jeff Dykan of VitaLife and Elka Nir of Giza Venture Partners will be joining us as guest panelists at the HTIA conference itself.

Companies in the Life Sciences Category will present on June 1 in two sessions:
Life Sciences I: 11am - 12:45pm
Life Sciences II: 13:45pm - 15:30pm

Use the HTIA partnering platform to set prescheduled introductory meetings with any company listed below.

Participating Companies

2P2D is developing ClinicAid, a wireless telemedicine system that provides real-time monitoring and documentation of participants’ drug compliance and adherence during clinical trials. 2P2D’s solution offers the market a risk management solution for improved clinical trial management and drug compliance. The system dispenses drugs in personalized dosages according to the study protocol treatment regimen. It provides the clinical trial management team with real-time information such as patient compliance, accountability, and drug supply and delivery schedule. CardioGard is developing a specially designed system, including an arterial (aortic) cannula, for use in cardiac surgery for the purpose of removal of gaseous and solid embolic material. The system's cannula comprises of a double lumen where the primary lumen provides oxygenated blood from the heart-lung machine to the patient and a secondary lumen performs suction of blood and embolic matter away from the surgical field and back to the cardiopulmonary bypass machine for filtration. CartiHeal is a privately held company focused on developing and bringing to market proprietary, biocompatible and biodegradable bi-phasic implants, composed from aragonite and polymers. CartiHeal implants promote the adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into cartilage and bone, in parallel. CartiHeal Agili-C implants are indicated for the treatment of focal cartilage and osteochondral defects. CartiHeal is a spin-out of the Department of Biotechnology Engineering at Ben-Gurion University, Israel. The company performed several preclinical studies with remarkable results. Discover Medical Devices successfully addresses the problem of noncompliant Obstructive Sleep Apnea patients. Discover developed the novel SomnuSeal mask that does not suffer from the side effects of traditional masks and therefore will allow many millions of OSA patients that currently refuse treatment to receive an effective treatment. 20 million are diagnosed with OSA, but only 7 million agree to receive treatment. The treatment of noncompliant patients is an unmet need in a market of 350m people. EStimME Ltd. is a clinical-phase medical device company developing a novel system for treating severe chronic tinnitus (“ringing in the ears”) which affects 1% of the general population, via electrical stimulation of the auditory (cochlear) nerve. Our solution is a tiny stimulator, the size of a grain of rice, remotely powered and implanted in a minimally invasive, reversible procedure, providing chronic suppression of tinnitus. Jointech-Med Ltd. is a VC-backed company, active in the orthopedic industry. Jointech-Med’s Synovial Shunt™ is intended to reduce intra-antricular pressure by diverting the synovial fluid from the intra-articular to the subcutaneous space. This Minimal invasive shunt aims to relieve the pain and to slow down the deterioration of the knee, by evacuating excess synovial fluids and inflamed particles, produced in arthritic knees. The excess fluids are channeled to a subcutaneous absorbing tissue. Juvenis is developing injectable large volume biofillers for shaping the breasts, buttocks, and calves without permanent implants and the related risk and pain of surgery, scaring, and long term recovery. Juvenis' gel is an effective, injectable material for contouring the body. The filler is a lipophilic (oil-based), bio-degradable polymeric gel composed of readily available and safe ingredients (castor oil and citric acid), offering an affordable filler material with long duration. Animal studies indicate its safety and efficacy. Medasense Biometrics is a medical device startup company developing an innovative, proprietary platform technology for automated, continuous, and non-invasive assessment of patient pain level. Medasense is seeking to revolutionize the diagnostics of pain through its pain monitoring device, a device that uses a unique combination of multiple non-invasive sensors with state-of-the-art algorithms. Medasense's pain monitoring device provides caregivers with the ability to measure pain level during any procedure and at any time, and information which would eventually prevent unnecessary pain, avoid overdose, accelerate recovery and decrease hospitalization time. Medivalve is developing a simple-to-use, accurate placement device for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Medivalve’s innovative technology solves the major challenge in the huge TAVI market: accurate positioning. Mellitor is developing an implanted glucose sensor for the continuous monitoring of glucose in diabetics. Mellitor’s sensor is designed to be implanted for an extended period (similar to a pacemaker) in diabetic patients, and give a real-time, highly accurate, measurement of the glucose level in the interstitial fluid. The unique implantable approach of the company, and its patented technology, resolves the problems that have prevented other companies from providing sufficiently accurate continuous glucose monitoring solutions to this market and may provide the optimal "closed loop" solution for an artificial pancreas. Otic Pharma is developing a line of innovative ear products based on its proprietary drug delivery system, “FoamOtic,” that addresses all inherent limitations of traditional ear drop medications. Pleasant foam is applied to the ear once a day via a dedicated disposable device and slowly releases the active drug to the surface of the ear canal and the tympanic membrane. Safety and efficacy of the technology and the first product were already demonstrated in clinical trials and the company intends to submit its first NDA to the FDA in 2013. TopSight Optics is developing innovative optical devices that focus on high optical performance, ergonomics and stylish appearance. Our first product is a pair of novel X2.4 telescopic glasses that improves visual acuity for patients who suffer from visual impairment, mainly because of AMD (Age Related Macular Degeneration). Unlike today’s low vision aids which look and feel very bulky and are embarrassing the users, TopSight developed a normal/stylish appearing glasses without compromising user's requirements. Launching the commercial products is planned for Q2-3 2011.