Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • September 25, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 11 Reporter's Notebook Matt Pilon | mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com Health Care/Bioscience, Startups & Entrepreneurs, Government/Law and Energy GOVERNMENT Tobacco fund could be snubbed out It could be the last gasp for Connecticut's tobacco prevention and cessation program. The budget that made it through both legislative chambers last week would nix future funding for the Tobacco and Health Trust Fund, which was created in 1999 as a dedicated fund to fight smoking. The fund has been replenished by a major 1998 multistate settlement with four tobacco companies. But Connecticut legislators have raided the fund multiple times over the years to help balance the budget. Since 2001, the raids have totaled more than $222 million, the majority of it going to the General Fund, according to the latest annual report published by the fund's board of trustees. Meanwhile, $29 million has gone to cessation efforts since the fund's creation. In 2015, the legislature froze disbursements to the tobacco fund for fiscal years 2016 and 2017, allowing for $6 million this year. Now, that $6 million is at risk. The budget deal would eliminate it this fiscal year and next. It's unclear if the cut will ultimately hold, since Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has vowed to veto the GOP budget passed by the House and Senate. But the proposal has the Northeast Region of the American Lung Association crying foul. Last week, the ALA said snubbing out the Tobacco and Health Trust Fund would be "unconscionable." "It sends a clear message that the 4,900 Connecticut residents who die of tobacco- related diseases annually are unimportant," ALA said. "We deserve a sound, long-term budget plan that accounts for tobacco as the serious public health issue that it is." "It sends a clear message that the 4,900 Connecticut residents who die of tobacco- related diseases annually are unimportant. " The American Lung Association in response to the CT tobacco prevention and cessation program being snubbed out. MEDICAL DEVICES Woven Orthopedics' bone screw grips find first customers A fter four years of work developing a small device to help orthopedic screws better grip surgery pa- tients' bones, Manchester's Woven Orthopedics has hit a major milestone. Starting in May, the company officially be- gan distributing its woven biotextile devices, which are like sleeves or wall anchors for screws, in Australia and New Zealand for use in human patients. It marks the company's first revenue and the first time its product has been used in humans. "My dream is always to get things from bench to bed," Woven CEO Ilana Odess said in an interview. "It's so gratifying." In Woven's case, the idea didn't even start at a bench. A surgeon doodled the idea on a napkin one day before eventual - ly patenting the idea. Woven acquired that patent and has been working since 2013 to develop the device. The company's entry into Australia and New Zealand marks a shift in its initial strategy. Woven, which has three full-time and four part-time employees, had been target- ing Europe and the U.S. as its first markets, and had previously hoped to start selling in Europe by late last year. That hasn't happened yet because Wo- ven is still pursuing regulatory approvals, which can vary widely by country, in both places. It began a human clinical study this month in the United Kingdom with the hopes of getting approvals. "We are absolutely continuing on U.S. and EU approvals," said Brandon Bendes, Woven's vice president of strategy and fi- nance. "We already submitted applications and are currently under review. Response times vary and are unknown." Conservatively, the company hopes for the regulatory approvals by the first quar- ter of next year, he added. Woven has also gone back to the equity markets for another funding infusion. The company disclosed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in August that it had raised $4.2 million out of a total $18 million offering. The closed funding will be used for com- mercial and clinical studies, said Bendes, who declined to discuss how the company would spend the remaining $13.8 million. The company raised $1.2 million last year. Woven is also looking at potential new markets, Odess said. "Right after we launched in New Zealand and Australia, we got a lot of interest from other countries in Asia, such as Hong Kong and Singapore," she said. HEALTH TECH Mobile Sense lands $225k for clinical trial Farmington's Mobile Sense Technologies has been awarded a $225,000 federal grant to support a clinical trial of its wearable technology meant to detect abnormal heart rhythms called arrhythmias. Mobile Sense said it will use the Small Business Innovation Research funding from the National Institutes of Health to run a clin- ical trial at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester and to further develop its smartwatch technology to add real-time arrhythmia detection. Arrhythmias are a leading cause of stroke and affect 120 million people worldwide, ac- cording to Mobile Sense. The company aims to use monitoring to help detect arrhythmias in people who suffer them randomly or without symptoms — and to do so without "invasive" monitors that include wires and patches. The company's technology could help users conduct a "first-pass screen" of vital signs, before visiting a cardiologist, who could prescribe an upper-arm device for further monitoring. Mobile Sense is headquar- tered at UConn Health's Tech- nology Incubation Program, or TIP. It moved to TIP from Darien late last year. "The platform technology developed by Mobile Sense is a key element within the emerging ehealth sector, with potential broader im- pact for detection and man- agement for cardiac condi- tions," said Mostafa Analoui, UConn's executive director of venture development and TIP. "The company also has balanced leadership with scientific and business expertise. This is a critical factor for its success in attracting well-deserved clinical and investment support." The company was co-founded by UConn professor of biomedical engineering Dr. Ki Chon, who is chief technology officer, and is led by co-founder and CEO Justin Chickles. Mobile Sense received a $500,000 grant from Con- necticut Innovations early last year. Mobile Sense Technologies' SensBand is designed as a non-invasive tool to detect irregular heartbeats. HEALTH DATA Most common outpatient medical procedures in Connecticut (FY 2016) Statewide Procedure Total Drugs injection 148,257 Fentanyl citrate injection 122,052 Tissue exam by pathologist 119,887 Propofol injection 97,448 Sedation injection 96,602 Source: Department of Public Health Ilana Odess, CEO, Woven Orthopedics Dr. Bronek Boszczyk prepares a Woven Orthopedics bone screw grip prior to a spinal surgery in Nottingham, England this month. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

• Cover