Flagship Ventures invests in local startup, plans to do it again

Flagship Ventures opened an office in downtown Ann Arbor a year ago and it has already starting to make some moves. The Massachusetts-based venture capital firm participated in a Series B round for Tangent Medical Technologies about a year ago. It co-led the $8.6 million round of investment with Arboretum Ventures. Tangent Medical Technologies is developing its NovaCath Integrated IV Catheter System, which is designed to address IV therapy challenges including catheter stabilization, healthcare worker safety, tubing management and patient comfort. NovaCath's passive needle shielding technology and closed system design is meant to minimize risk of needlestick injuries and occupational exposure to blood to the lowest feasible extent. The startup is led by Jeff Williams who also served as the CEO of bio-tech startups HandyLab and Accuri Cytometers, which were both acquired. "Tangent has a great team," says Mike Johnson, associate with Flagship Ventures. "Its IV catheter is a novel technology with FDA clearance." Johnson is optimistic that Flagship Ventures will make another one or two similar investments this year. "We're enthusiastic about the opportunities in Michigan," Johnson says. "We are evaluating a number of different companies." Source: Mike Johnson, associate with Flagship Ventures Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.