Green Park & Golf, built on over 50 years of operational and financial experience, seeks investment opportunities that offer above-market returns for its investors. Led by Clay Heighten, M.D., and Carl Soderstrom, the Firm delivers strategic solutions, financial backing and a reliable network to its portfolio companies. The Dallas-based Firm is currently looking for investment opportunities in medical-related start-ups.  Dr. Heighten founded MedicalEdge Healthcare Group in 1993, and Mr. Soderstrom started PhyServe Physician Services in 1998 to administer the financial and operational needs of MedicalEdge. Together, the companies managed over 550 providers in five major markets. In 2011, the companies were sold to Texas Health Resources, a $3.8 billion health care system. That’s when Green Park & Golf was born.  After earning his MBA at Southern Methodist University, Mr. Garcia joined them full-time in May 2011 to actively pursue new investment opportunities and monitor other investments in their portfolio. He has prior professional experience at FedEx, Bold Ventures, and Lone Star Investment Advisors.

Green Park & Golf Ventures

Founded in 2012, the UT Horizon Fund is the strategic fund of the University of Texas System.  Based on cutting edge research at UT System institutions, the UT Horizon Fund works with entrepreneurs and the investment community to help translate innovations out of UT to practical use.   The UT Horizon Fund is evergreen where returns are re-invested for future growth and development.

UT Horizon Fund

U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) is a venture capital partnership, helping entrepreneurs transform their ideas and efforts into world-changing companies. The firm focuses on early-stage ventures in information technology and health care, where innovation is unbridled and has led to the creation of economic wealth and millions of jobs over the past thirty-plus years of the firm's existence.  Areas of particular interest to our investment professionals include enterprise software, IT security, consumer internet, mobile, and e-commerce, healthcare, and IT-enabled healthcare services. The USVP team consists of former entrepreneurs, technologists, corporate executives, financial professionals, and industry domain experts.

U.S. Venture Partners

The Vertical Group is a New Jersey-based venture capital firm focused on the fields of medical technology and biotechnology.

The Vertical Group

Osage University Partners is a venture capital firm focused on investing in startups that are commercializing university technologies. Osage partners with research universities to invest in their innovative startups shareing its investment profit with partner institutions. The firm invests in software, hardware, and life science companies at all stages of company development. To date, it has partnered with over 80 universities, including 36 of the top 50 U.S. institutions by research expenditures, and has invested in over 50 of their spinouts.

OUP (Osage University Partners)

GlaxoSmithKline today announced the launch of Action Potential Venture Capital (APVC) Limited, a new $50 million strategic venture capital fund that will invest in companies that pioneer bioelectronic medicines and technologies.   The fund’s first investment will be in SetPoint Medical, a California company considered a trailblazer in creating implantable devices to treat inflammatory diseases.  The fund complements the work of GSK’s Bioelectronics R&D unit, which was established in 2012 after a two-year effort to seek out and engage the most promising researchers in this emerging area of science.   The name of the fund comes from electrical signals called action potentials that pass along the nerves in the body. Irregular or altered patterns of these impulses may occur in association with a broad range of diseases.   GSK believes that miniaturised devices, or bioelectronic medicines, can be designed to read these patterns. The devices could be designed to interface between the peripheral nervous system and specific organs to read, change or generate electronic impulses that help treat disorders as diverse as inflammatory bowel disease or rheumatoid arthritis; respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD and metabolic diseases including Type 2 diabetes.  The field of bioelectronic medicines is in its very early stages. GSK’s ambition, through collaboration with scientists globally, is to have the first medicine that speaks the electrical language of our body ready for approval by the end of this decade.“We want to help create the medicines of the future and be the catalyst for this work,” said Moncef Slaoui, chairman of R&D and architect of GSK’s early stage investment strategy. “GSK can play the integrating role that is needed to drive this new type of medical treatment all the way from the bench to the patient and this fund is a key part of our efforts.”  Action Potential Venture Capital intends to build a portfolio of five to seven companies over the next five years. The fund will focus investments in three areas:  - New start-up companies that aim to pursue the vision of bioelectronic medicines - Existing companies with technologies that are interacting with the peripheral nervous system  through first-generation devices that can stimulate or block electrical impulses - Companies advancing technology platforms that will underpin these treatment modalities  Action Potential Venture Capital will be based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and managed by a small, dedicated team. The fund has named Imran Eba as its first partner. Imran will move from GSK’s Worldwide Business Development organisation and work closely with the Bioelectronics R&D unit.

Action Potential Venture Capital

Exceller Hunt Ventures is a family investment office.

Exceller Hunt Ventures

MicroTransponder

MicroTransponder is a medical device company that develops and commercializes neurostimulation devices to treat neurological diseases. Its therapies include paired vagus nerve stimulation system (Paired VNS System) and wireless neurostimulation system for the treatment of chronic pain, post-stroke upper limb mobility issues, and various neurological indications that enable healthcare practitioners to treat post-stroke upper limb mobility issues. Founded in 2007, MicroTransponder is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

MicroTransponder, Inc. is a medical device company based in Austin, Texas, focused on developing neuroscience solutions to restore independence and enhance daily living for individuals suffering from neurological conditions affecting sensory and motor function. Their flagship product is the FDA-approved Vivistim Paired VNS System, a groundbreaking technology that uses vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) paired with rehabilitation therapy to improve upper limb function for chronic ischemic stroke survivors with moderate to severe arm impairment.

MicroTransponder grabs macro funding round with $73M for stroke rehab neurostimulator

Neurostimulation Devices Market Revenue to Reach US$ 11,825.95 Million by 2030

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MicroTransponder Secures CMS Transitional Pass-Through Status & New Technology Add-On Payment for Its Breakthrough Stroke Rehabilitation System, Vivistim

First Commercial Vivistim Patient Set to Begin Paired VNS Therapy for Improved Upper Limb Function Post Stroke

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MicroTransponder Closes $73M in Series E Financing

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MicroTransponder manifests $53m series E

Transforming neurological care with innovation

Neurostimulation Tech

MicroTransponder, Inc. is a medical device company based in Austin, Texas, focused on developing neuroscience solutions to restore independence and enhance daily living for individuals suffering from neurological conditions affecting sensory and motor function. Their flagship product is the FDA-approved Vivistim Paired VNS System, a groundbreaking technology that uses vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) paired with rehabilitation therapy to improve upper limb function for chronic ischemic stroke survivors with moderate to severe arm impairment.
The Vivistim System involves implanting a small device under the skin in the upper left chest area during an outpatient procedure. During rehabilitation exercises, the device delivers gentle stimulation to the brain via the vagus nerve, strengthening and reshaping neural pathways to enhance the effectiveness of the therapy. Clinical trials published in The Lancet in 2021 demonstrated that stroke survivors using the Vivistim System experienced two to three times more improvement in upper limb motor function and impairment compared to those receiving rehabilitation alone after six weeks of in-clinic therapy.
MicroTransponder secured FDA approval for the Vivistim System in August 2021, and the first commercial patient received the device in May 2022 at the University of Southern California's Keck Medicine. The company has raised over USD 115 million in funding, including a USD 73 million oversubscribed Series E round in September 2022, to support the commercialization and market development of the Vivistim System. In January 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services awarded the Vivistim System transitional pass-through status, expanding access to Medicare beneficiaries interested in the technology.

Aleva Neurotherapeutics is a medical device company specializing in deep brain stimulation (DBS) systems for treating neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease and essential tremor. Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, the company was founded as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Aleva pioneered the development of directional DBS leads with its flagship product, the directSTIM DBS system. This technology aims to deliver more precise electrical stimulation to targeted areas of the brain, potentially improving therapeutic benefits and reducing side effects compared to traditional omnidirectional DBS leads.
The directSTIM system features a novel 12-electrode lead design based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. This allows for smoother electrode surfaces and customized shapes optimized for implantation in the brain. The system also incorporates 24 independent current sources, enabling greater flexibility in programming and personalizing stimulation patterns to each patient's unique needs. In May 2024, Aleva received CE marking for the directSTIM system, allowing its commercial launch in Europe.
Aleva's expertise in DBS technology is reflected in its robust intellectual property portfolio, comprising 13 patent families and 90 granted patents related to DBS for neurological and psychiatric disorders. The company aims to transform DBS therapy by combining advanced technologies with shared clinical data to improve surgical experiences and patient outcomes.

Aleva Neurotherapeutics

BrainsWay is a global leader in advanced noninvasive neurostimulation treatments for mental health disorders. The company has developed Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (Deep TMS), a proprietary technology that uses magnetic pulses through a patented H-coil helmet to stimulate deeper and broader brain regions associated with various conditions.
Deep TMS received FDA clearance for treating major depressive disorder (MDD) in 2013, making BrainsWay the first and only TMS company with clinical evidence demonstrating efficacy for this indication. In 2018, the technology obtained FDA clearance for treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and in 2021, it was cleared as an aid for short-term smoking cessation.
The Deep TMS treatment is administered through a series of daily sessions over four to six weeks, with each session lasting around 20 minutes. It has been investigated in over 30 randomized clinical trials worldwide, demonstrating its safety and effectiveness. As of April 2021, BrainsWay announced that 100,000 patients have been treated globally with Deep TMS.
In addition to the FDA-cleared indications, BrainsWay is conducting ongoing or planned clinical trials exploring Deep TMS for various psychiatric, neurological, and addiction disorders. The company's commitment to clinical research and building upon its substantial body of evidence positions it as a leader in advancing neuroscience through non-invasive solutions.

Brainsway

Cala Health is a bioelectronic medicine company that has developed the Cala kIQ system, a wearable neuromodulation device that delivers transcutaneous afferent patterned stimulation (TAPS) therapy for the relief of hand tremors in adults with essential tremor and Parkinson's disease. The Cala kIQ system comprises a stimulator, a band with integrated electrodes, and a base station. It utilizes a calibrated TAPS output pattern adjusted to match the patient's unique tremor frequency, providing personalized stimulation to the median and radial nerves of the wrist.
The Cala kIQ system received 510k clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2022 and was launched for human use in June 2023. The device offers treatment sessions of 40 minutes, with a wristband life of 90 days and a shelf life of three months. Patients can review their therapy session results through the MyCala.com patient portal and share them with healthcare providers.
Cala Health has reported positive clinical data demonstrating the effectiveness of TAPS therapy in reducing tremors and improving activities of daily living for essential tremor patients. The company has secured reimbursement and coding from various commercial and government payors, including Medicare, to improve patient access to the therapy.

Cala Health

Cardionomic is a medical device company based in Minneapolis that has developed the Cardiac Pulmonary Nerve Stimulation (CPNS) System, an investigational device designed to treat patients suffering from acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). The CPNS System consists of a stimulation console and an endovascular catheter that delivers targeted stimulation to the cardiac plexus located in the right pulmonary artery.
The company's approach is founded on the principle that stimulating the autonomic nerves improves a patient's clinical condition by triggering a rebalancing of the autonomic system, shifting it from an imbalanced state into a cycle that enhances the patient's condition even after the therapy is completed. The CPNS System has demonstrated the ability to increase cardiac contractility without significantly affecting heart rate in heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction.
In January 2024, Cardionomic announced the completion of enrollment in the STIM-ADHF and STOP-ADHF pilot studies, which evaluated the safety and performance of the CPNS System in treating ADHF patients. A total of 35 patients were treated across seven countries. Preliminary results suggest that the CPNS therapy may address the unmet need for more effective treatment options for hospitalized heart failure patients. The pooled data from these studies is planned for publication in early 2024.
The CPNS System leverages engineered electrode surfaces from Pulse Technologies, Inc. to deliver durable electrochemical performance for the neural and cardiac interfacing applications.

Cardionomic

Charco Neurotech was founded in 2019 by Lucy Jung, an industrial designer who was inspired to develop assistive devices for Parkinson's after her own experience as a patient. The CUE1 is a small plastic disc with an electric motor that vibrates at a high frequency in a specialized pattern. This pattern, proven through research, can disrupt the overactive brainwaves that cause Parkinson's symptoms, allowing for improved movement.
The CUE1 attaches to the user's sternum using medical adhesive and is relatively inexpensive compared to other treatments like deep brain stimulation implants. Over 2,000 people in the UK are currently using the CUE1, with a waiting list of almost 20,000 across 120 countries as of March 2024. Charco has raised over USD 10 million in funding and grants, employing around 38 people across the UK, South Korea, and the US.
The device is accompanied by a smartphone app that enables users to personalize the stimulation settings and track their symptoms. Charco aims to obtain regulatory approvals for the CUE1 to be prescribed through healthcare systems like the NHS. In April 2023, Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge became the first hospital to trial the device on inpatients with Parkinson's.
Key customers and partnerships
As of August 2023, over 1,700 people are benefiting from the CUE1 in the UK, and there is a waiting list of over 17,000 people worldwide. Charco has partnered with Dr. Alistair Mackett, a consultant geriatrician at Cambridge University Hospitals, to conduct trials and research on the device's effectiveness.

Charco Neurotech

Companies that offer solutions for pain management, neuropathies, and related disorders and migraines.

Companies that provide solutions for Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, and speech and movement disorders.

Companies that offer treatments for depression, Alzheimer's, and other mental health-related disorders.

Companies that offer solutions for heart-related medical issues such as acute decompensated heart failure and high blood pressure.

Companies that offer solutions for urinary or fecal incontinence, autoimmune diseases and other functional impairments

Companies that offer solutions for hearing or vision impairment, sleep-related conditions, and other disorders, including obesity treatments.

MicroTransponder

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