A Yale University spinout that’s developing minimally invasive laparoscopic devices, NovaTract Surgical LLC, won a slot in Connecticut Innovations’ Pre-Seed Support Services Program.
That gives the Guilford, Conn.-based company access to the brain trust at the Nutmeg State’s quasi-public investment arm, for market and intellectual property assessments and its network of potential investors.
It also includes some initial funding for NovaTract, which is developing medical devices based on research by Dr. Kurt Roberts of the Yale University School of Medicine. Roberts is working on technologies for single-incision laparoscopic surgery and natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery. NovaTract will initially turn its eye toward gallbladder surgery (cholecystectomy) and appendectomy, according to a press release.
NovaTract is the 13th company to enter Connecticut Innovations’ pre-seed program. CEO and co-founder Eleanor Tandler is director of venture development for UConn R&D Corp., a private company dedicated to commercializing technologies developed at the university.
In March, Connecticut Innovations loaned $1.5 million to HistoRx Inc., which is developing what it calls AQUA, technology designed to assess the potential effectiveness of cancer drugs and predict patients’ responses to the treatments.