Two BioHealth Capital Region Founders Named Innovation Leaders at the Emerging Medtech Summit 2020
Congratulations to Sonovex, Inc. CEO and Co-founder David Narrow and Benjamin Holmes, CEO and Co-founder of Nanochon, who were both recognized by the Emerging Medtech Summit as 2020 Medtech innovation leaders. The Emerging MedTech Summit 2020, hosted by Life Science Intelligence, convened recently at The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel in Dana Point, California, bringing together emerging, vetted Medtech startups, innovators and investors from around the world.
Narrow Co-founded Sonovex with the company’s President Dr. Devin Coon, whom he met while studying bioengineering at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Since that fortuitous meeting, Sonovax has become a top emerging medical technology company, recently securing not one, but two FDA 510(k) clearances for their ultrasound-based medical devices. In June 2018, the JHU spinoff company announced that it received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its EchoMark and EchoMark LP soft tissue markers. Most recently, in March 2019, Sonavex announced it received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its EchoSure device to deliver definitive blood flow data on demand.
Sonavex, Inc. is located in Baltimore, Maryland, and is focused on automated ultrasound solutions to quantify and visualize critical clinical data for surgeons who need reliable information on-demand. Sonavex has raised $13M in funding since its inception and recently announced a new, $3M tranche of funding that will help finance the pilot rollout of its blood flow monitoring products. Sonavex also recently secured $3M in NIH grant funding “to utilize Sonavex’s FDA-cleared products for improving arteriovenous (AV) fistula success rates among kidney failure patients requiring dialysis access.”
Nanochon CEO Holmes was also recognized by the summit as a 2020 Medtech innovation leader. Holmes founded Nanochon, which is focused on tissue engineering and located in Burke, Virginia, with the company’s Chief Technology Officer Dr. Nathan Castro. The company is in the process of developing a new joint treatment to help patients aged 18-55. Nanochon is utilizing 3D printing and a novel material to meet the unmet need of people suffering from cartilage damage, injury or early-stage cartilage loss that are too young for replacement joints, which don’t last long enough for this age cohort. This Nanochon implant replicates bone and cartilage, is load-bearing and promotes new tissue growth.
According to the Nanochon LinkedIn company page, “The Nanochon implant has the potential to deliver faster and more successful recoveries for patients while reducing costs to health providers, payers, and patients. Nanochon’s aim is to set a new clinical standard for cartilage restoration.”
The company has successfully tested the implant in animals and is now in the process of securing funding for scale-up and manufacturing with the goal of conducting human trials in 2020.
Sonovax’s and Nanochan’s recent successes — and Narrow and Holmes being recognized by Life Science Intelligence as Medtech innovation leaders — is emblematic of another rapidly emerging BioHealth Capital Region cluster asset: The region’s blossoming Medtech sector.
Congratulations to David and Benjamin on this well-deserved honor.
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Steve brings nearly twenty years of experience in marketing and content creation to the WorkForce Genetics team. He loves writing engaging content and working with partners, companies, and individuals to share their unique stories and showcase their work. Steve holds a BA in English from Providence College and an MA in American Literature from Montclair State University. He lives in Frederick, Maryland with his wife, two sons, and the family dog.
