MILESTONES

Venture development organization JumpStart Inc. (Cleveland) has announced an investment commitment of $350,000 in CerviLenz Inc. (Cleveland). Led by CEO Dean Koch and chairman Michael Ross, MD, CerviLenz is commercializ­ing an FDA-cleared medical device that enables obstetricians to easily measure cervical length in pregnant women.

OmniGuide Inc. (Cambridge, MA), the developer of a flexible CO₂ laser scalpel that enables new procedures in minimally invasive surgery, announced the closing of a $25 million series E private equity round. "Today's investment will help fuel Omni­Guide's expansion into additional clinical markets such as otology, spinal surgery, neuro­surgery, gastro­enterology, and gynecology," said Yoel Fink, president and CEO of OmniGuide.

Royal Philips Electronics (Amsterdam) has reached an agreement to acquire Brazilian medtech manufacturer Dixtal Biomédica e Tecnologia (São Paulo). The move follows the company's previously announced acquisition of VMI Sistemas Medicos in Brazil. Daurio Speranzini Jr., senior vice president of Philips Healthcare Latin America, said, "If you just take Latin America, our addressable healthcare market in 2007 was estimated to be valued at approximately EUR1.2 billion, and growing at twice the rate of developed markets."

Wound-care therapy developer Biofisica Inc. (Atlanta) has obtained a commitment of $2.3 million in financing from investors. "We are very pleased that our investors continue to show a tremendous vote of confidence for the progress that we're making with our business plan," said Rafael Andino, founder of Biofisica.