Venture firms like what they see in Mann's latest company.SECOND Sight, one of entrepreneur Alfred Mann's latest ventures, has just closed its first round of fundraising after delivering promising clinical results that could lead to its first commercial product. The company, based in Sylmar, raised an undisclosed amount from a group of investors that included Versant Ventures, Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. entrepreneur Steve Wynn Steve Wynn is the name of a:
Second Sight is developing an artificial retina that can give limited vision to people who are blind as a result of diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis Pigmentosa Definition Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) refers to a group of inherited disorders that slowly lead to blindness due to abnormalities of the photoreceptors (primarily the rods) in the retina. , an inherited condition that has damaged the sight of Wynn, developer of the Bellagio Hotel & Casino. The artificial retina uses an array of 60 implanted electrodes Electrodes Tiny wires in adhesive pads that are applied to the body for ECG measurement. Mentioned in: Electrocardiography . Mann, who founded the company in 1998 with two other investors, said the company was gearing up to launch the first product late next year. The company had not expected to proceed this quickly but initial results on three patients implanted with a first-generation, 16-electrode array have gone better than expected. This is the first time Mann, who sold MiniMed Inc. to Medtronic Inc. for $3.1 billion, has sought venture funding. Versant is a health care venture fund based in Menlo Park Menlo Park. 1 Residential city (1990 pop. 28,040), San Mateo co., W Calif.; inc. 1874. Electronic equipment and aerospace products are manufactured in the city. Menlo College and a Stanford Univ. research institute are there. 2 Uninc. and Newport Beach Newport Beach, residential and resort city (1990 pop. 66,643), Orange co., S Calif., on Newport Bay and the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1906. It is a popular seaside resort and yachting center. Manufactures include electrical and medical equipment, computers, boats, and adhesives. . It made the Second Sight investment out of a $400 million fund it started last year. It also has invested locally in AcuFocus Inc., a Westlake Village company developing an implantable reading lens for laser eye surgery patients. "We like the ophthalmic vision correction sector, and Second Sight has made great progress in developing their technology," said Versant managing director William Link. |
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