GRAND RAPIDS – Grand Angels announced Tuesday it has invested undisclosed sums in three West Michigan companies – Tetra Discover Partners, Ablative Solutions, and Altus Brands.
?Grand Angels is excited to be leading a follow-on round in Tetra and participating in follow-on rounds in Ablative Solutions and Altus Brands. In 2014, we have invested more than $2 million in eight companies, which is great progress toward our goal of $2.3 million in 10 companies,? said Jody Vanderwel, Grand Angels President. ?Grand Angels continues to welcome new members and we are always pleased to talk with people who might be interested in investing in the early stage space.?
Tetra Discovery Partners, a Grand Rapids-based company, uses structure-guided drug design to discover mechanistically novel, allosteric inhibitors of phosphodiesterase 4. The Company?s research focuses on developing new treatments for Alzheimer?s disease, mild cognitive impairment, depression and traumatic brain injury. The funds from Grand Angels will accelerate work at Tetra also funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Founded in Kalamazoo, Mich., Ablative Solutions? technology involves utilizing endovascular catheters to provide an efficacious, durable, cost-effective and safe alternative to surgical renal denervation for the treatment of hypertension and other diseases caused by an overactive sympathetic nervous system. CEO and CMO Tim Fischell, MD, FACC, and Vartan Ghazarossian, PhD, Ablative?s president and COO, have developed a safe outpatient renal denervation process for the treatment of high blood pressure that eliminates the extremely painful ?burning? treatment currently in use. Ablative Solutions? treatment has been found to quickly reduce pain and recovery time while decreasing the need for long-term medication. With this investment from Grand Angels, Ablative will have raised its B round goal of $12.5 million.
Altus Brands, based in Grawn near Traverse City, works with small to mid-sized companies in the hunting, shooting and outdoor market to unlock growth potential through partnerships and acquisitions. Typically, these plans include additional capitalization, integration and leveraging of established distribution channels, production and administration. Altus is looking to raise additional capital to purchase another brand focused on the outdoor industry.
?Grand Angels is excited to be leading a follow-on round in Tetra and participating in follow-on rounds in Ablative Solutions and Altus Brands. In 2014, we have invested more than $2 million in eight companies, which is great progress toward our goal of $2.3 million in 10 companies,? said Jody Vanderwel, Grand Angels President. ?Grand Angels continues to welcome new members and we are always pleased to talk with people who might be interested in investing in the early stage space.?
With this latest funding, Grand Angels has invested more than $16 million in 30 companies since its inception.
