VNC offers this heads-up to med-device and other med-tech innovators contemplating applying for the next cohort of the Epicenter Memphis's ZeroTo510 accelerator program.

Applications for Z510 are estimated likely to open in June and close in July this year -- the time to prepare is now. The year-round contact form is here. Update: The app window is to open June 16 and close July 25, Epicenter advised Jan. 2.-Ed

Once again, the program aims to draw widely, including Tennessee, the U.S. heartland and America's coastal states.

Before Labor Day this September, Z510 is likely to have selected four to six med-device and other medtech founders Z510 2025 accelerator cohort -- with each founder preferably accompanied by another load-bearing team member.

The 2025 accelerator may gain increased momentum in the wake of its recently completed 2024 cycle. No Z510 accelerator was offered in 2023, while the entire program underwent review.

A year ago, in Fall 2024, five cohort teams that survived Z510's taut multi-step application process and entered the 13-week program were each assured at least $25K investment in each business.

Beyond that cornerstone $25K investment, the accelerator's FAQ explains, "An additional $25,000 is available for teams with a physical presence in Memphis. Furthermore the program provides $50,000 in services and perks" to participating companies.

There's a natural incentive for Z510 applicants to consider permanent presence in Memphis: The city's robust medical device and healthtech cluster has been a big industrial draw for decades.

The successful execution of the 2024 cohort brought to 49 the total businesses inducted since the program began in 2014.

We're told that Z510 grads typically emerge from the cohort with a more sharply honed sense of regulatory, reimbursement, market-strategy and other imperatives, and those who commit to maintaining their business presence in Memphis post-cohort have access to further advantages.

Last summer, Z510 Director Olaf Schulz told VNC, "We have fine-tuned our program niche over the last few years to serve applicants that have spent 1-2 years working on their technology, developed/filed some intellectual property, and are working on their early prototypes. Overall, about 70-80% of the program will remain the same, but every year, we tailor the remaining program to meet the greatest needs of our cohort."

Vintage '24 (Company descriptions by ZeroTo510)

Esra Roan

Esra Roan - CorAmi: Corami is transforming the treatment of heart diseases by delivering therapeutics directly to the outer layers of the heart itself. The company's platform provides controlled, sustained release of therapeutics with GelCor™ hydrogel to the heart with the PerCor™ delivery device. This novel approach and platform has the potential to reduce effective dosing and off-target effects, known limitations in cardiac drug delivery, and help millions of patients recover and have a better quality of life. Corami's corporate headquarters is headed to Memphis for ZeroTo510, while continuing to collaborate with researchers at Emory and Georgia Tech, where the platform originated.

Anthony Swoboda - MedTech Solutions: MedTech Solutions is innovating and revolutionizing the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain market by developing a patented, direct posterior stabilization and fusion product solution for the SIJ, known as Pegasis. SIJ dysfunction is responsible for up to 30 percent of all lower back pain, and over 40 percent of patients after lumbosacral fusions. Pegasis will aim to provide a safer, more direct and minimally invasive access to the sacroiliac joint thus potentially reducing operative times, complications and most importantly costs.

Ferhan Jemal

Ferhan Jemal - Motus Drive: Motus has developed an electric wheelchair conversion kit to enhance mobility and independence for manual wheelchair users. This cost-effective solution converts existing manual wheelchairs into electric ones, eliminating the need to buy expensive new equipment. The kit is lightweight, foldable, and compatible with 90 percent of manual wheelchairs, making it easy to install and widely accessible.

Erika Dillard

Erika Dillard - Popcheck: PopCheck Technologies has a cutting-edge remote monitoring platform designed for post-operative patients, utilizing AI to analyze patient health data, including social determinants, reported symptoms and biometric data from integrated wearables. The platform's first device, an adhesive-based wearable, non-invasively monitors patients for surgery-related venous blood clots in real time, helping prevent complications. By incorporating social determinants of health into their algorithms, they provide a more comprehensive view of patient recovery, enabling personalized interventions to reduce readmissions and associated costs.

Trey Finch - Qubee Medical: Qubee has engineered a new dialysis access port system designed to improve patient outcomes and reduce treatment costs. With the number of dialysis patients projected to grow from 2.4 million to 3.8 million by 2030, Qubee's solution addresses common issues like infection, clotting, and pain. Their reliable, easy-to-use device offers effective detoxification and aims to enhance the dialysis experience for millions of patients worldwide.

MANAGEMENT

Epicenter is home to the Zero To 510 accelerator. Epicenter is led by President and CEO Anthony Young, who was appointed in July 2024, after a career in banking and in economic development, during which span he also served several years as Epicenter's director of capital programs.

Olaf Schulz

Schulz became Epicenter's director of both overall venture development and of the ZeroTo510 accelerator in August 2023. LinkedIn.

He had previously served as a senior director of product development with preclinical-stage implantable medical device company, Ariste Medical LLC. His earlier career included a decade with Wright Medical (later sold to Stryker).

The Z510 accelerator was run 2017-20 by Chris West, a veteran of healthcare and healthtech.

ZeroTo510 was crafted in 2011 by Allan Daisley, who was then Director for Entrepreneurship within the former Memphis Bioworks Foundation, which was formed by and remained allied with Epicenter until the Bioworks Foundation ceased operations. In the initial period, Daisley worked closely with VC Innova Memphis's Jan Bouten.

The inaugural Z510 2012 cohort of six companies was assembled on Daisley's watch, in 2012. Miami-based Daisley remains an entrepreneur-in-residence with Memphis-based AgLaunch. VNC

.last edited January 2, 2025 1613 csdt