TNInvestco's Update

A half-dozen TNInvestco funds recently finessed additional investments. Get the update here.

Jacobson funds update

Dr. Harry Jacobson, vice chancellor emeritus at Vanderbilt University and former CEO of its Medical Center, is an entrepreneur and investors, and he has quite a lot going. The story's here.

Device Innovation revealed

Nashville's TriStar and Limestone TNInvestco funds have created a new venture for medical-device innovations, and have seed-funded it. The news was released today. Josh Nickols is the new company's first employee.

TNInvestco Tri-Star may have company

Our recent coverage of Tri-Star Technology Fund's tentative strategy (they're waiting on TNInvestco funds to arrive) contained provocative comments about faster routes to new-drug discoveries and other breakthroughs. Today's New York Times reports on parallel efforts at MIT and elsewhere.

TNInvestco winners 'on leave' at VU

During a review of the situation, Vanderbilt University has placed two of its former tech-transfer executives on administrative leave, in the wake of the two winning a slot in the TNInvestco competition. Read the story here.

Nashville's Pitt Hyde?

Over in Memphis, entrepreneur Pitt Hyde (at left) has for decades spurred sales of everything from biotech to batteries. The AutoZone founder and philanthropist helped found MB Venture Partners, Memphis Bioworks and more. For the past few years, there's been a good bit of questioning in Middle Tennessee regarding whence may come comparable leadership in the high-growth, high-tech arenas, apart from healthcare services, where a clutch of Frists have helped spawn so many ventures. Well, one candidate has got to be Harry R. Jacobson, M.D., Vanderbilt's now vice chancellor emeritus for health affairs, an advisor to ICA, a board member at Merck, co-founder of the new Tri-Star TNInvestco fund, and much more. Here's our story covering some of Jacobson's thinking, his entrepreneurial track record and his views on Informatics Corporation of America, ICA, where he's an advisor.

TNInvestco: Tri-Star discusses targets

Tri-Star Technology Fund co-Founder Christopher Rand (left) told VNC this afternoon the fund will "target investments in health care, broadly defined to include: biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, personalized medicine, medical devices, health care IT and health care services." Rand, who is in the venture with Brian Laden and Harry Jacobson, M.D., added, "Tri-Star Technology Ventures plans to concentrate primarily on founding and investing in companies emerging from America’s top research institutions, with a focus on Tennessee’s great research institutions. All three partners...believe that there is a significant amount of promising research that isn’t currently tapped into by most VCs."