Yossi Gross

Yossi Gross (Hebrew: יוסי גרוס‎; born February 5, 1947) is an Israeli engineer, inventor and entrepreneur.[1] He is a founding partner of Rainbow Medical, an operational investment company, established to launch companies based on the technological ideas and inventions of Gross.[2] Yossi Gross first started his professional career in the 20th century as a flight test engineer and a project manager of the Lavi (IAI Lavi ) program for the Israel Air Force.[1] From the 1990s through to the 21st century, Gross started 29 medical device companies based on his various inventions in electronics, signal processing, nanotechnology, drug delivery and neurostimulation. Gross's various companies have developed or are currently developing treatments for diabetes, gastroenterology, stroke, ophthalmology, asthma, congestive heart failure, spine, Alzheimer’s and urology.[3] Gross has over 560 filed patents.[4]

Yossi Gross
יוסי גרוס
Yossi Gross
BornFebruary 5, 1947
Budapest, Hungary
OccupationEntrepreneur, inventor, engineer
ChildrenAmir Gross, CEO, Valtech
Inbal Gross, Interior design
WebsiteRainbow Medical web site

Gross is a conference speaker. He spoke at the American Israel Chamber meeting on the topic: Accelerating Medical Device Start-ups the Israeli Way [5] and at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.[6] Gross also serves as a board member on the Brainboost innovation center for brain disorders, at Tel Aviv University.[7]

Biography

Yossi Gross was born in Budapest, Hungary. He immigrated to Israel, with his Holocaust-survivor parents, at the age of three. His parents and family live on Moshav Mazor.[3] In 1966 Gross received a degree in practical electrical engineering from the Campus of Engineering and Technology Studies in Tel Aviv. Immediately after graduating, Gross has drafted to the IDF Airforce where he served between 1967-1972 and achieved the rank of major. Gross received an MSc degree in 1976 in aeronautical engineering from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel.[2][3]

Engineering, inventing, and business career

Following his graduation from the Technion in 1976, Gross joined Israel AirCraft Industries where he began to work as a flight test engineer from 1977 to 1985.[1] Gross was on the management team of the IAI Lavi project, a program tasked to design and build a fighter jet, similar to the F-16, for the Israeli Air Force. The program was later cancelled.[3]

In 1985, Gross opened General Ideas and Products Ltd., where he developed several small electric consumer appliances. From 1988 to 1995, Gross also directed the R&D operations of Scientific Innovations.[3]

Gross's first medical creation was a small mini-pump to deliver drugs which he developed in an equally owned joint venture with Elan Corporation called Elan Medical Technologies,[1] a subsidiary of Elan Pharmaceuticals. Gross spent most of the 1990s working at Elan developing drug delivery systems, the patents of which are assigned to Elan. In 1998, Elan bought Gross out. He stayed on for a short while as the vice president of research and development, before leaving to begin building his own business.[3]

Companies: 1990–2021

From the late 1990s through 2021, Gross launched 29 separate medical device companies, all based on his patents and inventions.[3][8] Venture and equity investors in these companies include: Pitango, Three Arch, HBM Bioventures, Delta Ventures, Onset Ventures, Alice Ventures and the Infinity Group. Other companies that have either invested in or acquired these companies include: Medtronic Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Elan Medical Technology, Elron Electronic Industries and American Medical Systems.[3]

Examples of these companies are listed below by indication.[9]

Cardiovascular:
  • Valtech Cardio, minimally invasive mitral valve repair technology. Valtech Cardio Ltd. was founded in 2006 by Yossi Gross, Amir Gross, and Peregrine Ventures headed by Eyal Lifshitz and Boaz Lifshitz. Valtech is based in Or Yehuda, near Tel Aviv. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, a California-based medical equipment firm, acquired Valtech Cardio Ltd. in 2016 for $990 million.[10]
  • Cardiovalve is a company that develops Cardiovascular Replacement Devices for Minimally Invasive Surgery and operates from Or Yehuda, Israel. The company was founded in 2017 and has raised $40 million to date.[11]
Diabetes:
Stroke:
  • Brainsgate, acute stroke treatment, and brain drug-delivery technology.
Drug Delivery:
  • TransPharma Medical, active transdermal drug delivery system.
  • E-Pill, oral delivery of large molecule drugs.
  • Alma Therapeutics, microneedle-based capsule.
  • West Pharmaceutical Services,  SmartDose Drug Delivery Platform.
Gastroenterology:
Neurostimulation:
  • BioControl Medical, neurostimulation devices. In 2006 BioControl Medical sold its urology activity to Endo International’s American Medical Systems (AMS) for $50 million.[12]AMS was acquired in 2015 by Boston Scientific for $1.6 Billion source. In 2010 Medtronic invested $70 million in BioControl Medical.[13]
Ophthalmology:
  • VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies Inc., a miniature telescope for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In March 2009, the FDA Ophthalmic Devices Advisory Panel voted 8-0 to approve, with conditions including post-approval studies, the premarket application (PMA: 17.15, 0, 0%) of VisionCare's implantable miniature telescope for End-Stage AMD.[14][15] This vote overturned the "not approvable" recommendation from a Food & Drug Administration advisory panel in 2006. The implantable telescope corrects AMD by projecting a magnified image on the back of one eye restoring a person's central vision.[14]
  • Ophthocare, FDA-approved electronic eyeglasses for lazy eye in children.
Remote Patient Monitoring:
  • EarlySense, contact-free, continuous, patient supervision system for hospital and home use. EarlySense was founded in 2004 by Yossi Gross, Dr. Danny Lange, Guy Sher, and Avner Halperin, and has raised $150 million so far. In 2021, the company sold part of its intellectual rights on contact-free continuous monitoring technology to U.S. technology giant Hillrom, for $30 million.[16]

BioMetrics:

  • IDesia Biometrics, the only personal biometric authentication technology that captures electrophysiological signals unique to each individual. In 2012 IDesia Biometrics was acquired by Intel.[17]

Rainbow Medical

Rainbow Medical, based in Herzliya Pituach, Israel, is an innovation and investment company focused on the invention, creation, and monetization of proprietary medical technologies that solve major health challenges and improve patient care. Rainbow Medical was launched in 2007 with $20 million in funding from GlenRock Israel, NGN Capital, SVM Asset Management, and individuals.[8] Rainbow Medical has aspects of a venture fund and a US-style incubator. Rainbow mainly supports the technology ideas of Yossi Gross.[9]The company finances its start-up companies at their beginnings. Subsequent investment is done on an individual company basis through both outside investors and select Rainbow investors.[9]

Rainbow Medical is led by founder Yossi Gross, executive chairman Ilan Neugarten, CFO Yossi Cohen, chief regulatory and clinical officer Shirley Giorini Silfen, director of operations Yuval Mandelbaum, and  VP Etti Lavian.[18]All of  Rainbow Medical’s companies share the same resources including accounting and law firms.[9] The startup companies are all led by CEOs mainly recruited from Talpiot, a branch of the IDF. When the companies graduate to clinical trials, then American CEOs are sought to run the companies. The U.S. is also a source for capital and partners.[9]

Rainbow Medical started the following companies (sorted by category):

Cardiovascular:

Diabetes:

  • GluSense, continuous glucose biosensor for diabetes patients.

Ophthalmology:

  • Nano Retina, developing the Bio-Retina, a bionic retina designed to return full sight to those blinded by a degenerative condition. Nano Retina's device has entered the clinical phase and the first patients received their implants in early 2020.[19][20][21]Nano Retina's device has entered the clinical phase and the first patients received their implants in early 2020.[22]

Women's health:

  • BlueWind Medical, developing a wireless neurostimulation platform for the treatment of various clinical indications. The company’s first products are approved in Europe for treating overactive bladder (OAB) and peripheral neuropathic pain (PNP).[23]

Alzheimer’s:

  • BrainBalance, a novel device for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The minimally invasive device is designed to enhance the natural clearance of Aβ, using a directional electrical field.

Orthopedic:

  • DisCure Medical, a miniature electrical implant, reversing the process of spinal disc degeneration, by using a minimally invasive electrical field technique.

Remote Patient Monitoring:

  • ChroniSense, a disease management platform that monitors vital signs, including accurate blood-pressure, as well as other health factors, allowing patients and healthcare professionals to manage chronic illnesses without interfering with the patient’s everyday activities, within or outside the home.

Memberships

Gross is a member of the Israeli Life Science Association.[24]

References
  1. "Abigail K. Leichman "I thought I could do it better",Israel21c, August 10, 2009".
  2. "Jacques Ungar, "Rainbow Medical, A die hard Optimist",Tachles, July 10, 2009".
  3. "Mary Stuart, "The Creative Mind of Yossi Gross, Medical Device Inventor," Start-Up 10/2006, Art# 2006900195" (PDF).
  4. "Yossi Gross Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search". patents.justia.com. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  5. "Accelerating Medical Device Start-ups the Israeli Way".
  6. "Future Shock Diane McManus, Jewish Exponent Feature".
  7. "Board". The HBP Curriculum - HBP Student Learning Needs. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  8. "Jonathan Matsey, "Rainbow Medical Hunts $10M To Launch More Med Device Cos.," Dow Jones Venture Wire, June 10, 2009,".
  9. "David Cassak, "Rainbow Medical: Entrepreneurial Efficiency in Medical Devices," Start-Up, Features, September 2008, A#2008900167".
  10. "Edwards buys Israeli co Valtech Cardio for $1b". Globes. 2016-11-28. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  11. "Cardiovalve simplifies heart valve replacement". Globes. 2020-08-25. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  12. "BioControl sells urology activity to AMS for $50m - Globes". en.globes.co.il (in Hebrew). 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  13. "Medtronic invests $70m in cardiology co BioControl - Globes". en.globes.co.il (in Hebrew). 2010-05-24. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  14. "Tom Salemi, "Changing Minds at the FDA," In Vivo May 2009".
  15. "Medical News Today, March 20, 2009".
  16. Orbach, Meir (2021-02-01). "Earlysense sells its intellectual property rights for $30 million". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  17. "Intel acquires Idesia Biometrics - Globes". en.globes.co.il (in Hebrew). 2012-07-02. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  18. monimono. "Our people". Rainbow Medical. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  19. "Israeli scientists racing to create 'bionic eye' that could help millions ,Haaretz.COM,April 7, 2010, By Asaf Shtull-Trauring".
  20. "Israeli Company Develops Bionic Retina Implant,IsraelNationalNews.com ,March 16, 2010, by Malkah Fleisher".
  21. "Two high-tech approaches to restoring sight: Nano Retina, Second Sight develop implants for people blinded by disease,marketwatch.com, March 12, 2010, by Robert Daniel".
  22. CTech (2020-08-17). "Small wonders: Israeli companies tackling unmet clinical needs, one implant at a time". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  23. Leichman, Abigail Klein (2016-09-05). "Now there's needle-free Botox for your bladder". ISRAEL21c. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  24. "The Israeli Life Science Association web site".

Bibliography
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