Knee brace startup gets $1.5 million from angel investors

OrthoCor Medical Inc., a Minneapolis startup that makes an FDA-approved knee brace, has raised $1.5 million from angel investors. The company was one of the first of more than 100 small businesses to register for Minnesota’s angel investment tax credit.

OrthoCor Medical Inc., a Minneapolis startup that makes an FDA-approved knee brace, has raised $1.5 million from angel investors.

OrthoCor Medical was one of the first of more than 100 small businesses to register for Minnesota’s angel investment tax credit. About half of the money it raised came from investors who used the credit, according to the Star Tribune. Minnesota approved the tax credit last April to provide a 25 percent income tax credit for registered angel investors. Extending over five years, the program offers a total of $60 million in angel tax credits. Credits are capped at $12 million for 2011-2012.

OrthoCor, which started out at the University Enterprise Laboratories incubator in St. Paul, received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its OrthoCor Active Knee System in December 2009. The knee brace delivers heat and electromagnetic energy to soft tissue to reduce post-operative pain and inflammation, as well as minor muscle and joint aches resulting from over-exertion, strains, sprains and arthritis.

OrthoCor raised $1 million from angel investors in 2009. CEO John Dinusson previously worked at Blumburg Capital, an early stage venture capital firm, and the Initiative Foundation.