EarlySense Ltd. announced its intentions to open its U.S. headquarters in Massachusetts.
The move is a “direct result” of Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick’s March trip to Israel, where he met with EarlySense officials, according to a Mass. Life Sciences Center official.
“He convinced us that Massachusetts would be the best location to run our national operations focused on making the EarlySense system the standard of care in hospitals and nursing homes nationwide,” EarlySense CEO Avner Halperin said in prepared remarks.
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MassDevice Staff Website The Massachusetts Medical Devices Journal is the online journal of the medical devices industry in the Commonwealth and New England, providing day-to-day coverage of the devices that save lives, the people behind them, and the burgeoning trends and developments within the industry.
The Ramat Gan, Israel-based patient monitoring system maker said it will hire 10 employees in Massachusetts, and plans to hire 10 to 20 employees each subsequent year.
MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham, Mass. will be the first hospital in the commonwealth to commercially implement EarlySense’s contact-free patient monitoring system.
EarlySense had been flirting with moving to Northeast Ohio. Its received money from a Cleveland-based investment fund and received investment from the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center.
Also adding to Cleveland’s potential appeal was that local venture firm Bridge Investment Fund was one of two major U.S. backers of EarlySense, having invested more than $1 million in the company.
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“It does make business sense for them,” said Michael Goldberg, managing director with Bridge, said of EarlySense’s choice of Massachusetts over Cleveland, noting that EarlySense’s first U.S. customer is in the state. “We’re not going to win every one of these.”
Goldberg said EarlySense still plans to establish a Cleveland presence to work with Cleveland Clinic on a clinical trial. “We will continue to work with EarlySense to promote clinical and commercialization opportunities for them in the region,” he said.
EarlySense last October won FDA 510(k) clearance for its EverOn Central Display Station — which accompanies its EverOn Touch patient monitoring system. A few weeks later, the firm raised $7 million in a Series D round, bringing its 2010 financing to $20 million.
The Massachusetts Medical Devices Journal is the online journal of the medical devices industry in the Commonwealth and New England, providing day-to-day coverage of the devices that save lives, the people behind them, and the burgeoning trends and developments within the industry.
