Innovation, influence and business in America's medical cities.

Tenex Health Inc. has raised $1.275 million from the sale of equity, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.The Rochester-based biotech start-up, which is seeking $2 million, is developing treatments for sports-related injuries like tendinitis.Founder and CEO Jagi Gill did not return a phone call seeking comment.Gill is a long-time medical device [...]

Seagate Technology giveth (sort of). Seagate Technologies taketh (definitely).Bolstered by better than expected revenue, the disc driver maker has reversed plans to convert a state-of-the-art nanotech facility in Edina into the Minnesota Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology.Seagate, based in Scotts Valley, California, has major operations in the Twin Cities.The company originally planned to use the [...]

Here are some news/notes on a day in MedCity, Minnesota:Uroplasty Inc.s stock price jumped 4.6 percent Tuesday after the company announced positive results from study of its incontinence treatment, according to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal. The movement comes after the Minnetonka-based medical device developer reported favorable results from a large study to be published [...]

Another day, another new local early stage fund.Upwind Medical Partners is launching a $6 million to $8 million early stage fund that will focus on commercializing intellectual property from health care/research institutions like the University of Minnesota, Wisconsin Alumni Research Fund (WARF), Allina Hospitals & Clinics, and John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.Founded by Jim O’Reilly, [...]

Mayo Clinic debuted Monday its second iPhone/iTouch application, the hospital’s latest effort to extend its brand into mobile technology.Mayo Clinic Symptom Checker, which can be downloaded free on iTunes, allows patients to find quick medical advice to 40 symptoms. For instance, the app advises patients to seek a doctor if they experience coughing for more [...]

Local medical device companies, including Boston Scientific Corp., Lumen Biomedical Inc. and ev3 Inc. in Plymouth, Minn. may benefit from a major government-funded study that concludes carotid stents are equally safe and effective as surgery to unblock clogged neck arteries.The long-awaited results from the Carotid Revascularization EndarterectomyVersus Stenting Trial (CREST), led by a Mayo Clinic [...]

Here are some news/notes from a day in MedCity, Minnesota:Mayo Clinic said Thursday that it returned to profitability in 2009, thanks mostly to large investment gains and expense control.The organization reported income of $333 million, a 4.4 percent operating margin, after breaking even in 2008. Mayo generated $7.6 billion, a 5 percent gain from 2008. [...]

Patients will measure their vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse and weight, and respond to questions related to their diseases on a daily basis. A clinical care team will review the data, and will be able to use videoconferencing to further evaluate the patients.

Republicans expected the House bill to proceed to conference committee where it could continue to be tweaked. But instead the Senate opted to immediately pass the House version of the bill and send it to the governor’s desk.

Called the Production Assistance for Cellular Therapies Program, or PACT, the money will help the university more quickly win Food and Drug Administration approval to launch clinical trials.