Case Studies

Hildeez:  A growing local Med Tech firm

Kimberly Cox is chief executive officer and founder of Hildeez Recovery Garments.  Kimberly and co-founder Sherie Fox saw firsthand how patients who undergo hip or knee surgery often face a painful struggle of simply getting themselves dressed for weeks following the surgery.

To address the discomfort of irritating clothes, Kimberly and Sherie designed easy-to-wear garments to speed post-surgery recovery for knee and hip replacement patients.  They formed a company, Hildeez, and applied for BioAccel training, mentoring, and start-up funding support. 

Their innovative garments allow mobility, convenience, and comfort, providing easy access to the treatment site.  Ice packs are inserted into pockets surrounding the surgery site, reducing swelling after surgery, increasing comfort while accelerating the healing process. The garments are easy to wear and remove, replacing the need for wearing medical gowns during check-up visits to the doctor.
After meeting rigorous start-up requirements, in 2013, Hildeez was awarded early-stage funding and the opportunity to begin their commercial operations at BioInspire.  Today, they are expanding their business and plan to scale up manufacturing as orders continue to grow.

 But the launch of viable bioscience businesses such as Hildeez Recovery Garments face great odds. In the early-stage phase called the “Valley of Death,” most entrepreneurs face profound resource deficiencies to support proof-of- concept, lacking pre-seedfunding and access to ongoing business and technical support.  Navigating technology and regulatory hurdles and raising commercialization investment in a timely way pose some of the major risks innovators face to overcome this Valley of Death – considered to be the industry’s highest risk phase in the commercialization and investment process.

Many entrepreneurs do not have a clear understanding of the components along the commercialization continuum for biomedical technologies.  BioAccel knows that a proof-of-concept program, with a strong education component, can make a significant impact on the quality, success, and viability of technology commercialization projects in Arizona and the Southwestern United States.

Verve developed a non-invasive approach to reducing hypertension in patients with kidney disease. One of four Americans are hypertensive and the annual cost of hypertension is $500 billion. Verve's device reduces hypertension associated with kidney failure, promoting a safe procedure and preserving kidney function – potentially saving billions in future annual healthcare costs.

TinyKicks is a company developing technology to advance healthy pregnancy outcomes.

Omni BioCeutical Innovations offers human translational stem cell/growth factor-based skin and hair care product lines and received $60,000 in early-stage funding.

Student entrepreneur firms NeoLight and EpiFinder each have received entrepreneurial funding of $15,000 and business and technology services. NeoLight is developing equipment that treats jaundice in babies while EpiFinder provides clinical decision support technology to neurologists for diagnosing epilepsy.

**(Photos provided by BioAccel:  Kimberly Cox, chief executive officer and founder of Hildeez Recovery Garments)