In today’s wrapup of Triangle headlines from other news sources:

  • Big publicity for Joe DeSimone’s 3D technology firm
  • TransEnterix hopes for FDA approval of its surgical bot
  • An RTP diagnostics firm is sold for $65 million

The details:

  • “This Company Does 3D Printing at a Speed No One Else Can Match”

So reads the Bloomberg Businessweek headline about UNC-NCSU professor Dr. Joe DeSimone’s 3D tech startup Carbon 3D.

The firm, which has raised $140 million in venture capital, is based in Silicon Valley but DeSimone retains many of his Triangle connections while on leave from his professorship jobs.

Bloomberg reports:

“This is Carbon, the first company in the $4 billion 3D-printing industry to offer a serious—and seriously fast—alternative to conventional injection molds. Using new materials, hardware, and software, Carbon’s printer, the M1, fires UV light at its syrupy resins to produce prototypes and production parts that can be more bouncy, stiff, tough, or heat-resistant than rival products, printing at speeds competitors can’t match. Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Joseph DeSimone gets a little flowery when the knees come out. ‘We don’t print,’ he says. ‘We grow.”

Read the details at:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-01/this-company-does-3d-printing-at-a-speed-no-one-else-can-match

  • TransEnterix hopes for FDA approval of surgical bot

John Murawski of The News and Observer takes an in-depth look at Morrisville-based TransEnterix, which hopes to receive FDA approval for its SurgiBot system this month.

“But the decade-old Morrisville company has limited resources and will need another cash infusion soon until it can generate significant revenue in several years. TransEnterix lost nearly $47 million in 2015 and had about $47 million in cash as of Feb. 27, enough to fund operations through the end of 2016,” he reports.

“It’s a very high barrier to entry,” TransEnterix CEO Todd Pope told The N&O.. “It requires tremendous investment to build something like this.”

Read the details at:

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article69502482.html#storylink=cpy

  • Chinese firm buys RTP diagnostics company

Jason deBruyn of the Triangle Business Journal reports that Avioq, a health diagnostic manufacturer based in RTP, has been acquired by Shandong Oriental Ocean Sci-tech in a deal worth $65 million. Shandong is based in China.

“Founded in 2007, Avioq boasts that its nine-member management team, which includes six who hold a doctorate, has more than 250 years of experience in the diagnostics industry,” deBruyn says.

Read the details at:

http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2016/04/06/rtp-diagnostics-company-acquired-by-chinese-firm.html

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