(updated with correction)
University of Michigan Board of Regents, Ann Arbor, approved investment agreements for four potential investments under the State of Michigan Conflict of Interest statute from Michigan Investment in New Technology Startups, a venture capital fund co-managed by the university's investment office and its Office of Technology Transfer.
If the managers of the MINTS fund decide to go forward with the investments, each of the following Ann Arbor-based companies could receive up to $2.5 million each: Attercor Inc., which develops therapies for adrenal disorders; CytoPherx Inc., which manufactures medical devices to treat inflammation-based diseases using a cytopheresis system; NanoBio Corp., which focuses on developing products to prevent and treat infectious diseases using nanoemulsion droplets; and Tissue Regenerative Systems Inc., which has integrated structural and surface-modified bioresorbable implants for skeletal reconstruction applications in development, according to materials from the regents' July 19 meeting.
Regents' approval of the investment agreements is required because executives of each firm are UM employees and have a financial interest because they are part owners of the company or members of the company's board of directors.
In December, regents approved creating the fund, which will invest up to $25 million from the $7.7 billion long-term endowment fund over 10 years in companies using intellectual property licensed through the Office of Technology Transfer.
Separately, officials within the investment office, which manages UM's endowment, committed C$20 million (US$19.4 million) in ARC Energy Fund 7, a private equity fund that will invest in Canadian oil and gas companies. The investment is the endowment's third with ARC Financial, having committed a total of C$28.4 million to the firm's earlier funds, according to a memo to the regents from Timothy P. Slottow, executive vice president and CFO.
