University Medical Devices Raises Initial Seed Funding Round

University Medical Devices (UMD) has closed its first round of seed funding, raising $1.6 million to advance its infrastructure—covering regulatory, medical, legal, manufacturing, packaging, sales and marketing. The round was led by Bright Minds Capital Partners, Invest Nebraska, and leaders from AV Legacy Holdings LLC and UMD.

The money will help UMD achieve profitability and sustainability, as well as commercialize its first product, MicroWash. Developed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, MicroWash is a nasal specimen collection device providing a less invasive alternative to nasal swabs for labs, patients and healthcare providers. This collection system is especially crucial for higher-risk populations and a significant step toward mitigating the global impact of future pandemics. MicroWash aims to play a pivotal role in addressing the challenges posed by the “tripledemic”—flu, COVID-19, and RSV—as well as other respiratory infections. 
 
“Having our seed round close fully funded is a testament to investors’ belief in our concepts, recognizing we’re a trailblazer in how upper respiratory infection samples are collected for testing,” UMD Founder/CEO James Young said. “It demonstrates confidence in UMD’s ability to impact national and global health security, as well as faith in our executive and inventor team.”

UMD intends to launch an aggressive sales campaign to medical supply distributors, national reference laboratories, health systems and health plans as well as municipal and federal government agencies, with device availability anticipated later this year. 
 
“At Bright Minds, we support visionary ideas. UMD’s team of experts fit the bill,” Bright Minds Capital Partners Executive Chairman David Holme said. “UMD’s devices stand to evolve healthcare diagnostics for the better. We’re confident in the impact and longevity of the company’s future, from MicroWash and beyond.”

University Medical Devices develops specimen collection systems designed to improve the patient experience. The company brings to market healthcare technology from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and its commercialization wings UNeMed/UNeTech. UMD’s leadership includes experts in neurology, emergency medicine, telehealth, urgent care, primary care, healthcare startup entrepreneurship and healthcare regulation with training at leading medical institutions throughout the United States. The executive team also has specialized expertise in biocontainment and pandemic medicine with the National Quarantine Unit—the only federally supported program of its kind—and was among the first to oversee isolation care and serial testing for COVID-19 patients returning to the United States at the beginning of the pandemic. NMotion powered by gener8tor, Nebraska’s premier startup accelerator, played a key role in UMD’s early development.
 
Bright Minds Capital Partners is a venture capital firm focusing on disruptive technology domains, including the solar energy and medical sectors. Invest Nebraska is a venture development organization that partners with the Nebraska Department of Economic Development to fund and support the state’s most promising startup companies. 

Nicholas Lorenzo and Anne Bueltel are serial healthcare technology entrepreneurs and the founder/executive chairman and chief operating officer of UMD, respectively.