NovaVision, Inc., developer of the FDA-cleared NovaVision VRT™ Vision Restoration Therapy™, is a privately held Boca Raton, Florida-based corporation. The company's Series A round of financing raised $6 million and closed in August 2003. The round was funded by Noro-Moseley Partners and Crossbow Ventures to launch NovaVision's product in the American and European marketplaces. In 2004, NovaVision closed additional funding of $2 million in September, bringing the first round of funding to a total of $8 million by the end of 2004. In February 2005, NovaVision received a second round of funding of approximately $12 million from investors made up primarily of Noro-Moseley Partners, Tullis-Dickerson, and Crossbow. In 2006 NovaVision secured $20 million in series C funding, which was led by Chicago Growth Partners ( Chicago, Il) along with first-time investors Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation ( New Brunswick, N.J.) and Oakwood Medical Investors ( St. Louis, Mo.). Also participating in this series of financing were existing investors Tullis-Dickerson & Co., Inc. ( Greenwich, Conn.), Noro-Moseley Partners ( Atlanta, Ga.), and Crossbow Ventures ( West Palm Beach, Fla.).
Chicago Growth Partners (CGP) is a Chicago-based private equity investment firm committed both to its investments and its investors in the lower middle market. The firm targets three primary sectors: business and consumer services, healthcare, and industrial growth. CGP's Partners have specialized in these industry sectors for more than 20 years and their combined experience in each of these areas totals 100-plus years. CGP distinguishes itself through its experienced team, including in-house marketing, information technology, and operations expertise; its approach to the development and execution of strategies designed to build success; its focus on growth as the primary driver of returns; and its commitment to partnering with portfolio companies that demonstrate strong management capability and opportunity. CGP moves beyond the delivery of growth capital by lending significant industry experience, knowledge and leadership to each business situation. CGP currently manages $1.2 billion of committed capital while investing Chicago Growth Partners VIII, a fund raised in spring 2006.
Crossbow Ventures is a leading private equity firm with offices in West Palm Beach, Florida and Zurich, Switzerland. The firm manages three funds and has completed more than 100 private equity transactions since 1999. The current funds (Crossbow Equity Partners LP, Crossbow Venture Partners LP, and Crossbow Equity Partners II LP) focus on early to expansion stage investments in the Southeast U.S., the fastest growing region in the country. Industry sectors include technology, communications, and healthcare. Crossbow’s investor base comprises of European and institutions, family offices, and individuals.
Organized in 1973, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC) is the venture capital subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. JJDC makes private equity investments in venture funded health care companies. Portfolio companies include those in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, diagnostics, and consumer products. JJDC also leads and manages internal investments in selected promising technologies.
Founded in 1983, Atlanta-based Noro-Moseley Partners (NMP) is one of the largest and most experienced venture capital firms in the southeastern United States. Since its inception, NMP has created five limited partnership funds totaling approximately $580 million in capital and has invested in more than 140 companies.
Oakwood Medical Investors is a life sciences venture capital firm investing in development stage medical device, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies. Target portfolio companies for Oakwood have an industry "disruptive" technology, have demonstrated proof of concept for their lead product and completed a first round of institutional venture financing. Over the past 16 years, Oakwood's managers have collaborated on more than 35 life sciences-related investments in companies across the nation. The firm has offices in St. Louis, Missouri, and Cleveland, Ohio.
Tullis-Dickerson & Co., Inc. is a health care-focused private equity group, providing venture capital to small and mid-sized companies. The firm provides seed through late stage capital to creative, committed management teams leading growth companies. Through its established national and regional presence, Tullis-Dickerson has provided leadership, guidance, and capital to a broad group of successful businesses, which have in some cases surpassed the billion-dollar revenue level and operate on a global basis.