Ofer Hi Tech teams with Clalit Health Services

Ofer will invest in companies of Clalit's technology transfer arm, Mor Research Applications.

Sources inform ''Globes'' that Ofer Brothers unit Ofer Hi Tech Ltd. has signed a cooperation agreement with Mor Research Applications Ltd., the technology commercialization company of Clalit Health Services.

Ofer Hi Tech will unlimited gain access to inventions by doctors at Clalit's hospitals and to research by Clalit employees who do not work at hospitals. Clalit's hospitals include Carmel Hospital in Haifa, Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva, Meir Hospital in Safed, Rabin Medical Center (Beilinson Hospital) and Schneider Children's Hospital, both in Petah Tikva. Ofer Hi Tech and Mor Research will help the inventors develop commercially viable products and register patents on them through Mor Reseach.

Ofer Hi Tech has committed to invest in at least two Mor Research portfolio companies per year, and intends to invest in at least three or four companies. The investments will probably be made through Ofer's incubator, Naiot Venture Accelerator.

Mor Research has already had a number of commercial successes by Clalit doctors, including MediWound Ltd., Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (TASE:CFBI), CureTech Ltd., Medigene AG (XETRA: MDG), Obecure Ltd., MultiGene Vascular Systems Ltd. (MGVS), and Rafael Medical Technologies Ltd. MediWound's wound debridement product is undergoing Phase III clinical trials, and Obecure's obesity treatment is undergoing Phase II clinical trials.

Ofer Hi Tech has also chalked up biomedical successes by portfolio companies, including the sale of Remon Medical Technologies Ltd. to Boston Scientific Inc. (NYSE: BSX), the sale of Biosense Webster to Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), the merger of Predix Pharmaceuticals Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:EPIX), Radiancy Ltd., Enzymotec Inc., and the sale of X Technologies to Guidant Corporation.

Ofer Hi Tech VP Assif Stoffman said, "We know that doctors are very busy and don’t develop their ideas, which are excellent, because they originate from real clinical and market needs. The idea is to dig deep to encourage them to realize their inventions."

Ofer Hi Tech has been undergoing a strategic reorientation, of which the cooperation agreement with Mor Research is part. The company also plans to shortly begin investing in growth-stage and mature start-ups. Naiot is also undergoing changes, planning over the next three years to double its investment in new companies from five a year to ten. This expansion includes collaboration with Mor Research.

Naiot has a surfeit of new ventures, one of the most interesting of which is EZ Surgical Ltd. Ofer Hi Tech is developing this start-up as a company based on its sales and distribution arm. This is a very rare direction for an Israeli company, which usually focus on developing products while leaving the sales and distribution to other companies.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 23, 2008

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008

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