The US investors in the Targetech Innovation Center technology incubator in Netanya plan an upgrade of the incubator that will turn it into one of the leading incubators in Israel. The group, made up wealthy private investors from Ohio, seeks to raise tens of millions of dollars for a follow-on investment in Targetech.
The investor group is headed by Joe Kanfer, a Jew who lives in Ohio and is thoroughly versed in Israeli politics. Among other things, Kanfer is the owner of sanitation products company Gojo Industries.
In the first round of fund raising for Targetech, $3.5 million were invested in the incubator itself. Three main investors participated: the private investor group from Ohio, a Canadian real estate group, and an Israeli group. The latter two groups have dropped out.
The Ohio group decided to work differently, and to bring in further capital. The incubator will now focus more narrowly on medical devices. Up to now, its fields of activity were medical devices, communications, and green energy.
The incubator recently participated in follow-on investments totaling $1 million in pCure Ltd., which has developed a proton therapy device to treat cancer, and diagnostic device company Infigo.
There are strong ties between the State of Ohio and the Israeli biomed industry, beyond the Targetech incubator. The state has made considerable efforts to induce Israeli companies to set up branches there, offering links with academic and medical institutions in Ohio, chief among them Cleveland Clinic.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 16, 2009
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