| Yossi Gross יוסי גרוס |
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|---|---|
Yossi Gross |
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| Born | 1947 Budapest, Hungary |
| Occupation | Medical Device Innovator and Entrepreneur |
| Children | Amir Gross, CEO, Valtech Inbal Gross, Interior design |
| Website | |
| Rainbow Medical web site | |
Yossi Gross (born February 5, 1947) is an Israeli medical device innovator and entrepreneur.[1] He is a founding partner of Rainbow Medical, an operational investment company, established to launch companies based on the technological ideas and inventions of Gross.[2] Yossi Gross first started his professional career in the 20th century as a project manager of the Lavi (IAI Lavi ) program for the Israel Air Force.[1] From the 1990s through the beginning of the 21st century, Gross, an aeronautical engineer by training, started 27 medical device companies based on his various inventions in electronics, signal processing, nanotechnology, drug delivery and neurostimulation. Gross’s various companies have developed or are currently developing treatments for diabetes, gastroenterology, stroke, ophthalmology, asthma, congestive heart failure, and urology.[3] Gross has 567 filed patents.[4][5]
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Yossi Gross was born in Budapest, Hungary. He immigrated to Israel with his Holocaust survivor parents at the age of three. His parents and family live on Moshav Mazor.[1] [3]Gross received an MSc degree in 1976 in aeronautical engineering from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel.[2][3]
Following his graduation from the Technion in 1976, Gross joined Israel AirCraft Industries where he began to work as a flight test engineer from 1977–1985.[1] Gross was on the management team of the IAI Lavi project, a program tasked to design and build a fighter jet, similar to the F-16, for the Israeli Air Force. The program was later cancelled.[3]
In 1985 Gross opened General Ideas and Products Ltd., where he developed several small electric consumer appliances. From 1988 to 1995, Gross also directed the R&D operations of Scientific Innovations.[3]
Gross’s first medical creation was a small mini-pump to deliver drugs which he developed in an equally owned joint venture with Elan Corporation called Elan Medical Technologies,[1] a subsidiary of Elan Pharmaceuticals. Gross spent most of the 1990s working at Elan developing several drug delivery systems, the patents of which are assigned to Elan. In 1998, Elan bought Gross out. He stayed on thereafter for a short while as the vice president of research and development, before leaving to begin building his own business.[3]
From the late 1990s through 2007, Gross launched 27 separate medical device companies, all based on his patents and inventions.[3][5] Venture and equity investors in these companies include: Pitango, Three Arch, HBM Bioventures, Delta Ventures, Onset Ventures, Alice Ventures and the Infinity Group. Other companies that have either invested in or acquired these companies include: Medtronic Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Elan, Elron Electronic Industries and American Medical Systems.[3]
Examples of the 27 companies follow below and are listed by indication.[6]
Rainbow Medical, based in Herzliya Pituach, Israel, was launched in 2007 with $20 million in funding from GlenRock Israel, NGN Capital, SVM Asset Management and individuals.[5] Rainbow Medical has aspects of a venture fund and a US-style incubator. Rainbow mainly supports the technology ideas of Yossi Gross.[6]Rainbow Medical finances its start-up companies at their beginnings. Subsequent investment is done on an individual company basis through both outside investors and select Rainbow investors.[6]
Rainbow Medical is led by Yossi Gross, CTO, Efi Cohen-Arazi, CEO, Gilad Lorberaum, COO and Saadia Ozeri, CFO.[6]All Rainbow companies share the same resources including accounting and law firms.[6]The startup companies are all led by CEOs mainly recruited from Talpiot, a branch of the IDF. When the companies graduate to clinical trials, then American CEOs are sought to run the companies. The U.S. is also a source for capital and partners.[6]
In 2007, Recanati and Gross, together with Rainbow Medical CEO Efi Cohen-Arazi, reviewed a series of Gross’s ideas and chose 15 technologies on which to focus. Below follows a list of some of the early stage startup companies that Rainbow has established out of these 15 by segment. The products of these companies are all at the pre-clinical stage of development.[6]
CardioVascular: Enopace Biomedical, treatment for congestive heart failure; Vascular Dynamics, implantable stent for the treatment of hypertension.
Diabetes: GluSense, continuous glucose biosensor for diabetes patients.
Ophthalmology: PharmaLight, ocular drug delivery platform that administers therapeutics, including macro molecules, to the posterior segment of the eye; Bio Lens; Nano Retina, developing the Bio-Retina, a bionic retina designed to return full sight to those blinded by a degenerative condition. [9] [10] [11][12]
Aesthetic/Body Shaping: Slender Medical, body contouring and fat reduction system utilizing ultrasound.
BPH: ProstaPlant Urology Systems, transurethral implant for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia and lower urinary tract symptoms.
Gynecology: Fibro Control, treatment for uterine fibroids.
Dental/Maxillofacial: Maxillent, a solution for a fundamental problem in the field of dental implants.
Gross is a member of the Israeli Life Science Association.[13]