Ortho Accelerator Nearing Funding Target

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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA medical device accelerator being developed by the state’s orthopedics initiative has landed another round of funding that will be distributed through 2022. OrthoWorx says the city of Fort Wayne, along with Kosciusko and Allen counties, have offered a combined $1.6 million for AcceLinx.
Kosciusko County has offered up to $1 million. Fort Wayne is pledging $450,000 and Allen County is pledging $150,000. The commitments bring the total amount of funding for AcceLinx to $3.3 million, heading toward OrthoWorx’s projection of $4.8 million needed to operate AcceLinx over the first six years.
"We are extremely grateful to Kosciusko County, Allen County, and the City of Fort Wayne for their vision and leadership," said Sheryl Conley, chief executive officer of OrthoWorx. "These entities will receive increased tax receipts from the Zimmer Biomet merger and we appreciate their willingness to reinvest in the industry that is so critical to the region’s economy. With inspiration from the community and the late Dr. Dane Miller, the AcceLinx initiative will help to capitalize on the unprecedented concentration of intellectual capital and device industry experience in northern Indiana."
OrthoWorx launched the AcceLinx initiative in April with funding commitments from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and the city of Warsaw. The goal of the initiative is to provide entrepreneurs with in-house and industry partner expertise, assist with access to capital and offer working space.
The accelerator, which will be a separate entity from OrthoWorx, will begin in the OrthoWorx offices and is expected to have its own physical location established within the next year. OrthoWorx says it is currently looking to raise the remaining funds for the initiative, including a federal grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.