FROED One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722-7700 Tel 508-324-2620 Fax 508-677-2840 info@froed.org		STARTUP EYES CITY FOR EXPANSION NuOrtho could hire up to 100 The Herald News, Thursday, March 5, 2009 - Page B4 Fall River — Financing in this economic climate is hard to come by for businesses, homeowners, car owners and municipalities alike, but a Fall River company that makes probes for hospitals to repair joint tissue has received $1 million from private investors and hopes to unveil its products within a year. NuOrtho Surgical, a startup growing with the help of the incubator at the Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center, is looking for space in Fall River and could hire 100 workers in the next three years, said President Jeffrey Morrill. NuOrtho, whose founders also includes an orthopedic surgeon in New Mexico and a research and development expert in California, moved into the ATMC last October as it received its sixth patent. It plans to use the $1 million in financing, which it announced Tuesday, to file an application to the Food and Drug Administration and to prepare manufacturing capabilities for a product launch early next year. The probes, about 1-foot-long and powered by an outlet, will be used for surgery for injuries or lesions on knees and shoulders and is designed to leave less damage on cartilage than the probes used now, Morrill said. Wayne Auge, the orthopedic surgeon, and Roy Morgan, the chief development officer, have been developing the probes since 2002. NuOrtho’s growth plan includes $10 million in sales next year, $240 million in 2012 and $335 million by 2013. The probes will be marketed toward the 16,000 orthopedists in the United States. Morrill said they hope to expand to Europe and ultimately sell across the world. The NuOrtho probes — there will be 12 variations — are similar to what’s on the market today, Morrill said, but lower temperatures and energy levels — called subplasma — allow NuOrtho probes to leave a smoother contour. “No one is working in exactly what we’re doing,” he said. The probes, which would sell for around $250, are “relatively simple” devices, Morrill said, but are advanced enough that a bone-welding probe could eliminate the need for screws or plates for the most severe injuries. FDA approval is expected by the end of 2009 or early next year. The company considered locations in the Boston area, greater Minneapolis and northern California, said Morrill, who has lived in the area for about four years. They chose the ATMC for the help it gives to startups and ventures, he said. “Any time we look at a market, we look at the labor pool there, could it meet our needs? We felt Fall River was a good fit for that.” Back