With over $450,000 on the line, 20 start-up companies recently took part in Texas A&M Innovation’s 10th annual New Ventures Competition — a Shark Tankesque contest in which companies present their ideas to a panel of experts.
By the end of the multi-round competition, only six finalists remained with Houston-based medical device company Tarus Vascular ultimately coming out on top. The company began in 2022 and has since raised millions through the development of a new minimally invasive stent designed to treat aortic aneurysms — large bulges that can occur in the wall of the body’s main artery.
Founder and CEO Matthew Kuhn said the company got its start at the Texas Medical Center Innovation Biodesign Program in Houston.
“We’re developing technology to prophylactically drain what are called endo-leaks. Endo-leaks are the most common complication that patients experience after being treated for abdominal aortic aneurysms,” he said. “We have a …