Mir Imran
Encyclopedia
Mir A. Imran is an India
n entrepreneur
and venture capitalist. Imran has formed 19 companies since the early 80s and holds over 140 patents.
Born and raised in India, the son of a doctor, Imran moved to New Jersey
in 1973 to attend Rutgers University
where he studied both electrical and biomedical engineering. He received his B.S.
in electrical engineering
and his M.S.
in biomedical engineering
and attended three years of Medical School before deciding to leave and work on the first implantable cardioverter-defibrillator
with Intec Systems, which was acquired by Eli Lilly
, spun out to form Guidant
, and acquired by Boston Scientific
in 2006 for $27.5B
Imran is recognized for his history as a scientist, inventor, entrepreneur and investor of medical technology companies. He is the founder and Chairman of InCube Laboratories, Inc., a research laboratory and business incubator for medical and technology companies. Through InCube Labs, and prior to its establishment, he has founded numerous medical and high technology companies. Imran currently serves as a Director for NFocus, Inc., Zonare, Inc., Intrapace, Inc., Entrack, Inc., SafeView, Inc., Bodymedia, Inc., EGeen Inc. Acumen Medical Inc., Python Medical, Inc., Corrhythm, Inc. and Neurolink, Inc.
He was also a major funder of the 2002 documentary, "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
".
Imran’s current research interests include tissue engineering, gastroenterology, nephrology, neurology, orthopedics, congestive heart failure and artificial organs.
and a limited partner in several venture funds. In addition, he serves as an Advisor to Alley Ventures and is a Venture Partner of and an advisor to ePlanet Ventures, a $650 million global venture capital fund based in Silicon Valley.
Since the formation of InCube Labs, Imran has formed 11 more companies; 5 of which are currently incubating within the facility .
2005 Rutgers University
Distinguished Engineer Award
Featured in EE Times - Nov 7th 2005 eeTimes
Featured in Stanford Medicine - Fall 2006 Stanford Medicine Magazine
Featured in Rutgers 1766 Alumni Magazine Rutgers 1766 magazine
Featured in Innovative Doctoring-Grossman, Jeffrey Innovative Doctoring
Keynote Speaker – Engineering in Medicine and Biology - UT Dallas - Nov 2007 UT Dallas Engineering in Medicine and Biology
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and venture capitalist. Imran has formed 19 companies since the early 80s and holds over 140 patents.
Born and raised in India, the son of a doctor, Imran moved to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in 1973 to attend Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
where he studied both electrical and biomedical engineering. He received his B.S.
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
and his M.S.
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in biomedical engineering
Biomedical engineering
Biomedical Engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology. This field seeks to close the gap between engineering and medicine: It combines the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to improve...
and attended three years of Medical School before deciding to leave and work on the first implantable cardioverter-defibrillator
Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator
An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator is a small battery-powered electrical impulse generator which is implanted in patients who are at risk of sudden cardiac death due to ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. The device is programmed to detect cardiac arrhythmia and correct it...
with Intec Systems, which was acquired by Eli Lilly
Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company. Eli Lilly's global headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States...
, spun out to form Guidant
Guidant
Guidant Corporation, part of Boston Scientific and Abbott Labs, designs and manufactures artificial pacemakers, implantable defibrillators, stents, and other cardiovascular medical products. Their company headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Their main competitors are Medtronic, St...
, and acquired by Boston Scientific
Boston Scientific
The Boston Scientific Corporation , is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices whose products are used in a range of interventional medical specialties, including interventional cardiology, peripheral interventions, neuromodulation, neurovascular intervention,...
in 2006 for $27.5B
Imran is recognized for his history as a scientist, inventor, entrepreneur and investor of medical technology companies. He is the founder and Chairman of InCube Laboratories, Inc., a research laboratory and business incubator for medical and technology companies. Through InCube Labs, and prior to its establishment, he has founded numerous medical and high technology companies. Imran currently serves as a Director for NFocus, Inc., Zonare, Inc., Intrapace, Inc., Entrack, Inc., SafeView, Inc., Bodymedia, Inc., EGeen Inc. Acumen Medical Inc., Python Medical, Inc., Corrhythm, Inc. and Neurolink, Inc.
Business
Imran joined Intec Systems in 1980 and developed IP key to the development of the automatic implantable defibrillator, a device that has saved hundreds of thousands of lives, and has become a standard of care in cardiology. One of his high profile medical inventions is his EEG monitoring sensor array that John Glenn was featured as wearing in the Time Magazine story of his latest space mission. This became the core product for Physiometrix and has become a standard diagnostic tool used in neurophysiology. In 1992, Mr. Imran invented a cooled RF ablation catheter for the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias. This invention became the initial product of Cardiac Pathways, and is now widely used by cardiac electro-physiologists. In 1995, he developed a low-pressure balloon and aspirator system for use in catheter based interventions. Mr. Imran was the first to articulate the concept of distal protection during high-risk interventions. Mr. Imran’s device became the primary innovation for Percusurge, which was acquired by Medtronic in December 2000. In the medical field Imran's interest is to develop medical devices that blur the distinction between organic and synthetic and advance patient treatment options.He was also a major funder of the 2002 documentary, "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
Muhammad: Legacy of the Prophet is a PBS documentary film about the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad based on historical records and on the stories of living American Muslims who call Muhammad the Messenger of God...
".
Imran’s current research interests include tissue engineering, gastroenterology, nephrology, neurology, orthopedics, congestive heart failure and artificial organs.
ePlanet Ventures
Imran is an active angel investorAngel investor
An angel investor or angel is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity...
and a limited partner in several venture funds. In addition, he serves as an Advisor to Alley Ventures and is a Venture Partner of and an advisor to ePlanet Ventures, a $650 million global venture capital fund based in Silicon Valley.
Companies formed
- Data Trak, Inc. – Real estate lockbox encryption technology developer. Acquired by Supra Products in 1989.
- Cardiac Pathways, Inc. – Ventricular tachycardia and atrial fibrillation mapping and ablation devices. IPO in 1996, Acquired by Boston ScientificBoston ScientificThe Boston Scientific Corporation , is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices whose products are used in a range of interventional medical specialties, including interventional cardiology, peripheral interventions, neuromodulation, neurovascular intervention,...
in 2001. - Vidamed, Inc. – Licensed patents and technology relating to transurethral needle ablationTransurethral needle ablationTransurethral needle ablation is a procedure that is used to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy . A small probe that gives off low-level radiofrequency energy is inserted through the urethra into the prostate. The energy from the probe heats and destroys the abnormal prostate tissue without...
for the treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia, BPH. IPO 1995, Acquired by Medtronic in 1996. - Intella Interventional, Inc. - Devices for coronary angioplasty. Merged with Goodman Inc. in March 2000.
- Reflow, Inc. - Devices for chronic total occlusions. Merged with FHT, Inc. in 1999.
- Surface Genesis, Inc. - Bio materials research (shut down).
- Percusurge, Inc. – Pioneered the area of emboli protection during interventional procedures. Acquired by MedtronicMedtronicMedtronic, Inc. , based in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the world's largest medical technology company and is a Fortune 500 company.- History :...
in 2000. - Advanced Cytometrix - Devices for soft tissue biopsy. Merged with Oncotech Inc. in 1997
- Physiometrix, Inc. EEG devices to monitor brain activity and determine depth of anesthesia. IPO in 1996. Acquired by HospiraHospiraHospira, Inc. is a U.S.-based global pharmaceutical and medical device company with headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois. It has approximately 14,000 employees. Hospira is the world's largest producer of generic injectable pharmaceuticals, manufacturing generic acute-care and oncology...
. - Safeview, Inc. – Developer of millimeter wave length security imaging equipment. Acquired by L-3 CommunicationsL-3 CommunicationsL-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. is a company that supplies command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems and products, avionics, ocean products, training devices and services, instrumentation, space, and navigation products. Its customers include...
. - Intrapace, Inc. – Developing a gastric stimulator for the treatment of obesityObesityObesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
. - Zonare, Inc. – Pre-IPO company that manufactures portable ultrasound systems.
- IntraPace - Commercial stage company with a novel treatment for obesity
- Spinal Modulation – Early stage company with a treatment for patients with chronic pain.
- Entrack Medical, Inc. – Startup in stealth mode.
- Python Medical, Inc. – Startup in stealth mode.
- Corrhythm, Inc. – Startup in stealth mode.
- Neurolink, Inc. – Startup in stealth mode.
InCube Labs
Imran founded InCube Labs in 1995 after forming 8 venture backed medical device companies. Imran’s concept was that InCube would function as an applied research institute, validating some early stage experiments to allow for a more efficient company formation process.Since the formation of InCube Labs, Imran has formed 11 more companies; 5 of which are currently incubating within the facility .
InCube Ventures
InCube Ventures is currently raising a venture capital fund that will invest both in companies that are created in InCube Labs as well as by individuals outside of InCube.Awards and publications
2009 Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni http://ralumni.com/hda2005 Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
Distinguished Engineer Award
Featured in EE Times - Nov 7th 2005 eeTimes
Featured in Stanford Medicine - Fall 2006 Stanford Medicine Magazine
Featured in Rutgers 1766 Alumni Magazine Rutgers 1766 magazine
Featured in Innovative Doctoring-Grossman, Jeffrey Innovative Doctoring
Speaking engagements
Medtronic Distinguished Lecturer at Johns Hopkins BioMedical Engineering Day – May 2007 Johns Hopkins BioMedical Engineering Day Brochure – May 2nd 2007Keynote Speaker – Engineering in Medicine and Biology - UT Dallas - Nov 2007 UT Dallas Engineering in Medicine and Biology
External links
- InCube Labs
- InCube Ventures
- eeTimes Magazine – Nov 7th 2005 – featuring Mir Imran
- Healthy Entrepreneurship in Medical Devices, podcast of Mir Imran speaking at Stanford
- Stanford Medicine, Fall 2006 – Device Guru’s article featuring Mir Imran
- UT Dallas, Engineering in Medicine and Biology – Nov 12th, 2007 – Keynote presentation by Mir Imran.
- Patents with Mir Imran listed as Inventor – USPTO.gov
- InCube Labs in the Daily Telegraph, UK