About Us

We know healthcare.

Our healthcare-focused angel investor group is comprised of accredited investors who are physicians, scientists, successful med-tech entrepreneurs, and experts with relevant backgrounds: regulatory, reimbursement, intellectual property & finance (private equity, venture capital, sovereign wealth funds).

Our notion of healthcare is quite liberal, so we will invest in startups that touch on health in any way including: digital health, medical devices, robotics, diagnostics, imaging, AI-driven technologies, and wellness (e.g. food/tech, sports/tech, media-promoting health).

For therapeutics, we limit investments to repurposed drugs, preferring to skip first-in-humans.

We invest in Mid-Seed & Series A stage companies.

For those at the earlier Pre-Seed/Seed stages, we are also available to support your ventures in other ways: please check out our Advisory Program.

With many of our members active in the healthcare sector, MEDA Angels’ investments in technologies reflect not only strong market & technical validation of the products invested in, but members can often represent natural, prospective customers and impactful advisors to portfolio companies. We leverage our extensive networks to support companies in which we invest.

We are, thus, strategic investors.

Meet The Team

FOUNDERS

Elizabeth Cho-Fertikh, PhD
Co-Founder & Managing Director

25 years drug development & clinical trials at biotechs & startups (oncology, infectious diseases, neurodegenerative diseases), regulatory affairs, grants administration & angel investing
ECF Biosolutions, Washington, DC
BA, Johns Hopkins University
PhD, Thomas Jefferson Medical School
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Harvard Medical School

Amir Rafii, MD
Co-Founder

Head & Neck Surgery and Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, San Francisco Bay area
BS, University of California, Berkeley
MD, Georgetown Medical School
Residency, University of California, Davis
Fellowship, Virginia Mason Hospital

Mark J. Libassi, MD
Co-Founder

Robotic & Minimally Invasive Surgery, Philadelphia, PA area.
MD, Medical College of Pennsylvania
Residency, Hospital of the Medical College of Pennsylvania
Fellowship, Lehigh Valley Hospital (Trauma Surgery & Critical Care)

INVESTMENT FELLOWS

Tai Mai, MBA

- - Digital health & AI technologies
  - BS, Duke University, Biomedical Engineering
  - MBA, Georgetown McDonough School of Business

OPERATIONS

Patrick Malone, MD/PhD candidate

- - AI in neuroimaging & neurophysiology
    (EEGs, brain-computer interface; wearables & medtech)
  - BS, Emory University, Neuroscience
  - MD/PhD anticipated in 2021, Georgetown School of Medicine

PRINCIPAL ADVISORS

Danai Brooks, MBA

Managing Partner, Glen Echo Capital
Priors: COO, Dyadic, sold to Dupont 2015; JP Morgan, Mergers & Acquisitions
BS, Cornell University
MBA, Northwestern Kellogg School of Management

John Brzezenski, MBA

25+ years senior operating & exec management, advisory, private equity roles
Partner, J. Lock & Co, merchant bank
Angel investor & former Board Director, Launchpad Ventures, since 2002
AB, Harvard University
MBA, Northwestern Kellogg School of Management

Raj Malik

Partner, Pixel Perfect Ventures
7 successful exits as leadership team member, founder or advisor
Helped scale Audax Health/Rally Health from pre-revenue to $1B in revenue, sold to UnitedHealth Group
CEO, Cofounder, Kikscore, sold to Google
Broad cross-functional experience in Operations, Corp Dev, Marketing/PR, Project/Mgmt roles
BA, Miami University
JD, Ohio State University College of Law

Steven S. Brooks, MD, FACC

Interventional Cardiology
Nearly a decade at FDA, medical device 510K, de novo, regulatory affairs
Principal, Brooks MedTech LLC, regulatory consulting
AB, Duke University
MD, University of Pittsburgh
MBA, Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business

Alexander Antoniou, MD, MBA

Healthcare Investing, Reimbursements, Clinical Informatics, Nuclear Medicine
Director of Corporate Innovations, Carefirst Blue Cross Blue Shield
Venture Partner, FundRx
McKinsey & Co.
BS, Tufts University
MD, Tufts School of Medicine
MBA, Johns Hopkins Carey School of Medicine
House Staff, Nuclear Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital

Daniel Geselowitz, PhD

Angel Investor, Patent Agent specializing in biotech & chemical art, Kratz, Quintos & Hanson
BS, Haverford University
PhD, Stanford University
Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Fred Gumbinner, JD

30+ years micro private equity & angel investing
Managing Partner, G2 GEM Finance & ICON Finance
BA, Colgate University
JD, University of Michigan School of Law

Concetta Dudley, JD

Corporate counsel with 20+ yrs in Technology Commercialization
Advisor to startups & emerging companies
BA, Case Western Reserve University
JD, Cleveland State University
MA, Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania

Nancy L. Cho, MD

Endocrine cancer surgery & cancer research, Brigham & Women’s Hospital & Harvard Medical School.
BS, Harvard University
MD, Columbia Medical School
Residency & Fellowship, Brigham & Women’s Hospital

For Investors

MEDA Angels provides Investor Members with several programs:

(1) Investment opportunities: this is our core program. We identify and screen promising deal flow sourced from throughout the US and on occasion, internationally. We present mid-seed and Series A investment opportunities, and where compelling, pre/Series B, in companies meeting our investment thesis (below, under “For Startups” section).

We strive to provide our members with the highest quality deal flow. How do we do this?

As actual potential end-users of novel healthcare technologies, we can expertly & swiftly assess the product market fit of technologies: a critical screening step.
We leverage our roots in and extensive networks built over years with top medical schools, healthcare systems, industry, research Centers of Excellence, incubators, accelerators and innovation hubs where many startups are spawn or affiliated with.
We exchange deal flow with trusted, syndicate partners who share the same vision & investment thesis.
Schedule:
- Every 2 months: alternating virtual & on-site pitch meetings (DC & Philadelphia)
- Ad hoc: virtual pitch meetings when a highly promising investment opportunity arises (approximately 3-4x a year)

(2) NEW! Advisory opportunities: we recognize that some startups require a guiding hand, and with the right Advisory, can turn into rising stars. As senior-level experts, our Members are positioned to be such Advisors. Our twice-a-year Startup Showcases are intended to introduce startups to Advisors/Investors. Program details are provided here.

(3) Education: our sessions are often a unique blend of Investor Roundtables meet Medical Grand Rounds, bringing both sides of the table together on:

Macro investment topics.
Healthcare-specific investment topics.
Due diligence, basic & advanced.
Current topics, such as COVID-19 & its impact on macro & healthcare-specific investing.
Schedule: ad hoc.

We invite accredited investors to join as members! To check whether you qualify for accredited investor status per the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission regulations, CLICK HERE .

Click here to learn more about our memberships.

learn more

For Startups

Welcome entrepreneurs! We’d love to learn more about your technology or product. We invest in mid-seed and Series A-ready companies, with a preference for equity investment opportunities. If yours meets these criteria and those described below, please apply by submitting a pitch deck and executive summary. We will conduct an initial screening and reach out with our decision. If selected, we will be pleased to extend an invitation to present to our members! Thank you for your interest in MEDA Angels.

digital health/SaaS: beta-test completed with some revenue generation or contracts
consumer products: some revenue-generation, prefer B2B models
for repurposed drugs & medical devices: preclinical tests & pilot toxicology studies completed
for diagnostic & imaging products: pilot studies completed

apply now