CIT GAP Funds Invests in STR, LLC( HERNDON Va. April 22 -- The Cent...),Health

HERNDON, Va., April 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that CIT GAP Funds is leading an investment round in Soft Tissue Regeneration, LLC (STR), a medical device company based in Earlysville, VA, that develops synthetic scaffolds to encourage tissue regeneration. CIT will invest $100,000.

Joseph W. Reilly, Chief Executive Officer of STR, said, "CIT's investment and counsel will help us begin developing the animal study protocol that will help the company reach the next stage of its development."

STR, LLC, develops breakthrough technology for soft tissue regeneration of the anterior cruciate ligament ("ACL") of the knee. The company plans to introduce its product, called the L-C Ligament(TM), to a market that averages 300,000 ACL reconstructions per year in the US, EU, Canada, Japan and Australia. The current standard of care -- primarily consisting of autografts and allografts -- have significant issues, which the L-C Ligament(TM) intends to address by stabilizing the knee and encouraging the regeneration of ligament tissue, resulting in faster, better healing and greater odds of making a full recovery.

"We agree with STR that there is a great need for a synthetic ACL, considering the many problems with the current standard of care," Peter Jobse, CIT president and CEO said. "As our population increases with more aging, active adults, that need will only expand and the marketplace will be ripe for this and other innovative medical breakthroughs."

CIT GAP Funds is a family of venture funds designed to bridge the gap between "family and friends" funding and early-stage equity investments for Virginia-based technology and life science companies. CIT GAP Funds invests in seed-stage firms with a high potential for successful commercialization, rapid growth and downstream private equity financing.

"STR is CIT GAP Funds' twenty-fifth investment," noted Tom Weithman, CIT
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