..."'Because of Dartmouth College, the strong engineering discipline there, the affiliation with Dartmouth-Hitchcock (Medical Center), the giant academic center and all of the companies that have grown around that community, there is really an opportunity for innovation,' [Greg Lange, UVMTC steering committee chair] says. 'This is growing on the heels of some of the early biotech and life sciences work done in the region, from companies like GlycoFi or Adimab, that really created a tremendous amount of value and were grown right here in the Upper Valley.'"

..."Lange, as well as two other Simbex leaders — President [and Dartmouth Engineering Adjunct Professor] Rick Greenwald and Chief Technical Officer Jeff Chu — are largely responsible for the formation of the collaborative. It was them — alongside Hutchins, Alice Peck Day Hospital Vice President of External Affairs Peter Glenshaw, and Lodestone Biomedical CEO and Dartmouth engineering professor Solomon Diamond — who first gathered in early 2020 to develop a vision and plan for UVMTC.

"The collaborative has since added two additional steering committee members, Reia CEO and co-founder Kaitlin Maier ['14 Th'15] and medtech investor Jenny Barba of BioVentures MedTech Funds."

..."One such company that's benefited from the exposure of the collaborative is Reia, a healthcare startup focused on improving treatment options for people with pelvic organ prolapse — that’s when the muscles supporting the uterus, bladder or rectum become weak and sag inside the body, often protruding down into or out of the vaginal area."