Lapovations Announces FDA Registration and U.S. Launch of AbGrab

AbGrab is an innovative device used during minimally invasive surgery of the abdomen (laparoscopy)

FAYETTEVILLE, AR ‐ Lapovations, LLC, a medical device company creating a platform of innovative products to improve laparoscopy (minimally invasive abdominal surgery), announced today they have registered with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), launched the first generation of their flagship product AbGrab®, and recorded the first U.S. sale of the product.

AbGrab® is an innovative device used for lifting the abdominal wall at the start of laparoscopic surgery. Current lifting techniques can be unreliable or invasive. AbGrab® provides a more reliable, less invasive alternative to those current methods.

“Our goals at Lapovations include improving surgical outcomes for patients and improving satisfaction for surgeons performing laparoscopies” said Jared Greer, Co‐Founder and Chief Executive Officer for Lapovations. “We are confident that the FDA Registration and U.S. launch of AbGrab® are huge steps towards achieving those goals. Long‐term, we believe AbGrab® can become the gold standard for abdominal wall lifting at the start of laparoscopic surgery.”

About Lapovations

Lapovations was formed in the graduate‐level New Venture Development course co‐taught by Carol Reeves and Sarah Goforth with the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Arkansas and has raised nearly $2M in total funding to date.

In 2018, Lapovations became the most successful startup competition team in U of A history, winning seven state, regional and national business plan competitions, placing second in two others, and earning over $305,000 in cash and investment prizes.

In 2019 Lapovations received a $225K Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant and in 2020 received a $1M SBIR Phase II grant, both from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Additionally, Lapovations has been awarded a $50,000 grant by Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) and participated in two competitive Arkansas accelerator programs, the Delta I‐ Fund and Health InnovatAR (now HealthTech Arkansas), that provided an additional $100,000 in combined investment along with valuable mentorship for Lapovations and introductions to key stakeholders in the startup and medical communities.