InnoSpina develops surgical instruments, a novel implant, and a minimally invasive implantation technique to make spinal treatments safer, faster, and more accessible than existing procedures. The funds from Venture Kick will be used to run pre-clinical tests, produce the first series of implants, and grow the core team.
Lower back pain is a widespread health problem and the leading cause of activity limitation. One common condition that causes lower back pain is lumbar spinal stenosis—a narrowing of the spaces within the spine, which can put pressure on the nerves traveling through the spine resulting in severe back and leg pain. In the US alone, nearly 2 million people need to undergo back surgery each year. However, the current solutions are often time-consuming and risky, require general anaesthesia, and lead to long recovery times.
InnoSpina has developed an innovative implant combined with a novel minimally invasive implantation procedure and unique guiding instruments that can reduce the current surgical time up to five times. The start-up uses metal 3D printing to develop the next generation of implants and minimally invasive surgical instruments. InnoSpina’s technology allows for ambulatory surgery under local anaesthesia, drastically reducing surgical risks, costs, and time. InnoSpina targets a market of USD 2.5 billion with its fusion and motion-preserving treatment devices.
The company based at the Jura site of the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area in Courroux was co-founded by Gwenael Hannema (CEO), world-renowned spine surgeon and is inventor of the FDA-cleared Coflex implant Jacques Samani (Chief Medical Officer), and Nicole Beuchat. The start-up is finalizing the development of its surgical guiding platform and first fusion implant and will be ISO-13485 certified by Q2 2022.
After initial traction from European surgeons, InnoSpina plans to expand collaborations with US key opinion leaders in the upcoming months―InnoSpina is one of the Venture Leaders Medtech 2021. The CHF 150,000 from Venture Kick will be used to run pre-clinical tests for regulatory approval, produce the first series of implants, and grow the core team.
“Venture Kick is a must to accelerate your start-up journey. The Kicker’s Camps and feedbacks from the jury members add a lot of value to your company―stress testing and validating your assumptions and market access strategies. It gives you a great framework, allows you to meet skilled and knowledgeable people, helping you to fast track your development. A great launchpad for all entrepreneurs,” said InnoSpina CEO Gwenael Hannema.
(Press release / SK)
Picture: InnoSpina team Gwenael Hannema, Jacques Samani, Nicole Beuchat
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