CHF 150’000 for handling fragile bones

Around the world, more than 250 million people have osteoporosis, a bone disease characterized by decreased bone mass and the deterioration of bone microarchitecture, which results in increased fracture risk. Hip fractures are the most dramatic fractures, with a one-year mortality rate of 20%; more than half of the survivors never regaining full mobility, generating costs of up to EUR 20 billion for the healthcare system in Europe only. Today, the prevention of these fractures is limited to anti-osteoporotic drugs and fall prevention. The drugs, however, are less efficient for the hips than for other parts of the skeleton and need at least one year to take effect, which is often too late for high-risk patients.

Medtech startup Flowbone fills the gap with its new generation of injectable biomaterial that leverages its “local bone seeding” technology, which allows for an efficient and minimally invasive local strengthening of fragile bones. The biomaterial is injected into the hip bone in a simple, ambulatory procedure. It induces deposition of the body’s minerals, leading to an in-situ scaffold formation and the promotion of bone growth. The newly formed bone rapidly strengthens the old bone, hence leading to a significant decrease in the fracture risk.

Flowbone, whose technology comes after six years of research and development at the Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopedics at EPF Lausanne, was incorporated in July 2020 by Ulrike Kettenberger, Régis Gauderon, and Prof. Dominique Pioletti. Upon completing the proof of concept, development and scaling-up the production process, Flowbone will transfer the team from EPFL to UniverCité in Renens (Vaud).

The CHF 150,000 from Venture Kick will flow into setting up the production facilities and growing the core team. The company’s two-year certified pre-clinical work will start right after followed by the first-in-human trials. The product should be available for patients in 2026.

(Press release/RAN)

Photo L-R: flowbone co-founders Dr. Régis Gauderon, Dr. Ulrike Kettenberger, and Prof. Dominique Pioletti