Neo Medical SA, a Swiss maker of disposable spine implant and instrument kits, announced May 15 that it had closed a CHF 13.2M ($13.4 million USD) financing round. The funds are earmarked for global growth and expansion in key markets.
Disposable Spinal Implant Maker Raises $13.4 Million
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Neo Medical CEO Vincent Lefauconnier said that the fundraising marked “[an] important milestone for Neo Medical as we look at scaling sales and distribution up in our five strategic markets. Surgeons have validated our Controlled-Fixation value proposition to prevent stress overload on patients’ spines and tackle implant failures and loosening, while further improving patient outcomes. We look forward to bringing this value proposition to more hospitals and patients worldwide.”
In addition to fundraising, Neo Medical also added Michel Orsinger and Oern Stuge to the Board of Directors. Mr. Stuge will take the role of Chairman of the Board, while Michel Orsinger will be a Member. Mr. Orsinger was previously President and CEO of Synthes, and then headed DePuy Synthes after the acquisition by Johnson & Johnson in 2012. He has held roles as Chairman of global orthopedics for Johnson & Johnson, and recently chaired the boards of LimaCorporate and AO Invest AG. Both men previously served on the Board of Nobel Biocare, now a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation.
Neo Medical was recently featured in a study covered by Orthopedics This Week on the environmental impact of single-use surgical instruments. The study concluded that despite higher resource utilization to produce single-use instruments, the environmental impact was greater for reusable instruments due to transportation and the energy used for re-sterilization. Additional benefits of single-use instruments and implant packs, only the instruments that are needed are opened in the OR, and bulky and heavy metal trays are no longer necessary.
4FO Ventures led the financing round to join existing shareholders which include Credit Suisse Entrepreneur Capital Ltd. Investiere also became a partner by participating in the current fundraising round. 4FO Ventures CEO Jean-Pierre Rosat, Ph.D. said of the new partnership, “We are very enthusiastic about this new investment. Neo Medical has the potential to change the way spinal surgery is performed. The combination of innovative technologies and a highly simplified and universal disposable set of tools is extremely powerful, and a real added value for patients and surgeons. In addition, the excellent team of Neo Medical has the skills to lead this company to success.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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