$2.7M NIH Grant to Bone Health Technologies

San Francisco-based Bone Health Technologies, makers of OsteoBoost, has been awarded $2.7 million in a Commercialization Readiness Pilot grant as part of the Small Business Innovation Research Program, an initiative that provides funding for late-stage research and development and technical assistance programs focusing on health innovations in aging.

Bone Health Technologies has created OsteoBoost, a technology based on NASA research showing that mechanical stimulation of bones with vibration can boost bone density. This is the third grant received by the company for work on its osteopenia treatment and osteoporosis prevention device, OsteoBoost.

“The need for a safe and effective treatment for osteopenia is immense; by supporting our critical pre-commercialization phase, the NIH [National Institutes of Health] is allowing us to expedite bringing this innovation to the women who need it most” said Laura Yecies, CEO.

Michael Jaasma, Ph.D., CTO of Bone Health Technologies, shares, “This grant will be used to advance the commercialization of the OsteoBoost technology, with the grant supporting continued work in clinical research and manufacturing scale-up to prepare for market launch.”

According to the company, the panel of expert reviews “found the science and business opportunity to be highly compelling, allowing the proposal to be selected from a field of applicants.” In their written review, the experts confirmed that Bone Health’s technology:

• “Addresses a significant unmet market need in a novel way. The results to date (from ongoing Phase 2 work) suggests the team has figured out how to package this technology in a way that is likely to improve bone density loss and address patient compliance and cost barriers.”
• “Compared to drug therapy and whole-body vibration, this seems a fundamentally different approach. In addition to aiming to be effective, it addresses patient compliance and economics.”
• “Granted patent claims appear quite broad and would likely make it difficult for a competitor to develop a hip-mounted vibration device.”
• “Is aimed not just at clinical effect but at improving patient compliance and lowering cost barriers to adoption.”

The results from a Bone Health Technologies clinical study provided evidence that a single 30-minute treatment with OsteoBoost reduced bone loss activity in everyone who participated in the study. Currently, a pivotal trial is underway at the University of Nebraska Medical Center to determine the impact of OsteoBoost on bone density at one-year post-treatment.

Laura Yecies told OTW, “There are two primary plans for the funds. The first is to conduct a second clinical trial focusing extensively on biomarkers for bone turnover and how our device impacts them. Second is to improve the device, in particular to make it suitable for larger scale manufacturing but also design and usability.”