The Galway based medtech company Loci Orthapaedics has received a grant of €2.5 million from the EU to advance its arthritis combating implant to the market.
Loci Orthopaedics is using innovative medical technologies to help people who suffer from arthritis of the thumb base joint.
This is a condition which affects 30 million people in the EU alone, causing significant hand pain, and restrictions in mobility and independence.
The InDx Implant created by Loci is the first ever implant for the base join of the thumb that fully mimics the movement of the natural joint.
To help bring this product to the market, the company has been awarded in excess of €2.5 million under the European Commission’s ‘Fast Track to Innovation’ fund.
“The orthopaedics market is one of the fastest growing segments in medical devices,” said CEO Dr Brendan Boland, “And the area we are working in is the fastest growing sub-section in orthopaedics.”
“Being the lead partner on such a prestigious European Commission sponsored grant is a great endorsement for the company of the unmet clinical need, the growing market, and the innovativeness of our own technology.”
Loci Orthopaedics was founded in 2017 by Dr Boland and Mr Gerry Clarke as an NUIG spin out company, and is based at the university’s Innovation Centre.
This is the latest in a number of successes the company has achieved in raising funds for the development of its implant.
An investment round in 2018 raised €2.75 million, and the Fast Track grant awarded by the EU will bring the total funding raised for the InDx Implant product to almost €6 million.
Mr Gerry Clarke, Chief Technology Officer at Loci Orthopaedics, said the InDx implant is the only thumb implant with an “evidence-based design”.
“We have been working with three of the world’s leading hand surgeons from Stanford University, Brown University, and KU Leuven Belgium, to develop the first implant that can fully mimic the natural motions of the thumb base joint.”
“This grant further supports the core technology of the product, as well as allowing us to accelerate the product to market to relieve the daily suffering of many millions of patients across the world.”
Recently, the patent for the InDx Implant was granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office, the first patent issued to the medtech company.
It’s expect that the InDx Implant will launch in the US in 2021 and become available to arthritis patients in Europe shortly afterwards.
Loci Orthopaedics has also signed a deal
