flowbone wins CHF 150,000 to advance their solution for hip fracture prevention
24.11.2020
flowbone provides a new generation of injectable biomaterial for an efficient and minimally invasive local strengthening of fragile bones. The first indication of the Lausanne-based medtech startup addresses fragility hip fractures caused by osteoporosis, which are a substantial health burden in our aging society. flowbone will use the CHF 150,000 Venture Kick funding to set up the production facilities and grow the core team.
.jpg) From left to right: flowbone co-founders Dr. Régis Gauderon, Dr. Ulrike Kettenberger, and Prof. Dominique Pioletti
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Around the world, more than 250 million people suffer from 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.
flowbone addresses this treatment gap with a highly injectable biomaterial that rapidly strengthens bone through a breakthrough technology called “local bone seeding.” The biomaterial is injected into the hip bone in a very simple, ambulatory procedure and induces a deposition of the body’s own minerals, leading to an in-situ scaffold formation and the promotion of bone growth. Newly formed bone rapidly strengthens the old bone and leads to a significant decrease in the fracture risk. The startup focuses on secondary hip fracture prevention in patients who are at very high and imminent risk of fracture?an entry market that is estimated at CHF 36 billion.
flowbone was founded by Dr. Ulrike Kettenberger, Dr. Régis Gauderon, and Prof. Dominique Pioletti in July 2020. The local-bone-seeding technology is the result of six years of research and development at the Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopedics at EPF Lausanne. After proof-of-concept in animals and the development and scale-up of the production process, the flowbone team is preparing the move from EPFL to UniverCité in Renens (Vaud). The CHF 150,000 from Venture Kick will be used to set up the production facilities and grow the flowbone core team. Certified pre-clinical work will start right after and is planned to take about two years. A first-in-human trial will follow, and product availability for patients is expected for 2026.
“The best part of Venture Kick, besides the financial support, was the input that we got during the Kicker’s Camps and the judging rounds. It helped us a lot with fine-tuning our strategy,” said Ulrike Kettenberger.
flowbone addresses this treatment gap with a highly injectable biomaterial that rapidly strengthens bone through a breakthrough technology called “local bone seeding.” The biomaterial is injected into the hip bone in a very simple, ambulatory procedure and induces a deposition of the body’s own minerals, leading to an in-situ scaffold formation and the promotion of bone growth. Newly formed bone rapidly strengthens the old bone and leads to a significant decrease in the fracture risk. The startup focuses on secondary hip fracture prevention in patients who are at very high and imminent risk of fracture?an entry market that is estimated at CHF 36 billion.
flowbone was founded by Dr. Ulrike Kettenberger, Dr. Régis Gauderon, and Prof. Dominique Pioletti in July 2020. The local-bone-seeding technology is the result of six years of research and development at the Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopedics at EPF Lausanne. After proof-of-concept in animals and the development and scale-up of the production process, the flowbone team is preparing the move from EPFL to UniverCité in Renens (Vaud). The CHF 150,000 from Venture Kick will be used to set up the production facilities and grow the flowbone core team. Certified pre-clinical work will start right after and is planned to take about two years. A first-in-human trial will follow, and product availability for patients is expected for 2026.“The best part of Venture Kick, besides the financial support, was the input that we got during the Kicker’s Camps and the judging rounds. It helped us a lot with fine-tuning our strategy,” said Ulrike Kettenberger.