Orthonika, a spinout company from Imperial College London that is developing a novel knee meniscus replacement, has launched with £150k in seed funding.
A group of angel investors provided the funds.
Launched through Co.Create, the company formation unit of Imperial Innovations, Orthonika is a collaboration with Sierra MedTech, a specialist in the design and fabrication of engineered substrates for use in medicine.
A team of Imperial scientists, led by Professors Andrew Amis (Mechanical Engineering) and Justin Cobb (Surgery & Cancer) have collaborated with Sierra MedTech to design a full substitution system for the knee meniscus. To do this, they studied the structure and function of healthy menisci and applied unique manufacturing technologies to replicate the native structure and organisation of the tissue.
Design work began in 2009 and has gone through several prototypes. Orthonika was formed in order to combine design and development expertise to further the advancement of the meniscus substitute into a product and obtain regulatory approval and clinical application.
Professors Amis and Cobb will sit on the company’s Board of Directors, alongside Dr Mario Alberto Accardi, Massimiliano Graziosi and Dominique Kleyn from Sierra MedTech, and Tom Buckland from Imperial Innovations.
FinSMEs
06/08/2015