By: 21 August 2020
EUROSTARS grants funding to first lateral meniscus prosthesis

An international consortium led by the Dutch med-tech startup ATRO Medical received over €800,000 EUROSTARS funding to address an unmet need for Knee Osteoarthritis patients.

These patients often suffer from cartilage degradation related to a dysfunctional meniscus. Based on previous research, the consortium will develop a durable meniscus prosthesis for the outer knee compartment to relief pain and restore mobility. This would change the life of thousands of osteoarthritis patients.

Knee osteoarthritis is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Loss of meniscus tissue in the younger years can accelerate this disease, leading to complaints such as severe chronic knee pain, stiffness and immobility. Many patients finally end up with a total knee replacement. The Dutch orthopaedic startup ATRO Medical has the mission to create a solution for the long, painful period before total knee replacement.

A durable meniscus prosthesis can serve as a new shock breaker in the knee, reducing bone to bone impacts and as such relief pain in the knee joint. An implant for the inner side of the knee joint is currently in clinical research after ten years of development. However, a solution for the outer knee compartment is still missing. Since forty percent of complaints are apparent in this so-called lateral compartment, many patients would benefit from it.

The medial meniscus prosthesis currently being testing clinically.

The consortium of ATRO Medical, the Swiss company Samaplast and the Orthopaedic Research Laboratory (ORL) of the Radboud university medical centre receives over € 800,000 EUROSTARS funding as part of a total investment of € 2 million to rapidly change this situation. The team is committed to develop a new meniscus prosthesis for the outer knee compartment and have it ready for a clinical trial within just two years’ time. Both the durable solution for the outer knee compartment and the short development time would be unique in the orthopaedic society.

The ORL has been involved in meniscus research for many years as biomechanical expert and was part of the team developing the IP for this innovation. Samaplast is specialised in injection moulding of high-precision and medical grade products out of plastic. ATRO Medical is a spin-off from the Radboud university medical centre and DSM Biomedical and focuses on the design of durable meniscus prostheses. These three parties together have the required expertise to bring the new meniscus prosthesis to life with EUROSTARS funding.

 

For more information, visit: www.atromedical.com