Zürich-based ZuriMED secures €15M for its minimal invasive tech to transform soft tissue repair

Zürich-based ZuriMED Technologies, a biotechnology company, announced that it has raised CHf 14.5m (€15m) in a Series A round of funding.

The round was led by Chindex Medical Limited, and was joined by Yellowstone Holding AG and a group of private investors, including prominent orthopaedic surgeons from Switzerland, France, Germany and the U.S.

ZuriMED says that it plans to use the funds to accelerate the advancement and widespread acceptance of its Surgical-Fiberlock technology. This innovative solution is specifically designed for minimally invasive surgical repair of soft tissues.

The funding will also help ZuriMED obtain regulatory approval for its initial product, which focuses on repairing shoulder rotator cuff injuries. The company says it has set its sights on entering the surgical device markets in the U.S. and Europe over the next three years. 

Apart from the Series A funding, ZuriMED has also been granted CHf 2.4m (€2.4m) through the Innosuisse Swiss Accelerator Grant programme. This funding is “non-diluting,” meaning it does not require ZuriMED to give up ownership or equity. This additional funding accelerates development and regulatory approval for a second Surgical-Fiberlock device. 

ZuriMED’s technologies

ZuriMED was founded in 2015 as a spin-off of the Institute for Biomechanics at ETH Zurich. The board of directors at ZuriMED includes Prof. Dr Jess Snedeker as the president and Dr Med. Dominique Tschudi as the vice president.

ZuriMED reached a major accomplishment in 2020 by finalising a global medical device company licensing agreement. This partnership enabled ZuriMED to licence its advanced endo-cortical fixation technologies specifically designed for soft tissue repair.

Surgical-Fiberlock Technology, as described on the company’s website, utilises a fibre-based material to achieve reliable and secure fixation of soft tissue to bone. This innovative technology may incorporate a suture-based system, specifically using SutureTape, to facilitate cortical-to-cortical fixation.

According to Patrick Denard, MD, a prominent shoulder surgeon in the US, the Surgical-Fiberlock technology represents a groundbreaking innovation in tendon augmentation and closure. 

It offers significant advantages for both surgeons and patients. In the US alone, around 500,000 rotator cuff repairs are performed annually, but unfortunately, 25 per cent fail to heal. This failure is primarily attributed to biological limitations.

Dr Denard emphasises that the Surgical-Fiberlock technology enhances surgical efficiency and strengthens the repair, benefiting surgeons. 

From the patient’s perspective, it is expected to result in improved postoperative healing, enhanced functional outcomes and faster recovery following surgery.

ZuriMED is also developing BTB-Conversion Technology, a new anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction method. The new surgical technique aims to transform a less painful hamstring autograft, the patient’s tissue or any other flexible graft, into a graft exhibiting high-performance characteristics similar to a BTB graft.

Xiang Li, ZuriMED co-founder and CEO, says, “Due to the EU regulatory environment transition, our original strategy of having a complete, preassembled BTB-Conversion-Kit™ has changed: we would now have two separate implants, which could be assembled during surgery.”

The first component of the kit, the BTB-Converter, underwent clinical trials at University Hospital Balgrist, which started in 2017 and concluded by early 2021. The second component, the product VariLoop, entered clinical trials the following year.