March 29, 2023
Inossia is very happy and proud to be one of the selected projects awarded the sum of 7.3 million Euros from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Programme. The awarded sum is divided in 2.3 million euros in grant and 5.0 million euros in equity. The EIC Accelerator award supports, in particular, start-ups and spinout companies to develop and scale up game-changing innovations in the EU.
The justification from the EIC is: ‘The jury considers this project to be a unique innovation with a high impact on a global and society level. The market size and societal impact is very significant, at a global scale.’
Less than 7% of all EIC applications were awarded.
As a result of the EIC Accelerator project, we will be able to clinically validate two new bone cements with the Inossia® Cement Softener: V-Flex for spinal fractures and Elastoment for degenerated discs. We will also be able to receive regulatory approvals in the EU and US, enter the markets and create a completely new product category for soft bone cement.
The Inossia® Cement Softener is a smart ingredient that can be added to any bone cement and make them much softer. It is a patented, deep-tech innovation with a range of potential applications. By softening the existing bone cement, our innovation transforms them into more efficient and safe products, but also opens up new markets and indications, like degenerated discs.
There is a huge global challenge with the population growing older as osteoporosis affects 27.5 millon people in Europe and 14 millon people in the US (2020) and is the cause of almost 9 million bone fractures each year.
Inossia is targeting two age-related conditions: – osteoporosis, affecting a third of the population over 50 and – degenerative disc disease, affecting more than half of the population over 50.
Spinal fractures are one of the most common osteoporotic fractures. They can be treated by injecting bone cement into the fractured vertebra. The bone cement used today is not adapted to the brittle bones in the osteoporotic spine. It is like injecting a stone into a pile of eggshells, – the next egg can break. Up to 40% of patients come back with new, painful and completely unnecessary fractures. It generates high healthcare related costs. Therefore, there is an urgent unmet need for a solution to treat spinal fractures effectively, allowing active ageing without pain in our increasingly elderly population.
Degenerated discs could also easily be treated by injecting soft and elastic bone cement. It is a new market, with a clear need but no approved material yet. It gives Inossia the unique first mover potential..
– Our solution has the potential to reduce the number of new and unnecessary painful fractures by 75%. This will improve the quality of life for the patients and save costs for healthcare, says Malin Nilsson, CEO at Inossia.
