SIRAKOSS, an innovative medical device company based in Edinburgh and Aberdeen today
announced it has secured $4.8m (£3.1m) in Series-A financing from a syndicate of investors
led by Epidarex Capital.
Synthetic bone grafts are used in trauma, spinal and dental surgery to fuse bones together to
correct congenital or degenerative conditions (such as curvature of the spine) or following a
traumatic injury where the bone fails to heal.
The alternative approach against which all other options are measured is autograft – this is
where healthy bone is harvested from the patient’s hip and replanted at the defect site. The
amount of bone that is available for grafting is limited, particularly in children, and requires
two invasive operative procedures, increasing the risk for the patient and the cost for the
hospital. Other alternatives have seen products derived from cadaver bone harvested at the
morgue, but these can be inconsistent in their performance.
The SIRAKOSS MaxSiTM Graft range of products is entirely synthetic, containing no animal
or human tissue and can be manufactured in consistent, high quality batches. Screening
studies with the MaxSiTM Graft products from SIRAKOSS demonstrate rapid, controlled
bone formation at very early time points, indicative of early patient recovery. Surgeons’
feedback on performance data and handling properties of the SIRAKOSS material, when
compared to existing products, has been very encouraging.
Other syndicate members include the Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of
Scottish Enterprise, and the London-based Worshipful Company of Armourers & Brasiers
plus existing shareholders. This equity investment also secures a further £940,000
Biomedical Catalyst award from Innovate UK (formerly known as the Technology Strategy
Board), which was previously awarded to SIRAKOSS in a competitive funding programme
and was subject to matching investment.
Brian Butchart, CEO of SIRAKOSS commented, “We are delighted to have closed this
investment with Epidarex Capital as this validates the company’s belief in its outstanding and
highly differentiated synthetic bone graft technology and the clearly defined commercial
opportunity that this represents within a $2.5bn global market. This investment will enable
SIRAKOSS to complete product development and to implement its regulatory strategy for
both the European and US markets”.
Sinclair Dunlop, Managing Partner at Epidarex Capital stated “Epidarex is delighted to be
leading the current financing of SIRAKOSS. The company’s core technology offers several
novel and potentially disruptive applications in the global synthetic bone graft market. We
are very excited about the company’s prospects”.
Professor Bill Bonfield, chairman of the Armourers & Brasiers Venture Prize panel said, “We
were hugely impressed with the SIRAKOSS technology which can offer surgeons a materials
science alternative to pharmacological products for obtaining rapid bone repair and fusion.
The company has also recognised the importance of melding both scientific and commercial
skills sets. The SIRAKOSS technology has the potential to benefit thousands of people each
year and it also fits well with our aim to encourage innovative scientific entrepreneurship in
the UK.”
Eleanor Mitchell, Director of Commercialisation, Scottish Enterprise, said “Congratulations
to SIRAKOSS for securing this investment deal, allowing it to further realise its ambitious
scaling plans both in Europe and the USA. Scottish Enterprise has assisted throughout the
journey with an integrated package of support, including early proof of concept activities at
the University of Aberdeen, and later the company with SMART: SCOTLAND grant support
for feasibility testing, assistance in scaling up in global markets and most recently,
investment via the Scottish Investment Bank. Scottish Enterprise works closely with Epidarex
and views this fund as a key asset to Scotland’s life sciences companies therefore we are
delighted that they will be supporting the growth of SIRAKOSS.”
Notes to Editors:
SIRAKOSS was formed to October 2010 and following commercial validation the technology was spun out of the University of Aberdeen in May 2011. The company successfully completed proof of concept in 2012 and raised Seed Fund investment in 2013.
Worldwide, surgeons perform thousands of bone fusion procedures every day, in each case seeking to correct a defect, reduce pain and improve the quality of life for the patient. Prof. Bill Bonfield was the founder of Apatech Ltd, a synthetic bone graft company that in 2010 exited in a $330m trade sale to Baxter International Epidarex Capital is a dedicated life science venture capital fund with a presence both in the UK and US markets.
In 2013 Epidarex announced its latest fund focused on early stage life science companies. www.epidarex.com
Contact Details:
Brian Butchart is available for interview. Please contact on 07545 186410;
brian.butchart@sirakoss.com
www.sirakoss.com
@sirakoss
