A company spun out of University of Aberdeen research to develop a synthetic bone graft substitute has been sold for nearly £8.5 million.
Sirakoss Ltd developed Osteo3 ZP Putty – a nanosynthetic bone graft substitute designed to transform the treatment of spinal fusions and bone defects and improve patient healing.
Sirakoss was spun out from the University of Aberdeen in 2011 and has now been acquired by OssDsign, a leading bone-regeneration company based in Sweden.
Synthetic bone grafts are used to fuse bones together during surgery to correct congenital or degenerative conditions, such as curvature of the spine, or following a traumatic injury where the bone fails to heal.
Sirakoss’s Osteo3 ZP Putty offers surgeons a more advanced solution for repairing bone fractures as it is completely reabsorbed into the bone and its unique chemistry promotes complete bone regeneration following a fracture or to support the skeletal system after corrective surgery.
Professor Iain Gibson from the University of Aberdeen was one of the researchers who developed the technology, along with colleagues Prof Jan Skakle and Dr Jordan Conway, and he was the lead founder of Sirakoss.
Professor Gibson said: “It is tremendously exciting to see the development of our invention take this next massive step towards being used to treat the people that we originally set out to help.
“This acquisition will mean more people can benefit from the Osteo3 technology and is further evidence of the real-world impact that academic research can yield.”
SIRAKOSS’s CEO Dr Tom Buckland said: “This is a tremendous opportunity for Sirakoss’s unique bone regeneration technology, Osteo3 ZP Putty and builds upon our recent successful 510(k) clearance for Spine and Trauma applications. The OssDsign team have a proven track record in bringing novel and highly effective Orthobiologics to market successfully and we are enthusiastic about working with them to take the benefits of the Osteo3 technology to patients and surgeons.”
Dr Ann Lewendon, Commercialisation Manager at the University of Aberdeen: “It is very pleasing to see this technology, developed at the University of Aberdeen, taking this important step forward for patient benefit.
“It is a credit to the hard work of the team at Sirakoss and provides another demonstration of the impact that can be achieved through commercialisation of university research.”