Synoste Oy raises € 2.8 M in financing to Develop Next-Generation implants for correcting skeletal deformities

Synoste Oy, a Helsinki and Düsseldorf based medical device company is developing next-generation implantable devices based on their unique and proprietary technology platform. The company has now raised a seed-round of € 0.8 M to advance the development of its first product aimed at the limb lengthening market. The seed round can be increased up to € 1.2 M upon reaching certain milestones and is supported by TEKES research funding with additional approx. € 1.6 M.  High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Finnvera and Lifeline Ventures co-led the round and were joined by the existing Business Angels and Tekes – the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation!

“We feel honored by the trust placed in Synoste by the investors who recognize how our technology can change the market. We are certain, that our product features genuinely disruptive properties and will overcome the limitations of products currently available”, comments Synoste’s CEO and co-founder Harri Hallila. “Completing this financing round gives us the resources at hand to finalize our prototype and fully engage into pre-clinical development. We consider the participation in this investment round by three of the major Seed Funds in Europe as a fundamental step forward in the development of Synoste towards commercial success”.

“Not only since the company foundation but already from the time of the first ideas at university, we have strongly believed in this project and in the scientific team”, adds Prof Schlenzka, medical advisor to Synoste and the head of Spine and Children’s Orthopaedics Department at ORTON Orthopaedic Hospital.

The devices presently used in the correction of skeletal deformities come with two major limitations: unreliable use of the lengthening mechanisms, mechanic stability issues and low compliance of the patients due to the high degree of discomfort with external devices. Synoste’s competitive advantage is built on a proprietary technology, developed at Aalto University in Espoo and ORTON Orthopaedic Hospital, that allows the implantation of the device in a routine procedure thus securing the correct extraction by a magnet field via a home care unit preventing daily hospital visits. Based on this technology, Synoste is able to generate highly effective implants that allow total patient comfort with reduced risk of major complications, such as refractures, misalignments, pain and infections.

“We are certain, that there will be a high demand for Synoste’s products and we can’t wait to see the company move into the expanding limb lengthening device market; a multi million dollar market if all medical applications are taken into consideration” comments Kay Balster of HTGF. “Not only will the overall treatment costs be lower than current standard, but also, by the wide fields of application possible, Synoste will sustain the momentum to the ongoing efforts of widening the range of applications to the cosmetic field as well”.

“We strongly believe in the potential of Synoste’s technology and products, which could become a game-changer”, says Finnvera Managing Director Petri Laine. “Moreover, we are also delighted to be part of such an International group of investors, which will be able to provide important support to the development of Synoste.”

“We have been following Synoste since their start at Aalto University. The traditional methods, which rely on external frames are not advanced enough to fulfill all aspects of the treatment“ adds Lifeline Ventures partner Timo Ahopelto. “Patient-compliance now seems within reach, due to Synoste’s ability to deliver highly accurate implants and home care devices”.

For more information, please contact Harri Hallila (harri.hallila@synoste.fi).

About Finnvera
Finnvera Venture Capital is the leading early stage VC investor in Finland. Finnvera provides financing for the start, growth and internationalisation of enterprises and guarantees against risks arising from exports. Finnvera is a specialised financing company owned by the State of Finland and it is the official Export Credit Agency (ECA) of Finland.

Please find out more at https://www.finnvera.fi/eng/Venture-Capital-Investments

Contact:
Kalle Åström
Finnvera plc
Venture Capital
P.O. Box 1010
FI-00101 Helsinki, Finland
Tel. +358 29 460 2747
Fax +358 29 460 2776
Mobile +358 40 821 2897
kalle.astrom@finnvera.fi
https://www.finnvera.fi

About Lifeline Ventures
We are a team of serial entrepreneurs that invest in sectors we know by heart from our years as founders and startup leaders. Due to our background, we often start working with a startup even before it has launched its first product, typically taking it from the inception to successful Series A investment and beyond. Our goal is to be the first person the entrepreneur reaches out to in eventual times of trouble and joy.

Contact:
Lifeline Ventures
Timo Ahopelto
Kalevankatu 13 (3rd floor)
00100 Helsinki, Finland
Mobile +358 400 569 628
timo@lifelineventures.com
www.lifelineventures.com

About High-Tech Gründerfonds
High-Tech Gruenderfonds invests in young, high potential high-tech start-ups. The seed financing provided is designed to enable start-ups to take an idea through prototyping and to market launch. Typically, High-Tech Gruenderfonds invests EUR 500,000 in the seed stage, with the potential for up to a total of EUR 2 million per portfolio company in follow-on financing rounds. Investors in this public/private partnership include the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, the KfW Banking Group, as well as strategic corporate investors including ALTANA, BASF, B. Braun, Robert Bosch, CEWE Color, Daimler, Deutsche Post DHL, Deutsche Telekom, Evonik, Lanxess, media + more venture Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG, METRO, Qiagen, RWE Innogy, SAP, Tengelmann and Carl Zeiss. High-Tech Gruenderfonds has about EUR 573.5 million under management in two funds (EUR 272 million HTGF I, EUR 301.5 million HTGF II).

Contact:
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Kay Balster
Schlegelstraße 2
53113 Bonn
Phone:  +49 (228) 823 001-45
Fax: +49 (228) 823 000-50
info@high-tech-gruenderfonds.de
www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de