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Cresco Spine closes seed investments to develop innovative dynamic surgical therapy for scoliosis

June 24, 2022 – Utrecht, the Netherlands

Cresco Spine, a new player in the spinal arena and a spin-off of the University Medical Center Utrecht (the Netherlands), today announced that it raised seed investments from InSpine and Utrecht Health Seed Fund (UHSF) to continue its development of their unique surgical spinal correction platform “Dynamic Implant SolutionsTM” (DISTM), initially focused on early onset scoliosis.

 

Early onset scoliosis is a severe and life-threatening condition in a vulnerable, young patient group. These patients are severely affected by this condition that may lead to deficient cardio-pulmonary development. Treatment is associated with high complication rates and usually requires multiple surgeries throughout the early years of life. Moreover, multiple hospital visits for monitoring are required, which further increases the disease burden and healthcare costs.

 

Within its “Dynamic Implant SolutionsTM“ platform, Cresco Spine is finalizing the Spring Distraction System (SDSTM) for market introduction. The SDSTM is a unique, spring based dynamic distraction system that works with standard of care posterior pedicle screw fixation. The system has the potential to guide the growth three-dimensionally without the need for invasive lengthening interventions. This will improve outcomes, whilst minimizing re-operations and surgical and anesthetic burden in this vulnerable patient group. Several follow-on opportunities for Cresco Spine’s technology have been identified and will be next in line within the DISTM platform.

 

Prof. Dr. René Castelein, orthopedic surgeon and Cresco Spine’s Chief Medical Officer said: “This novel ‘growth friendly’ solution has already proven its potential in several prospective clinical studies, the system even outperforms existing therapies, with respect to outcomes and disease burden for patients. Based on conversations with orthopedic surgeons worldwide, the strong need for better treatment options is clear, and I look forward to working with clinicians globally to raise the bar in this very challenging field.”

 

Michiel Schwartz, CEO of InSpine comments: “We always strive to provide improvement for spinal patients, which is reflected our portfolio and even more in our former and latest product developments. We see a tremendous need in this particular area of spinal care combined with a strong potential for innovation. This investment will enable us to realize next steps in development and work towards regulatory approval.”

 

Jaap de Bruin, Fund Manager of UHSF commented: “We are very pleased to support Cresco Spine, and strongly believe in its mission and potential. Cresco Spine’s approach to scoliosis therapy is to improve quality of life and outcomes, whilst reducing overall healthcare system burden and costs, i.e., an excellent fit with our investment objectives.”

 

 

 Background statements

 

About Cresco Spine

Cresco Spine is a medical technology company developing surgical spinal therapies focusing on improving scoliosis care. Cresco Spine was founded in 2021 as a spin-out from the University Medical Center in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

For more information, please visit www.cresco-spine.com

 

About InSpine

InSpine is a Dutch medical company that is strongly committed to improve (complex) spinal surgery. Therefore, InSpine has its focus on distributing the right products and technologies with associated services and supporting groundbreaking spinal innovations.

For more information, please visit www.inspine.nl

 

About Utrecht Health Seed Fund

Utrecht Health Seed Fund (UHSF) is an early-stage life sciences & health investment fund based out of Utrecht, The Netherlands, focused on scalable technologies in the field of Life Sciences (therapeutics and diagnostics), Medical Devices, Digital Health, and Animal Health in the earliest stages of development.

UHSF is established by Utrecht Holdings with the assistance and support of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), UMC Utrecht, and the University of Utrecht.

For more information, please visit www.uhsf.nl.

 

 Contact information

Dennis Magermans, CEO Cresco Spine, dennis@cresco-spine.com