Synoste Secures €5.1M Funding to Advance Clinical Trials for Novel Bone Deformity Treatment

Recently, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that Synoste, a medical device company headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, has raised €5.1 million in financing. This round was led by Lifeline Ventures, with participation from AO Invest.

Synoste Founding Team

Founded in 2012, Synoste is dedicated to developing novel, patient-friendly medical solutions for the treatment of skeletal deformities. The Synoste team believes that traditional treatments for bone deformities are extremely painful for patients and prone to causing inflammation and bone misalignment. Therefore, leveraging smart materials, wireless power transmission, and mechanical design, Synoste has invented a method for treating skeletal deformities that does not require external fixation splints or percutaneous components. Surgeons implant a metal-based intramedullary device into the patient’s medullary cavity and provide a home-care kit. This kit wirelessly transfers energy via induction to the implanted device; a nickel-titanium (NiTi) implantable pump contracts upon heating, driving the device to operate in a controlled manner over an extended period. This solution offers patients both safety and efficiency.

Synoste was co-founded by Harri Hallila, Antti Ritvanen, and Juha Haaja. During their university years, the trio began researching and developing treatment solutions for bone deformities. After accumulating substantial expertise in smart materials, micromechanics, and wireless technology management, Synoste was established under the leadership of Harri Hallila. In its second year of operation, the company set up a branch in Düsseldorf, Germany, and developed a patented technology platform that provides an innovative foundation for treating adult and pediatric deformities, craniofacial anomalies, and limb discrepancies caused by congenital conditions, trauma, or tumors.

Upon completion of this financing round, the company plans to utilize the funds to conduct clinical investigations and develop new clinical applications. The medical technology sector is capital-intensive, and as Synoste enters the commercialization phase, it will require additional funding to further develop other technological applications. To date, Synoste has secured a total of €10 million in capital investments, public grants, and loans. Currently, the company is applying for product marketing authorization with the aim of entering the U.S. market. However, the European Union’s newly implemented regulatory framework for medical devices poses its most significant hurdle.

In response, Antti Ritvanen stated: “The EU has merely altered its approval process, which indeed introduces uncertainty for us. We simply want to know whether we can gain rapid and direct access to the U.S. market.”

Lifeline Ventures, established in November 2009 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, is a venture capital firm specializing in startups, growth capital, and early-stage investments. The company primarily invests in healthcare, gaming, internet, and general high-tech sectors.

AO Invest is a startup-focused investment fund composed of medical and business experts. The firm primarily invests in emerging sectors such as robotics, data management, and digital health, with investment amounts ranging from $500,000 to $3 million.