Culemborg, The Netherlands – ArthroSave has developed a unique joint saving treatment for patients with severe knee osteoarthritis. A new investment round of € 2.6 million, led by Oost NL, enables ArthroSave to perform clinical trials and to accelerate the commercialisation of the KneeReviver.
Patients with knee osteoarthritis have a damaged knee joint and suffer from persistent pain every day. In Europe alone over 2.2 million patients are affected by knee osteoarthritis and is increasing dramatically, due to rising obesity rates and aging population. The only effective treatment so far is replacement with an artificial knee joint. However, artificial joints have a limited life span and fail over time, requiring revision surgery associated with higher mortality, inferior outcomes and higher costs. With more young people presenting with knee osteoarthritis and increasing life expectancy, there is an unmet need to postpone time to first knee replacement.
Allowing people to return to an active way of life
Karianne Lindenhovius, CEO and co-founder of ArthroSave, explains: “ArthroSave has developed the KneeReviver enabling knee joint distraction as a joint preserving solution. Knee joint distraction with the KneeReviver is a temporary treatment that unloads the knee joint for six weeks. This results in relief of pain and improvement of function. Due to regeneration of the joint, the original knee joint will be preserved. This will postpone the knee placement surgery for 10 more years and will prevent complex revision surgery later in life.”
On the ArthroSave website, a number of patients share their experiences with the KneeReviver.
In recent years ArthroSave has been able to finalise the first KneeReviver clinical trial with promising clinical results, obtained CE mark and successfully operated patients on a small scale. “With this new investment we can perform additional clinical trials and accelerate our commercial strategy and introduce the KneeReviver on the international orthopedic market. We are happy that existing investors Oost NL, Utrecht Holdings, MSB Isala and Weskiway and also new investors Essential Investments and a group of informal investors support us during this journey”, says Lindenhovius.
Investment to accelerate commercialization
Thomas Hensel, Investment manager Health at Oost NL: “ArthroSave's solution gives patients with knee osteoarthritis more quality of life. In addition, it is a solution that helps reduce healthcare costs, as potentially fewer artificial knee repair surgeries are needed. That combination makes ArthroSave a valuable company that has developed positively in recent years. Reason for us to invest again in Karianne and her team.” Oost NL invests from ‘Innovatie- en Energiefonds Gelderland’, an innovation fund from the province of Gelderland that Oost NL manages.
Benjamin Sieters, Investment manager at Essential Investments: “ArthroSave has developed a unique solution for knee joint regeneration. This will enable millions of patients to retain their knee joint while eliminating arthritic damage and pain. With the increasing occurrence of osteoarthritis, this product will have a major impact on healthcare and society. We are happy to support the company in this ambition and throughout the critical steps to the market.”
