Ballybrit-based clinical stage orthopaedic medical device company Loci Orthopaedics is to create 20 new jobs, bringing its total team in Ireland to 32 employees.
It made the announcement this week as it officially opened its new office in Ballybrit Business Park in Galway.
The announcement follows the news that the company said has raised €12.8m in funding, led by new investors Seroba, Johnson & Johnson Innovation and the European Innovation Council Fund
.The company develops new technologies to target major unmet clinical needs in orthopaedic extremities of the body. Its main device, InDx Implant System, is an implant for joint arthritis in the thumb.
Barry Russell, CEO of Loci Orthopaedics, said the opening of the company’s new office and expansion of our team in Galway represents a significant milestone for Loci Orthopaedics.
“The recent successful €12.8m Series A financing from leading international investors, the largest medical technology fundraising so far in Ireland in 2024 and the largest orthopaedic fundraising ever for an indigenous Irish med-tech startup company, strongly endorses the potential of our InDx Implant System,” the CEO said.
“We are excited to strengthen our team with 20 new high skilled jobs in Galway, as we expand our clinical programmes and prepare regulatory submissions in the US and EU,” he added.
Speaking at the opening of the new office, Hildegarde Naughton, Minister of State in the Department of Education, said that through focused and sustained investment, the Government is committed to creating the right conditions for innovative companies such as Loci Orthopaedics to succeed.
“In Galway we have a thriving ecosystem of medical technology start-ups, developing novel solutions for various unmet clinical needs, many of which have originated from the BioInnovate Ireland Fellowship programme,” she said.
“The Government is immensely proud that indigenous companies such as Loci Orthopaedics are at the forefront of international medical technology, which continues to strengthen Ireland’s reputation as a global hub for innovation in this sector,” she added.
Gerry Clarke, Co-Founder and CTO, Loci Orthopaedics, said the innovative InDx Implant System has the potential to transform the lives of the growing number of underserved patients suffering from thumb base joint arthritis, a painful and disabling condition.
“With exciting positive preliminary results from our initial clinical investigation, we look forward to building on our progress to date and expanding our team as we seek to bring this innovate solution to market for the benefit of patients, surgeons and healthcare systems.”
Loci Orthopaedics develops novel technologies that target major unmet clinical needs in orthopaedics extremities. The company’s primary device, its patented InDx Implant System, is an innovative, evidence-based implant for thumb base joint arthritis. Thumb base joint arthritis is a highly and increasingly prevalent condition, which is estimated to actively affect up to 5% of the US and EU population and 100 million people worldwide1.
The InDx implant is designed to replicate the functional biomechanics of the thumb base joint, with the aim of restoring natural motion for those affected by this painful and disabling condition. InDx’s novel design and biomechanics have the potential to address the limitations of current thumb implants which are often unsuccessful and are prone to both dislocation and movement post implantation.
