Regenosca: The Venture Leaders Medtech developing a technology platform to make implants for soft tissue repair

15.08.2023 09:30, Rita Longobardi

Meet Eva-Maria Balet, CEO of Regenosca. With a primary focus on off-the-shelf and ready-to-use implants, the startup's innovative approach holds promise in soft tissue repair surgeries. Regenosca's patented implants are engineered to be a noninvasive alternative to patients’ own tissue grafts that are currently used in clinics.

Name: Eva-Maria Balet
Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
Nationality: German
Graduated from: EPFL, Lausanne
Job title: CEO
Number of employees: 2 (+ 3 with external financing)
Money raised: CHF 1.4 million
First touchpoint with Venturelab: Innosuisse start-up training and VentureKick

 

---

---

Can you tell us who your product or solution helps, and how?
Our solution targets patients that need to undergo an autograft soft tissue repair surgery, where tissues are harvested from a healthy part of the patient’s body to replace a diseased one. We have developed TissueSpan, a technology platform to make implants for soft tissue repair. The TissueSpan implants are a noninvasive alternative to the patient’s own tissue. Thanks to the off-the-shelf available TissueSpan implants, no harvesting of healthy patient tissue is needed anymore. This means avoiding a second surgical site, thus reducing pain, risk of complications, and surgery time. Our first product UroSpan is developed for urethral reconstruction where today patient’s own inner mouth tissue is used. Urethral reconstruction is needed for the treatment of strictures (i.e. narrowing of urethra preventing efficient bladder emptying) and hypospadias (i.e. birth defect in male boys where the urethra does not go up to the tip of the penis). The next product in our pipeline is an implant for oesophagus reconstruction to replace the currently used patient’s own stomach or intestinal tissue. Esophagus reconstruction is required e.g. after cancer removal.

What market are you addressing and what is the potential of your startup in that market?
The overall market for TissueSpan is the more than 300’000 surgeries where today patients’ own tissue is used. Regenosca’s potential in the first target market urethral reconstruction is estimated to be in the range of CHF 98-134 million per year. The second target market is esophagus repair where Regenosca’s estimated annual market potential represents CHF 200 – 269 million.

How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup?
First was the idea to develop an implant technology platform to address the clinical need of missing biomaterials for soft tissue repair. I was a postdoc at the time in the laboratory of Prof Hubbell and Prof Frey at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland). The close collaboration between bioengineers and clinicians allowed us to develop implants that fit the clinical requirements and practice. The positive feedback and the support from the clinicians encouraged us to incorporate Regenosca in 2019 and to start the transition from a research product to a clinical-grade implant.

What do you expect from the Venture Leaders Medtech roadshow, and how will it help you achieve your vision?
I expect the Venture Leaders Medtech roadshow to be a great networking opportunity. My aim is to extend our clinical network, interact with industrial key players active in our field and connect with US investors. We have chosen the US as our first market due to the clear regulatory path provided by the FDA and its market size. Therefore, it is important to connect with this market as early as possible. I am also looking forward to spending one week with other Swiss start-up entrepreneurs. To exchange our experiences and to build good relationships.
 

---

What are your team’s key achievements to date?
Our biggest achievement is first-in-man data for our product UroSpan. We have successfully transformed the research process into a GMP manufacturing process, and the first clinical-grade implants have been implanted in two urethral stricture patients. An important achievement as well is that we have onboarded Prof Kulkarni, the leading KOL in stricture repair. His team will operate the next patients in our first-in-man study. Further achievements are a granted patent in US, Europe, and Malaysia describing the TissueSpan technology and awards for our preclinical and clinical work from the three most important clinical urology conferences.

What is the most challenging and rewarding aspect of being a founder?
I consider it a challenge (and at the same time it is my source of motivation) to take over several responsibilities often at the same time. By being pushed to the borders of my comfort zone or outside of my core competencies, I am constantly learning and growing my skills. It is rewarding to have a common goal with my fellow co-founders and my team, but it can be challenging to agree on details along the journey.

What is the most important lesson you have learned as a founder?
I learned that it is important to have the right team and a solid network of people with different competencies. A surrounding network of experts helps to make good decisions and to find solutions to occurring challenges. The combination of the right team and good communication is essential to help to realize objectives and milestones and to align everybody towards the same goal.

What is your favourite productivity hack/tool and why?
Physical activity, in the best case outdoors, is my favourite productivity tool. The brain full of oxygen and the feeling of having achieved something is my source of energy to push the development of the TissueSpan technology forward and to provide efficient and motivating input to my team. It also helps me to take a step backwards to better judge a situation or to develop creative ideas.

What was your dream job when you were a child?
When I was a child, I wanted to become a medical doctor until I realized that I couldn’t see blood. Then I wanted to become a schoolteacher. But my curiosity to see something else than the “school world” made me change my mind.
 

---

ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Venture Leaders Medtech 2023 were chosen from over 80 applications by an expert jury. The roadshow in Boston provides a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to accelerate their startups' expansion in the US while expanding their professional network and profiting from workshops with investors and industry leaders. This year's Venture Leaders Medtech program is organized by Venturelab in collaboration with Swissnex Boston and is supported by EPFL Lausanne, ETH Zurich, Hansjörg Wyss, Kellerhals Carrard, Swissnex Boston, and the Canton of Vaud.