The University of Toledo LaunchPad Incubation Program is celebrating the grand opening of two groundbreaking biomedical technology companies, OsteoNovus, Inc. and Spinal Balance, Inc.

A grand opening celebration for the companies will take place from 4:30 – 9 p.m. on Thursday, July 16 in the Nitschke Technology Commercialization Complex. The program will be at 4:45 p.m. with speakers UT President Sharon L. Gaber; College of Engineering Dean Dr. Nagi Naganathan; Robert Holden, former Missouri governor and chairman of the Midwest U.S. China Association; and Robin Young, CEO of Pearl Driver, Inc. and publisher of Orthopedics This Week.

OsteoNovus and Spinal Balance are early-stage orthopaedic medical device companies founded by Dr. Anand Agarwal, UT professor of bioengineering, and Dr. Vijay Goel, UT Distinguished University Professor Endowed Chair and McMaster-Gardner Professor of Orthopaedic Bioengineering, along with Arthur Karas, co-founder of Spinal Balance, andDr. Sarit Bhaduri, UT professor of engineering and co-founder of OsteoNovus.

OsteoNovus focuses on the development of biologic materials to support and regenerate bone. Its product, NovoGro, is a bone regeneration biomaterial that grows a robust bone in six weeks and is available as a moldable putty or injectable bone substitute. NovoGro is suitable for several clinical applications including bone voids, treatment of various fractures and spinal disorders.

Spinal Balance designs, develops and manufactures advanced spinal hardware and the mechanical implementation necessary for spinal surgery. Spinal Balance currently has three products in development including the Libra Pedicle Screw System, a facet screw system and interbody cages, which are necessary for the treatment of degenerative diseases and deformity of the spine. With its products, the company aims to enhance the surgeon experience, improve patient outcomes and reduce procedural costs.

After months of construction and entrepreneurial assistance from UT LaunchPad Incubation, OsteoNovus, Inc. and Spinal Balance, Inc. have established new research, development and manufacturing facilities including a lab space, a custom clean room and a controlled inventory storage space.

The companies have secured funding through grants and support from the UT LaunchPad Incubation Program, which provides intensive entrepreneurial assistance, state-of-the-art facilities and other valuable resources to early-stage, technology-based start up companies.

For more information, visit utoledo.edu/incubator, osteonovus.com or spinalbalance.us.

Media Coverage
WTOL 11 (July 16, 2015)
FOX Toledo and NBC 24 (July 17, 2015)
The Blade (July 17, 2015)