The “PME RMC Trophies” is the first competition in France dedicated to SMEs. Last May, RMC Radio launched the 10th edition of the conquest and, for several months, has put local companies in competition. This year the event registered a record with more than 1300 applications, but only 7 SMEs were winners. The company Noraker, specialized in innovative biomaterials-based implants, took home the award export and won the national prize of “RMC SME Trophies” in the respective category.
Noraker is located in Lyon, France, in the heart of the country’s pharmaceutical and medical region (PharmaValley). The biomaterial company has developed the first bioactive composite fixation implant, made of a well-tolerated absorbable polymer, combined with a revolutionary synthetic biomaterial able to form bone where it is missing : the bioactive glass. This implant, which addressed the fixation of the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee, showed bone-rebooting performances well above the state-of the-art.
“As the expert manufacturer of Bioactive Glass, we believe that every single patient in the world should profit from best-in-class medical technologies in the area of bone regeneration tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. From scientific discovery and clinical trials to product manufacturing, we perform our research and innovation work with passion, producing in the end truly innovative technologies that make a real difference in the field of human health”, explained Céline Saint Olive, CEO and General Manager at Noraker.
There are 8 million bone trauma each year in the EU alone, affecting mostly active people and about 1 million children. 20% of all bone injuries require hospitalization and cost 2 billion euro to healthcare payers each year. Implants always leave a mark, and the second surgery is even needed in nearly one third of the cases. As population ages, finding materials to enable citizens to live a longer active life with a strong bony structure is a top priority. And in this context bone biomaterials play a vital role.
“With our range of products and projects developments, we aim to contribute to the transition of orthopaedic surgery towards regeneration discipline. We are ready to take on the challenge to become a reference EU biomaterial company with a global reach and to create the niche segment of bioactive intra-osseous implant for true regenerative surgery", she added.
From the beginning, Noraker is supported by the local environment and won several prizes for its innovations - Jeune Entreprise Innovante, label Novacité and now the national prize of “RMC SME Trophies”. The project has received a Phase 1 and Phase 2 grant from the EIC SME Instrument program. The total Phase 2 grant amount is 2.4M€.
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.