MONDRAGON and i+Med launch NanoSPharm, a €8.3 million prosthesis-coating venture

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MONDRAGON and i+Med, both cooperatives, have set up NanoSPharm, a new company owned 50% by each, with an initial investment of €8.3 million. It was presented on Tuesday at i+Med's offices in the Miñao technology park in Vitoria-Gasteiz. So this is a cooperation between cooperatives, which the two partners describe as cooperative in both senses of the word.

NanoSPharm will take to market a biocompatible coating for prostheses, made of nanogels based on hyaluronic acid and chitosan, along with devices that spray the coating on. The coating is meant to help implants bond with bone, block bacteria and repair itself, and later versions may release bioactive substances in a controlled way. It is aimed first at dental and orthopaedic prostheses, with possible uses in trauma, maxillofacial surgery, cardiology, urology and neurosurgery. i+Med's director, Manu Muñoz, says the patents back up the technology's novelty.

The plan is to finish development, clinical validation and certification, then industrialise and sell internationally, which is initially set for 2030. Twelve people currently work on the project, and Erreka, a MONDRAGON cooperative, is already closely involved. Muñoz described the arrangement with some candour: "Going with MONDRAGON is like going hand in hand with your big brother."