Genome British Columbia (Genome BC) has invested $1.13 million into Arbutus Medical Inc., a BC-based medical device company developing innovative surgical drill technology and procedure kits that improve hospital workflow and reduce costs to treat patients.

Matching funds have come from a syndicate of Canadian health tech and impact investment funds, including Nimbus Synergies, the Pan-Canadian consortium MEDTEQ+, and the ScaleGood Impact Fund. There is the potential of additional matching funds by the end of March 2023.

This investment supports the development of Arbutus Medical’s TrakPak®, a complete single-use procedure kit for skeletal traction with everything a surgeon needs in one place, pre-sterile, ready to use at the bedside. The kit can save orthopaedic trauma teams upwards of 45 minutes of preparation time per procedure, helping hospitals operate more efficiently, reduce costs, improve patient experiences, and expand access to safe surgical care.

“We are setting a new standard of care for skeletal traction,” says Lawrence Buchan, Chief Executive Officer at Arbutus Medical Inc. “The current workflow for these procedures takes a very long time, frustrates staff, and slows down treatment for someone with a horrible injury.

“The TrakPak® skeletal traction procedure kit eliminates this problem and delivers a better solution for patients, providers, and the hospital’s bottom line. This financing will allow us to launch the next generation of TrakPak® in 2023 and rapidly scale up.”

Arbutus Medical adapts DEWALT® power tools into sterile surgical drills for hospitals and field settings. The company has developed methods to create a sterile enclosure around a nonsterile power drill so it can be safely used in surgery. This technology means that hospitals do not need to sterilize a drill between surgeries, providing a significant cost advantage compared to conventional sterilizable drills. The system has been approved for human use by the FDA and Health Canada. TrakPak® is the company’s first complete procedure kit to include their novel drill technology.

Genome BC’s investment is made through its Industry Innovation (I²) Fund, which provides commercialization support for companies developing innovative life science technologies that address biological challenges in key economic sectors in BC: Agriculture, Energy and Mining, Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Forestry, and Human Health.

“Genome BC’s I² Fund exists to bridge the gap between innovation and commercialization in BC,” says Dr. Tony Brooks, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Entrepreneurship & Commercialization at Genome BC. “We’re excited about the potential for Arbutus Medical’s products to help hospitals operate more efficiently, reduce costs, improve patient experiences and expand access to safe surgical care.”

-30-