FloSpine is on its way to raising $1.07 million to support the development of spinal fusion implants that can improve outcomes and shorten recovery times for patients with spine conditions.
The Boca Raton medical device startup recently kicked off an investment offering on StartEngine, an equity crowdfunding platform that boasts "Shark Tank" Kevin O'Leary as a strategic advisor. FloSpine is developing implants that it says will enable surgeons to address 90% of spinal patient needs, with surgeries that can be completed in as little as 30 minutes.
"After that, the patient can be discharged," said president and CEO Peter Harris. "That avoids overnight hospital stays – everything can be done in an outpatient facility."
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, more than half of all American adults experience back pain. That pain is often caused by spinal stenosis, which occurs when a person's disc starts to collapse, creating a narrowing of the spaces in the spine. That can compress nerve roots and the spinal cord, causing pain or numbness.
In traditional fusion surgeries, doctors place screws and rods into the patient's spine and then perform a fusion between affected vetebrae. The procedures, which entails a large incision, typically requires an overnight hospital stay.
In contrast, FloSpine's minimally invasive implant eliminates the need for screws and rods to correct spinal stenosis, according to its StartEngine page. The company's expandable KeyLift implant is designed to restore the height between two affected vertebrae, releasing pinched nerves and relieving pain. The implant can be inserted through a small, two-inch incision, leading to faster patient recovery, according to FloSpine's StartEngine page.
FloSpine, which launched its first product in 2015, currently has three U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared products and holds six U.S. patents. Over the past seven years, it has generated $8 million in revenue and placed more than 20,000 implants in patients. The company also has contracts with large hospital systems, including Hospital Corporation of America, Tenet Health and Bon-Secours/Mercy Health Systems. The startup is based at the Florida Atlantic University Research Park in Boca Raton.
Harris said it didn't occur to him to launch an equity crowdfunding campaign until someone from StartEngine reached out to him.
“I received an email from them saying they were looking for up-and-coming medical device companies to raise on the platform, and that's how it started," Harris said.
Equity crowdfunding allows everyday investors to put money into a business in exchange for an ownership stake, with would-be investors contributing as little as a few hundred dollars. It's a key source of funding for small startups that may not be at the point of attracting capital from venture capital firms or angel investors.
The numbers demonstrate there's huge potential for FloSpine's products: The global orthopedic implants market was valued at $41 billion in 2021. The market for spinal implants in the U.S. alone is projected to surpass $12 million by 2024.
FloSpine is taking steps to become a dominant player in that sector, Harris said.
"Once we get funding we'll focus on growing locally in South Florida, and then we'll go on from there," he said.
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