Could you give us a brief description of your start-up and explain the reasons that led you to establish it up?
At RECORNEA, we secure your vision with advanced ophthalmic solutions. RECORNEA is a med-tech company developing corneal implants for reshaping deformed corneas as a result of keratoconus, a disease that causes cornea bulging or thinning after LASIK (Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) or perforation after cornea implant.
In 2019, we received a pre-seed round from Entrepreneur First and we got a Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) grant, a European Grant under Horizon2020 from the European Commission. FTI is a very competitive grant (success rate is around 5%) leading us in the TOP5% most innovative European companies. The total EU grant amount is 1.6 M€ and it will cover most of the costs of the first-in-human clinical trial.
In Feb 2020, we received a confirmation that Recornea has been selected as one of the TOP6% Italian companies being invested by the Italian philanthropic foundation, Fondazione Golinelli.
In July 2020, we were named in the TOP10 % most innovative companies in Asia Pacific by Medtech Innovator.
How does your corneal restoration technology differ from the treatments already tested?
The first product we’ve developed is a ground-breaking solution, as a new corneal implant called the GROSSO® implant, to be implanted in a single and simple surgical procedure to treat a progressive eye disease called keratoconus.
Both current ocular surgeries and competitor devices (i.e. intracorneal ring segments, ICRS) are not effective in reinstating a predictable, uniform and stable-in-time shape of the cornea leading to a very poor quality of vision and life. Our product is the world’s first metal corneal implant to restore the physiological curvature of the cornea with predictable clinical outcomes.
