Uppsala-based UsDsign develops regenerative implants for bone tissue repair and is now in a commercialization phase in its main markets in the US, Japan and Europe. The company, which is one of the investment company Karolinska Developments holding, has had as one of its goals during the year to launch its product OssDsign Cranial PSI in Japan, the second largest market for cranioplasty and cranial reconstruction within the OECD.
Business partner in Japan
Prior to the regulatory approval that the company received in the spring of 2020, OssDsign has conducted a successful pre-launch in Japan with leading neurosurgeons who have been able to use OssDsign Cranial PSI clinically.
The product has also been included in the national cost reimbursement system and in August the company presented Muranaka Medical Instruments as OssDsign's commercial partner in Japan.
Muranaka Medical Instruments is Japan's largest distributor of medical devices. The company has specialist expertise in neurosurgical equipment and is present in all hospitals and clinics in the country.
Q2 figures and management change
OssDsigns has also advanced in its other markets during the year, albeit at a slower pace than the company itself had expected. The Corona pandemic hampered revenue, which nevertheless grew by 13 percent during the quarter compared to Q2 2019. The result amounted to SEK -22,6 million, a 23 percent increase in the loss compared to the previous year.
The strain on healthcare during the initial phase of the crisis meant very limited access to hospitals for OssDsign, and healthcare facilities around the world postponed planned surgeries to prioritize COVID-19 patients, which also negatively affected the company's sales.
Towards the end of the period, however, hospitals began to carry out postponed surgeries from last spring and the company also noted a more normal scheduling of neurosurgical procedures going forward. A worrying development has been the increase in the spread of infection in the US again, with new lockdowns in, among others, Florida and California as a result.
However, OssDsign's hope is that the effects of the corona pandemic will subside, which would mean that the company can get back on the growth track that will lead to profitability in a couple of years and a turnover of SEK 200 million in 2023, a goal that the company also expressed in connection with the listing in 2019. On the way there, the company will continue to invest in commercialization processes and product development, and this also means raising capital within a year.
Anders Lundqvist, CEO of OssDsign since 2015, announced in June that he will retire on August 31. The board has recruited his successor Morten Henneveld who has extensive experience in the medtech industry and most recently comes from the Danish hearing aid company GN Hearing where he was head of the transformation and strategy department and also part of the management team.
Increased demand in France
One of Morten Henneveld's first tasks at OssDsign will now be to lead the company during the market launch process in Japan, but the company has also moved forward in other markets.
In Europe, the company has seen strong demand in France, where it has already performed a number of operations at several leading hospitals. A wider launch will take place when OssDsign can present a national partner and where the company has initiated discussions with potential candidates.
During the presentation of the quarterly report, the outgoing CEO commented on the company's share price for the unusual reason. According to him, the price development has been disappointing and does not reflect the progress the company has made. He suggested that one explanation has been that some major investors sold during the fall of 2019 and also during the early summer of 2020. One of the major owners is Karolinska Development, whose holding of approximately 13 percent has been unchanged since the end of the first quarter.
OssDsign's share price is currently around seven percent lower than at the beginning of the year and has risen by around three percent over the past month. Developments in Japan, partner news in France and the effects of the spread of the virus on healthcare in the US will be short-term drivers for the share price going forward.
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