Gondola Medical Technologies SA, a Swiss company specialising in restorative therapies for neurologic conditions, has completed a strategic round of funding for the development of two new products to be launched in the market in Q2 2020.
The GONDOLA medical device is a proprietary device to give AMPS treatment (Automated Mechanical Peripheral Stimulation) for motor rehabilitation of individuals affected by Parkinson’s disease. The company was founded in Ticino in 2011, where it has its operational HQ and customer support, and has recently opened an office in Lausanne, at Biopôle, where the R&D team is located. CEO and Co-founder Francesco Cecchini explains that the funding is fully dedicated to finance two new products under development, further clinical studies with important Swiss and international research partners, and to complete the FDA procedure – Gondola MedTech is in fact setting up shop in the United States in 2020.
On the product side, Gondola MedTech is finalizing two new versions of its device, the first for domestic use by patients, an evolution of the current product that will allow scale-up of sales volumes. For this, Gondola MedTech has teamed up with an experienced European firm specialising in project design and industrialisation of the medical devices. The second version of the product is a multi-patient device to be used in the clinical/hospital sector. The two versions are expected to be launched on the market in Q2 2020.
Future developments at Gondola MedTech include opening operations in France and Germany and, most importantly, the validation of its therapy in stroke patients, a target audience that is at least 5 times larger than Parkinson’s, and that currently does not have any therapeutic opportunities available to reduce the walking and balance impairments caused by the neurological problems that these patients suffer.
On the funding side, Jacqueline Ruedin Rüsch, Founder and CEO at Privilège Management (part of the funding round together with other investors, including a family office and HNWIs), confirms the long-standing interest of the Lugano-based venture capital firm in Gondola MedTech, which it has been following closely for the past two years, and which represents the first investment in a startup from Ticino. “In general, we see in Ticino a change in the way investors see investment opportunities in innovative businesses and startups. This is also due to the overall financial investment environment, with rock bottom interest rates and a growing lack of confidence in the finance sector. But there is also the desire to start investing in the medium and long term, to accompany the growth of a company and thus to provide economic growth in the region, including the creation of jobs.”