Mit - Index

Mit - SINFO 2008 04 - 8 - Index

tHE uNIvErSIty mEDIcal cENtrE
ljubljaNa woulD SavE 166,000 EuroS
a yEar wItH tHE NEw mEtHoD
Using the LIDIS system, the operational procedure is shortened by
at least 10 minutes or even more, which means that the savings
while using this method could be considerable. Kreuh and Fius
estimate that the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, where in
the first 10 months of the past year 300 of these procedures
were performed, the average cost of one procedure being 5,000
Euros, would save around 166,000 Euros a year using LIDIS.
The company predicts that the first fifteen LIDIS systems will be
on the market in the first half of the next year. They decided to
donate their first system to the University Medical Centre, while
tests are already underway in Italy and Germany, and intensive
talks on testing are in progress with hospitals in France, Croatia
and Israel. The biggest success for penetrating the European
market was when, after four months of difficult talks, they
convinced the experts in the leading European traumatological
clinic in Strasbourg to start trials.
SomE 4.5 mIllIoN EuroS IN SalES
rEvENuES IN 2009, wHIcH attractS
forEIGN INvEStorS
By the end of 2009, the company is supposed to sell 90 systems
at 50,000 Euros, which amounts to 4.5 million Euros in sales
revenues. Despite these forecasts, the investment costs are
exceptionally high, so the company is trying really hard to attract
foreign investors. Last year, the Austrian Horizonte Venture
Management, a venture capital fund, helped complete the
development of LIDIS.
GuIDING Star wIll rEcEIvE NEw toolS
aND NEw PatENtS
In addition to LIDIS, the company is developing another two new
tools, Tocos and Epos, to upgrade the Guiding Star system, which
Tadej Fius
25
darij kreuh
oUrexCellenCe
is the main unit for managing the tools and the umbrella brand.
The first tool will enable image-guided surgical procedures to
adjust long bone fractures and treat torsional turns, and the
second tool simplifies finding the point of entry for the nails.
EKlIPtIK IS wortH bEtwEEN 10 aND 15
mIllIoN EuroS
The company is aware of its excellence, which is why it is
undergoing intensive preparations for its strategic development.
According to the owners, there are currently two possible
development options. The first is based on building a partnership
distribution network in some countries which have already
expressed an interest in cooperation, among them is a large
Italian distributor. However, none of them exclude selling the
company to one of the major manufacturers of surgical nails,
because this would increase the company's sales considerably.
“With regard to the value of the first patent and the fact that
soon we will have another two tools, which will also be patented,
the company together with the patents could be worth between
10 and 15 million Euros«, say Fius and Kreuh.
tHE moSt INNovatIvE comPaNy IN
2006/2007
As the co-owners of Sekvenca, Kreus and Fius were awarded
for their innovation, when in 2006 the company won first prize
in The Best Entrepreneurial Idea competition in the Young
Companies category. This time, too, with Brandoli, they received
the prestigious award at the Podim conference in Maribor for
The Best Entrepreneurial Idea and The Best Innovative Company
in 2006/2007. Despite the company's excellence and the
numerous awards received in Slovenia and abroad, they are well
aware of how long and hard the road to success is. Innovation
and the quality of the product are not a guarantee for a quick
sale to hospitals. The route from prototype production to trials
with patients is a long one; and always connected to financial
resources, which, unfortunately, are always in short supply.
april 08 sinfo