3i has been investing in medtech companies since 1984.  We currently have a portfolio of 24 companies with a market value of €175m.  Many of our current investments are start-up and early-stage companies pioneering exciting new developments on both sides of the Atlantic.  We’re also seeing an increasing number of opportunities to support well-established niche operators in Europe.

When medtech companies achieve breakthroughs, the results often have the potential to transform medical practice on a global scale.  Two current 3i investments illustrate the power of a technological leap that satisfies a growing clinical need:

• TransMedics, Inc. – maintaining functioning organs outside the body.  In the US alone, an average 17 patients a day die because they have not had the transplant they need, yet almost half of human organs approved for transplant go unused.  In part, this complex problem stems from the cold techniques traditionally used to preserve organs.  TransMedics is revolutionising best practice by developing technology that maintains organs outside the body in a warm, functioning state, thus ensuring that a far higher proportion can be used to save lives.
• Small Bone Innovations, Inc. – focusing on small bone and joint injuries.  As populations in the western world age, more and more people are seriously affected by diseases of the hands and feet, such as arthritis.  Small Bone is the world’s first company to focus on treating diseases of the small bones and joints, successfully miniaturising joint replacement techniques that until now have only been used on a larger scale.

Demonstrating the technical viability of an innovation is simply a first essential step.  Businesses then face the hurdle of displacing existing medical tools and achieving widespread adoption.  This is where 3i can provide valuable support, helping to build momentum for the product by marshalling our global network of relationships with the medical community.