Keith Valentine, CEO and President
Intrinsic Therapeutics is a commercial stage medical device company that has developed the Barricaid®, a novel spinal implant that reduces the risk of re-herniations following discectomy surgeries.
"Intrinsic has the opportunity to meaningfully improve the early spine care continuum and enable a collaborative partnership with spine clinicians for the best patient outcomes. This is a blue-ocean market opportunity that only the Intrinsic Team gets to define and expand."
Keith Valentine
CEO
Their story
Discectomy is one of the most common spinal surgeries, yet it often leads to suboptimal outcomes, with a significant portion of patients requiring re-operation. Despite its prevalence, technological progress in spinal surgery has been slow, in part due to the high burden of proof required for surgeon adoption.
Intrinsic Therapeutics was founded to address this challenge. The company developed the Barricaid®, a device designed to improve patient outcomes following discectomy. To validate its effectiveness, Intrinsic conducted a 554-patient Level 1 randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a five-year follow-up, leading to FDA premarket approval (PMA — one of the highest regulatory standards in medical devices). The study showed that patients treated with Barricaid® experienced a 50% reduction in reoperation rates compared to those who did not receive the device. This commitment to rigorous clinical research underscores Intrinsic Therapeutics’s dedication to advancing spine care.
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Our partnership
We have had a multi-year thesis in the spinal implant market and had known Intrinsic Therapeutics from a prior investment and board role at a predecessor firm. Through Ryan’s strong relationship with the company, we had deep insight into its vision and the potential.
Since our investment, we have helped strengthen the company’s executive leadership team and board, leveraging our network to bring in experienced medical device leaders. Our partnership is focused on supporting the company’s continued growth and long-term success in improving spinal surgery outcomes.
The team involved
"Questa invests in healthcare innovations that deliver value by providing improved clinical outcomes at an acceptable cost. By cutting reoperation rates in half, Barricaid® can help prevent chronic disability, improve quality of life, and prevent a degenerative spiral."
Ryan Drant, Founder & Managing Partner
Questa Capital
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