With the arrival of the first 3D printer at the Parc Taulí Research and Innovation Institute (I3PT), in 2014, the traumatologist Ferran Fillat began to investigate how to apply additive manufacturing in his surgeries. He wasn't the only one. The 3D laboratory was also used by other doctors at Parc Taulí who wanted to respond to their clinical and research needs. The surprise was when professionals from other health centers began to attend. “This is when they saw that there was an opportunity to create a company,” explains Javier Peso, who through the technology company factory Hevender has collaborated with Fillat and the I3PT to turn this emerging area into a startup.
Tailor Surgery was created in November 2021. It is owned in equal parts by Hevender (46%) and Fillat (46%) and the I3PT has retained 8% of the shareholding. Under the leadership of Peso, who acts as executive director, and Fillat, as medical director, Tailor Surgery is dedicated to the design of surgical guides and custom implants made with 3D printing. Peso explains that throughout this year he expects to reach 100 surgeries in Catalan hospitals, with the intention of gradually opening up to all of Europe.
“The surgical guides are instruments tailored to the patient and printed with 3D technology from biocompatible materials”, explains the executive director. “They allow the established operating plan to be reproduced in the operating room and enable the surgeon to have a reference of the path he must follow during the intervention. Likewise, they can also be used to practice surgery beforehand”, adds the entrepreneur. On the other hand, custom implants are tailor-made and in line with the patient's 3D surgical planning.
To get ahead with the activity, the entrepreneurs raised 225,000 euros in investment at the beginning of 2022 and, currently, they are immersed in a financing round of 700,000 euros. They went looking for investors at the 31st Esade BAN Healthcare Barcelona Investment Forum, the same business school where Peso was trained.
With a team of five people – Fillat, Peso and three engineers – Tailor Surgery will end the year with a turnover of around 200,000 euros. The company's headquarters are located in a coworking in Barcelona because the team decided so: "We wanted to be outside the I3PT facilities," says Javier Peso.
