May 30, 2017 | By Tess
Oventus Medical Ltd., an Australian medical device company best known for its 3D printed sleep apnea device, has announced a new manufacturing partnership with Hong Kong-based Modern Dental Group. The agreement will see Modern Dental co-manufacture Oventus’ O2Vent sleep apnea products.
Oventus Medical Ltd. has seen its fair share of success and growth over the past couple of years. For instance, last year the company expanded its products into the U.S. market, raised $12 million through a successful IPO, and even established an Australia-based 3D printing facility for the production of its O2Vent sleep apnea device.
Now, the company is taking another significant step in scaling up its business by signing a manufacturing agreement with Modern Dental Group, one of the world’s leading dental prosthetics device providers.
As part of the agreement, Oventus will continue to design and 3D print its proprietary airway component for the O2Vent, but will rely on Modern Dental to finish the device with the help of its “traditional dental laboratory manufacturing methods.”
By partnering with Modern Dental, Oventus says it will be able to quickly scale up its production rates while simultaneously lowering costs. The agreement between the two companies is reportedly non-exclusive and establishes set pricing for the applicable manufacturing steps.
"The agreement allows us to focus on the manufacture of our unique differentiating feature: the Oventus Airway Technology that distinguishes us from all other appliances in the market,” said Neil Anderson, Managing Director and CEO at Oventus.
“Our strategy is to commercialize a range of oral appliances with our proprietary airway design that have the various lower jaw advancement mechanisms," Anderson added. "To date this includes three custom made appliances. Modern Dental will be able to manufacture the volumes required to meet the future demand for our products and at relatively short notice.”
Oventus’ O2Vent was developed to help sufferers of sleep apnea, a sleep disorder that affects an estimated 1.5 million people in Australia alone (Sleep Health Foundation Australia). The condition causes the sleeper’s breathing to be interrupted by a blockage in the airway.
The innovative O2Vent is thus designed to open up the airway by directing air through a duckbill-like device, directing it to the back of the mouth. As Oventus points out, 3D printing has been an essential technology in both developing and manufacturing its medical product.
The manufacturing agreement between Oventus and Modern Dental Group is effective immediately, as the latter begins production of relatively small volumes of the O2Vent for the Australian market. Manufacturing for the American market will begin later this year.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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