Dom Messerli isn’t an M.D., but based on his success in the medical device field so far, he knows how to fix a spine. He’s a mechanical engineer with an MBA who has spent the past 30 years of his career developing medical device technology — virtually all of it dealing with the spine.

“All I know is the spine. I’ve observed hundreds of surgeries and I’ve learned a lot from watching, but don’t ask me anything else about anything but the spine,” he laughed.

For two decades, Messerli worked in product development and marketing with Synthes Spine, until it was acquired by Johnson & Johnson; he stayed on for about 5 years as Director of Research & Development with DePuy Synthes Spine before founding Lenoss Medical, a pioneering medical device company, in 2017.

Lenoss Medical has developed an innovative product called OsteoPearl. In technical jargon, it’s a novel biological allograft implant designed to stabilize painful vertebral compression fractures by providing a natural scaffold for physiological fracture repair. Simply put, it’s an implant, made of natural bone sourced from a tissue bank, that creates a structure on which the patient’s own bone will regrow and heal itself. The OsteoPearl system is cement-free, minimally invasive, and has the potential to transform the way healthcare professionals approach treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.

More than 60 patients have already benefitted from receiving OsteoPearl; the very first surgery was performed two years ago at Fatima Hospital. “Now we’re going for a full market introduction,” said Messerli.

Lenoss recently closed their Series A funding round for OsteoPearl, and they surpassed their $4 million fundraising goal with participation from Xcellerant Ventures, Highpoint Ventures, Vodia Capital, RightHill Ventures, and various angel investment groups.

Messerli anticipates that this funding will accelerate commercialization, expand clinical evidence, and fuel innovative product development to improve patient care.

“We are thrilled to welcome aboard this new group of investors and to have closed and oversubscribed our Series A round,” said Messerli. “Their expertise in the healthcare sector and proven track record of supporting disruptive medical technologies will be invaluable as we advance the development and commercialization of the OsteoPearl implant.”

Messerli received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Bern in Switzerland and an Executive MBA from Penn State University. An avid sailor, he moved to Bristol about 12 years ago and especially enjoys coming home to Bristol after a hard day at the office and relaxing on Bristol Harbor and the East Bay Bike Path.

Though Messerli’s corporate headquarters are in downtown Bristol, his team works out of the New England Medical Innovation Center in Providence.

“A lot of people don’t realize this but the Providence area is unbelievably supportive for start ups,” he said. “We’ve been able to thrive because of the tremendous support from the Rhode Island life sciences ecosystem.”