How a Simple Drill Is Expanding Access to Life-Saving Surgery

December 28, 2025

A power drill in an operating room? At Arbutus Medical, that’s not a punchline — it’s the product. With early support from Genome BC’s Industry Innovation Fund, this BC-based medtech company adapted standard hardware tools into sterile, safe and affordable surgical instruments for use in low-resource settings.

Their DrillCover system has been used in over 45 countries, providing essential orthopaedic care in refugee camps, conflict zones and underserved hospitals. By making surgical tools radically more accessible, Arbutus is closing critical gaps in global health care and reducing disability caused by untreated injuries.

Genome BC’s investment helped accelerate testing and regulatory milestones in the company’s early stages. Today, Arbutus Medical is expanding its reach, demonstrating that innovation born in BC can improve lives worldwide.

Innovation that meets people where they are. That’s impact.

Genome BC’s Industry Innovation Fund played a key role in helping Arbutus Medical scale from early commercial traction to a multi-product portfolio with strong market validation.

When Genome BC invested in 2022, we had initial product-market fit and early sales in a single use case — skeletal traction. Their non-dilutive funding enabled us to leverage additional dilutive capital — tripling Genome BC’s contribution — which we used to expand our flagship product and develop three additional procedure kits.”

Lawrence Buchan, CEO, Arbutus Medical Inc.