Here are five things to know about SpinalCyte and its new patent:
1. The patent is for “methods and compositions for repair of cartilage using an in vivo bioreactor.” The technology described in the patent involves seeding autologous dermal fibroblasts into the nucleus of the spinal disc. The claims also cover an absorbable scaffolding to direct the mechanical stress into the seeded cells.
“This allows us to regrow the disc in a natural environment, which we feel is critical for mechanical restoration of the intervertebral disc,” said Pete O’Heeron, SpinalCyte CEO in a news release. “We are pleased the United States Patent Office continues to validate the uniqueness of our technology.”
2. Based in Houston and founded in 2007, SpinalCyte aims at developing a cartilage regeneration technology using autologous dermal cells harvested from the patient. Pete O’Heeron is the company’s managing principal. He has more than 20 years of medical product development experience and also previously held executive level positions at Irving, Texas-based CHRISTUS Health.
3. SpinalCyte’s clinical research team has a number of highly reputed spine surgeons and bioengineers, including Howard S. An, MD, director of the division of spine surgery and spine fellowship program at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago; and Antonios G. Mikos, PhD, director of the center for excellence in tissue engineering at Rice University in Houston.
4. The company has earned patents for its technology in a number of countries, including Australia and Japan. “SpinalCyte’s patent portfolio includes eight U.S. and foreign patents issued and directly owned by the company, along with 22 patents pending. We feel the future for cartilage regeneration will be centered around a biologic, cell therapy or gene therapy solution,” said Mr. O’Heeron.
5. In April 2013, SpinalCyte announced that its technology and principal researcher, Dr. An received the Best Basic Science Paper Award for “Intervertebral Disc Repair and Regeneration Using Neonatal Human Dermal Fibroblasts,” from the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery.
More Articles on Devices:
5 Key Results: LDR’s Mobi-C Artificial Disc Replacement vs. ACDF
FDA Clears AccelSPINE’s Next Generation Minimally Invasive Spine System
Global Medical Device Market to Grow at 6.2% Annually Until 2018
