Development grant
OrthoMimetics Ltd has received a £817,000 government grant towards a £3.25 million project to develop ChondroMimetic, an implantable device to aid cartilage repair. The product is designed for repairing articular-cartilage damage, a common problem in sports injuries. It is made from a material that closely resembles the structure of the surrounding cartilage and bone, making it easier for healing to occur.
The £3.25 million will fund a preclinical trial and a pilot clinical trial to further test the device. ChondroMimetic is expected to be on the market in the European Union in late 2008 or early 2009.
Led by OrthoMimetics, the project is being conducted in partnership with the University of Cambridge Orthopaedic Research Unit.
OrthoMimetics was set up in 2005 as the first spin-out from the Cambridge–MIT Institute, to specialise in the design, development, and manufacture of biological scaffolds, to support tissue regeneration. The company’s products are based on a platform technology that enables the scalable production of bioresorbable devices.
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