Apr 6th 2017
Amend Announces Exclusive Agreement With UFRF For Biomimetic Bone Patents
Artificial Bone Substitute Closely Mimics Composition & Structure of Natural Bone
ALACHUA, Fla. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amend Surgical, Inc. (Amend), a medical device company focused on enhancing the regenerative capacity of bone replacement products, announced today an exclusive agreement with The University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) to license patents for the development of Biomimetic Bone, a novel artificial bone substitute.
While bone is a natural composite of collagen and hydroxyapatite, its nanostructure is not duplicated in any available bone substitutes. In natural bone, the collagen is intimately associated with crystals of hydroxyapatite, which form within nanoscopic spaces of the collagenous network and leave the fibers embedded with mineral.
University of Florida researchers have developed a process for mineralizing collagen substrates using a polymer-induced, liquid-precursor process, which generates an artificial bone substitute that closely mimics the composition and structure of natural bone. Prior to this discovery, no other groups have been able to achieve high mineral loading when attempting to mineralize collagen.
This revolutionary process will allow Amend to fabricate a highly mineralized, load-bearing, bioresorbable, collagen hydroxyapatite composite that will serve as a pioneering technology in the area of artificial bone.
"We look forward to working with the strong management team at Amend as they further develop this technology to meet an important health need,” stated David Day, assistant VP and director, UF Office of Technology Licensing. “This is a clear example of how academic researchers and the commercial sector can work together for the benefit of the broader community."
“Amend Surgical is excited about our new partnership with UFRF and the commercial promise of Biomimetic Bone,” said Robby Lane, CEO of Amend Surgical. “Biomimetic Bone will be a complementary product line to our NanoFUSE® family of products and we will initiate development and commercialization work on this important research immediately.”
About UFRF
The University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) provides research and technology transfer services to The University of Florida, including a number of technology management-related services to include identification of promising new inventions, management of intellectual property protection matters, marketing of innovative technologies to the private sector, assisting start-up companies based on intellectual property, licensing of University-developed technologies to promote commercialization, advising, counseling, and assisting in the formation of sponsored research agreements as well as the processing of confidentiality and materials transfer agreements.
About Amend Surgical
Amend Surgical is a specialty medical device company focused on enhancing the bone healing and regenerative capacity of bone grafts, including allograft, xenograft tissues and synthetic materials. The company’s pipeline includes novel, clinically evaluated, osteoinductive bone extracts, and will expand in the future to disruptive products based on discovery and development of novel therapeutic additives with tissue-specific regenerative characteristics.
Contacts
Amend Surgical, Inc.
Robby Lane, 386-518-5546
President and CEO
rlane@amendsurgical.com
www.amendsurgical.com