May 24th 2017

New Funding Agreement Will Allow Research Expansion

Alachua-Based Medical Device Company Looks to Grow Reach of Biomimetic Bone

GAINESVILLE, Fla. and BOCA RATON, Fla., May 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ —The Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research (the Florida Institute) announced today that it has finalized a funding agreement with Amend Surgical, an Alachua-based medical device company with newly licensed technology developed at the University of Florida. The Florida Institute supports new company development and expansion based on publicly-funded research, and bridges early funding gaps for companies licensing technology out of Florida-based universities and research institutions.

Amend Surgical is a specialty medical device company focused on enhancing the healing and regenerative capacity of bone grafts, including allograft, xenograft tissues and synthetic materials. The company's pipeline includes novel, 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.

"We are committed to advancing the science of orthobiologics by improving the healing capacity of bone grafts. The new funding agreement with the Florida Institute will allow Amend to rapidly expand our research and commercialization efforts on Biomimetic Bone which was licensed from the University of Florida in March 2017," said Robby Lane, Chief Executive Officer of Amend Surgical.

"Amend Surgical provides surgeons and their patients access to innovative bone grafting options," said Jackson Streeter, MD, Florida Institute Chief Executive Officer. "By developing and advancing bone grafts and other orthobiologics with enhanced regenerative capacity, surgery patients can identify, with guidance from their physicians, new options that can help them achieve the best possible surgical outcomes."

About the Florida Institute

Formed by the Florida Legislature in 2007, the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research is a non-profit organization that works collaboratively with the technology licensing and commercialization offices of Florida's state universities and private research institutions to leverage a $2.5B+ research base and form investable companies that create clean jobs in new industries that are driving the global economy. With funding from the State of Florida through the Department of Economic Opportunity, and through the generosity of mentors, advisors and donors, the Florida Institute provides company building services, and seed funding through the Florida Technology Seed Capital Fund, to promising Florida startups. Sixty-nine companies have been funded to date, and the Florida Institute's economic impact through June 30, 2016 in the State of Florida was $630 million.

About Amend Surgical

Amend Surgical is a product development company offering differentiated biologic solutions for surgeons, medical device manufacturers and distributors globally. Amend is targeting the bone graft substitute market with licensed, patented, technology and is focused on spine, orthopedic and dental indications. The R&D pipeline includes products loaded with antibiotics and natural bone morphogenic proteins. Additionally, Amend is commercializing a novel Biomimetic Bone technology licensed from the University of Florida that offers the hope for a synthetic graft with load bearing capability and osteostimulative properties. Amend currently manufactures and distributes the only demineralized bone-bioactive glass combination product approved by the FDA. NanoFUSE® Bioactive Matrix uniquely combines the osteoinductive capabilities of demineralized allograft bone with the osteostimulative properties of 45S5 bioactive glass.