Regrowing Damaged Body Parts: How Osteopore, an Australian-listed Company, is Making it Accessible

SINGAPORE, Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Osteopore, an Australian and Singapore based leader in regenerative implants on a commercial scale, is developing technology that enables widespread adoption of tissue engineering. Despite the global average life expectancy rising by more than 6 years between 1999 to 2000, the average number of years spent in good health over the same period does not reflect this increase, according to the WHO. To reduce this gap, many turn to tissue engineering to push the boundaries of traditional medicine.

Challenges in Tissue Engineering

Growing organs outside the body, then putting it back inside to ultimately improve your health and change your life — almost seems unreal. This technique is called in-vitro tissue engineering: functionally mature tissue structures are recreated in a bioreactor to replace tissue in the body. It sounds futuristic, but it is becoming reality. 

However, in-vitro tissue engineering must overcome a number of concerns before it can be clinically implemented and commercialised.

Finding enough cells that are acceptable to our immune system is not simple. There are also challenges in terms of the availability and scaling-up capability of in-vitro tissue engineering. Cost-effectiveness, preservation and handling also present problems.

The Two Techniques in Tissue Engineering

At Osteopore, we have developed and commercialised a more direct way of applying tissue engineering concepts to achieve clinical impact. Rather than implanting cells or organs into a body from an external source, in-situ tissue engineering recruits endogenous stem cells (cells created within the living organism) to the site of an injury by using biomaterial with 3D microarchitecture and/or growth-factor-based cues to enhance healing.

With in-situ tissue engineering, we are looking at medical products that interface with blood, blood vessels and cells — working in proposed harmony with your body's natural functions. By doing so, we harness the intrinsic regenerative potential of the body to regrow tissue, as opposed to creating it wholesale in an in-vitro environment.

In-situ tissue engineering represents the future; not only for Osteopore but potentially for the medical devices industry as a whole because it is less onerous from a regulatory standpoint, it is a more scalable and cost-effective solution, it is a more familiar process to the surgical community, and it has favourable long-term, lasting impacts. 

Learn more about the differences between these two techniques in our full article here.

About Osteopore Limited  

Osteopore Ltd, an Australian ASX listed company (OSX) with R&D and manufacturing in Singapore, is the global leader in the manufacture of innovative regenerative implants at commercial scale. Osteopore produces medical implants to meet the needs of both tissue and bone reconstruction as well as restoration. These bioresorbable implants provide a scaffold for bone regeneration, dissolving predictably over time to leave only natural bone tissue. In collaboration with clinicians and researchers, Osteopore develops and manufactures implants that address unmet clinical needs which improve patient outcomes, enhances lives, and potentially reduces healthcare costs.

Media contact:
Natasha Zaman
Marketing Executive
Osteopore Limited
Natasha_zaman@osteopore.com 
+65-81924946