Regenix signs partnership deal with leading tissue bank in US

Tissue Regenix has signed a deal which will help it to provide hope to people who believed they were facing a lifetime of discomfort.

York-based Tissue Regenix has taken a step forward with its US commercialisation strategy by securing a major partnership.

The York-based regenerative medical device company has signed a processing partnership with Community Tissue Services, which is one of the largest tissue banks in the US.

Community Tissue Services distributes more than 230,000 grafts for transplant annually.

Under the terms of the partnership, Community Tissue Services will use Tissue Regenix’s patented dCELL technology to produce human biological scaffolds, initially for use in acute and chronic wound care.

In the longer term, the range of uses will be expanded to cover other areas of clinical need.

Tissue Regenix’s dCELL dermis works by taking human donor skin and removing the DNA and cells, using the dCELL process to leave a ‘dermis matrix’ that can be placed over the wound.

It can aid natural healing by attracting the patient’s own cells to the wound area.

Recently completed trials in the UK with NHS Blood and Transplant have shown that patients who have had chronic wounds for four and a half years, who were treated with Tissue Regenix dCELL Dermis, have seen an 87 per cent reduction in the size of all wounds, while 60 per cent of patients were completely healed.

In the US, chronic wounds affect 6.5 million patients, at a cost of care greater than 25bn US dollars.

The partnership with Community Tissue Services will allow Tissue Regenix to create dCELL Dermis products in order to target the existing $1.4bn market for wound healing devices and equipment, which is anticipated to reach $1.5bn by 2016.

Tissue Regenix was formed in 2006, when it was spun-out from the University of Leeds.

The company commercialises academic research conducted by its partners around the world.

In November 2012, Tissue Regenix Group set up a subsidiary company in the US – Tissue Regenix Wound Care Inc – as part of its commercialisation strategy for its dCELL technology platform.

The company’s patented decellularisation – or dCELL – technology removes DNA and other cellular material from animal and human tissue, leaving a tissue ‘scaffold’ which can be used to repair diseased or worn out body parts.

There are a number of potential applications for this process. It could, for example, be used in heart valve replacement and knee repair

Greg Bila, the president of Tissue Regenix Wound Care Inc, said yesterday: “We are delighted to announce this partnership with Community Tissue Services.

“This agreement will allow Tissue Regenix to advance our development and commercialisation of dCELL Dermis.

“We are excited to begin providing our dCELL technology to physicians and clinicians who treat patients suffering from chronic and acute wounds.

“Many people who suffer with chronic wounds often do so for many years. Conventional treatments may not be as effective and statistics show that some patients are readmitted to the hospital due to infection or other complications associated with the wound failing to heal properly.

“Recent studies show that dCELL dermis is easy to apply and may require less time for the busy physician compared to other dermis products used today.”

One of the strengths of dCELL dermis is that it doesn’t need storage on dry ice.

Mr Bila added: “In a recent study conducted at the University Hospital of South Manchester, dCELL dermis was successfully applied to patients in as little as 30 to 40 minutes.”

Dr David M Smith, chief executive of Community Tissue Services, said: “We are extremely excited to partner with Tissue Regenix. Tissue Regenix’s dCELL Dermis will offer the latest technology in wound care management to patients suffering from acute and chronic wounds.”

Antony Odell, the managing director of Tissue Regenix, added: “Tissue Regenix’s partnership with Community Tissue Services will enable us to bring the benefit of dCELL technology to address a wide range of patient needs.

“This is an important step in our global commercialisation strategy and is a first step in bringing the benefits of dCELL technology to the US.

“We remain on course for a US commercial launch of dCELL Dermis in the first half of 2014.”

Community Tissue Services is a not-for-profit provider of services to families and medical communities.